Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-04-01

Roland S. O'Neil, real estate ed
itor of the Washington Times, in a
recent issue of that paper points
out that private building interests
the country over must devise plans
for enlarging the Homecoming circle
if they would prevent municipalities
from going in for the construction
and sale of home property. In his
article, Mr.. O'Neil says:
AN opportunity to use construc-
tive initiative is afforded the real
estate men and private building IN
terests by the nations pressing
need for homes. II anything unusual
is suggested by the governments
housing activities during the war,
and by the present keen interest of
municipalities in the housing and
building enterprises it is that the
"ten-cent store idea" must be ap-
piled to the building industry.
1.-THE home building problem of
the country must be approached
from a new angle The central idea
must be TO build well, yet inexpen-
siveIy, so that the opportunity of
home ownership may be widened
and extended to persons to whom,
heretofore, it has been closed.
"The problem can be solved by
private interests. If they devote
their time and bend their energies
to the situation they will meet the
same success that was theirs in the
automobile and in the piano indus
tries.
The paramount idea in all these
industries is to increase sales. The
task is accomplished by two means:
a. Decreasing the cost of manu-
featuring without seriously dimin-
ishing quality, and (2) deyising
ways and means whereby purchases
may easily pay for the product
These are the two big questions
confronting the home building in
dustry in the United States today.
They must be solved and there is
growing indication that unless they
are solved by private interests, that
governmental agencies will be
forced into the field.
Just last week the division of
public works and construction de-
velopment of the department of
labor was called upon by the mayor
of Milwaukee for an opinion con-
corning the desirability of a project
in which the city of Milwaukee
would be the chief stockhoIder in a
BODYBUILDING company in which
prospective home owners could buy
stock and possession of a home,
with payments thereon distributed
in small sums over fifteen or TWEEN
ty years. At first glance this appears
to have no points of differentiation
over the conventional building and
loan association plan. But the IN
usual feature in the Milwaukee
proposal is that these homes will
be made available for laboring peo-
pie who will buy stock rather than
homes.
1.-THE problem Milwaukee is en-
deavoring to meet grows out of the
necessity of many laborers to
change jobs. To own property in
the conventional sense means that
if a laboring man must change his
employment and move from one
city to another, his home owning
tends to make him somewhat less
lTb6 IudH ne "OUll DG "lLuOuL hle
real estate. The Milwaukee idea is
that he shall buy stock in the cor
poration, have possession and all
the privileges of ownership and, in
the event of being forced to seek
employment in some other city
either the city will buy his stock
with a proper discount for rent, or
he shall be allowed to sell his stock.
This plan is incorporated in a bill
now before the Wisconsin legisla-
ture and is important in that it is
Indicative of what private building
interests may expect of cities If
they do not themselves devise some
plan whereby a man may buy his
home as he buys his piano or auto
mobile.
"In other words there must be