The Washington times., 1913-05-18
WIFE
|NSPECTS ALLEYS
Mrs. Wilson Interested in Task
of Freeing Capital From
Plague Spots.

rIdyue SpOlS.
Continued from First Page)
in the vicinity Of h and L streets and
Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth streets
northwest. Mrs. Wilson pried her way
through piles Of garbage.
But Few Improvements.
Mrs. Hopkins, who through several
years of arduous work in slum sections
has come to know Washington's by
paths like a book, pointed out to Mrs.
Wilson the fact that, despite four years
Of agitation, practically the only i'm
provements made in Shows court have
been the reduction Of the number OF
people sleeping in a pestiferous barn
and the demolition of seven extremely
dilapidated shacks.
| Mrs. Wilson saw the shabby frame
houses. wherein dwell more than 300
people-..the toughest in washington"-
| two police captains told Mrs Hopkins
| and backed II up with records showing
that over 200 arrests had been made in
| this alley in a single month.
In this alley. too. Mrs. Wilson learned
Of the attempts to hold ''parlor' relig-
| ious meetings WHICH frequently broke
up In q riot when a besotted husband
| returned.
Some of the people seemed happy.
Some Of them showed that the struggle
for existence had been too much OF a
| burden. but others displayed the sodden
marks Of dissipation and shiftlessness.
Into Willow Tree alley. now being
converted into a park. the Summers
| went.
Could Not Move Away.
There they found an old coIored man.
my-her age is indehnite-who had lived
| In the place for thirty-two years. twen-
| ty-nine Of which were spent in one
| house.
why haven't you moved away? she
was asked.
why. why. just cause ah amt never
had nuf money to move"
She was a pathetic figure as she sat
on her little pile Of household goods,
| waiting for the contractor to give her
! place in one Of his construction
shacks.
The Investigation Of the last week
Will bring Joy to the heart Of this poor
old woman, for her case has been called
to the attention OF the Associated
Charities. and now she is going to have
home for her old age.
Washes of Rich on Lines.
Mrs. Wilson saw hundreds Of washes
flying to the disease-laden breezes. The
dainty lace-trimmed clothes of little
babies of the rich hung out on the lines
of the alleys wherein dead cats, disease
spreading flies, and offal emitted an al
most unbearable stencil.
She saw narrow double alleys in
which were grouped 400 or 500 people
trying to .eke out a miserable existence
on from $40 to s12 month.
In Logan's court number of dead
cats lay exposed. The houses were found
to be primitive shacks. mere novels. in
the shadow Of the great St. Aloysius
Church.
Goat Alley Inspected.
Goat alley. another of the dens OF dis
ease and death where children die al
most twice as fast as in the outside
streets. was sought out by the summers.
There Mrs. Wilson noted that the Cen
trail High School is only a few blocks
away. There she learned that school
children must play in the streets. breath
ing in the air from the alley, because
there is no playground.
There she saw the saloons-more than
twenty of them-wherein the men Of the
alley spend the few nickels that form
the dividing line between starvation and
plenty.
Flies and dirt-this was the scene in
Goat alley. as in others. Health Of
f1cer Woodward was on one Of the trips.
OF him. Mrs. Hopkins says that he is
the best man the District could have for
the position. but she says ne is hamp-
cred because there is not enough money
for garbage disposal. and the alley folks
won't be sanitary except when constant
ly watched.
Breeding Spot for Plaques.
One of -the sickening sights for Mrs |
Wilson was a rotting pile of filth. COW
cred with old bedding in an attempt to |
keep the stencil away from the none |
too-well ventilated homes of the |
alleyites
ut was a trip through a section |
where heaven only knows what dis
eases are breeding" declared Mrs. Hop |
kins this afternoon
Mrs. Wilson and the Congressman |
learned for the first time that probably |
5000 persons Of both races are living |
In the alleys and courts Of Washington.
They got thorough insight into the |
need for the movement which Is now
under way to convert the worst alleys
into parks. and to provide new houses
on the Mills plan for those elected in
the cleanup campaign.
While Mrs. Wilson listened intentIy
and with evident sympathy. an old |
woman answered questions about her
mode of l'fe. Sne made $1s a month by
taking In washing" or this ss went
for rent. The remainder gons for food
and clothing for an invalid woman
relative and three grandchildren.
In Loan Sharks Clutches.
This woman. however. was in the
clutches of the loan shark. A short !
time ago she needed ST. A loan
shark" agreed to make the loan with
the understanding that she would nav
back $50 for eight months. meaning a
repayment of sl7.60 for a 80 loan. When
the negotiations were over the loan
shark" deducted the first months nav
ment. so the woman received less than
s. in actual cash.
Who owns these alleys and these
homes
This was the question that Interested
Mrs. Wilson immensely
THE owners were quite frequently
women. l am sorry to say" declared
Mrs. James Pinchot. in commenting on
the trip this afternoon.
congress faces the practical proposi-
tion OF what the poor will do II an al
leyway is condemned and converted in
n parl pnnr r,,,,., |