Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-13
EQUITABLE WAR
RENTALS FIXING
Impair Obligation Of Leasing
Contracts Only to Meet Ma
tion's War Necessities.
APPLY LAW EVERYWHERE
THEODORE w. MOVES,
Editorial Correspondence of The staro

THEODORE w. MOVES,
Editorial Correspondence of The star.)
II.
If extortion is to be prevented by
fixing reasonable maximum rentals in
all disputed cases, the course Of equi-
table procedure is clear. War rentals
fixing should apply only to the real
estate involved in the war necessities.
and the rentals in these cases should
be fixed by a rentals administrator or
some other equitable tribunal so as
to produce reasonable net return
on the actual present value Of the
leased property.
If Congress decides that as choice
of evils it must as the Districts leg
islature impair for the wartime the
obligation of certain District leasing
contracts. it will not work this i'm
pairment indiscriminately. wantonly
and unjustly, but will confine this i'm
pairment to the absolute minimum
which meets the nations war neces-
stiles. All the rentals-fixing PROPOSE
tions SO far made, including the
Salisbury resolution, are unnecessarily
broad IN their scope of application.
They apply not only to every dwell
ing house, apartment and room in the
District, but to every piece of District
real estate. whether land built upon
for business purposes or vacant,
whether unimproved lot or cultivated
garden or farm.
The British and colonial precedents
are Of rentals-fxing only for dwell
ings and parts of dwellings. Dwell
ings and parts Of dwellings are the
subject Of nearly all Of today's rentals
profiteering in Washington.
Minimum impairment Of Contract
Obligations.
Following the British and colonial
presidents and needing the admont-
tions of the Constitution war rentals
fixing and war impairment Of the OBJ
legation of contracts should apply
only to the real estate involved in the
war necessities, which in the District
seems to consist OF all dwellings or
parts of dwellings. and perhaps all
forms of real estate of which the
United States is lessee.
Before enactment into law the pro.
vision of the Senate CPOmerene) bill
ON this point should be amended.
Section Of the Senate bill provides
that the act. shall not affect or bring
within it's scope properties the char
acter of which has been changed. dur
ing the period of the acts limitations
from dwelling to business use. The
theory of this proviso Is that the law
properly applies only to dwellings and
not to business property, like the
British and colonial fair-rents laws.
If our fair-rents law does not apply
to business property which was
formerly residence property It should
not and cannot reasonably apply, to
business property which has always
been business property. The con-
ferees should SO re-word this section
and section 16 (a) as to cause the law
to apply only to all dwellings and
tate of every description Of which the
United States is lessee. . This conces-
sion to Uncle Sam should not be made
unless he wishes it. for it puts him
in the attitude Of pleading the baby
act and of protecting himself legis-
latively as bargainer against his
own confessed1y foolish executive self.
It seems also unnecessary. since un-
der the war housing and other kim
dred legislation broad powers OF Sc
curing what he needs for war
purposes at reasonable rates are
Only Dwellings Under Law.
But clearly, with or without this
exception. In favor Of the United
States. the conferees should remove
from the application of the law all
property except dwellings and parts
of dwellings.
ment what rental rate or term OF
tenure two Washingtonians. as lessor
and lessee. have agreed upon as fair.
if the rented property is naked lot,
a grocery store, a garage or any kind
of property not needed by the govern
How are the war-workers or the
boys in the trenches affected by such
leases?
why wantonly and without the
compulsion of national necessity i'm
pair the obligation Of any such leas-
ing contracts?
By thus narrowing the scope of ap-
plication of the rentals-f1xing law to
the real estate distinctly involved in
the war necessities the conferees will
reduce to a minimum unavoidable dis
criminatory violations of the letter or
spirit Of the Constitution and of the
Individual constitutional rights Of the
Americans of the District Of Column
bia.
Laws 1InpdiIlu6 luc oDlISdlIOH Oh
contracts are says the Federalist.
contrary to the first principles of the
social contract and to every principle
of sound legislation" Such laws are
abhorrent and when passed by any
state legislature are unconstitutional
and when passed by Congress. acting
not for the nation. but n the DIS.
trict's state legislatufe, violate the
spirit Of the Constitution.
Making Salisbury Resolution Equi-
table.
Congress in any event should in this
conference, or In any fair rents law in
dependsntly enacted. adopt at least the
s,,pplementary legislation which Is. nec-
essary to round out the. salisbury reso-
luton and make it reasonably equitable
as the permanent law. The scope of the
annjication Of the law should be
eaisitably narrowed to the minimum
demanded by the WAT necessities. 1t
should apply, as have already urged,
only to dwellings and parts Of DWELL
ings. except that all AiQdS OF real eS-
tafe leased to the Unite6< States should
perhaps fall within.its scope.
why should not two Washingtonians
make any kind of leasing arrangement
they please, as to term/and rate, If
the leased property is not . dwelling
and is not needed Tor any purpose by
the United States? Why should it
not be possible to rent real estate In
Washington which has no relxdon to
war enecessitis. for 9 shoter. per5od'
1nales4 q a61e1