Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-09-10
Perfected Measure Will Be
Offered in Senate T0mOr-
row by Subcommittee.
7 TOTO PER CENT PROFIT
FEATURE ELIMINATED
Fair and Reasonable" Charges
for Houses, Apartments and
Rooms Is Stipulated.

After going over the Ball bill to
prevent profiteering in rents, as re-
vised by the Ball subcommittee, the
Senate District committee determined
today to introduce the bill in the Sen.
ate tomorrow.
The measure, as perfected, will be
considered again by the committee
before the Senate meets tomorrow
and, If possible, the bill not only will
be introduced. but also will be report
ed to the Senate favorably and placed
on the calendar for early action.
A number of suggestions made by
Conrad H. Sylne, corporation counsel
to the committee have been incorpo-
rated in the revised bill. among them
elimination of the original provision
fixing a limit of to 10 per cent net
profit to be derived from renting of
houses, apartments and rooms. AS
revised, the commission which is to
administer rents in the District will
be given full discretion to determine
what shall be fair or reasonable re-
turn to property owners renting the
property.
Pattern After Act.
In this matter the committee is pat
terning the bill after the interstate
commerce act. which gives the Inter-
state Commerce Commission discretion
to determine what shall be reasonable
rates on railroads.
The bill will lay down the PROPOSE
ton that rents shall be fair and rea-
sonable in the District of Columbia.
However. it is not the desire of the
committee that the commission shall
undertake the fixing of all rents
throughout the District, but that it
shall deal only with those cases in
mission by the tenant or the landlord.
This will be made clear in the bill.
In order that the constitutionality
of the bill may be upheld in regard to
the regulation of rents in apartment
houses and hotels, which are public
in character as compared to private
houses and dwellings in which some
of the rooms are rented byssthessand-
lords, the revised bill will separate
the two, coterfng hote1s and apart
ment houses in one paragraph and
dwellings, and houses in which rooms
are rented in another.
Special provision will be made that
if one part of the bill is declared by
the courts unconstitutional, the re-
mainder of the bill shall remain in
effect.
Appeal From Decisions.
The revised bill also provides for
appeals from the decisions of the
commission to the courts.
In this connection, it is especially
provided that the government shall
their cases where appeals are made
by the landlords from the decisions
of the commission to the courts.
The committee believes that it
would be unfair to tenants to make
them go to the expense of defending
by landlords to the courts, and also
that it would deter tenants from
fighting such cases.
The bill also will provide that pend
ing the determination of any case be-
fore the commission or before the
courts on appeal from the commits
sion's decision. no eviction of tenants
shall be made.
1t repeats the Salisbury resolution
thirty days after the passage of the
rents bill.
Senator Sherman of Illinois, chair
man of the District committee, sug-
gested that possibly it would be wise
to continue in effect the SALISBURY
resolution longer period. But it was
pointed out that no evictions could be
made under the proposed law while the
cases were awaiting determination,
and that therefore the Salisbury reso-
luton would not be required.
The senators realize that in a con-
siderable number of cases much in
justice is being done by the Salisbury
act, and they are not anxious to keep
it. in force longer than necessary.
Provides for Complaint.
The bill will provide for a simple
form of complaint, avoiding technicali-
ties.
Another matter with which the bill
will deal is subletting. and a paragraph
will declare that no subleases are to
be made without the written consent
of the landlord. However, the rents
commission will be authorized to pass
upon cases where a lease has been
and circumstances arise which make
it impossible for the lessee to con-
tinue to occupy the property and the
landlor6g arbitrarily refuses to allow
the tie mt to sublet.
In e. scussing the paragraph relat-
ing tt, subletting, Senator Ball read
to the committee letter he received
today from a man who said that he
owned two houses here, for which he
receives a rental of $55 a month each.
$3.50 a month and other for 5000
a month. He cannot, under the Sauls-
bury act. recover either house. and
he is now living in an apartment
house.
Placed in Bill.
Penalties providing fines and i'm
prisonment for valuations of the pro-
posed law have been placed in the
bill.
Finally, the bill provides that six
years after it's approval it shall go
out of existence. the idea being that
the measure is intended to cover the
present emergency, and that conditions
will have settled down to such an ex-
tent in six years that it will be SAT-
to leave the matter of rents again
to the parties concerned, without fur
Their regulation by the government.
The bill will make it plain that the
situation in Washington with regard
TO housing has impressed the matter
OF rents with public interest and there
fore the matter is one which can
properly be dealt with by Congress.
German Socialists in Secret Session.
BERLIN. Tuesday. september 9 (by
the Associated Press).-The national
conference of independent socialists
opened here today with delegates
present from all parts of Germany
Secrecy marked the proceedings dur
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