Evening star., 1949-07-08
SIum CIeuronce's Blind Alley

Speaking of alleys, it is hard to imagine
an alley more devious and more obscure
as to ultimate destination than the one
down which WaShingtonS Slum clearance
program is vending its faltering way. The
program is beset with legislative confusion,
lack of funds and "go slow" or stop" signs
respecting projects already carefully
planned Once pointed toward Marshall
Heights, it now is confronted with detour
warning and a proposal that an entirely
new master PLAN be drawn up. All OF
which seems to be leading exactly nowhere.
The developing maze is in distressing
contrast to the bright path which seemed
to open up when Congress passed the Dis
trict Slum Clearance and Redevelopment
Act in 1916. That law was not the result OF
hasty and ill-considered action at the
Capitol 1t came only after conlprehen-
sive and exhaustive investigation of the
Capitals disgraceful slum conditions by
the Burton subcommittee of the Senate
District Committee That committee held
hearings for six months and received
testimony that required three printed
volumes to record. The subcommittee had
the benefit, in addition, of voluminous
testimony of previous years regarding
Washingtons alley dwellings and public
housing needs.
Moved by the Burton Subcommittee re-
port, Congress created the District Land
Redevelopment Agency for the purpose OF
making an all-out attack on the city's
slum problems So that the agency's au-
thority would be supreme in that field,
OF fho
National Capital Housing Authority of its
land-acquisition powers. A $2o,0OO,0 900
slum clearance and housing redevolpment
program was "authoriZed." But there is
big gap between an authorization and an
appropriation, as the agency was to find
out. To-day the Land Redevelopment
Agency is as devoid of funds as it was the
day it was created.
This was the situation when one of the
recurrent spring tours OF alleys by men,
bers of Congress took place several months
ago. The usual outcries of horror over the
conditions in Schott's and other notorious
alleys near the Capitol went up and the
usual camera studies foreground: trash;
background: CapitoD appeared in the Ma
tons press. The demands for action have
brought the most peculiar and confound-
ing results The national housing bill was
amended to include the District Land Re-
development Agency as potential bene-
ficiary of housing funds. Land-acquisi-
ton powers (within the District only OF
the National Capital Housing Authority
were restored, which has the apparent
effect of putting another slum clearance
outfit in the local field. The request OF
the Land Redevelopment Agency for funds
with which to start the redevelopment of
Marshall Heights, No. / problem area
chosen by the agency and the District
Commissioners, was denied by the House.
To make sure that the Marshall Heights
project was killed, provision was inserted
in the national housing legislation to
prevent use of any housing money for any
project previously rejected by Congress.
To top off this dizzy record Senate
subcommittee, after denying requests OF
Senator McCarran for appropriation OF the
full $20000,000 authorized in 1946 and OF
General Grant for $5,000,000 appropria-
ton, has approved $50,000 fund, believe
1t or not, to restudy the whole SUM
clearance program and to prepare an
other master plan" Thus, the tortuous
course of Washington's much-heralded
slum eradication program seems to be
curving back to its starting point of three
years ago. It is all very disheartening to
those who have been fighting so tirelessly
to rid the city of its blighted areas. And
1t is most discreditable record for
legislative body whose members, in many
instances, have been among the more
vociferous advocates of immediate reme-
dial action.