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iv
Two women Sanitary Inspectors were apointed in 1904 to assist in
this. Overcrowding in some parts of the City existed to an extent not
approached in Westminster, even during post-war times. During the
first few years I find that in some 500 instances this was dealt with.
The use of underground rooms for habitation had been permitted,
particularly in one area, and this was stopped in 150 instances. The law
then only allowed action to be taken if the underground room was the
only one in the occupation of the tenant, if he rented another room in a
floor above it permitted him to use the underground room. The law is
now more stringent and last year only seven instances were found in which
it was infringed.
The supply of water to houses was very restricted, there was seldom,
even in the best houses, means for obtaining water above the ground floor,
and cisterns had to be provided. These were frequently in the backyards,
uncovered and liable to contamination. Now water can be drawn direct
from the main and supplies have been made available to the tenants on
all floors of a tenement house. This improvement was helped by the alteration
in the mode of charging for water. The system of charging extra
for any water laid on to floors above the ground floor was abolished and
instead a fixed charge made on the rateable value of the house.
The removal of refuse from houses was done only weekly or fortnightly
(except in the area which had been under the Strand Board of Works, in
which there was a daily collection), the result being that the backyards of
houses were frequently littered with all manner of decaying filth, among
which the children played and brought it into the houses on their boots.
This and the restricted supply of water made it very difficult for tenants
desirous of being clean to keep their houses in a proper condition of
cleanliness. Food, particularly milk, was liable to pollution, and it is
not surprising that during the hot weather large numbers of children died
from diarrhoea.
The persistent policy of the Council in enforcing all legal requirements
in its power has resulted in the abolition of houses unfit for habitation,
while domestic conditions have been raised to a much higher standard of
comfort and cleanliness than existed a quarter of a century ago.
Statements have appeared in the Press during the last year making
allegations as to the existence of slum areas and slum conditions in
Westminster. It is a great help to a local authority to have the inhabitants
take an intelligent interest in sanitary matters, but the object is defeated
when exaggerated statements are made. Some such statements appear
to be due to a misunderstanding of the facts upon which the statements are
made. For instance, a quotation is given from my last Annual Report
that in 6,914 houses the basements were used for dwelling purposes and