Evening star. [volume], January 09, 1940, Page B-1, Image 19

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Washington News Society and General D
WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 1940. B—1
Capper Favors
More Funds for
Crippled Pupils
Senator Cites Local
Needs in Outlining
National Program
A three-point program for aiding
the thousands of crippled children
throughout the United States was
outlined by Senator Capper, Repub
lican, of Kansas in a speech placed
In today's Congressional Record by
** Senator Wiley, Republican, of Wis
consin.
The three recommendations made
by the Kansan are: First, a Nation
wide survey to determine the num
ber, how they became crippled and
what the needs are for treatment
and prevention: second, more ade
quate facilities for treatment
throughout the country and, third,
more adequate appropriations for
schools for crippled children.
Senator Capper, who delivered the
address at a Kiwanis Club luncheon
here several days ago. said the third
need exists here in Washington.
Senator Wiley also attended the
luncheon.
Challenge in Washington.
Referring to the problem locally,
Senator Capper said:
"Right here in Washington the
challenge has been made, and I am
glad that you men of Kiwanis are
accepting it. Your clinic and hos
pitalization for crippled children is
Indeed deserving of praise, as is
your annual Christmas party and |
other work.
"And now another challenge has
been thrown before you, that of set
ting up a school for the crippled
children only of the District of Co
*• lumbia. As I understand the prob- j
lem. at least $2,000 must be raised
to remodel another building and
make it suitable for the needs of
the crippled children.
"The crippled children's school,
as it now exists, was established
by Congress in 1929, and has since
been accommodated by assignment
■s a separate unit in a regular
gcheol—first at the Weightman and
bow at the Langdon School.
n _a ~ o.i_i _ui«
nr ijvuwi
“I have also been told that the
ichool authorities of this city con
Kder it most desirable that the
education of crippled children be in
• separate school building, rather
than a unit of a regular school.
And I understand that this policy
Is approved by the Federal Bureau
of Education" citing in support
thereof that practically every city j
in the United States which has a
population comparable with that of
Washington has such a separate
building for the children of its
erippled children. The Washington
School Board, I am further told,
in pursuance thereof, has for the
m last four or five years included in
its budget an item for appropria
tion to start such a building, but
this item has been stricken in every
case, I believe before it reached
Congress.
“Now, I understand, the building (
at Allison and Thirteenth streets
M. W., which has been used as a j
health school for children threat
ened with tuberculosis, is to be
vacated, and that it can be readily
adapted to the needs of the crippled
children.”
Between 300,000 and 400,000.
Senator Capper estimated there
are between 300.000 and 400.000
crippled children in the United;
States, the number having been in- I
creased considerably a few years j
ago by a wave of infantile paralysis. |
“Important as education is for j
crippled children, equally important
is proper treatment,” said the Sena- j
tor. He described the work of the
“Foundation for Crippled Children j
* at Topeka, which a few of us helped j
to organize at Christmas time in ,
1920, and which is still doing good !
Work.”
He mentioned proper enforcement j
of health and traffic law’s as im- |
portant in preventing children from
becoming crippled, and said preven
tion has not yet been given the at
tention it should receive.
Mrs.Amelia B. Montague
Dies After Long Illness
Mrs. Amelia B. Montague, widow
«f William D. Montague, one-time
license clerk of the District, died
yesterday after a long illness at
her home, 1326 T street N.W.
An invalid many years, she was
at one time active in affairs of
the Y. W. t. A. and Woman's
Christian Temperance Union.
A native of New Bedford. Mass.,
Mrs. Montague had lived in Wash
ington 60 years.
She leaves a daughter, Mrs. Alex
eine Montague Cobb; a grandson,
Dr. W. Montague Cobb, and two
great-granddaughters, all of this
city.
Funeral services will be held at
1 pm. Thursday at the home, with
burial in Harmony Cemetery.
Volunteer Aid Praised
By Jewish Agency Head
Volunteer service of professional
men has played an important part
In the success of family welfare
work of the Jewish Social Service
Agency, Board President Joseph A.
