Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-06
VOTERS TO BLAME
FOR ALLEYS HERE
John lhIder Holds Every One
in the United States
Responsible.
ARTICLE IN THE SURVEY
COVERS THE SITUATION
Tells of Struggle by Citizens, With
out Votes, to Better
Conditions.

Every voter in the United States is re-
sponsible for slum and alley conditions
in Washington. the nations capital, in
the opinion of John Ihlder. field secre-
tary of the National Housing Associa-
ton. expressed in an article in the Sur
Ney on 'Washington's Alley Sums He
saws:
What do you. Mr.. Man From Home,
know about Goat alley. Washington, D.
Z? You have seen the Capitol, the
White House. and the Washington Monu-
ment. But your responsibility extends
also TO Goat alley and all the other
back alleys. Your vote counts in the
municipal affairs of the nations CAPT
tal-Congress is the city government of
Washington-but the people who live
there have no vote.
FOR more years than few some
OF the people of Washington have been
aware that there is in the city's inhab-
lied alleys menace to the public health
morals and police records. But the
majority of that changing fraction of it's
people who hold federal Office and ex
officio govern the city have refrained
from taking any interest in them.
Comfort Only From Roosevelt.
So during all these years the re-
quests and demands of local social work
ers and of citizens with a social con-
science-but without a vote-felI on ears
that were hard of hearing. Only from
President Roosevelt did they get any
comfort-from his Presidents home COM
mission, which made a study of alley
dwellings and published a report with
recommendations. Its only tangible re-
suit to date has been the beginning of the
conversion of Willow Tree alley into an
interior park. That is something-though
many Of the workers believe that such
an interior park will be almost as great
a menace as the inhabited alley, but
Washington has some 275 inhabited al
legs
There has been some legislation that
has improved conditions. The board for
the condemnation OF insanitary buildings
has been created. Up to May l of this
year ii had demolished 1852 Of the worst
sfiacks and caused 1855 to be repaired.
There is law prohibiting the erection Of
new houses on alleys less than forty feet
wide. But that works two ways Old
houses are kept in commission, the own
eTs chief fear being that the board for
the condemnation will catch them IL they
don't watch out. There is a law provid-
Ing for the conversion of alleys into minor
streets. but like some other laws which
mean we'll, it doesn't work So WASH
1ngton has made very little progress on
Its alley problem.
Act Of "Voteless" Citizens.
The .voteless citizens of the capital
did more than ask Congress to do some-
thing for them. They studied their prob
lem and published books and reports just
as citizens with votes in other cities do.
They brought In men like Jacob A. Riis
70 arouse general interest And to show
their earnestness they organized two
housing companies on a 5 per cent and q
4 per cent. basis to provide good housing
In competition with bad
But 1t was not until last winter that
the general public-including both the
resident and the CONSTITUTIONAL term ele-
ments-Degan to take interest. Two more
pamphlets were issued, one by the Mon
day Evening Club, the other by the Wom-
ems Welfare Department, the ministers
ot tne Nauonai civic Federation preached
about bad alleys. and Mrs. Woodrow VIII
son joined the ranks. In May the well
fare department of the National Civic
Federation held large public meeting.
at which Secretary of Commerce Redfield
and the field secretary of the National
Housing Association spoke
Two weeks later the committee of
nifty outlined a plan of campaign. It
was proposed to ask Congress for an
amendment to the law for the con-
version of alleys into minor streets de-
sisned 10 meet the court ruling which
had put the spoke in the wheel of the
present law. 1t was further proposed
that the request to Congress be broad
ened, that Congress be asked to finance
a commission created to study the whole
alley question and to make recommends
tons for converting the alleys into q
system OF minor streets within a definite
number OF years.
Would Solve Alley Problem.
Such commission would add to the
valuable information gathered by or
CARNATIONS like the Presidents homes
commission, definite data on the num-
Der, length, width, direction, etc. of the
alleys, and plan street system which
would make the greatest possible use of
these existing passages. This would not
only solve the alley problem, but would
other city needs-a system of minor
streets anording sites for inexpensive
small houses.
The committee adopted this program,
ana at second meeting the chairman.
William III. BALDWIN,, appointed a COM
inittee to take IL up with Congress-
As result bills designed to solve the
alley problem have been introduced in
poth houses. All this is encouraging, as
showing that the present agitation haa
stirred Washington's population from
top to bottom. But it carries with it
Inc old danger that some among the
Asitators. wearied by their efforts, may
persuade themselves that having started
the movement they can now safely leave
IL 10 take care of itself: may fail to
realize the great opportunity now before
them, and be satisfied with halfway
measures.
Best Planned City in America.
Washington has long enjoyed the
reputation Of being the best planned city
III America. the one large city in the
world which from the day of its foun-
darion has been built more or less con-
sistentiy along the lines of a carefully
thought out plan. Only recently has it
been realised that from the beginning
this plan has been incomplete. While
II provided for great public buildings
and for dwellings Of the wealthy and
homes for wage-earners, but actually
offered temptations TO house these
wage-earners In an unwholesome man
ner. The magnificent wide avenues de-
signed by Maj. LEnfant, bordered along
a great part of their distance by very
deep lots. led inevitably to the construc-
ron OF winding, branching alleys and
the erection Of hidden houses which
mad no place in the original plan.
Modern city planning lays the en-
phasis less on public buildings and
boulevards and more on providing sites
Tor homes. So the original plan for
Washington must be supplemented by
a modern plan providing a system OF
minor streets to let the wholesome light
Washington and to provide economic
use for the backs of the oyerdeen lots