Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-01-27
WILMINGTON NEEDS
oo.tknuad from paxs 4

IN 300 shares, to Ire BubeCribAd primarily
by the merchants and the industries, and
also by the public in general IN proportion
to tho stake Of each in the progress and
welfare OF Wilmington. Dividends should
be limited to 4 per cent inasmuch - the
real return from tho investment Is to 10
found in moro and better holmes, and =
growing city.
Because Of tho sise Of the building oor-
poration, il would be possible to operate
on large scale and to reap the economies
of such production. In tho opinion Of
many the present high costs Of home build
ing in Wilmington are partially due to
the fact that there are no big contractors
iii tho city, and each small contractor
with but few men working under him
requires not only builders profit but his
own salary as we'll. The $50 bricklayers
in the city are working for 40 contractors,
illustrating the results Of present UNI
economical small scale production.
1t has been suggested that the housing
corporation should enter into an agree
ment with the Building Trades Council,
and with each Of the unions represented
in the council, whereby strikes and inter
union disputes would bc eliminated ~
the workmcn on the housing corporations
projects in return for preferential rights to
structed at the average cost of construc-
ton. II some such arrangement can be
arrived at, the labor cost OF construction
would be held at minimum.
The housing corporation would devote
its main energies in the immediate future
to building standard attractive low priced
homes for industrial workers. With the
economies that can be effected by the
housing corporation IN purchase oil ma,
terials, in construction, IN marketing, ana
in securing capital at a 4 per cent rate oil
interest, IT is estimated that n six-room
house with bath and kitchen can be sold
for from $1,000 to $500. The lowest
priced dwellings now being erected by
private builders sell from $1,000 to $4,000
up. and are obviously constructed tor the
salaried and professional groups: In thus
field the private contractors should 10
encouraged TO continue construction. while
the housing corporation would take az itS
aim the building of the cheapest possible
decent home for the wage Garner. These
houses should be rented or soid on
monthly payment plan.
The corporation should offer itS services |
TO individuals who desire to build homes |
provided those individuals either own a |
lot or have in cash 10 per cent of the cost |
of the new house and the lot, and where |
the individual is in position to return TO |
the corporation the amount OF It's adj |
vance In monthly payments OF not less |
than one per cent per month.
In order TO prevent spectators from |
stepping in between the housing corpora |
tion and the purchasers or renters OF |
homes. the corporation should not allow |
one person TO purchase more than one OF |
its houses. should manage its OWN rental |
properties directly, and should continue To |
build more homes rs the only guarantee |
against the possibility of prohteering.
The building corporation should be |
organized under q charter broad enough to |
permit the corporation to sell credits |
based upon collateral arising IRON its
operations The funds OF the corporation
will finance construction up TO the point
where mortgages or other securities can
be issued and sold or used as collateral Tor
further working funds here
will thus be "a rotating iund oil constantly
increasing effectiveness. -
The report saws other cities are meeting
the problem in this manner, the expcrienc-
es of number being reviewed.
EVILS OF CONGESTION.
The report cites some of the local evils
OF congestion. 1t SAYS; In five OF the more
crowded sections, 26,7s5 people were
found TO be living III "a, ,27l rooms, or
more than one person for every room In
every dwelling. In a section lying In the
Fourth. Sixth and Eighth wards, 9,o5o
people were living IN 7,056 rooms, or at
the high rate Of three people Tor every two
rooms of every home IN the section In
individual houses OF eleven rooms, as
high as five or six families were found
with 2S and 25 people respectively:
Across the Christiana river, In the Second
ward. there were shaeks with tide water
standing in the cellars and even in the first
floors of homes. In the Tenth ward ten
room dwelling was housing six families OF
16 people; and an eight-room house, tour
families of Is people The Eleventh ward
was reported as terribly overcrowded.
From q number of cases selected at random
ii was found that an average slx-room
house contained three families OF Ia
people. That these conditions undoubted-
Nv persist to the present time is Indicated
by the following isolated cases OF over
Near Claymont street and Christiana
avenue. a detached room which was
formerly not inhabitated, and which has
no water, no heat and no sanitary facill-
ties, is now rented for $40 per month as a
family home.
Near Third street and Railroad avenue,
a single room without water or sanitary
facilities rents for s3 a week. IL IS the home
of "A man, his wife and hab-grown step
daughter.
Building alterations during recent
months indicate that landlords are making
over their properties In order to accoInino-
date two and three families IN the same
space that was formerly allotted to one
One old seven-room house on East Thir-
teenth street was recently bought Tor
81 800, remodeled into an eighteen-room
house, and now brings IN monthly
rental of SIP. A two-story one family
house on East Twenty-second street,
which formerly rented for sl9 month,
was recently converted into apartments
for two families and now rents for $50 a
month. The adjoining one family house
has also been altered. Similar alterations
are in evidence all through the older resi-
dence sections of Wilmington.
ERADICATION or sLuns.
For the eradication of slums here the
report suggests: The Million Dollar Hous-
ing CORPORATION should establish q sec
tion for the management of rental proper
ties. This section should offer It's services
TO the owners of tenement houses and |
dwellings, especially In the congested
areas, TO act as their agents In the npkeep |
Of the properties and in all dealings with |
the tenants, including the collection OF |
rent. The rental section should employ |
women rent collectors, who by tempera- |
- 1s,,. he