Wilner said in making his annual
report last night in the Hebrew
Home for the Aged.
Morris Cafritz, Nehemiah Cohen,
Mrs. S. M. Davis, Allen de Ford,
Norman Fischer, Hymen Goldman,
Sidney Haas. Dr. Alec Horwitz, Mrs.
William Levy, Maj. Jesse I. Miller,
Cantor Louis Novick, Herbert Rich
and Isa dote S. Turover were elected
members of the board for three
year terms. Named for two years
were Robert Rothstein and Mrs.
Bernard L. Wilner.
McNutt to Discuss Far East
Paul V. McNutt, Federal Security
4 Administrator, will discuss problems
and conditions in the Far East with
members of the Princeton Club of
Washington at a luncheon in the
Cosmos Club tomorrow at 12:30
o'clock.
CHEERING THE CHIEF—The President gets a rousing greeting when he arrives with his son,
Franklin, jr., who still wears a patch over an injury received in a recent automobile accident.
Applauding are Postmaster General Farley and Speaker of the House Bankhead.
—
There were empty places where the invited Republicans would have sat had they accepted
invitations to the dinner. One opposition party member did put cash on the line for the din
ner. He was Judge John P. McMahon of Police Court (left), who sat with Judge George Aukum
of Municipal Court and Corporation Counsel El wood Seal (right).
Mrs. James Cromwell, the former Doris Duke (left), whose husband has been named United
States Minister to Canada, and Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt, jr„ were among those attending the
$100-a-plate Jackson Day fete. It was Mrs. Roosevelt’s first appearance since a recent auto ac
cident and a slight scar from an injury she received is visible on her forehead.
b _—_— -—-■— -
The President and Vice President Garner, both possibilities
for the 1940 presidential nomination, shown together at the
dinner. (Story on Page A-l.) —Star Staff and A. P. Photos.
D. C. Leads 24 Mates
In Payments of
Internal Revenue
Total Collections for
Nation Show 8.4 Pet.
Decrease in 1939
Although it has only 0.48 per
cent of the population of the coun
try. the District of Columbia, dur
ing the fiscal year 1939 contributed
more than its per capita share of
all United States internal revenue
payments—0.58 per cent—which is
more than payments by any one of
24 States and territories.
This was disclosed by Commis
sioner of Internal Revenue Guy V.
Helvering in his annual report,
which showed that total collections
of internal revenue taxes during the
year, throughout the country de
creased from 1938 by 8.4 per cent.
The drop was from $5,658,765,314 in
1938 to $5,181,573,953 in 1939 .
The District's population, on which
the figures were based, was 627,000
‘•estimated” by the Bureau of Census
as of July 1, 1937.
$16,896,583 in Income Tax.
The District paid $16,896,583 in
come taxes, including excess profits,
which was 0.78 per cent of the total;
$5,839,501 miscellaneous internal
revenue, which was 0.26 per cent;
but $7,404,157 in pay roll taxes (col
lections under the Social Security
and Carriers Acts) which was 1.00
per cent of the total, or more than
the amounts paid by any one of 33
States and territories.
The District's internal revenue
collections which were 0.58 of the
total for the country, amounted to
$30,140,243.
The nearby States of Virginia and
Maryland also ranked higher in in
ternal revenue payments, than they
did in poulation, paying more than
their per capita share into the Fed
eral till for support of the United
States Government.
Virginia ranked high in miscel
laneous taxes because of the big
miscellaneous tobacco tax. While
containing a population of 2,706,000,
or only 2 09 per cent of the popula
tion. Virginia turned in 7.84 per cent
of the miscellaneous taxes, which
were exceeded by only 16 States in
the Union. Virginia paid miscel
laneous taxes of $177,479,686, while
the total internal revenue tax from
the Old Dominion amounted to 4.11
per cent of the total, or $212,823,323.
