The Washington herald., 1918-10-25
HOUSING IN Dc.
NOW HOPELESS,
OFFICIALS SAY
New Buildings, When
Ready, Will Be Totally
Inadequate.
ABUSES ARE FLAGRANT
Reports Of Neglect and
Gross Prohteering
Still Come in.
ABUSES ARE FLAGRAN1

Housing conditions in Washing
ton are hopeless, according to the
unanimous opinion of the govern
ment officials in charge who were
interviewed yesterday.
Government projects will not be
finished for months, they agree,
and when the buildings are done
these will only house one month S
newcomers.
The housing conditions consist
of the Housing Corporation of the
Department of Labor, the Health
and Housing Division of the War
Department and the Housing Sec
ton of the District Council of Ma
tional Defense.
Plaza Building Slow.
Otto NJ. Eidlitz. head of the Hous-
ing Corporation. through his secre-
tary, admitted this yesterday:
The Union Station Plaza houses
OF residence will be ready nobody
knows when
-Four hundred of our men, previ-
ously contented and happy, left a
short time ago to work on a new
War Department project. Other de-
partments of the government NAV
pay what they please for labor. We
are limited to union wages. We
never know when We have workmen
and when we do not have them.
The city is full to saturation. No
more workers should be allowed to
come to the city. and several de-
partments should be removed to other
cities"
Mr.. Eidlitz. when asked if the So
UpOU appropriation given to the
President for Washington housing and
turned over by him to the Depart
ment of Labor last June had been
used up so that Congress must be
asked for more money. answered in
the negative.
. Many Of the houses commandeered
from the owners to be repaired
equipped and furnished and filled
with war workers by the government
had. however. been returned to the
owners, he said.
The owners had promised to fur
nish the houses and fill them with
war workers. This had been done in
many cases, but Mr.. Eidlitz was un-
willing to furnish addresses of houses
so furnished and used for housing Of
government workers
Big Residence Coal Storage.
He was surprised to hear that a
large fffteen-room house at 322 C
street northwest. with large rooms
and entrance hall, was used for the
storage of coal The second and
third floors of this building were
empty except for two watchmen's
cots and a stove, he was informed.
and the owners said that no member
of the Housing Corporation had asked
him about the house
He was also unaware that there
were several other empty houses in
the immediate vicinity of this house.
to the Ordnance Department and the
Capitol
These empty houses should be
reported to the Housing Corpora
ton" said Mr.. Eidlitz. The prob
lem of high rents for splendid
houses also complicated the situa-
ton" he said. A few war workers
in a great house could not afford
to pay for marble halls and tap
estried bedrooms.
War Department authorities of
the Health and Housing Division said
that the War Department had alb
sOlutely no more rooms for war
workers.
1t was also pointed out that while
1893 additions, or new workers,
were taken into the departments
during the week of October 7 to 70.
eighty-nine per cent or 1882. left
the departments. This left but 211
war workers to be provided with
rooms. This may have been due
to the prevalence of influenza. ac-
cording to the department authority
or it may have been due to other
causes.
Between September 80 and Oc-
tOber 5. 1914 workers came TO the
city, and 1928 left. leaving I.515 tc
be supplied with rooms. 1t was
pointed out that this was the week
of the crest of the influenza wave
Lack of Room. Confirmed.
The head of the District -Counci,
of National Defense also confrmef
the fact that there were no rooms NJ
be had and that all available rooms
were filed. He especially noted tbe
problem of the girl war worker and
asked that patriotic citizens wbr
formerly took ''men only" to take In
girls instead.
We urge the girls to STAY out q,
the CITY," said Miss NJ. F Mitchell
in the woman's United States am.
ployment service.
There is no place for them hers
and even were the new houses O,
residence ready they would only 40.
commodate one. months overflow,
am toldT,
Many complaints of abuse and gross
pronteering come to the officials n,
the housing sections of the govern.
ment daily.
one case reported was that OF q
iandlady who refused point blank tc
furnish girl dying of pneumonia
with separate bed. The room matf
was i'll also, and thus further ex.
posed to contagion. The landlady
SAID she had the bed, but would no,
furnish blankets and comforters.
In the same house two girls rented
room for so per month. Their
landlady introduced a strange girl to
them as the third tenant of their
small room. They protested that
they had rented the room with the
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