Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1918-08-13
ARRIVAL OF DELEGATES RENT PROflTEERlNG

/
Victims Are Employees of Virgin;
Shipbuilding Corporation. Practice
to be Halted or Homes Command
eered by the Government, 1nyes
tigation Now Under Way.
William H. Rupp, of the welfare
department of the Virginia Shipbulld-
ing Corporation, has taken up the
question of profiteering on the part
of tenants and landlords renting
rooms or houses to employees Of the
Virginia Shipbuiliing Corporation
and hopes to be able to soon put a
stop to this practice.
Mr.. Rupp took up the matter with
the United States Shipping BOARD
Emergency Fleet Corporation.
The shipping board proposes to
commander houses of such persons
engaged in profiteering during the
period Of the war. This board will
pay fair rental for houses which
may be requistioned.
The board may take control of
house either for the permanent o.
temporary use Of shipyard employees.
Already the armory has been COM
mandeered for shipyard employees
together with number Of vacant
houses in different parts Of the city.
A letter written by Mr.. Rupp to 5.
G.. jerks, of the United States Ship
ling Board Emergency Fleet Corpo-
ration, Baltimore, calls his attention
to once case of alleged profiteerng
with which the workmen employed
here at the plant of the Virginia
Shipbuilding Corporation have to
contend The case in question is that
of a woman who it is alleged is rent
ing two third-story rooms to six men
at so per month for each man. One
small room on the second floor to a
lady at SIS per month and another
small room and what was her kitchen
on the first floor for Sl5 per month,
unfurnished.
The letter further reads: " This
man has gone to great deal of eZ-
pense having sufficient furniture ship
ped here from Georgia to furnish
these two rooms, and now has been
given notice that unless he buys six
tons of coal to heat the house for the
coming winter the party will demand
possession by August ID.
The writer asks Mr.. jerks if this
house cannot be Communicated. Mr..
Rupp has written to the tenant who
is renting the house to employees OF
the Shipbuilding Corporation that
her demand be withdrawn immediate
ly otherwise he will take steps to
commander the house Immediately.
There are some persons in this city
who have. not. advantage of war con-
ditions to profitecr, and on the. other
hand many Others. are reported, to be
asking exhorbitant rates for rooms
and in some instances as nigh as six
persons are put in one room and all
are charged almost as much as if they
had the room to themselves.
That this practice is soon to be dis
continued or the persons subrcntlng
such houses will find that their Gag
crness to profiteer has been nipped in
the bud Mr.. Rupp declares that
this is unpatriotic just now.
Complaints are beginning to pour
into Mr.. Rupp's office about excessive
rent being paid for rooms and it is
expected that each case will be thor
oughly sifted and the parties given
an opportunity to rent them at a fair
rent or have the government take
over their homes probably for the
period of the war.
That such things are doing Alex
andria more harm with strangers
coming TO this city. than anything
else is the opinion of shipyard offic-
ials. 1t is reported that many men
who have come to Alexandria to work
have left the city when they were
asked an exhorbitant prices for
rooms.