Virginia paid $25,273,933 in in
come taxes, which was 1.16 per cent
of the total, and $10,069,702 in pay
roll taxes, which was 1.36 per cent
of the total.
raaryiana ui o
Maryland, with 159 per cent of
population, was ahead of its per
capita share in income, miscellane
ous and pay roll levies. Maryland
taxpayers turned in $43,939,127 in
come tax, which was 2.02 per cent
of the total; $50,735,975 in miscel
laneous tax, which was 2.24 per cent
of the total, and $11,843,081 in pay
roll taxes, which amounted to 1.60
per cent of the total for the country.
Maryland's total internal revenue
contributions were $106,518,184,
which amounted to 2.06 per cent
of the total.
New York, as usual, led the coun
try with only 9.9 per cent of the
population, but 20.30 per cent of the
entire internal revenue. Its income
tax alone amounted to $557598,675
which was more than a fourth of the
total, or 25.60 per cent. The New
York internal revenue total, the only
one to top $1,000,000,000, soared to a
height of $1,051,943,244.
Pennsylvania, with its city of
Philadelphia, was second in amount
and percentage, contributing a total
of $438,671,901, or 8.47 per cent of the
total.
Illinois Is Third.
Illinois, with Chicago, stood third
with $436,320,056. which was 8.42 per
cent of the total.
North Carolina was next in line,
with its big tobacco tax bringing
total revenues up to $310,608,405,
which was an even 6 per cent of
the total. ......
The cost of collecting the total of
$5,181,573,953 during the year was
$113 per $100, as compared with
$1.03 for 1938, an increase of an even
dime on the $100.
Commissioner Helvering reviewed
at some length the changes in law
affecting taxes and the bureau dur
ing the fiscal year 1939.
The Intelligence Unit, it was re
ported, made 987 investigations of
alleged evasions of income and mis
cellaneous taxes, which resulted in
the recommendation for prosecution
of 289 cases, involving 489 indivi
duals. There were 81 convictions on
this charge, and only one acquittal.
Judge Bentley Seeks
Revision in District's
Illegitimacy Laws
Present Act Contains
No Provision for Care
After Age of 14, She Says
The District's existing laws re
garding illegitimate children are
ambiguous and in need of immedi
ate revision. Judge Fay Bentley of
the Juvenile Court yesterday told
a meeting of the Child Welfare
Committee of the local Council
of Social Agencies at the Y. W.
C. A.
Terming the Act of 1912 an anac
ronism, Judge Bentley called for a
prompt revision to meet a “very real
need” for children and their
mothers.
"These young mothers need the
protection of a court that can give
the most social of legal interpreta
tions to an act,” Judge Bentley
said. She cited figures gathered
during 1938, in which year 1,092
illegitimate children were born in
the District. Five hundred of the
mothers were 18 years of age, or
less, she said.
The “inconsistency” of the
present act was pointed out by
Judge Bentley who stated it made
no provisions for the care of such
children after reaching the age of
14, although •strict laws hold that
children must attend school until
16 years old. A new act should
bridge this two-year gap, she said.
Other Provisions Needed.
Provisions, also, must be made
for caring of children whose par
ents live Just outside of the District,
and the revised law should make
some provision for the cost of con
finement .of unwed mothers as well
as funeral expenses in the event
of death of the child, she insisted.
Mrs. Louis Ottenberg, chairman
of the legislative subcommittee of
the Child Welfare group and pre
siding officer at yesterday’s meet
ing, said the $25,000 additional ap
propriation in the new budget for
the Board of Public Welfare was
inadequate for its present needs.
Urges Welfare Law Amendment.
Mrs. Spencer Gordon, a member
of the Public Welfare Board and
opening speaker on the program,
urged the group of social workers
to lend their support in a propossed
amendment to the public welfare
law. Under the present regulation,
she said, it was impossible for the
board to lend aid to dependent chil
dren without a court commitment.
The speaker revealed that 500 of
the 2,000 wards now under the
board's care were cases of illegiti
macy.
The nnai speaicer, miss Agnes
Hanna of the United States Chil
dren’s Bureau, reported that only
four States have no agencies for
the care of children .
