The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1949-05-12
Slurn Clearance Is
Discussed Here
Mayors Committee Makes Re-
port At Meeting Held In City
Hall Last Week.

800 --NN~~
Some time ago Mayor H. L. Mills
appointed a Stun Clearance Com
mittee to investigate slum condi-
tons in the city and make sugges-
tions for their improvement. Mem
bers of the committee were: NJ B.
Rowe, chairman; Charles F. Strole
and John L. Swain.
The committee has done lot of
preliminary work, including the in
vestigation of slum conditions in Bal
timore City, and the results of their
preliminary investigations were dis
cussed at length at a meeting held
in the Mayors Office last week.
Mayor Mills presided at the meet
ing, and among those present were:
Jack Abbott, Jr., city engineer;
Charles w. Smith, city building in
spector; DR.. P F. Prather, county
health officer; Arley o. Sica, repre-
senting the Chamber of Commerce;
Ray Ruth, Jr., of the Junior Cham
Der; Polk Shenk, city sanitary in
spector; Leon CLANCY, dairy inspec-
tor; Mr.. Marshall, representing the
Optimist Club.
During the discussion, which last
ed for nearly two hours, Doctor
Prather promised the full coopera-
ton of the health department in
the cleaning up of the housing situa-
tions, and pointed out that it has
been his experience that kindness
in matters of this nature goes a long
way. He cited in particular the
/ good work that has been done in our
/ local restaurants by the city san
itary inspector, not by hard-boiled
methods, but by showing the food
handlers how to be sanitary and by
working right along with them in
their cleaning up efforts. He said
that at recent school for food hand
lers, IS per cent of the handlers in
Hagerstown voluntarily attended
and when check was made on To-
cal eating establishments it was
found that Hagerstown had the best
record for cleanliness in the State Of
4 Maryland.
Mr.. Swain, of the real estate board
and also member of the committee
told of the police housing court ir
Baltimore, which is in session twice
a week. The policemen on the beats
in the slum sections are instructed tt
be on the lookout for anything de.
fective in the housing that may
cause unSanitary conditions, and Their
report it to the court. They in turr
send out notice asking the tenant
or the landlord, as the case may be
to remove the hazard, and thirty
days is allowed for the matter tt
be taken care of. If at the end o.
the thirty-day period the condi-
ton still exists, the court writes an
other letter extending the time fol
a few days longer. But if at the
end of the second period, the situa
ton still exists, then there is ;
minimum fine of $4,000.
Statistics show that in 1947 the
hazards in Baltimore were reduced
from $4,000 to 2,595, with only l..
800 finally found guilty and fined.
| Mr.. Rowe, chairman of the com
mittee, also reported on the pre-
lminary investigations of his com
mittee since they were appointed.
At the end of the discussion tn,
Mayor appointed Messrs. Rowe
Strole and Swain as a permanen
committee on this important pro
ject and pleaded for the full CO
operation of various civic organiza
tions in the community in order t.
make Hagerstown a better place il
which to live and make living.