Evening star., 1941-01-11
A. D. A. Stresses
Acute Shortage
In Housing
Poorer Class Hardest
Hit, IhIder Report
To Congress Says

An acute housing shortage tina
"bears with especial severity upor
the poorer people" adds to the diff
culties of the Alley Dwelling Au
thority in rehousing low-incomt
families of Washington, Executiv,
Officer John Ihlder stressed in hi!
annual report to Congress, made
public today.
Because the 1910 fiscal year Was
the most active in the history of the
agency, the A. D. A. met request Of
Congress by including in its report
a general statement covering activi-
ties through October. The fiscal year
which ended June 80, 1910, saw the
beginning of or completion of nint
housing projects, five of which in
volve slum clearance. All are being
financed through loans from the
United States Housing Authority.
The program now under con-
struction and planning provide!
homes for approximately 1,700 fami.
lies. Of these, it was reported, 54t
will be for white occupancy and the
remainder for colored families. The
reason why most of the new dwell
ling units are for the latter is be-
cause the local housing shortage
constitutes a greater problem fol
them, it was explained.
Two Projects Partly Occupied.
The program excludes 1856 dwell
ling units built and occupied in
previous years under separate au-
thorization. In addition, the A. D
A. has permitted tenants of old
dwellings, bought for slum, recla-
nation, to continue occupancy for
varying periods in order that they
may have better opportunity to find
other homes. During the year it
has managed $50 such occupied old
dwellings.
Two of the projects in the U. S.
H. A. financed program are now
partly occupied, another will be
opened this spring, and the fourth
in midsummer. Architectural plans
are about completed for three other
projects, and land acquisition is still
under way for the remaining two.
1t is expected that bids will be
opened January "a for construction
of the Kelly Miller dwellings. This
project will comprise about ITS
dwelling units in the vicinity of
Howard University.
Dreary Picture of Conditions.
The report presents dreary pic
ture of housing conditions in Wash
ington for poor families. The use of
four vacant land areas in connection
with the program, Mr.. Ihlder said,
is due to the acute shortage of de-
cent housing for families of low
income that has resulted in gross
house overcroWding."
The report adds: THE housing
shortage bears with especial severity
upon the poorer people, many of
whom live a family to a room in
cid, dilapidated dwellings. In one
case the Authority last winter
found an old house occupied by
family in each of four rooms, 10 per-
sons in all. 13 of them children. The
toilet facilities we're in the rear and
could not be heated, as the plumb
ing was frozen and broken. Other
houses bought during the year were
in almost as bad condition.
THE authority's purpose is grad
ually to rid the Capital City of it's
worst dwellings, in that way grad
ually raising the bottom and at
the same time provide other and
fit dwellings for a population equal
to that which is replaced. This
program is complicated by the fact
that other Federal agencies in need
of Office buildings have demolished
the dwellings of many low-income
families. This intensifies present
overcroWding
Enough Decent Homes for All.
The report said that the problem
does not necessarily mean that
identical families move from abol-
ished dwellings to new ones. What
it does mean, Mr.. Ihlder pointed
out, is that when the Authority's
objectives are achieved there will
be enough decent dwellings for all.
Meanwhile" he said, most dis
placed families prefer to remain in
the neighborhood where they have
been living because of work, school,
church and other connections. Some
of their neighbors, however, prefer
to move to more outlying sections
and so will make room for those who
wish to stay downtown"
AS the Authority seeks the worst
areas for its slum reclamation, the
report stressed, it finds that the
large majority of occupants are COL
ored. So 1t makes the majority of
its new dwellings available for COL
ored families.
In Washington the slum areas
are spotty," it added" good dwell
ings mixed with bad. The authority
therefore does not take all the
houses in an area, but leaves those
that meet minimum housing stand
ards.
Sites in Different Sections.
THE authority has selected sites
In different sections of the District,
partly in the hope that this will
stimulate new private building.
This hope has been in a measure
fulfilled. Wherever there have been
vacant lots in or adjacent to
A. D. A. sites, private dwellers have
erected new houses. But they have
not bought or cleared away old
houses before building. This would
make a site more expensive, so
they have left that for the authority
to do"
In addition to the Kelly Miller
Dwellings, the eight projects on
which the Alley Dwelling Authority
Is now working are as follows:
Fort Dupont Dwellings, Anacostia.
About so dwellings out of 326 COM
pleted and occupied, the remainder
to be ready in few weeks. white
tenantS)
Alley Slum Cleared.
Ellen Wilson Dwellings, Seventh
and I streets Sc, its site having
been one of the largest and most
notorious alley slums" in the Dis
trict. Full occupancy scheduled in
q hoIlt a month Homes to r,rovide