Short reports were made by Mrs.
Olive W. Swlnney, a member of the
legislative subcommittee; Mrs. Herb
ert N. Budlong, representing the
Voteless D. C. League of Women
Voters, and Dr.’Grete Lens of the
Council of Social Agencies.
12-Degree Cold Due
Tonight; Slight Rise
Forecast Tomorrow
Workers Busy Clearing
Streets; Many Are
Hurt in Falls
M _ __ __in m Ja
A lie 1UC1V.U1 >
| grees in Washington tonight, the
weather man said this morning.
He saw no letup in the biting
cold which has gripped the city
for the last two weeks, predicting
that tomorrow would bring only a
slight rise in temperatures. The
sun, which was shining today, will
duck behind clouds tomorrow, it
was forecast.
The mercury backslid during the
night, reaching a low of 20 degrees
ot 7 am. The high during the night
wac degrees, recorded at 3 a.m.
Gutters Being Cleared.
More than 1,000 laborers toiled
through the night, hacking away at
the edges of the ice that covered
the city’s streets and hauling the
heaped-up snow away from curbs.
Gutters are being cleared in prepa
ration for a thaw.
Only one traffic accident was re
ported overnight. The victim was
10-year-old Robert Stewart, colored,
of 616 Gordon afenue N.E., who
was treated at Casualty Hospital for
a possible leg fracture after being
hit by a car in the 600 block of
Third street N.E. He was allowed to
return home.
TVyo 9 innVtpe rtf ennw which lflV
on the sidewalks and streets brought
grief to pedestrians. Scores were
injured in falls, police reported.
Those who received hospital treat
ment included:
George P. Pates, 46, 41 New York
avenue N.W.; Delea S. Pitcher, 65,
3910 McKinley street N.W.; Mary
Chase, 44, colored, of 2427 Snows
court N.W.; Willis Smith, 22, Hyatts
ville, Md.; Marie Gaines, 28, 1629
Sixteenth street N/W-; Turin Boone,
60, 3435 Brown street N.W.; Joseph
O’Connor, 70,1425 Thirty-fifth street
N.W.; Nicy Bond, 20, colored, 408%
New Jersey avenue N.W.; Etta
Wright, 60, 304 E street N.E.; Myrtle
B. Ledman, 36, 1726 Thirty-fourth
street N.W.; Frances Jackson, 52,
colored, 3112 Thirteenth street N.W.,
and John Foster, 35, colored, 2528 I
street N.W.
At 4 pm. yesterday 35 hills were
closed to traffic and turned over to
sledders. The Lincoln Memorial Re
flecting Pool, however, was covered
with snow and useless to skaters.
Park authorities said that no pro
vision had been made to clear the
snow away.
The Animal Protective Association
appealed to Washingtonians to put
food out for birds and squirrels while
the snow is on the ground.
Dr. Cunliffe to Speak
Dr. Rex B. Cunliffe, president of
the National Vocational Guidance
Association, will address the District
Guidance and Personnel Association
at an informal dinner tonight at
6:15 o'clock at 1703 K street N.W.
Park Beauty and Recreation
Go Hand in Hand in Cincinnati
Commission More Than Triples Area,
Develops It by Relief Labor
The third of a series of articles
comparing parks and recreation
facilities of other cities with those
of the District of Columbia.
By RUDOLPH KAUFFMANN II,
St»r Staff Correspondent.
CINCINNATI (by Mail (.—Cin
cinnati has adopted and has used
effectively for some years a Recre
ation Commission such as is proposed
for the District of Columbia by H.
S. Wagner and Charles G. Sauers,
collaborators who recently made
their reports on the National Capi
tal parks to Secretary of the In
terior Ickes.
It has accomplished much. It has
taken a meager, down-at-the-heel
playground system of some 300
acres, has tripled its acreage, devel
oped to a stage previously unknown
and increased service to the com
munity many times over. It has
convinced the Cincinnati Board of
Park Commissioners that parks have
far wider possibilities for public
service than providing mere beauty.
