Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-18
ALLEYS MUST GO,
BILLS ARE READY
Measures to Be introduced
Tuesday to Create Two
Interior Parks.
PRESIDENTS WIFE AIDING
CIVIC FEDERATION WOMEN
Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Hopkins, Mrs
Bicknell and Others Have Shown
Congressman Need.

DlilS VIII De introduced In the Senate and
House to condemn Goat alley and Shows
court and make interior parks or play
grounds Of them.
The Introduction Of these bills will fol-
low the recent visits to all of the bad"
alleys of Washington by Mrs. Wood
row Wilson, Mrs. Archibald Hopkins. the
head of the Washington section of the
woman's welfare department of the Ma
tional Civic Federation; Mrs. Grace Vaw-
ter Bicknell, Health Officer Woodward
and several members of Congress.
The introduction of the bills will be
onyl the beginning OF the results
which will be shown, it is claimed,
from practically five years work on
the part of several hundred repre-
sentative Washington women, who have
now gathered together very nearly
every one of the social. sociological and
charitable organizations of the city in a
comprehensive and scientifically organ
lied movement to do something-to actual
iy accomplish sOmething-after various
exposures" of conditions have been made.
Following the Shows court and Goat al
ley cleanup a general alley revision
win be started.
In making the announcement hast night
Mrs. Archibald Hopkins. in her talk with
Star reporter, made it plain that the
effort to take congressman through the
alleys of Washington was to give them
frst-hand view of the necessity for
cleaning various recognized plague spots
where the death rate figures speak in
deadly significance: and tpat there is not
the slightest attempt to criticise any one
for inactivity.
Two Alleys Hopeless.
All the alleys need looking after. ac-
cording to the view of the men and
women interested, but Shows court and
Goat alley have the reputation of being
absolutely hopeless and. therefore. must
be ripped out, just as Willow Tree alley
was. and turned into parks and play
grounds The two bills which will be in
troduced will have the backing of many
who will be shown exactly
why the bills need enactment 1t is the
purpose of Mrs Hopkins and her COM
mittee to keep up this first-hand educa-
tion of Congress. 50.
Following the Introduction of the bills,
the Washington section of the women's
welfare department of the National
Civic Federation will hold it's last month";
ly meeting for the season next We'd
nesday at IL o'clock in the Playhouse,
and Representative Kahn, an alley visitor
with Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Archibald
Hopkins, will deliver an address.
The movement in which these Wash
lnStOn women are interested started five
years ago. although it was in rather hazy
sorts of alley movements. Books had been
written on the subject, a housing COM
mission has published a government docu-
ment which contained SO many shocking
statements that it was considered a poor
book to be left around loose on family
library table and there had been spas
modic outbreaks against slum conditions
at various times which took no definite
legislative form.
The Washington section, which placed
Mrs. Hopkins at its head. began to do a
few things in sociological way here
without making great to-do. 1t cleaned
up certain dirty corners in government
bureaus, established lunchroom at the
navy yard. caused the markets to clean
out the rats by introducing up-to-date
stalls. and gradually got down to the al
ley question.
Used Like Flaming Torches.
Thomas Jesse Jones, an official of the
bureau Of education, was taken into the
work. He wrote ALLEY Homes of Wash
ington," and a clergyman, Wilbur Vim
cent Mallalieu, wrote a Washington AL
ley choosing Shows court for his ma
terial. Mrs. Bicknell compiled The In
habited Alleys of Washington, ID. c. and
that has been published in booklet form
BY the committee on housing of the wom-
ans welfare department. The women in
this movement have used those three pub
iiSdtioHS ike naming tOTcHeS TO ISnt
way through very dark situation.
Committees began to be organized and
a deep investigation began into what sort
of remedy should be applied. Mrs Hop
kins sent for Miss Helen Parrish of
Philadelphia. who is perhaps the great
est expert on the kind of work that was
started in England by Octavia Hill This
was cleanup work with a practical
housebuilding side to it. Miss Parrish
now manages very large block of model
alley homes. and eventually the work in
which Mrs. Wilson. Mrs. Hopkins and
others have shown interest will take over
the alley properties and manage them
for the benefit of the alley dweller and
the city at large. Miss Parrish told the
Washington women what she is doing in
Philadelphia.
Now Manage 214 Houses.
To show that the woman's welfare de
partment and its housing committee in
tend to do real business, it is interesting
TO note that the Sanitary Improvement
Company. owning about 800 fine. clean
alley homes. has turned over to the
housing committee PA of these small
homes and the committee manages them
just as real estate agent would Wom-
en- whose names are we'll known in Wash
ington collect the rents from these alfey
people. These things We're shown to the
congressman who have taken the alley
trip and will be shown to others.
They were shown the alleys where
no model houses have been built, and
of these the famous Shows court and
Goat alley stand out supreme as ex-
amples. One colored woman in the
court said she had lived twenty-nine
years in her house, which is made of
slabs. and during that time not one
cent has been spent on it for repairs.
She earns sic month from washing.
and pays $3.50 for rent With the
balance she supports herself and two
grandchildren. This particular case
has been attended 10. and the washer
woman will be transferred to a
model home. where she will have
clean house at the same rent
The visiting congressman were told that
when the women ef the housing COM
mittee make their ren;-collecting tour
they do II in a manner utterly strange
10 the alleys. The familiar rent collec-
tor sticks his head in the doorway and
yells Rent" Thereupon ensues a bat
tie OF wits. The rent man never is paid
il by any chance there is an escape
Women Have Different Method.
With the women of the housing COM
mittee a different method has been adopt.
ed. When they are told the baby has
t. -