Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-17

skilled. Industrious and self respecting
men and invite in only those who, are
willing and eager to live in slums and
! cellars and you suffer a very definite
loss.
| So the bankers and business men in
bridgeport, Conn, felt about the
matter. And Bridgeport is one Of the
few cities IN the United States that is
not bothered by dangerously overtaxed
housing facilities, rapacious landlords
and a prospect 6f increasing hardship
| for the multitudcs who have to rent the
I homes they live in.
There were forward minded and re-
Sourceful citizens in Bridgeport who,
confronted with novel problem in mu-
nlcipal affairs, preferred to follow an
accepted rule Of good industrial manage
mCnt. They decided to hold their or
Ganization together.
They made no sacrifices They were
! not phianthrOpistS. But in one respect
they differed from many other investors
of the hour They were content with
q per cent return on their money. Thus
they were able to organize system of
housing development that offers many
! needed lessons to country in which
-. .O00. 900 people are without proper
dwelling accommodations.
Governor Smith. of New York. who
has just called a special session of the
Legislature to consider the growing
problem Of the shcltcrleSs in and about
Manhattan. may be led finally to seek a
remedy in the example offered by
/ Bridgeport.
He will find no traces of n miracle
in the Connecticut city. He will find
/ an absence of extortionatc greed and he
will find applied business sense. He
will find small dwellings. stoutly and
gracefully built, designed by the best
architects in the country and set in an
agreeable environment. being purchased
/ by tenants with a monthly rental that
seldom exceeds $40.
1t is not fair to assume that such
houses might be duplicated now at their
original cost. though the extensive build
ing operations of the Bridgeport
Housing Corporation were carried on at
war prices and under war conditions.
All sorts of business men put money
( into the venture, which was inspired
originally by municipal officers working
in CO. operation with the heads of some
of the big manufacturing corporations.
! No effort was made to cheaper the work.
I The dwellings are far more attractive
than many of the more ornate buildings
designed by less capable architects. They
are scientifically equipped. The archi-
tccts in this instance evolved what they
called an apartment unit" in which
families pay nominal rent that in time
will give them full title to their part of
the building.
Bridgeport Is no longer red" though
once it was known as a hotbed Of unrest
and a breeding place for dangerous
strikes. Those who capitalized the
building program draw their 6 per cent
annually and are content.
Last spring in these columns sug-
gestions for a somewhat similar build
ing scheme were urged with energy
enough to move the Mayor and others to
action.
Mr.. Moore had plans. The bankers
had plans. Builders had plans of their
own. But a succession of elaborate con
fcrences ended in nothing for the simple
reason, apparently, that there were not
enough people about who were willing
to accept per cent on their money.
Larger profits were too easily made in
the speculative field.
Small dwellings, of the sort that
probably will be provided for In one
way or another by the New York Legis-
lature are sorely needed here, and the
lack of them will continue to be an
acute problem for years to come. But
thus far no one at City Hall appears
to have heard of what was done In
Bridgeport, and Mr.. Sproul and the
leaders in the State Legislature seem
still unaware that the question of
housing is swiftly becoming one of the
most painful of the present decade.
In an interesting table of building
costs published the other day, Mr.
Crawford showed that the cost Of build
ing, based Upon current expenditures
for material and labor, has almost
tripled since 1914. But II Is clear that
even with present costs large, organized
investments in building would be
profitable.
Estimates by the engineers of the
United States Housing Corporation
show that the country is in need Of
new houses and apartments to ac-
commodate 5000, 900 families. The de-
mand for new living qgirters win be
4ia. -