MEAN STREETS

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 126, 23 November 1918, Page 8

MEAN STREETS

THE CITY BACK AREAS

CLEANING-UP CAMPAIGN,

Tke knowledge which has come to many voluntary workers in the epidemic has led to a movement for the permanent cleaning up and improvement of the back streets of the city. A reporter who made inquiries of the principal officers engaged in this work found them all in agreement as to the urgency of the question. The inspectors are still so busy endeavouring to remedy undesirable conditions, at least for the time being, that a detailed report of their discoveries is not yet available. Their experiences and conclusions may, hoWever, be given in a,general way.

Wellington Central is probably the most congested area and the most difficult to deal with. The number of cases described as deplorable is very great. In very many instances the crowding of the houses and the dilapidated state of the dwellings make any attempt at cleanliness and hygiene very discouraging. This district was referred to as a locality which badly needed attention. Leaky roofs are common, and sinks out of order are by no means rare. Houses are of an old and insanitary type, which would be bad enough if they were, occupied ■by in; dividual families, but when two or three families are packed into a building only intended for one, the condition becomes hopeless. "The only thing to do With some blocks of buildings ie to burn them," said one worker; "repairs cannot be thought of." OVERCROWDING THE WORST EVIL. "I have just come from seeing Mr. Fraser, who is down with the disease," said the Eev. Robertson Orr, who has charge of Wellington North. "He remarked that it appeared to him, that half Wellington required to be rebuilt." „Mr. Orr's own investigations and the reports .of his helpers tend to confirm the truth of what Mr. Fraser. found in Wellington Central. When the ; houses are old, and packed closely together, the disease has found most victims. "We have taken, five dead from that 'little alley," said Mr. Orr, pointing to a narrow, blind alley off a 6treet which is not one of the worst in Thorndon. .He had a doctor's word for'it that some of the places adjacent .to Thorndonquay were as bad as anything, to' be found in Glasgow. The evils he placed in the following order:—First, overcrowding ; second, uncleanliness; third, insanitary conditions. Rows of houses which appeared reasonably decent from the street proved on investigation to be full of the disease. Further, it took a great deal of time and'trouble to induce people to regard hygienic laws. Even in nouses which, judging by the furniture, were occupied by people of fairly good station, there was in evidence a disregard for cleanliness and the precautions which would prevent the spread of disease. In Tinakori-road and off it there were some terribly dilapidated and dirty places. A temporary ' cleaning to tide the people over the epidemic would not, Mr. Orr said, be sufficient. There must be a sustained effort to bring about better conditions; MUST BE MORE INSPECTION. Workers in Wellington East consider that their district is probably not the worst. It'is not % so crowded as Central, for example,' except in one quarter. Yet the conditions have beens quite bad enough to convince them of the need for drastic remedy. "First of all," said one gentleman, " there must be a thorough cleaning up of backyards. I don't know what the system of inspection is, or what the powers of the authorities are; but there should be power to enter every house, from the Governor-General's to the lowest. The inspectors should work'! in couples, a man to attend to the backyards and the outside of the house, and a sensible woman who understands housekeeping and hygiene to see that the in,side of the house is not in the condition that induces bad, health and breeds dis j ease." Some instances of overcrowding and personal uncleanliness were given— some of them were nothing less than revolting. Five families in four rooms was ai example. Every tenement house should be under supervision, and by tene : ment houses the speaker meant every place in which a portion of the dwelling was sub-let.' This apparently was the, only way in which overcrowding could be prevented. In many-, cases the people themselves were to blame for the conditions of their homes; but in others the families were cleanly and decent) striving in an unfavourable environment to keep themselves respectable. One fourroomed house was cited, where six people occupied two bedrooms—one with no window, only a small skylight. The home was spotlessly clean, and "bore the signs of a housewife's^ pride It conld not be doubted that such people lived in an overcrowded dwelling only because circumstances compelled them to do so. Boarding-houses would also require attention, for some of them proved to be in a deplorable condition. "I am going to keep this matter alive until a better state of things can be brought about," was the final word of the worker. IN UNEXPECTED PLACES. The discovery that even in the best and brightest quarters there are dark spots has been a shock to some men. Mr J. J. M'Grath, who has been working in Oriental Bay, has found, even in that favoured area, some' cases calling urgently for action. "There are' houses crowded together there, with three families occupying the space hardly fit for one, and fowls at the back door. An instance came under my notice in which two sick children were in a room about 6ft by sft. The door could only be partially opened to get into 'the little den. My, experience during the epidemic is that 'there is certainly a great deal of overcrowding, demanding rigid inspection as soon as we get over this immediate trouble. If this is found at Oriental Bay, what must it be _in the centre of the city? These conditions do not come in a day. They have endured for twenty years or more, while we have been' quite happy, not knowing what was going on."