Evening star., 1933-05-13
Senate District Committee
Also Considers Alley Dwell
ing Elimination.
GROUP NAMED TO STUDY
REORGANIZATION OF D. C..
Gas Light Companies Merger Bill
to Be Called Up
Tuesday.

The Senate District Committee voted
q favorable report on the King resolu-
ton for an investigation of the prices
of milk and other dairy products, heard
witnesses on the bill to eliminate alley
dwellings, and named subcommittee
to study reorganization of the District
government, in a busy meeting yester-
day.
The alley closing bill is to be studied
during the next few days by Senators
Capper of Kansas and Austin Of Yer
mont, in conference with Lieut.. Col. U.
S. Grant, Sd, of the Park and Planning
Commission, and Corporation Counsel
Bride. The bill probably will be acted
on when the Senate committee meets
again at 2 pm. Tuesday
Chairman King announced he also
would call up Tuesday the bill to au-
thorize merger of the Washington and
Georgetown Gas Light Companies, and
his measure to broaden the general
powers of the District Commissioners.
Alley Conditions Described.
Conditions in the inhabited alleys OF
the city were described to the committee
by Mrs. Archibald Hopkins. who has
been working on the alley improvement
movement for Is years: Mrs Ernest r.
Grant, director OF the tuberculosis
Association, and by Miss Gertrude
Bowling. of the Instructive Visiting
Nurse Society.
The bill before the committee. spon-
sored by Senator Capper, contemp!ates
gradual elimination of Inhabited alleys
over a 1O-year period by authorizing
the District to acquire these areas,
replat the land and demolish or erect
buildings thereon. The plan is to make
the alley closing project self f-liquidatlng
by leasing or selling the lands. or the
buildings that may be erected after the
areas have been replatted.
Corporation Counsel Bride announced
the Commissioners are in favor OF the
bill with certain amendments to be
proposed by Col Grant. The latter
official explained that the amendments
merely strike out the United States
Housing Corporation as the Govern
ment agency through which the Dis
trict Commissioners would carry out
the project, and leave the President
free to designate the agency that
should handle the problem.
Bride will confer Monday with Senator
Capper of Kansas, at the request OF
Chairman King. Mr.. Bride said he
from that involved in legislation now
before Congress. What this will be. he
said, would not be revealed until the
conference with Senator Capper.
Mrs. Hopkins told the Senators how
she began in 1910 trying to bring about
better housing conditions for the
thousands living in alleys, how the
World War made impossible the carry
ing out of an earlier alley CLOSING law
and of the recent revival OF the move
ment
Mrs Grant of the tuberculosis Asso-
citation quoted statistics showing the
tuberculosis death rate is 2o8 per 100.-
600 of population in the alleys, as COM
pared to sc per 100000 in streets.
Health Menace Stressed
Miss Bowling also emphasized the
health menace which exists in the hid
den communities in the alleys, due to
overcroWding and unsatisfactory hous-
ing facilities She suggested 1t would
be more economical in the long run TO
clean up the alleys than to pay for the
increased hospital facilities being re-
quired as time goes on.
While speakers were telling OF in
sanitary conditions in the alleys, Sena-
tor King and other committee members
questioned District officials as to how
far they could go under existing law in
correcting these conditions. Senator
King wanted to know if some Of the
alley structures could be condemned as
public nuisances.
Mr.. Bride explained that Congress
passed a law some years ago for the
Condemnation of insanitary buildings,
under which structures must be torn
down or repaired if they become so per
cent deprecated. He also said the
city's sanitary inspectors follow up all
complaints of insanitary conditions in
the alleys, but he pointed out there are
only 90 of these inspectors for the
entire city. with the alleys forming only
a part of their territory.
The Corporation Counsel testified
that in 1882 there were 1873 alleys con-
tanning 1,947 houses and a population
OF 5,983.
Charles Rush, secretary of the Wash
ington Real Estate Board, said the Ma
tional Association of Real Estate Boards
has been studying this general problem.
Mr. Rush suggested leaving out of the
bill a paragraph relating to loans to
limited dividend corporations. Those
in charge CT the bill said they would
agree to eliminating this section, point
ing out there is separate bill pending,
by Senator Copeland of New York, to
provide for formation of limited divi-
dend housing corporations.
Favors Portion of Bill.
James C. Wilkes. representing the
Operative Builders Association. favored
that portion of the bill providing for
elimination of alleys, but said he did
not think it would be practical to
build houses on a self -liquidating basis
that would rent for what alley houses
rent for.
Senator Kings resolution seeking an
investigation of prices of milk and
other dairy products, still requires
Senate action. The Utah Senator.
who pointed out that the resolution
is similar to the one that was await
ing Senate action when the last Con-
gress ended on March 4, probably will
file the new report Monday.
The proposal that subcommittee be
named to make study during the
Summer of the advisability Of reorgani-
Zation of the local municipal govern
ment was suggested by Chairman
King When the committee approved
the suggestion, the subcommitte was
named, as follows: Senators King, Nc
Carran Democrat, of Nevada, and Cap
per. Republican. of Kansas.
The King resolution does not refer
directly to reorganization, but Senator
King in explaining it to the committee,
said he had in mind submitting a re-
port to the committee at the next SeS-
sion on possible changes in the de-
partments of the city government.