Evening star., 1918-10-21
A Broadening Delusive Vision Of
Profiteers.

Mr.. Johnson's vision Of prodteers has
broadened until it reaches the hori-
zon. He detects as such prohteers
not only the Senate, which Is not
the rent administrator. and every one
who advised, aided and abetted the
Senate in framing the Pomerene BILL
but he sees practically all Washington
as proflteers or in the grip OF the
profiteers. so that the courts cannot
not find upright judges for fair
rentals courts in the District, SO that
trial by jury must be denied in these
cases because it would be next to
impossible to get a jury OF twelve
men without getting one or more who
were fellow prOfiteers."
Mr.. Johnson would not have the
question whether these contracts are
contrary to public policy go to the
courts. He would DECLARE by his bill
whatsoever in the District in which
the rental rate Of 1918 is more than
10 per cent in excess of its rental
rate of 1876 is contrary to public
took to deprive the courts Of disere-
"Purposely Everywhere in the act /
have left out the word reasonable.
so as to keep it out Of the courts:
treating it strictly as a tax matter -
the reasonable" from the spirit and
principle of his bill. as we'll as the
word reasonable" from its 1etter.)
Mr.. Johnson would not have a rent
appointed from the District of Co
lumbia. A. District man, he says.
would not have the backbone to do
justice to the humble tenant. II
cannot believe anything else except
that if rent administrator is ap-
pointed from the District of Column
bia the purposes of the bill will be
defeated. - There is a clan
nishness here that 1 believe is un-
precedented anywhere in. all the
country that I have ever had occasion
to know anything about"
The rentals administrator or fair
rents court is to do equity between
lessons and<1essees as residents OF
Washington. II the lessee is not In
some Instances already a resident of
order to acquire a residence herd and
become a resident. In the vast ma
jority of leases the parties are both
permanent residents of Washington.
The issue is local, and on American
principles the umpire should be local.
Compared with the whole body Of the
COMMUNICATIVE its large proportion
of home owners and occupants, and
it's much larger number of 1essees
than lessons, of tenants than of land
lords-the landlord class Is small and
the profiteering-lan class is In
significant, and the insinuation that
the President could not or would not
find and appoint upright rentals court
judges or administrators in the. Dis
trict who would not be unduly fnf1u-
enced either by landlords or tenants,
is slur upon the President as well as
upon the community.
No District Jury Without a Prof
iteer.
:. Mr.. johnson, in order that the pur-
poses Of his bill might not be de-
feated, would thus keep the courts
out of any connection with the mat
a Washingtonian as judge in local
fair-rents court or as local rents ad-
nlinistrator. In addition. he would
eliminate trial by jury in the District
which his bill attempts to prevent or
punish.
He says: Gong. Record. p. 1860
II take the broad position that no
jury could ever be found in the Dis
trict Of Columbia which will convict
tate rentals. If man shonifl
be indicted for proiteering in rents
I feel certain in my own mind that
no twelve dat,n men on a 5,,g Jury in init the Dis.
to conviction. as it would be next
to impossible to get a jury of twelve
men without getting one or more
who were fellow profitsers." What
the District are q small fraction Of
the population. Profteers among the
landlords are a small fraction of this
fraction. Local public sentiment is at
white heat over over grossly excessive
cost Of living. Profiteers in rentals,
like profiteers in food and fitel, will
receive the toughest kind OF rough
treatment when they run the gantlet
Of inflamed local sentiment. whether
other way.
The profiteers are the f,w; the
proflteered upon are the many. It is
only because the bulk of the people
Of Washington feel outraged over the
way in which they are mulcted for
which go to make up the high cost
Of modern 1iving-that there is any
degree Of acquiescence at all in the
discriminatory, drastic and in spirit
unconstitutional legislation proposed
to- punish prof1teers in the District
alone, and which in Furnishing the few
real profiteers Furnishes many who are
not prodteers at all.
Who Are the Real Profteersp
We all know who and what real
profiteers are. They are those whose
excessive exactions, especially from
the needy and especially from war
workers., have in the mere unsworn
hearsay recital aroused a whitehead
of Indignation through this commu-
nifty. But while we know what con-
stitutes the profiteer whom the bulk
of our people hate, he is not alone
the profteer under Mr.. Johnson's bill,
and he II far from being the sole
nr~ntes f,n n. IN prnieer undsr Nh Mimaf1na- nna
sons bill who is 80 infamous that
he must be punished without Jury
trial or inquiry by the courts Is every
lessor Of real estate in the District
OF Columbia who charges ~ much as
II per cent greater rent today than
he did during the year ending Sep
tember 80, 1916.