It has convinced the Cincinnati
Board of Education that school
grounds have extracurricular value.
It has convinced other public
agencies that it is worthwhile to
turn over land for and spend money
on recreation facilities.
Politics Avoided.
The ability of the commission to
accomplish these things lies largely
in its makeup. On the commission
serve a member of the Board of
Education, a member of the Board
of Park Commissioners and three
representatives taken at large.
Members of the Recreation Com
mission are appointed and are un
paid. No politics affect the policies
of the group, therefore, and essen
tial points of view are represented.
Because the commission members
carry weight in the community, the
director of recreation, Tam Deering,
has been able to get, at times, as
much as 30- per cent of all relief
labor in Cincinnati, a special tax
levy to support its work and ap
propriations from the City Council.
The commission owns no land
outright. Title is vested in the
city, in the Board of Education or
in the Board of Park Commis
sioners. By begging, borrowing,
leasing and otherwise getting the
use of parcels of land from a wide
range of land-holding organizations
(some of them private), there are
now about 1.000 acres of land de
voted to both supervised and un
supervised recreation in Cincinnati,
from crocheting to football, from
golf to making sand pies.
Relief-Labor Built.
Relief labor has been able prac
tically to build the entire system as
it now stands. W. P. A., P. E. R. A.,
C. W. A., N. Y. A. and local relief
have brought the areas from noth
ing but land to complete play areas,
equipped with field houses, playing
fields, heat, light, water, sewer sys
tems—everything needed with which
to put on a wide-range program to
occupy the leisure time of the
public.
Relief labor was even used for
maintenance work until prohibited.
Transient unemployed, cared for
by the city welfare department,
were taken, for instance, to do;
maintenance work on golf courses,
given planty of tobacco, never taken ;
near a railroad and brought back to
the welfare department at the day's
end.
The commission's influence has
been able to provide a recreation
staff under Mr. Deering which, he
complains, is inadequate but which
far surpasses anything allowed
Lewis R. Barrett, director of recrea
tion for the District of Columbia.
Besides a wide variety of program
leaders in a wide variety of fields,
Mr. Deering has at his disposal his
own engineers, his own architects. \
his own landscape experts and
draftsmen, his own maintenance
crew.
Results Habitual.
Although the Cincinnati Recrea
tion Commission still has a long
road to travel, it now has more for
the observer to see than does Wash
ington's combined Community Cen
ter and Playground Department
under Mr. Barrett. Further, it has
produced results consistently.
In the last five years the commis
sion has brought the total of tennis
courts available from 50 to 150 and
has built 95 new baseball diamonds.
Here’s a sample of the work done
in one year f>y relief labor on rec
reation projects: Six concrete ten
nis courts, 24 courts resurfaced, 4
softball diamonds built, one hard
ball diamond built, 17 backstops, 34
horseshoe courts, 1 floodlighting
system, 3 swimming pools, 10 areas
fenced, 29 buildings rehabilitated,
21 children’s swimming pools re
conditioned, 1 shuffleboard area, 1
slide, 39 horizontal bars, 4 hockey
fields, 4 handball courts, 1 roque
court, 2 magazine racks, 4 book
ends, 2 card file boxes, 6 book racks.
8 tables, 2 racks for storing golf
clubs, 5 home plates, 5 pressure
feeding guns for trees, 6 tennis
court tool houses, 2 trailers, 4 draw
ing file cabinets, 6 miniature doll
houses, 5 refreshment booths, 1 golf
practice net, 2 awnings repaired, 6
collapsible ping pong tables, 305
baseball bats, 210 horseshoe boxes,
815 benches, 340 ping pong paddles,
272 table tennis paddles, 200
wooden bases, 100 park benches re
paired, 701 tennis nets, 315 volley
ball nets, 175 basket ball nets, and
so on and so forth for as many
more items.
nur» ana jukiiu mean nrcreuion.
