Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-02-24
AGAIN APPEASF0R
ALLEY JEWELLERS
Rev. J. N. Waldron Advocates
Bend Issue to Provide
New Homes.


Declaring that 1t is the duty of
Congress to make some provision for
housing the thousands of alley dwell
ers in Washington. whom Congress
is to turn out of their alley homes
next July under .he terms Of existing
law. Rev. ]. Milton Waldron, pr ssident
OF the Emergency Housing Associa-
ton, today urged again upon the Sem
ate District committee the need Of
putting through a bill authorizing a
bond issue to erect sanitary dwellings,
for these people.
The alley people are not an Idle
class" said Mr.. wallror. They work
every day they can get work. They
cannot AFFORD to lay IF a dav for ftst.
They cannot lay by money to pay for
medical attention because the:r wages
are so small.
Many ID. c. EmplQyes.
But these people are needed in the
District. The District government en-
ployes many of them. II they were not
needed here they would not be here. The
police census shows there are 5000 OF
these alley dwellers. but 1 know that
there are at least $4,000 of them. The
police census was made during the
day, when great number OF the al
ley people were away at work"
Discussing conditions in the alleys
of Washington, Mr.. Waldron said:
The inhabited alleys of this city
are cancer, where live in squalor.
poverty, disease and crime-not who'll
ly of their own making-between 49,
900 and $4,000 citizens of this repub-
lie. The novels in which most of these
people live are not as good. in many
respects. as the stables in which are
housed the horses of the rich. The
rent charged for these small dwell
ings is exorbitant The alley shacks
are seldom repaired. They are almost
all of them without running water.
inside toilets. baths and Railways. The
rooms are small and usually have but
one window; many of them none at
all. The back yards are small, al
most beyond belief. There are no
sidewalks and shade trees in these
alleys. and along the center of many
IF them dirty water and other filth
now continually. Many of these al
leys are what are known as blind
alleys'--that is. they do not open out
upon q wide street.
Duty to Provide Homes.
."If Congress has the right to turn the
alley people out of their miserable
dwellings. 1t also has the right to see
to 1t that proper houses are provided
that may be rented to these people at
a rental within their reach, and if
Congress has the sense Of fairness we
think it has and is worthy the name
of law-maker for the greatest Chris
tian nation under the sun. it will pro-
coed at once to rid Washington of its
Stun districts and make 1t possible
for the alley people to move into
sanitary, durable and convenient
houses.
I'm reply to those who say turn the
people out Of the alley houses and let
hnn on int 10 vxyI nd NJ ut,
and find work on the FARMS we would
say this would be a case of cutting
of the nose to spite the face. for the
work which the alley people in this
city are doing must be done by some
one and IL the alley population Is
turned out then an equal number of
men. women and children must be i'm
ported into the city to take their
places and the question arises, where
are these people to liver In short 1t
means a swapping of the witch for
the devil, and no moral problem has
ever been solved this way. The honest
and fair thing to do is to close up the
alley dwellings as rapidly as possible
and to authorize the District of Co
lumbia to provide suitable places
All this can be done without IN
creasing the taxes of the District of
Columbia a single penny and without
violating any law Of God or man, and
II 1t is done it will rid our fair capital
Of the only plague spot now left"
Other witnesses Heard.
Other witnesses appearing before
the Senate committee today were E.
w. Oyster, William v. Mahoney. Sec
rotary of the Emergency Housing As
ISOLATION: Mrs. julia Mason Layton
Mr.. Oyster, formerly connected with
the ONCE Of the District assessor, said
that he had given the alley situation
much attention. He declared that
conditions today in these alleys are
twenty years ago. although there has
been agitation for years to do away
with the alley dwellings here.
"A condition confronts us. 1t ought
to be wiped out" said Mr.. Oyster. "rt
is only just to the people who live
provision should be made for housing
them. If not they will scatter and
cause congestion in other parts Of the
won't that relieve the situation II
they scatter" asked Senator Jones of
Washington.
Declared UD to Congress.
YES" admitted Mr. Oyster, but the
just way of meeting the situation is
for Congress to make provision for
these people. They will have to have
shelter somewhere"
Pressed by Senator Jones. as to
whether the alleys should be closed,
whether the bond issue bill were
passed or not. Mr. Oyster replied:
III would close the alleys The
shacks in them ought to be burned"
Senator Jones said that he agreed
that the most important thing was
to close the alleys for dwelling pur-
poses.
Mr.. Oyster said that IL there exists
any opposition to closing the alleys
for dwelling purposes 1t is secret and
comes from men who reap big profits
from renting these alley dwellings
and have not the courage to admit It.
Mrs. Julia Mason Layton, who said
that for, thirty-five years she has
been a volunteer charity worker
among the alley people. also strongly
She said that conditions in the alleys
were a disgrace, that house rent was
ridiculously high, and that the wages
of the laborers who live in the alleys
were low.
Senator Ball, chairman of the COM
mittee, asked why the alley dwellers,
during the war period, when wages
were high and work was to be had
everywhere, had not got out Of
the alleys. He suggested that If
they could not make a living in those
days such as would enable them to
live outside the alleys they never
would be able to do SO.
Afraid Of Giving Aid.
What I am afraid of is said Sem
ator Ball. "that If these people get
into their heads that Congress is