The Washington herald., 1909-01-03
SUNDAY. JANUARY 3 1909.
Need Of Homes for the Poor.


on the building Of model houses, compiled
bv Gen. George N. Sternberg. chairman
OF the committee having under consider
alton that subject It goes pretty thor
oughIy into housing conditions in the
District. which. though somewhat i'm
proved by the efforts Of the authorities
and OF public-spi-ited citizens. are stin
far from ideal. especially as they affect
unskiIled laborers Gen. Stemberg finds
that the number OF sanitary dwellings
erected for the use OF the better-paid
artisan class and for clerks and others
able 10 pay a rental ranging from SO TO
So and upward monthly is equal TO the
demand so that the housing problem
concerns only those who. on the basis OF
an expenditure for rent amounting 10
one-ffth Of their income. must find shell
ter in dwellings costing them from s. 70
50 month The situation Is most acute
as respects the day la5orer, whose aver
ase income is from So 10 SO a month
TIE "house famine" Of which our local
sociologis1s are accustomed 10 speak,
therefore. concerns only the poorer
classes Of The community Comparatively
little has been done in the past dozen
years TO relieve this famine. There has
been SAYS Gen Sternberg. an almost
complete arrest OF building houses 10 be
rented FOR 81 or less "a month and the
condemnation Of insanitary dwellings ac-
cenuates the want Of dwellings within
the reach Of unskiIled workers.
That il is practicable to build sanitary
dwellings rentable ar prices within the
reach Of the man getting $50 day and
over and yer obtain q small return on the
investment has been shown by the eIpe-
rIeuce Of the Washington Sanitary In
rrovement Company and the Washington
Sanitary Housing Company. the first Of
which has paid a per cent dividend on
its capital and the other 4 per cent. Some
Of the three-room fats built by the latter
company rent for $50 a month. and the
f5ur-room fats for SS5a These fats have
bathrooms with modern plumbing. and a
range with hot-water heater Owing 70
. the rise in cost Of land. labor. and nate
rial II IS no longer possible 10 build fats
rentabIe a. these low figures and pay a {
per cent dividend on the investment but
tvvo-family fats renting for So 10 So a
month still afford a safe investment.
yielding OF per Dent such fats ac-
comm0date street car conductors. motor
men, clerks. and others whose income is
from 81 70 50 a month. and there is still
an insufficient number Of them As 10
the problem Of supplying the unskiued
Iab0rer with sanitary shelter, Gen Stern
berg says
To suF1ly every family in The CITY Of Washington
belonging t1 tins class Of the population ui-h an
independent home having light ard usLi-reatiiated
I1Cms good FlEHblE- and ali sanitary Requirements
would grsarly r-1Gce orr mortality rates and would
10 d5uH- have marked eject in limiting crime and
promoting good morals But % bring ab1ut such
1deai conditions would call fer The investment q
larEe amount Of MONEY. Il II could b. shown that
the building Of this class q houses was safe and
rrcfta5le investment T. is T-15able that private
msnd Bur. as a matter Of fscr. private enterI-lse
has not done So snd the Teaslns fC- this are very
apparent Under present conditions a. 90 the price
Of laid Of labor and of materials and in view Of
existing builduE regulations there Is DO temptation
90 capital % invest iu This class of houses. TIE
builder q modera-e means does not build houses %
rent. but 20 seI. By - doing be makes an inr1e-
date profs and his capital is available for further
operations. But. as a rule. those who can Only pay
s. or SO month rent cannot attempt 70 purchase
home, ard Buildings Of this class would not he
salsbie unless as an investment T8yirg per cent
c- more On The C1st 0f the property such a re-
rurn in interest is Incompatible with the low
rentals named. When land. Isbor and materials
we're comparatively cheap. and the building reguIa-
t0ns we're less exacting tro-sto-y ho=zes Of frame
or bzick couid be erected on tweye-soot lot az a
cost which made sach property a very profitable
investment. But under existing regulations the
house must have a frontage Of az least sixteen
feet inside the FIRE limits the walls must be thirteen
inches thick, and the foundations. plumbing. 6c
must conform 10 a high standard We are not dis
Tosed 20 Cictse these regulations but simply desire
% point out TIE fscr that they have had the effect
q ar-estius the building of houses o. loF rental
There is plenty Of room within the
limits OF Washington for the adequate
housing OF every element Of the popula-
tion. and Gen Sternberg's report shows
that two-family fats conforming strictly
10 the building regulations and providing
ali the sanitary cOnvenieuces Of a mod
ern home can be erected al moderate
cost, though not az a cost sufficiently low
10 WELD a satisfactory dividend On the
investment from the rentals which un-
skilled laborers can afford 10 pay. This
being the situation. Gen. Sternbere sees
no way Of providing homes for all save
through private philanthropy or govern
mental benehcence- Ten millions from a
Carnegie or a Rockefeller would suffice.
OF the national government might loan a
sufficient sum at 8 per cent. Gen. Stern
berg believes the investment would amply
repay the community in the greater
healthfulness Of all its citizens. in the
diminutien Of crime. and in the removal
Of the manifold evils Of overcrowding-
II 50. it would seem that the community
has a duty to perform with relation to
the housing problem beyond enacting
building regulations, tearing down insan-
itary dwellings. and forBidding ever
rowding-measures which. however de-
fensibIe and necessary. merely deepen the