Evening star., 1918-12-02

two and Commissioner w. Gwynn
Gardiner in lieu of the latter.
The valuable service rendered by the
District Council of Defense has been
continued under the cha1rmansnlp OF
tee has derived effective cooperation
from the following subordinate COM
mittees which the Commissioners ap-
pointed during the % summer In;n,..a o. Isl ISL
from among the pubhc-spiriteo resi-
dents of the District:
On finance, Mr.. John Poole. chair
man; on publicity. Mr.. ]. A. O'Leary.
chairman: on housing. DR.; George NJ;
,Kober. chairman: on sanitation and
medicine. DR.. William c. Woodward
chairman; on food supply and con-
servation, Mr.. William Bruce King,
seph w. Cox. chairman: on labor. Mr..
Arthur E. Holden. chairman; on CO.
ordination of societies, Mr.. Corcoran
"'f'hom. chairman, and the woman's 8
- committee, Mrs. Archibald HOPKINS,
."chairman.
- The extraordinary influx OF new resi-
y dents, most of whom are employed or
seeking employment in the govern
business connected with government
sactivities, has taxed far beyond its
normal limit the housing accommoda.
e 'tions and transportation facilities OF
this community and Its tmmeolate
vicinity. and imposed upon those COM
:. mitteeS service correspondingiy
eNacting.
a.: The latest official census of the popu-
o-lation of the District of Columbia was
taken by the metropolitan police de-
- partment on November !, 1917. ana re-
suited in an enumeration Of 395,49!. It
-, was impracticable to take mun1c1pai
: census in 1918, but the relation OF the
: number of passengers carried by the
,.efreet cars operating In the District
during the month of October. 1917. to
the number carried in the correspond
ing month of 1918 affords an approx
mate basis for an estimate of the In
- crease in the number OF people In the
District during the intervening period
=. Fares Increased 1905 Per Cent.
The number Of fares collected in
cash and tickets on both OF the street
" railway systems here during October.
'-fg17. was 11,573.5SS; during October,
LOIS. the number was 15.399.910, or an
= increase of 3.S26.372. which is 1906
per cent of the number of fares col
Iected during the month first men
toned.
The population of the District in
October. 1917. viz. 395,497 plus 1906
per cent thereof or 130.751 would be
526,24s. which it is reasonable to de-
luce is fairly approximate approach
to the present number of persons re-
g. siding in the National Capital. either
permanently or as connected WIN
some special war activity.
This extraordinary increase In the
population of the District was more
than the residential accommodations
then available could shelter, or than
could be housed by the normal build
ing development.
- One of the most embarrassing incl
dents of this condition was corre-
spending advance in the rental charges
for such accommodations, which gave
. rise to many complaints of extortion-
: ate charges for rent. In order to OBJ
yiate imposition of that sort, and to
relieve the congestion, Congress in
tervened by the enactment of Joint
resolution to prevent rent prof1teering
i'm tine District of Columbia" approved
on May 81. 1918, which had been in
3, troduced by Senator salisbury of Del
aware and consequently became popu-
y 'ltrly known as the salisbury law:
ia2ld by appropriating several millions
OF dollars for the erection by the gov
eminent on various public reserva-
the control of the government of
Dental purposes and available to en-
crate rent.
:, :. While this action Of Congress tend
ed to ameliorate the hardship Of the
situation. 1t did not wholly abate the
causes Of embarrassment, especially
with reference to the conflicting in
terests of landlord and tenant. SO that
further legislation will be advisable
II the excessive demand for housing
Of