Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-04-05

III New lork. Ihus. all might nave gone
well with rent-profiteering had not the
landlords sent large delegation to COM
bat an even larger delegation of tenants
mistake of being inpolite to the legis-
lators. They said that if laws were
passed restricting the profits from rents
they would 60 to court and have them
de clared unconstitutional, and they fin
ally frankly told the assembly that they
had the inalienable right to proflteer II
they wanted to.
Now, to profiteer is one thing and to
admit it quite shame2essly is another.
which the landlords soon found out. AS
one scandalized editor commented. mo
one could fail to be amazed at their in
discretion. That agents and owners
should put on all the price that the
trade will fairly bear is to be expected,
he said but that they should shake
the big stick at the same time and shout
percentages which no one else can con. on.
sider fair or reasonable is, to say the
least, a psychological blunder. 1t in
evitably works to their own disadvan-
tage. Blatant talk just furnishes the
apology, the excuse, which demagogues'
or dreamers, or both, need to put over
repressive legislation, regardless OF &C.
onomic truth"
Whatever it may have furnished to
the demagogues and dreamers, 1t AT
least furnished the tenants with spien-
did argument. After the landlords got
through, in fact. the tenants really dian
have to say much at ALL They mad come
prepared to convince the legislature, os
tremendous accumulation or evldence
and argument, that rent.profiteerlhs
was going on, and then the landlords
heat them to it and supplied all the evil
dence for them. 1t was little dlsap-
pointing, but most profitable.
The most important rent-rellef bill
now before the legislature is one which
construes as "presumptively Oppressive
| all rent increases in excess OF 20 per
cent, which have been in New York
since April 1, 1919, and which gives the
| courts power to pass upon all such cases
Another limits landlords profits to
20 per cent under the broad police pow,
ers Of the state which may be extended
to cover matters affecting public health.
| The tenants had hoped to secure even
better terms than these. They want a
bill passed, limiting a landlords profits
to ten per cent on the same sort OF a
basis that loan sharks are limited in
their profits, as we'll as public utilities,
such as street cars and gas. Housing
under present conditions, they assert,
is just as much of public service as
these latter. and should be treated as
such, Indeed, some Of the tenants
leagues are working for municipal hous-
ing with ever-increasing gusto. The city
has appropriated money with which to
build docks for rent; $50 why not
houses?" they ask.
While the city has so far exhibited no
enthusiasm for civic housing program.
several of its officials have recently
stated that they feared it would be
forced upon them. The city is short OF
houses and apartments for hundreds of
thousands Of families. The majority OF
it's apartments are crowded to the point
while recently large numbers of the
homeless have been compelled to seek
shelter in dilapidated lofts.
Housing facilities, as Is only too well
known, are scarce all over the country
as result of the lack Of building dur
ing the war, but nowhere else have
conditions reached such an acute stage
as they have in New York and in the
nearby New Jersey suburbs. So dis
tressing are the conditions in Hacken-
sack, for instance, that the municipality
recently offered to evicted tenants the
unoccupied apartments in the city Jail.
Commenting on this at recent ten
ants mass meeting in New York, the
speaker stated that such an offer would
be eagerly accepted by many families in
his neighborhood.
"No, we won't occupy the Jail" cor
rected a mild-faced tenant in the aud
ience. flourishing his arms in blood
thirsty manner. well reserve that for
the landlords"