The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-10-03

c,ht place in which to live. he did not linser
l.ng Some factories hiring GOoo men
Year in order to maintain force OF 1000.
Then Uncle sam stepped in and went into the
towu-huding business, An appropriation OF Sloo.'
noUtNp made Tor emergency wartime housing
aud while that only starter II was suficient
To provide shelter for about 10000 persons. More
money has been asked and 1t doubtless Will oe
forthcoming.
In the beginning Uncle sam made u mistake
Ills first idea to provide temporary barracks
som. thing on the order Of those at the army can
t.nments. But In the of the ship workers he
iound out that GO per of them are married.
aud their wives and children objected to living IN
bunk houses Moreover, temporary houses. While
costing within 10 per cent of Ms much as perina-
ncnt ones. are IA total loss within II few years.
SO he decided to make these towns permanent.
AZ n result. he Ia covering whole square miles
of vacant countryside with pretty little houses.
boarding places. stores. theaters churches. paved
streets and all utilities. He has at his service the
hest town planners and architects In America
And with all the haste that is being made. beauty
nad good taste not being sacrificed. The
houses will not all he alike In color, material or
style. ON the contrary. throughout each OF these
spacious slumless tracts. will be evidence that the
thing planned whoe-thnt this street
was curved on purpose. because curved street is
,rettier than strnight one-thnt yonder church
was put squarely across the end Of the park be-
cause 1t would look well there. The eye will un-
consciously start a vain search for eyesores blank
eide walls. billbonrds and disorder.
The chief benefit which accrues to the worker
from the building of these towns Is the fact that
landordism is to be Il thing unknown. The bene-
fts are to go unfaiiingy to the workers. Rents
must be based cost and not on the maximum
which the tenants can be forced to pay. And
inasmuch Uncle Sam has no desire to retain
The ownership after the war. he has evolved II
scheme sell them. not to individuals. but to the
communities whole, to be held in trust as
community property
Each such town will he, at the start at least. In
the complete possession of u local housing com
pany composed of and partially financed by.public-
spirited business men OF the vicinity. They put up
~ per cent OF the money and they get the other
VI per cent on first mortgage from the United
states labor department or from the shipping
board epch of which has S5O.OOO.OOO given them
ny congress this spring for just this purpose.
In lending money to local housing companies In
congested communities the government lays down
the stipulation that dividends shall be forever lin
tied to per cent annually-even after the govern
inent's mortgage is paid OF. Any excess Income
must he re-expended upon the property or else
eliminated by lowering the rents. The part or the
rent that would ordinarily 20 to landlords profits
Will go to pay off the governments mortgage ut
the rnte of . or per cent year. The mortgage is
Ior ten years. and Mt the end of that time enough
presumably will be paid OFF TO enable the govern
rent to say: $50 get private mortgage to pay OF
The balance.
Then II the local housing company has not mean
While sold off any of the houses the town VIII
substantially own ITSELF subject To mortgage. For
iss rents will be based purely costs of capital
and service. The private capital. limited 10 0 per
cent return. Is practically second mortgage. One
of the first government loans made to the new VII
lage at Newport News provided that 80 per cent
Of the private capital is to he amortized and re-
tired Normally the private capital owns equity.
including the part OF the cost which has been
nmortized and the unearned increment the size OF
which liz more or less probematical. but II can't
do anything with this treasure except redistribute
,le annual proceeds therefrom among the people
in the form of IL rebate on rents or In communal
services, preferably the latter