Evening star., 1928-11-01
PROBE TO Be MADE
OF ALLEY STABLES
Filthy Places Declared to Be
Menace to Health and
Fire Traps.

The District Health Department
promised today to make an investiga-
/ ton of the sanitary conditions of back
alley stables" as the result of a report
given out by Mrs. M. n. Blumenberg,
head of the Animal Rescue League, who
stated that there are hundreds of these
stables in the District which are fire
traps and a menace to health, and that
the animals kept in these places are
subjected to distressing cruelty and in
humane treatment.
1T is impossible to believe that such
places exist in the very shadow of the
Capitol dome" Mrs. Blumenberg said,
''and l cannot conceive how they have
escaped the notice of the Health and
Fire Departments"
The great majority of these stables
are owned by colored men and used to
stable horses sold in the market for
two or three dollars, said Mrs. Blumen-
berg, adding that the animals were In
such poor condition that if sent to the
Rescue League instead of being bar
tered or sold, they would be put out of
their misery.
Describes Typical Cases.
In describing the conditions which
exist in the alley stables, Mrs. Blumen-
berg cited several cases which had been
reported to her by league investigators
Following my informant to the stalls
in the back of the animal quarters,
which were filed with every variety of
canine waifdom to be found on the
streets of a big city, was shown a
great lron-gray skeleton, which might
have been brought in from the Smith
sonian department of old bones and
fossils. A pathetic whinny of greeting
came from the poor beast, which years
ago must have been intended to be a
horse.
This case was reported to me last
Saturday. The humane agent had at
tended sale at horse market Feel
ing contdent that an animal which had
been purchased by an old man was too
far gone to be of any more service in
the world, the humane agent followed
the man to the stable where the horse
was to be kept. myself inspected the
stable" Mrs. Blumberg continued, and
never have seen such place It was
situated in an alley between Third and
Fourth and East Capitol and A streets
northeast. 1t was a brick building
which served as home of some colored
people upstairs, and below was q dark
damp room piled high with debris of
every description. An old wagon filled
with trash, paper and wood stood in
one corner. Great piles of newspapers
lay everywhere.
Tells Of Insanitary Conditions.
THE STALL or dark corner in which
the horse was kept reeked with at least
eight inches of manure, which the
colored man admitted had not been
cleaned out for two weeks. To add to
the insanitary state existing, the one
hydrant (required by the law to be in
| every Stable) was broken and water
drlpped forth in steady stream soak
Ing into the mess in the horses corner.
already made unlivable for even a beast
by the filth of prolonged period of
| time.
Not the slightest vestige of bedding
could be seen and what the man was
to feed the animal. is mystery to me
TO this day, said Mrs. Blumberg 81 told
the man wanted to buy the animal
and that he should deliver him imme-
diately to the headquarters of the AMI
mai Rescue League. He gladly sold the
| beast for So and here he stands" con-
tlnued Mrs. Blumberg. I'VE shall keep
MN for few days in the hope that
klnd-hearted citizens of the District
VIII visit him and be eyte- witnesses of
: eAiC OAoIlCoolIlS spectacle OF LnlS Door
I beast and that the sigtt of him will en-
list their future interest in other such
cases. He Is only one of many to be
found in various sections of the city.
"As I was returning from this stable,
saw two horses hitched to a trash
wagon. The horses we're in such a pitt
able physical condition that I stopped
to investigate them. AS I did so. the
| driver came out of feed store nearby.
In one hand he carried a scrawny
bunch Of hay; in the other was paper
sack which later proved to hold small
quantity of mixed feed. The man placed
the feed in a burlap bag and standing
before the two horses, the hay in one
hand, the feed in the other, he per-
mitted these two poor beasts to fight
for their meager meal They whinnied