New-York tribune., 1919-01-30
Building Lessons
Learned Daln'ing g W an
I O Aid Peace Work
Colossal Housing Problems
Surmounted Haaiily Will
Show Results in Nation
III Reconstruction Period

WASHINGTON. Jan. 29.-onc of the
work in building has been done in the
United States during the last two
years. This work, done as a war. meas
ure, points to a peace time ideal and
shows what is possible for America in
the reconstruction period.
1t had to be wizard work if the
critical need for housing the American
workmen who had been drawn from
their homes by the phenomenal en-
pansion of plants engaged on arma-
ment contracts and transferred to new
ioca!ltles was to be adequately met
in l9l7 and 1918 Approximately
100000 workmen moved to vicinities
of new and enlarged shipyards and
munltlon plants to work for the peace
which has come to US. However. the
need for housing is now greater than
ever in towns not effected by the war
building programme, and this need
must be met promptly.
Population Shifted
America witnessed big shift Of
population in those two wears, AS TO-
seph D. Leland, third vice president Of
the United States Housing Corpora
tion, points out:
=. Norfolk, Yesterday town Of $4,000
IS to-day estimated at 60.00O Della
ware, from Philadelphia to Whining
ton, has hccomc ali aces sible and
crowded dustrial metropolis. The old
boom towns of the West were not more
sudden than the Developments We have
witnessed in places where the govern
ment procurement Offices found fur
naces, latnes and brains capable of
pe'hg diverted to the manufacture Of
munitions
"The little plant that employed 100
IN peace tunes has been intrusted with
oToers calling for the employment OF
ooo; great steel works that employed
thousands have developed proerammo
demanding thousands more: plants that
worked one shift now work two and
three. and the adjacent towns bulge
with the influx Of additional workers
VINO have come to man the extra
Great Shortage Found
ihese workers, of course, had to live
ana sleep somewhere when working
hours were over. This Unprecedented
pressure OF population produced an ac-
companying shortage of housing &C
commodations that made living in such
places unbearable. AS the workers
could not, unfortunately, tote their
homes. turtle fashion. on their backs
when they went out ito seek new Jobs.
provision of some sort had to be made
for them. An official survey showed
shortage to exist Of over 10000
fouses of the type acceptable to work
men.
In most cases the need quickly
passed beyond the point where exist
ing facilities could be made to suffice
or where increased transportation to
nearby nelghborho oods could bring any
| enecuve relief. Private enterprise
could not be counted on for any really
helpful solution of the tremendous dif
ficulties of the situation. The builder
who had yearly average Of twenty
houses to his credit was not equal to a
problem that required 800 houses in a
quick rush. Building costs, too. were
abnormally high, and labor too hard to
get to make private building on such a
large scale very tempting.
Federal Aid Given
1t WAS recognized that the govern
ment must go to the rescue.
And 60 to the rescue it did as the
colossal building projects fostercd and
carried through by it's two accredited
agencies--the Emergency Fleet Cor
poraton and the Bureau of Indus
trial Housing and Transportation bear
witness. House building suddenly
ioomed up as one OF the most impor-
tant parts Of the war programme. To
get, and certainly to keep, labor it
was realized that the workmen had to
be comfortably housed in convenient
and sanitary dwellings. offered at n
price they could afford to pay. Men
rcbellcd at having to huddic three in n
room, and refused work at plants near
which no accommodations could be
found for their families
The now men asked where they can
fnd decent quarters and we have to