The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-27

| On another day Mrs. Wilson visited oui
 group of sanitary houses. We call 1t ooi
 group because our housing committee has
 charge of the houses and we employ g social worker who collects rents and looks
 after the tenants according to the oc. taVia Hill plan. The houses were con
 structed for the sake of demonstrating
 that small sanitary houses could be built
 rented for a reasonable sum and yet, by
 good management be made to pay fair
 profit. The 109 two-family houses in this group. of from two to four rooms and a
 bath each. rent from $.50 to Si250 per month per family. pay per cent on the
 investment besides the per cent allowed 1 for repairs and 2 per cent as a reserve 1 fund for the purpose of rebuilding. 1 Mrs Wilson was as>eharmed with these
 houses as she had been distressed with those in the alleys and was delighted to
 see that the houses were occupied by col-
 ored people, the race for whose elevation
 she had long been working.
 Winning Congressmen
 After Mrs Wilson joined our crusade. people fiocked to our standard and every body wanted to help in the alleys. It was laughingly said that no one could move
 in polite society in Washington who could
 not talk alleys.
 We made daily trips through the alleys
 with congressman and others always end ing at the sanitary houses, Illustrating by ! these. how the alley people might be 1 housed if we could get them out on the street Mrs. Wilson often went with us
 and when we had some one we were espe- 1 cially anxious to win over to our cause. that one was invited to accompany her. | A committee of fifty on alleys was formed. William C. Woodward. who had
 gone through the alleys, first as dlstrics | physician to the poor, then as district 1 coroner, and now as health officer of the | District of Columbia, and who knows the demoralizing influence of the alley per | haps better than anyone else, wrote the i bill. It was indorsed by Commissioners | Newman and Siddons, and finally sent to l Congress as the commissioners bill. It
 was also simply known as the alley bill and as Mrs Wilson's bill.'
 1 During her illness and anxiety, Mrs. Wilson did not lose interest in her bill even though she heard nothing of it. On | the very last morning of her life she i said to the President: q should be hap pier if knew the alley bill had passed" Hearing of this. MT. Tumulty sent word to Congress.
 A Housing Law As a Memorial | As Chairman Smith was absent, Sena- | tor Pomerene called the members of tue Senate district committee together. One
 member objected to the passage of the bill, not for the reason that he did not favor alley legislation. but because he wished the matter dealt with in a still
 more drastic way: for our bill allowed 10 years for the complete evacuation of all alley houses, and gave owners of alley property some possibility of redress. An amendment was therefore added requrinr, this evacuation by July. 1918.
 Unanimous consent was asked Of the Senate by Senator Pomerene for the con- sideration of this bill. It was granted
 The bill was passed and word of it's pas sage was sent to Mrs. Wilson a short time before she lost consciousness.
 This substitute bill has already been
 protested by both the Chamber of Com merce and the Board of Trade although
 both organizations are in favor of the original bill. They claim that the substi-