Reports Of The Presidents Homes Commission

Excerpt from Reports of the President's Homes Commission: Message From the President of the United States, Transmitting Reports by the President's Homes Commission on Improvement of Existing Houses, and Elimination of Insanitary and Alley Houses, on Social Betterment, and on Building Regulations, Together With R The report of the committee on the improvement of existing houses and the elimination of insanitary and alley houses naturally relates to the improvement of houses which are in any way unsafe or detrimental to the health or morals of their occupants, or in case the owners do not think it worth while, or are unwilling to put them into proper condition, to their demolition, in order that the health of the people may not be injured by reason of them. Closely connected with the latter part of the subject is the question of alley houses, which may be structurally fit for habitation but which are so located as to make it practically impossible to supply them with proper sanitary conveniences, or to make the moral and social surroundings what they ought to be. Improvement of Existing Houses. At the time the committee made its preliminary report it was stated that the work of improving existing houses was being wisely and effectively carried on by the board for the condemnation of insanitary buildings, under the law of May 1, 1906.The evils due to the condition into which a large number of the temporary and cheap structures, rendered necessary by circumstances succeeding the war, had fallen was long ago recognized, and in 1872 the board of health, which had been created by an act of Congress in the previous year, formulated a specific ordinance covering the condemnation of insanitary dwellings, under which in 1874, 389 were condemned, followed by 198 in 1875 and 371 in 1876; but the work was stopped not long afterwards by the reorganization of the health department, in which the power to condemn buildings unfit for habitation was not provided for. The necessity for further action continued, and as early as 1897 definite steps were taken toward the passage of a bill providing for the condemnation of buildings dangerous to the health or their occupants. These efforts were continued during successive years and in March, 1902, the Associated Charities formed a subcommittee on the improvement of housing conditions, of which the first purpose was stated to be the passage of a law which would enable the District Commissioners, through the health department, to require the adequate repair or removal of dwellings unfit for human habitation; but each year some objection to the proposed bill was made and it was not until May 1, 1906, after nine years of effort, that it was passed in its present form. The necessity of the bill, and the care with which it had been drawn, are shown by the excellence of the results obtained under it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.