These were either built, executed
or made by relief labor besides a
large amount of grading, grubbing,
pipe laying and other things. Only
such things as this added to land
can make a recreation system.
Cincinnati’s Recreation Commis
sion has 42 developed playgrounds.
It is heading for a minimum of 115.
Washington had open last summer
116 playgrounds, but the majority
of them were small school play
grounds of less than 1 acre and
many of the larger grounds were
still in virtually the same condition,
plus a little grading, they were in
when acquired, some of them as
much as 10 years ago.
For years the National Capital
I Park and Planning Commission has
r.
had a plan on paper for a recrea
tion system for Washington, utiliz
ing playgrounds, schools and parks
as well as land owned by other local
and Federal agencies in the District
of Columbia. Under the Capper
Cram ton Act land has been bought,
not fast enough to get ahead of real
estate developers, nor enough of it.
There have been practically no
funds with which to develop the
land, W. P. A projects have been
few. small and limited to unskilled
grading for the most part. Mainte
nance funds have not increased in
the least with a material increase
in land.
It is logical to assume that, if a
commission representing schools,
parks and citizens can make con
sistent strides toward realization of
Cincinnati’s plans, it might be able
to do the same in Washington.
Rugged Topography.
The Cincinnati Board of Park
Commissioners is an organization
which, in comparison to the Recrea
tion Commission, is hallowed by
long tradition. Its large areas, total
ing several thousand acres, crown
the hills which give this Southern
Ohio metropolis its rugged topog
raphy. For years the board oper
ated its park in the tradition of
Versailles, let us say. or Meridian
Hill Park, to give a Washington ex
ample. The public was expected to
be soothed and recreated through
appreciation of planting, a con
servatory rivaling the Botanical
Gardens in Washington and broad
vistas of the sweeping Ohio River
winding down from the Kentucky
hills.
Recently it has streamlined its
views, partly due to the “education"
of its member serving on the Recre
ation Commission and partly due to
the example set by Cincinnati's em
bryonic metropolitan park system,
planned to rival that of Cleveland
some dav.
Saw Public's Eagerness.
In Sharon Woods, only area com
pleted as yet in the Hamilton
County metropolitan park district,
the public may boat, swim, play
golf and follow other recreative
pursuits as well as appreciate
beauty. When the Board of Park
Commissioners saw thousands flock
to this newr area, it began to change
its views. It started installing picnic
benches, tables and fireplaces, build
ing clubhouses which could be rent
ed for parties and other practical
facilities. It started, for instance, a
nature appreciation program for
children equaled in few other
places.
The Park Board, in short, found
that parks are always to be beauti
ful but can be beautiful and at the
same time afford a much wider use
to those who pay the bill.
A. M. Husted, director-secretary
of the Hamilton County metropol
itan park district, is endeavoring,
and with apparent success, to give
Cincinnati's metropolitan popula
tion such a country park system as
Cleveland’s or Akron’s. His one area
developed so far compares favorably
with other such systems. Land is in
the process of being acquired and
developed (by C. C. C. and other
relief labor not under contract) at
the present time.
Will Visit’ Hospital
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt will
visit Children’s Hospital tomorrow
morning during the special clinic
checkup of infantile paralysis vic
tims. The clinic will be followed by
a luncheon at the hospital,
\ *
A. D. A. Plans
Periodic Checks
On Housing
Report Tells of
Plans to See if
Needs Are Met
Declaring there is no doubt but
that “a large proportion” of low
income families here are housed
“in unfit dwellings and under con
ditions of gross overcrowding,” the
Alley Dwelling Authority today told
the President in its annual report
that periodic checkups are to be
made to determine if housing needs
are being met adequately.
The report also disclosed that the
authority's work had expanded
greatly under the development pro
cedure fostered through the United
States Housing Authority.
The authority went into some de
tail on the checkup program.
“During the last few years,” it ex
plained, “there has been a great
volume of residential construction in
and near the District of Columbia
for families in comfortable circum
stances. But this has not reached,
either directly or indirectly, the
families of low income. So there is
not the slightest question that a
large proportion of them are living
in unfit dwellings and under condi
tions of gross overcrowding.
