Evening star., 1931-12-07
ALLEY DWELLINGS
ASSA|LED AS BLIGHT
IN HOUSING REPORT
Presidents Conference Dis
cusses Means of EIiminat-
ing Areas in Capital.
CONGRESS TO BE ASKED
TO PASS ENABLING ACT
Three Committees Analyze "Slum"
Conditions in Large Ameri-
can Cities.

National interest has been attracted
to the alley dwelling situation in Wash
ington, bringing increased knowledge to
bear on the problem of how to correct
these blighted areas of the Capital.
Members Of three important commit
tees of the Presidents Conference on
Home Building and Home Ownership
here last week took time to make
personal inspection of some of the alley
dwellings.
Also, a report was laid before sec
tion meeting of the conference by John
Ihlder, director of the Massachusetts
Housing Association and executive di-
rector of the Pittsburgh Housing Asso-
citation, detailing proposed means of
rectifying these blighted sections.
Legislation to Be Sought.
Meanwhile, it is learned, a renewed
effort will be made to have Congress
enact legislation that will start elimi-
nation of the alley dwellings
Reports of three committees of the
Presidents conference dealt with con-
ditions such as those found in Wash
ington's alleys. These were the COM
mittees on blighted areas and slums,
headed by Abram Garfield, Cleveland,
a fellow of the American Institute of
Architects; types of dwellings, headed
by Collins P. Bliss, dean of the College
OF Engineering, New York University,
and the Committee on City Planning
and Zoning, headed by Frederic A. De-
lano, chairman of the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission.
NJ \, f. HI loI, x,,tI1
bring the Washington situation to the
attention of housing students through
out the country In the official publica-
tion of the findings of the conference,
points out the. "slums" of the National
Capital are not widespread areas like
those In the lower East Side of New
York, but are small, hidden commu-
mites in the centers of the large
squares created by the city's street plan.
Conditions Described.
Shut off from observation by the
outside world" the report states, each
of the $50 inhabited alleys tends to
become a separate community. Be-
cause of their hidden locations they
offer refuge to the criminal, the vicious
and the delinquent. These hidden COM
munities contain from half a dozen
population is estimated at from 1000
to 10000"
Mr.. Ihlder also reports that Wash
ington has been trying to get rid of its
slumS for more than 10 years. 1t has
adopted many palliative measures"
such as extension into these alleys CT
sewers, water Mains, street lighting and
paving, but these have not wrought a
cure"
Citing some of the legislation of the
past which has not proved effective, Mr..
Ihlder describes the bill presented to the
past Congress, presented by the Park
and Planning Commission on the basis
of a survey it made
This would provide for the purchase,
condemnation or other acquisition of
alley dwellings, demolition of such
buildings as is found necessary, or the
leasing or sale of such other buildings
in keeping with the program to elm
mate their present residential use and
other aid in providing other types of
buildings or houses by loans to limited
dividend corporations.