Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-19

nlali hty sSditu iCi'
Infrmary service is given without
extra charge in complaints where the
patient is not too seriously i'll. Re
! ception halls are provided for the re-
ceiving of guests and dancing may be
enjoyed in the recreation halls. The
meal service includes two meals
day. and the meals. as far rs the
committee can ascertain. are nourish
ing and clearly cooked and well
! served.
Women Well Cared For.
These young women are undoubt-
edly well cared for. and the committee
! believes 1t is not beyond the financial
ability of the occupants to pay the ac-
] tual cost of the things furnished
i them. AS long as the actual cost is
not paid the government is in the po-
| sition of favoring those fortunate
enough to obtain accommodation, to
the extent of $3.50 per month.
THE salary paid the manager, of
which complaints have reached the
ears of the committee, is a large sal
monty viewed. The committee feels.
though. that any woman who is capa
BILE of competently filling a position
ordinarily occupied by man, is en-
titled to the compensation ordinarily
paid. The present manager, Miss
James. receives $4,000 per year, with
rooms and board both for herself and
her mother. These accommodations,
based on the present rate, add about
$500 per year, so that her compensa-
ton may fairly be stated to be $4,000
a year. \ competent manager of an
1.S00-room hotel is entitled to a salary
of that size. The salary to matrons
of the various dormitories range from
SIS to 800 per month and the allow
ance of rooms and meals. These SAL
aries. in the opinion of the committee,
are not excessive.
while it is comparatively simple to
dispose of the theory of government
hotels by saying that the government
should not embark upon a policy of
furnishing it's employees accommoda-
lions. 1t is not so easy to dispose of
!! the fact that the government has al
! ready in this instance embarked upon
| that policy. The question is no longer
+, what should have been done. but what
ought to be done with this property.
now that the investment has been
made.
| Construction and Cost.
1--WE cannot leave the subject of the
dormitories, however. without treat
/ ing on another aspect of these hetelS,
the construction and cost
They were, like other housing cor
poration edifices, too fine for war
emergency. We grant that the emer-
gencies call for houses, otherwise no
appropriations would have been made.
We grant that there was an urgent
necessity for housing homeless women
in this city, and that the government
owed an important duty to the young
women whose patriotism had brought
them to offer their services in num-
bers beyond the housing capacity, yet
we see no need of constructing build
ings so fine as to cost with furniture
and equipment, $1,542.5O per room
I And we see no necessity of furnishing
them at a cost of twice that of fur
nishing mems dormitories on other
projects.
1--WE see no necessity for the expen-
| sive hollow tiles construction. This
| objection was answered by the housing
corporation officials saying the hollow
tiles were necessary because or the
fire risk involved in three-story
frame dormitory. To this we agree,
but we point out that the architect OF
this dormitory earnestly recommended
a two-story building, and we further
mention that by far the larger part OF
temporary war buildings in this city
were two-story frame buildings.
Thirty Per Cent Saving.
| 1.-The architect had also recommend
eu that the rooms be constructed for
two occupants each, and stated that
/ the savings to the government would
have been at least 80 per cent. This
saving would have amounted to ap-
proximately S460,000, as the twelve
dormitory buildings alone In construc-
ton cost amounted to 81 .539, 331.O3."
Some of the findings of the commit
tee in criticism of the housing cor
| poration follow:
u. The original act provided that
houses erected should be only on a
temporary character, except where the
interests of the government would be
best served by permanent buildings.
! The housing corporation consistently
made the exception Of the rule and
erected practically all buildings OF
permanent character.
49, Speed was the chief aim of
emergency housing. The hrst single
residence was occupied January l.
1919, at Niles, Ohio, two months after
the armistice. six months after the
creation of the housing corporation,
eight months after the passage of the
appropriation act.
80 Emergency war housing was
construed TO include electric door OPEN
ers, recreation parks, hot-water heat
ing system Tin Virginia) and the fur
nishing of tenants of kitchen ranges,
kitchen cabinets, patent slate wash
tubs and patent clothes driers.
pense at Vallejo, Cal, as an adjunct
to the housing, and were planned for
at Erie, Pa. and Seven Pines, Va.
a.. Single residences built by the
Conn. cost 1929. The average for
all houses was $5.673.1S.
"5. The direction Of Congress to use
the office of the supervising architect
of the Treasury was ignored. This
cost the government at least 100000.
&c. Fifteen out of fifty-one archi-
tects employed were from New York
city. New York architects were en-
ployed for work in Virginia. The
government paid all travelling and in
cidental expenses.
II. The prohibition against cost
plus percentage contracts contained
in the appropriation act was ignored
in architects contracts. The archi.
i tect9 maid