Survey to Initiate Policy.
“But as the public housing pro
gram continues, there may arise
question as to whether the need is
being adequately met. As already
stated, it is the Alley Dwelling Au
thority's policy to assure an ade
quate supply of good low-rental
dwellings. If this supply is provided
by private owners the authority is
relieved of responsibility. In order
that there may be no question as to
the adequacy of supply in the future
the authority believes there should
be a periodic stock-taking. As a
beginning of this it proposes a sur
vey of housing conditions among
families of low income in Wash
ington.
iJUiCiuiUiV , mu um v unuii uauv'u
available as to the number of low
income families, their distribution
as to race and the size of such
families, came from the tables of
the real property inventory in which
all field work was performed in Jan
uary. 1934. At best, this is an out
dated and incomplete guide for an
agency whose planning must take
into consideration the composition
of low-income families, the number
of families in the various economic
strata generally referred to as "low
income" and the present housing
! conditions of such families. It is
j the hope of the authority that such
information can be obtained by its
own staff in a specialized study
which will automatically exclude
families whose financial position
i would place them above and beyond
{ the scope of the authority’s pro
; gram.”
Cites Activity Increase.
In explaining how activities had
increased in the last year, the au
thority said that from 1935 to 1933
it had prepared architectural plans
and specifications for the construc
tion of 101 dwellings and 3fi com
mercial structures and for the re
modeling of 11 additional dwellings.
Under the immediate program un
dertaken with the assistance of the
U. S. H. A., however, it is proposed
to design more than 2.000 dwellings
1 with appurtenant non-dwelling
| structures, streets and open areas.
"The work of the Alley Dwelling
Authority for the next fiscal year
1 is dependent upon its financial re
sources,” the report said. "At the
present time, there has been ear
marked for its use by the United
States Housing Authority the sum
of $15,000,000. Of this amount,
$10,858,000 is under loan contract.
The Alley Dwelling Authority pro
poses with the sum under contract
to reclaim five slum areas and to
develop two vacant land areas, the
latter to provide for the surplus
population due to operations in the
slums. The completion of these
projects will extend into the fiscal
year 1941. Meanwhile, the authority
plans to initiate additional projects
that will utilize the remainder of
the earmarking. If other funds are
made available they can be utilized,
as the immediate program is only
a beginning of what should be done.’*
A tabulation appended to the re
port showed that in the 15 alley
areas w'here developments were un
dertaken under the Alley Dwelling
Act 205 dwelling units were demol
ished. The land cost $376,706. which
was 112.4 per cent of the assessed
value of $335,014. giving the prop
erty a value of $1.38 a square foot.
Would Build 2,244 Units.
Under the U. S. H. A. program,
it is proposed to wipe out 1,208 dwell
ing units and build 2,244.
As of June 30 last there had been
seven commercial and five housing
projects completed under the alley
law, at a total cost slightly in ex
cess of $801,000.
The policy that has guided the
authority in the alley cleanup is
summed up. as follows:
“Having had experience as to the
cost of slums, it is obvious that the
authority, in building new dwell
ings, must set standards which will
assure that these new dwellings will
not become new slums, but will con
tinue to be assets for the whole pe
riod during which they are being
amortized. The erection of mere
‘sanitary shelters’ would simply
start the slum cycle once more.
“At the same time the authority
has practiced the utmost economy.
Its low-rent dwellings are simply
but attractively designed and con
structed of inexpensive, durable ma
terials.”
Appeal Issued for 100
Coats for Veterans
The President's Own Garrison, 104,
Army and Navy Union, today issued
an appeal for 100 overcoats to taka
care of 100 needy veterans.
P. S* Gardner, chairman of the
Overcoat Committee, said the first
appeal had been made three weeks
ago, but only three overcoats had,
been received. Coats should be sent
to the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines’
Club, 1015 L street N.W.