Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-19
U. s. DODGES HICR
ELMWOOD PRICVS
Profiteering Decla,.,
Cause of Abandoned Hoo ~
Island Housing
CONTRACTS TOO BIcr

y desire to forestall pros,.
contractors and real es,a,. ,eIihg hy
which threatened to cost az ownerA
ment millions Of dollars. is 1 pover.
have been the real reason Ueelsred 10
Elmwood housing proiect ~ why Tie
Of Hog Island shipworki,s 'ake car
doned by the Government, was aban.
Rear Admiral Bowles So ,a
no lhtlinatlon OF the official sto,sen u'en
the housing program, declaring us Mn, q
would be against the interest os ssi Il
Government to publish anythins the
subject now. He said he would @ ua Ae
later. explain
Appraisal of the land In the FL.
section desired for the hougjra- -''lwoOd nl,d
was made by n committee ~ cO@ny
estate board, Of which Thomas" "s real
cross, Jr., is president. That snaa.
last night and heard an address ~ net
Shallcross, in which he told bay Wy ~
Government is being protectod OH wv NE
prohteering by real estate mon aii ieisna
the country. Wd
Chief Albright, of the Bureau =, O.
veys. yesterday figured roupbIv y. !, su'
house such as the Hog Island t s
embraced could be erected for ,s,lmn
If this estimate is correct ,be oe yslve
tors stood to make $3,74O, OOO ann On'se' y.
legitimate profit of construc,ior ae
average bid sent TO the Goyernro,. l@
contractors was for about sIsoo y, "
each house, avg
This knowledge, conveyed In AdD,i..,
Bowles. who has been in close ,.u'l
with chief Albright and the boy" Sa
experts, is said to have decided ths t su-
fcrees to advise that the entire MN. s.,.
be abandoned In this connection ~.
are reports that q similar actior nv NY
taken at Bristol, where a contract ~
zoo homes for workers had hsss
awarded.
After the award Of the con,,.a
Chairman Hurley is said to have Learn;
that the cost was becoming eycsSsis.
and that another series of reyelatIo..
similar to the original Hog Island s,'
pose might follow in their train \.
prevent any repetition the shlnDl.s
board told the Merchants Shlpbulsins
Company to go ahead and erect N.
houses itself.
All OF these facts are expected N n,
related at length in the forthcomlnv
statement by the admira! and 10 ,s..
aSluc lnC IlySNclS WHICH mas c0aked
the housing plan for some weeks How.
ever, the municipal officials declared
yesterday that they gave up any hops
of the Elmwood site being accepted soma
weeks ago.
So confident was Chief Albright that
the plans would hardly mature that be
took from the walls the maps showing
the extensive city which the munici.
pality expected to develop for HoE
Island. At least that Is the reason that
the attaches Of his office read into Ms
orders, given a day or two ago, ths,
the maps be removed
Chief Albright himself is sadly disap.
pointed that the housing plan is to be
abandoned. He has had twenty-five en-
ployes at work on plans and blue prints
and they have given a deal of their time
since last February But all the while
some mysterious influence was holding
up the acceptance of the plans until the
chief became a trifle weary Of watchtul
waiting
However, he was not entirely asleep
all the while and his conferences with
owen Brainerd, the architect in chargs
of the plans, and Admiral Bowles seemed
to have Convinced him that everything
was off and that no houses would N
built here. SO confident did he be.
come in this belief that he ORDERED
the employees to stop working and took
down the plots and prints and other
paraphcrnalia which have been the mu.
njcipal Exhibit a in the ambitious
scheme for Hog Island