Evening star., 1953-08-18
Civic Leaders
Invited 10 Join
Attack on SIums
Meeting With D. c.
Commissioners Set
For Next Monday

4AC NOA14AAlooAOI1CLO dLtcII1pI 10
do something about WASHINGTON
SlumS gathered momentum today
as civic leaders were invited to
help formulate and carry out a
plan, of attack.
But last night Engineer Com
missioner PrentisS explained on
the televiSion program, Your
Commissioners Report" that
serious consideration must be
given to increasing the District
budget if an appreciabIe inroad
is to be made in slum clearance.
During yesterdays meeting
with various city department
heads. Brig Gen. Prentiss out
lined these next steps:
l. Leaders of the Federation
OF Citizens Associations and the
Federatlon of Civic Associations
VIII be invited to attend the next
meeting of department heads
with the Commissioners at 10
am. next Monday.
2. The citizens and civic as
soclatlons will be asked to form
nelghborhood committees to GET
cooperation for slum program.
Enforcement Try-Out.
3. The blighted areas in the
city will be studied and desig-
mated as blocks in which en-
1orcement of present regulations
VIII be tried. Representatives
from the National Capital Plan
nlng Commission will be asked
to the Monday meeting to dis
cuSS this designation of blocks
4. Voluntary cooperation of
property owners will be sought
t1rst and then followed by en-
1orcement of present regulations.
3. Legislation and regulations
needed to strengthen the city
departments in an attack on
slums viii be drawn.
Gen. PrentiSs cut down the
number of department heads
acting as an informal slum COM
mlttee as yesterdays meeting
ended.
He designated only those di-
fectly involved fire, police,
health and inspections-to help
draw up plan of action in CO.
operation with the citizen rep
resentatives. There and other
department heads were called
together to comment on the
Baltimore Plan and the Young
Plan.
Plan Put Aside.
The Young plan is a program
for ameliorating Slums, here.
adopted by the Commissioners
three years ago but filed away.
1t was drawn by the then-Engi-
neer Commissioner Gordon R,
Young.
The Baltimore plan is the
approach being used in Balti-
more. BaSically, it is an enforce
ment OF health and safety regu-
lationS. It features an overall
housing code and special hous-
ing court, neither of which
Washington has.
Gen. PrentisS said he had de-
cided to call in the citizens
leaders because they can play
a great part in making any
attack on the slums effective.
Gen. PrentiSs said his thinking
was that the citizens groups
could organize block by block
committees to cooperate in the
program. He said he wanted
them in on the formulating of
the plan so they would know
the Commissioners would back
them with enforcement of regu-
lationS.
On the question of outside
toilets, Gen. Prentiss tried to
f1nd out just what Baltimore has
done about them.
John R. Searles,, jr., execu-
tive director of the District Re
development Land Agency, said
he understood the Baltimore plan
went into areas where toilets
were inside except for the first
block or so attacked.
$4,000 Here.
The District has some $4,000
outside toilets, used probably by
more than 100000 residents. The
economic problem of forcing in
stallatlons of inside toilets-it
might cost as much as $2,5O0
per houSe-is problem the city
heads are considering.
j. j. Ilgenfritz, of the In
spectionS Department, said the
present Board of Condemnation
of 1nSanitary Buildings was one
of the best tools the city had
to combat SlumS.
But he pointed out it could
only force people to vacate a
condemned building, not force
the owner to repair or tear it
down.
Mr.. Ilgenfritz recommended
legislation or regulations to re-
quire the elimination of outside
toilets; of insanitary sheds and
fences; power to demoliSh con-
demned buildings. and a single
judge to handle all housing
cases in a special housing court.
Code Held Lacking.
He said the Baltimore housing
code was not specific enough and
probably could not be enforced
here.
On the other hand, he COM
mented the new tenement house
regulations in the District were
so all encompassing that he
doubted if-any tenement house
would be issued a license by the
time the license year expired in
October, because of the inspec-
ton problem.
Corporation Counsel Vernon
E. West also said he felt hous-
ing CODE. to be enforceable in
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