Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-06
VOTERS TO BLAME
FOR ALLEYS HERE
John IhIder 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 Ihder field secre-
tary of the National Housing Associa-
uon- expressed in an article in the Sur
vey on ''Washington's Alley Sums He
says.
What do YOU. Mr.. Man From Home
know about Goat alley. Washington, D.
g. You have seen the Capitol. the
White House. and the Washington Monu-
ment. But your responsibility extends
also 10 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-
lted alleys menace to the public health
morals and police records But the
majority of that changing fraction of its
people who hold federal office and ex
off1cio govern the city have refrained
rom taking any interest in them.
Comfort Only From Roosevelt.
quests and demands of local social work.
ers and of citizens with a social con-
science-but without a vote-fell 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. It's only tangible re-
suit to date has been the beginning of the
of
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
leys.
There has been some legislation that
has improved conditions. The board for
the condemnation of insanitary buildings
has been created. Up to May 1 of this
year il had demolished 1862 of the worst
shacks and caused 1,55o to be repaired
There is a 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
ers' chief fear being that the board for
the condemnation will catch them If 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, 1t doesn't work. So Wash
ington has made very little progress on
1ts aliey 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
10 arouse general interest. And to show
their earnestness they organized two
housing companies on a . per cent and a
I per cent. basis to provide good housing
In competition with bad
But it was not until last winter that
Inc general public-including both the
resident and the constitutional term ele-
ments-began 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
OF the National Civic Federation preached
about bad alleys. and Mrs. Woodrow Will
son joined the ranks. In May the well
rare 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
hfty outlined a plan of campaign. 1t
was proposed to ask Congress for an
version of alleys into minor streets de-
signed to 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 recommended
IONS for converting the alleys into
system OF minor streets within definite
number of years.