Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-07
MANY Will Be MADE
/, HOMELESS JUNE Is
Central Labor Union Committee
Says 1900 Houses Needed
Here for Workers.

The pressing and immediate need Of at
least 1900 houses to accommodate skilled
workers in Wilmington and to relieve the
housing situation was emphasized IN a
report submitted to the Central Labor
Union last night by its committee on
housing adjustment. The committee s
report called attention to the detrimental
effect on the city of the present condition
which it ways will grow worse if steps,
are not taken for the construction OF more
houses.
Representing the physicians of the city
a committee composed of Drs. Emil r.
Mayerburg, John NJ. Stadter and Edwin
Bird appeared before the Central Labor
Union and explained the physicians
proposed amendment to the klair law
The matter was referred to the legislative
committee.
The report on housing adjustment is as
follows:
While no statistics have been COM
piled as TO the number of workers and
their families who will be homeless
due to their receiving notice to vacate the
premises they are at present occupying
by June 25, it is believed by your COM
mittee that the number will run up in
the hundreds.
At the present time, due to the lack
OF proper and adequate housing facilities,
workers families are living under highly
congested conditions. House after house
IN Wilmington, built originally TO accom-
modate one family, under the stress
of present conditions, is forced to accom-
modate two and even three workers
families.
Rents are soaring higher and higher
with the average tenant getting less
for his money than ever before. But
few new houses are being built to be
rented TO workers at any rental, moderate
or otherwise.
SURVEYS have been conducted in
vestigations have been made, reports
have been issued, but to date there
has been no start made with a pro-
gressive program. Some of our good citi-
zens blame the banks for refusing to
help with the building of new houses:
others blame the cost of building ma
terlals; Others pass the buck" to labor.
Your committee believes that il Will
mington is to advance as a progressive
city of its temperament should progress
we want to adopt an immediate building
program. A recent survey made by the
Bureau of Municipal Research on behalf
of the Central Labor Union and the
Service Citizens of Delaware made
the concrete recommendations of forming
a million dollar housing corporation TO
build homes for skilled workers. The
survey was complete and the report
was issued some months ago, but TO date
no start has been made 20 interest fan
cially-able citizens in this housing COR
poratiOn.
As the Central Labor Union has pointed
out on numerous occasions, we know
that there Is an absolute need at the
present time of at least fifteen hundred
new houses TO accommodate skilled
workers in Wilmington, While employ
ment conditions are steady, and there Is a
strong and urgent call for additional
workers, men and their families from
places outside of Wilmington cannot be
prevailed upon e. come 10 our city
because we cannot house them.
Temporary patching up of the housing
problem will never settle the main issue
and that is that our city needs at least
fifteen hundred new houses for workers If
we are 10 advance industrIally and COM
mercially. There can never be content
ment among the workers when they
and their families are crowded In rooms
as at the present time. While we had
been led 10 believe that IL was the in
tention of interested citizens 10 attack
our housing problem as IT should be
attacked. by building houses with the
corporation Of all concerned, il seems
that about the only thing we can do is
20 continue hoping. 1t is the opinion
of your committee that we have the
money (or can get it,, that we have the
vacant land. that we have the labor
for can get it,, and that through adop-
ton of cooperative plans for building
the urgentlv-needed houses on a whole
sale basis, the houses can be built. We
have previously pointed out that the
building OF few houses here, and few
houses there, Will never solve Whining
tons acute housing problem. What we
want today is action.
And IN the meanwhile, what is VIII
mington going to do as a community
10 arrange fornousing those who viii
be homeless. without a roof over their
heads on June %? Do we intend TO wait
until that day. or do we intend TO organize
TO aid those who will be homeless? Your
committee would suggest that all
workers who have been notified to
vacate on June 25 and have been unable
10 locate another house TO supply the
complete information to the Central Labor
Union in order that our organization may
have statistics of how many workers and
their families will be homeless on June %.
Then perhaps we, as an organization
may, through the cooperation and
support OF interested citizens, arrange
a plan 10 temporarily house these
ow-Wilmingtonians.
II is the hope of your committee
that the Central Labor Union may
be able to actively interest the whole
community IN Wilmington's desperate
housing condition. as it is more than
apparent that the time for action is
now, and we need no more studied in
vestigations or surveys.