The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-12-09
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
BY CLARENCE ANDERSON

Ting that Is not uniform, but uneven, resulting
in cracked wainscoting, gaping siding. sloping
floors, angular uncloseable crevices in window
frames and doorways, falling plaster, leaky
plumbing and all the rest that goes with physical
deterioration, including dry-rotted wood that
easily yields doorways to rodent teeth.
In these areas of substandard housing build
ings frequently lean on each other il too old to
stand by themselves. Yet curiously, some people
blame this physical deterioration upon those who
live in the buildings. The curious critics don't
of course, explain the technique whereby q ten
ant prevents his house from leaning on its an
cient neighbor.
A building that is close enough to lean upon
its neghbor Is, however, too close for the health
Of either its own or the neighbours inhabitants.
Daylight-or sunlight, the enemy Of tuberculosis
never enters its rooms.
Little wonder that the T.B. rate is enormously
greater in the areas Of substandard housing.
And. like rats, TB. shows no discrimination be-
cause of creed, color nationality. Like rats, it
finds most of its victims in the slums.
Delinquency is another kind of non-discrim-
mating slum disease. 1t is a name given to the
crimes of boys who get caught and whose names
and addresses 60 record This kind of prob
lem, like TB. and rats is also particularly con-
centrated in the slum.
II you take several City of Detroit maps and
stick pins into spot locations Of home addresses
of people involved, respectively, in crime, TB.
rat bite, and many other diseases and social prob
lens, you will find the great majority Of your
pins on all of the maps heavily concentrated in
Detrot's oldest sections, particularly the inner
boulevard area.
No matter what the race, nationality or creed
Of those who live in substandard housing their
kids are more likely to get caught for crimes
than all the kids in the rest Of the city put
together.
This is borne out by exhaustive studies of
American cities under Sociologist Clifford Shaw.
These show how different nationality groups sue
cessively settled. one following the other, in
slums. While living there each group showed
greatly dsproportonately higher rates than
other parts Of their city in crime, delinquency.
suicide. moral laxity, physical diseases and all
the problems that flesh is heir to. Whether the
slum jewellers were white or black, whether they
were Swedish German. Italian, Polish. Sicilian
or any other nationality il made no difference
Each group was just as bad" as the other-we
assume. just as good" though the good" is not
recorded
This badness" of each was aptly illustrated
by an elderly Cleveland police officer. He pointed
to a street corner in the oldest substandard hous-
ing section. For ffty-ive years" he said, we've
had killings regularly on this particular corner.
AT first il was the Germans and Swedes: they
moved to other parts of the city; the Italians
moved in; then came a mixture OF nationalities,
including some Jews; they too scattered: and
now it's all Negro.
And now" we suggested, 'the Negroes are
being blamed for the city's crime rate?"
That's right" came the reply, there's more
trouble here than anywhere else"
Naively we asked. viii the Negroes, also
move? Will they, like the Germans, Italians anc
other assimilated Americans. be given q chanes
10 scatter to other neishborhoodsi"