The Connecticut labor press., 1919-12-06
HARTFORD STARTS
 PLAN TO MEET
 RENT SCARCITY
Accommodations Planned to Care for at Least 2,OO0 Persons,
 Including Children.
REASONABLE. CHARGES
Primarily for Benefit of Wage Farmers, Adopted to Maintain
 City's Industrial Supremacy.

Hartford, Dec 5-Prominent Hart ford men, realizing the relation of good housing accommodations to industrial conditions, have started a movement to supply decent homes for workers and others which may be taken up i'll other communities.
 Members of the housing committee of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, of the Manufacturers Association of Hartford county and men prominent in financial circles were i'll attendance at the meeting called to consider the pro ject Thursday, and extensive plans were discussed. There will be no furth- CT discussion of the pressing needs of the situation. That is recognized and the question now is: How to provide the remedy, work out the solution and put up the houses. It is believed that sufficient capital to finance accommoda- tions for at least 1000 people will be forthcoming at once.
 The plans to be worked out are along the lines of those already adopted by manufacturing interests sin New Brit ain. In accordance with this system single houses, double houses, and so- called apartment houses will be erect ed. Each manufacturing concern or other business corporation which may come into the project will pledge sup port to the movement in accordance to the ability of the concern and in return will be entitled to require of the cor poration which will operate the build ing project specific number of single and double houses or accommodations in an apartment house proportionate to the amount of capital the company may put into the general fund.
 If ic nnf nrnnnced +o erec% a1l fb a houses in any particular community, but to use careful judgment in apportion- ing them to localities i'll which the needs are greatest. The housing corporation as it was discussed would collect the rents, look after the insurance, repairs and other incidentals of a landlords duties and at all times strive to pro- vide modern rents at reasonable figures.
 The housing situation in Hartford, it is believed, is rapidly approaching a point where, if the city is to maintain It's industrial ltand cofnfnereiai prosperity definite steps-apart from private enter X~ise-must be taken. The spirit of the meeting was that pub1ic-spirited men could no longer tolerate the city's defic- iency i'll building operations, particular ly III respect to dwellings.
 No single class of the city's business life can be looked upon as likely to benefit solely by the movement It is a matter, it was pointed out, in which the insurance company, the department store and the manufacturing establish mena are all deeply interested.
 Among those attending the initial gathering were Charles B. Cook, vice president of the Royal Typewriter Com pany and chairman of, the Chamber of Commerce housing committee; Francis R. Cooley, banker; Charles B. Whittle- sey, president of the Hartford Rubber Works; Leon P. Broadhurst,. president of the Phoenix National Bank, and Samuel Ferguson, vice-president of the Hartford Electric Light Company
 Not only are rents high and houses scarce, but in a number of instances landlords have definitely rented apart ments only to cancel the obligation when 1t was discovered that there were chi1- dren in the family. One instance may be cited of a government official who sought to rent apartments or house i'll Hartford for the winter who was refused a number of times. He was prepared to pay substantial figure for mended. He has three children, rang ing in age from six to F, years. De spite recommendations by high munich pal officials and others he had extreme difficulty in securing i1abitation owing to the landlords objections to children.
 When you buy cap see that it bears the union label. The Capmal1ers are live wire crowd and they're continually plugging for all organized labor.