Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-03
The Housing Of Our People

| The war has brought to the
| United States Il problem of home
building which offers to constructive
craftsmanship such an opportunity
as few generations of men in pub
| lie life and responsible private sta
ton have ever known. If the Ma
tional, state and municipal govern
mcntS, cooperating with capital and
! the multitude of home seekers, i'm
provo this opportunity wisely ines
! Unable benefits will be conferred on
! the country for all time to come.
| If through shortsightedness or stup-
| id sclishncss il is ignored or neg
| lected the consequences to our insti-
tutions and our people may easily be
grave even 10 the edge of disaster.
| In the words of Secretary Wilson,
| of the Department of Labor, "own-
| ing a home gives n man an added
sense of responsibility to the nation
| al and local government that makes
! for the best type OF citizenship" The
desire to own a home, to possess q
piece of land, is one of the common
est of human ambitions. The oppor-
! tunity now before us is to make
possible the qualification of this uni
|versal longing for practically every
industrious family, to the immediate
profit of the country as a whole and
to its people as individuals. A Ma
ton of home owners will be a Nation
of straight thinking. progressive
men and women, undisturbed by
the apostles of wild radicalism and
| Iintelligently devoted 10 the improve
ment of social and political condi-
tions.
In the past, the housing problem
has been treated piecemeal. Indus
trial corporations, railroad COM
panies and employers in other fields
sought to make their employees con-
tented by building homes for them
to rent or buy. A city or u village
tackled the problem to rid itself of
Il plague spot. individuals united in
building and loan societies, usually
restricted TO local activities. Real
estate promoters, some of them dis
honest, have developed certain sec
tions, often in large operations. But
these activities have been the result
of private enterprise, occasionally
philanthropic in its origin, and in no
case based on q Nationwide concep-
| ton of the needs and possibilities of
home ownership throughout the
whole country.
To-day the call for homes is far
greater than ever, the chance to fit
the house to the man is presented in
a form never known before. and
public sentiment is prepared for CO.
operation on scale such as never
has been attempted.
The reason for this is that homes
are now required in every section of
the country. The population in Pasa-
dena, California. wants 500; tho
people of Pittslield, Mass, want $50;
| The residents of Chicago call for
12.OO0;' the city of Dallas, TaXas,
needs 400. In every section of the
United States, urban and rural, the
cry is for dwelling houses.
To build these dwelling houses
money is needed, and the men who
control money can do no more palrl-
otic or profitable thing than to sup
ply it to home builders. BY furnish
ing the money. they would provide
the means TO employ labor, and en-
Moved labor would seek to invest its
surplus earnings in more dwelling
houses. The menace of non-employ-
ment would quickly disappear, the
capital would return a good profit,
the owners of those dwelling houses
would contribute by their contented
Industry to the further and continu-
ing material, political and social
prosperity of the Nation.
The great machine by which the
capital for this tremendous enter
prise should be distributed can be
erected by the capitalists of the
United States in accordance with the
sound principles of business. What
is required is a corporation, or num-
ber of corporations, financed from
the great money centers, and oper-
atinp in accordance with general
policy modified to meet the needs
and practices of various sections. 1t
is likely that the laws of most States
as they stand now would protect
borrowers and lenders equally; If in
any State this was not the case. the
necessary legislation could be enact
ed. The terms of loans should be
as liberal as sound business practice
would permit; the element of char
Iitv should not enter the transactions
Of the corporation. but its directors
should be animated in their conduct
by the highest ideals and prudence.
! Tt is not necessary to point gut the
beneficial effect which would be pro-
duced on business by the adoption of
n broad gauge. enlightened policy of
liberal assist9nce to home builders.
Contractors would promptly get to
work. A heaithv demand for build
ling materials would correct the abb
normal conditions that now exist.
ICapital and labor would profit mu-
ft1oIIxx Fr0vx, ouarv o0ffoOa oraofad