The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1916-06-17
HOUSING AND HEALTH.
Experience Proves that Sanitary
Homes Reduce Sick Rate.


! Plans have just been completed for
I the erection of a series of model
| homes in the city of Washington for
| the purpose of demonstrating to the
nation the relationship between good
housing and good health. These are
to be known as the Ellen Wilson
/ homes, and are not in the nature of
an experiment, but are intended as a
demonstration to the entire United
| States.
The intimate connection between
bad housing and bad health and good
housing and good health is clearly
recognized in Washington, where the
alley dwellings have long. been a mat
ter of concern both to the health au-
thorities and the public-spirited citi
zens who wish the capital city to be
an example to the nation. The alleys
have been paved, sewers and water
mains have been laid in them, they
are lighted and cleaned as are the
streets. Yet they keep their old lead
over the streets when it comes to to-
falling the figures for disease and
death.
In this. Washington's experience
has been like that of Liverpool and
other European cities which tried
unsuccessfully to make badly situated
| dwellings wholesome by cleaning and
fumigating. After thirty-three years
of unavailing effort to improve that
which was fundamentally bad, Liver
pool finally decided the only hope lay
s%sE@s, tor
demolished the old houses by the acre
and in place of them built new houses.
Where dwellings have been crowded
so close together that there was
scarcely passage room for a stout man
to squeeze his way to one OF the old
rear houses, it built new dwellings
opening upon wide spaces which pro-
vided light and air. Immediately
sickness and death deereased-and
with them vice and crime. What had
seemed hopeless struggle for more
than a generation was won.
Other cities In Europe have done
the same and with the same results,
but what makes Liverpool's figures of
unusual value IS that the new houses
are occupied by the same people who
occupied the old ones. In some. cases
the population on a given area in the
new dwellings IS 80 per cent the same
as that which lived on the area in the
old buildings. So here the effect of
housing is not complicated by ques-
tons of different occupants, OF bet
ter food or clothing or a generally
higher standard Of living. The hous-
ing only has been changed and the
results are striking.
Washington is attempting much the
same work, though in a less dramatic
manner. Congress has enacted law
which goes into effect July l 1918,
according to which all the alley dwell
ings in the. District Of Columbia must
cease to be used for dwelling pur-
poses. Meanwhile, in order that
there may be accommodation for
those who will be forced to seek new
homes in street houses, there has been
organized limited dividend company
which is to build houses that will be
not only sanitary, that will provide
not only abundance Of light and air,
but houses attractive INTELLECTUALLY
homeIke in their arrangements and
containing bath To-, ms and. PROV lslansl
for hot water in place Of the old out
door closets and hydrants.
Such houses as these cannot, of
course, yield the return upon the in
vestment that the old houses did. In
fact, congress in its act Incorporating
the Ellen Wilson. Homes, limited it's
dividends to five per cent net. But
they will yield to.ttheir stockholders
a dividend in the form of satisfac-
ton because of i needed work well
done. To their tenants they will give
relief from preventable sickness and
death and an increase in the joy Of
living.