The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-05-03
THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

Daily it becomes more apparent
that the man who does not own a
home must acquire one either by
building or purchase or he must pay
higher rent. The longer he post
pones action the more he will pay.
There are not enough houses to meet
the demand and the people must have
shelter.
A wave of indignation is sweeping
over the larger cities turnout the
country because of the rapidly rising
rents and against landlords who, it
is alleged, are taking advantage of the
present situation. In New York not
few tenants who had enjoyed leases
signed two years ago, in many in
stances at less than pre-war scale, re-
fused to meet increased rent and were
promptly elected by the landlords.
The rents in New York are said to
have gone up from so TO 100 per cent.
Even before the armistice last No
vember, in the city of Washington. D.
c.. rents were reported to have gone
up from 100 to 800 per cent. Today
in Pittsburgh, in Philadelphia, in Bos-
ton. in Baltimore, in Kansas City. in
st. Louis, in Los Angeles, in Detroit.
in fact, thruout the breadth and length
of this land, rents have risen to COM
plete the chain of the exceedingly high
cost of living and to Fex, harass and
irritate those who do not own their
homes and who must have roof over
their heads.
Tho nf wi cit
as viewed by Investment News are:
Government embargo on construc-
ton; high cost of material and labor;
complete suspension of construction
because of inadequate returns on cap
ital invested.
The solution of the problem nat
urally is the removal of the causes
that brought the problem into exist
ence. Future adequate supply of
into existence thru stimulating pro-
duction.
But even here some factors must
be reckoned with, factors that exist
and probably will not pass away for
years to come. Even if building on a
large scale were to be started at once,
it would have little, if any, effect upon
the rental problem, for the simple rea-
son that the cost of construction to-
day is anywhere from 60 to 100 per
cent higher than in pre-war days.
Now capital will be invested only
where adequate returns are shown,
consequently if construction is to go
on under present conditions with la
Dor and materials almost 100 per cent
costlier than they were four or five
years ago, it follows inevitably that
on such investments a just return
must be shown to the builder, and
that adequate return means higher
rents.
| Aside from the handicap in the mat
ter of high costs of materials, there
| is another handicap which is equally,
if not more serious than the handicap
of material, and it is the handicap of
labor. Labor shows no tendency to
decline, quite the opposite. In the
last few weeks a widespread campaign
| has been started with a view to re-
ducing both hours of labor per day
and the total number of hours per
week. Under such conditions it is
simply hoodwinking ones self to ex-
pect a material reduction in the cost
| of construction or to expect, because
of the decreased hours of labor per
day. an increased efficiency. Such a
/ situation, if it continues any great
length of time, and Mr.. Gompers and
other labor leaders say that it will
continue, can have no other tendency
than to keep present costs high, and
! probably raise that level even higher.