Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-05-28
HOUSES FOR NAVY
YARD EMPLOYEES
One Thousand New Homes
to Be Erected in South
Philadelphia
BUILDERS ARE SOUGHT

Housing for employees e the Thila-
delpha Navy Ward at League Island.
which has undergone tremendous de-
velopment since IN" outbreak Of the
war. is TO he undertaken to the extent
Of SO 500 600 by tho Bureau Of Indus
trial Housing and Transportation. more
commonly known as the "HouEiug Com
mission"
The appropriation Of s360o. 0"0 TO-
provide living quarters for the men
working on the great drydoCk being hu.E
there. one Of the lsrRes in the world
one Of the largest hat,lCships to cost
$19 900 Nou. hospital snip Ia cost
SO. 600 0oO: the big aircraft factory for
the navy, and Tn" usual run Of work at
III" yard is provided for in the urgen;
deficiency appropriations bill now before
the House.
It is planned &c huild 1000 new houses
IN South Philadelphia. as near the navy
%Hrd as possible. in the ne!Ehhrrhood
OF oregon avenue. and within ! y to ~
miles Of tn" yard.
The whole plan OF the Bureau Of In
dustrial Housing and Transportation has
been ou lined to the House Committee
on Appropriations hN Oito Eidltz. chief
Of the bureau. and hy t. y. u. Stokes.
manager Of the preliminary mNe'tiga-
tirn division OF the bureau. who came
to this city and made the examination
for the bureau
Government i"an
The burAlu Of industrial housing ana
TRANSPORTATION. which haE been organized
md nlacpd under the Department OF
Labor. aop"S that some Investment build
ers Of Philadelphia VIII undertake the
construction OF the 1000 houses. to be
supported h. loan from the Govern
mcnt
II is planned to have the fiovernment
back some investment uiidlnE company,
which shall sell the houses on monthly
payment plan and repay the Government
when a realization is made on tn prop
ertN
'Ther, has heen a tremendous develop
ment at League Island Navy Yard which
will before long bring the number Of men
employed there up to about 10000. SAID
l. y. u Stokes in explaining to the Ap-
propr;a tionS COMMITTEE tie need for the
s3.600,00O appropriation to house the
Philadelphia workers.
League Island today looks like an
immense ant hill" continued stokes
"A grca, drydock is being built, one Of
the largest In the world. one Of the
largest battleships. costing upward Of
$4,000. 900. Is being constructed there.
A hospital ship costing about S6.NoO.OoO
lis being built The aircraft factory,
which was started only about six months
ago. Is being doubled in size. The nor
NAL work Of the yard is going on. repair
work. the building of launches. the
building of smaller boats. the building
OF furniture and fittings for the boats
Of the navy is going on there as before.
The labor situation at League Island
ia very much complicated by the fact
that the yard is very much more remote
from the place where labor lives than
cramps yard the camden yards and
some Of the other large employers OF
labor so that labor finds it much easier
to live and to work in the olher NafuS'
and more attractive.
Mr.. Stokes went on to tell the COM
n,ittee members that the bureau IN
tended to build about 1000 houses. partly
row houses. corresponding CloselN in
tyue TO the houses already built about
Oregon avenue in South Philadelphia
and which are approved by the long eX-
perience Of the people living there.
Few Vacant Houses
An invest. CATION he conducted. he
sad showed that there were very few
vacant houses In Philadelphia. and that
those vacant lack modern plumbing and
are in ether ways unsanitay and unde-
sirable.
Egorts Of members of the committee
to obtain from Mr.. Eidlitz a statement
as to when this development would be
completed were unsuccessful. The near
est estimate obtainable from him was
that he expected to take care of most
Of these difficulties that ought to be
taken care of reasonably within the
year"
-, 49, he