The Washington herald., 1920-06-06


ing was held before tho House Ways
and Means Committee.
Senator William NJ. Calder, HIM
self a practical builder. Is closely
following all legislation looking to-
ward relief for the shortage OF
homes. and cave to The Herald his
opinion of the future prospects of
Legislation in Ielief os the housing
problem.
Opinion of Senator.
you know. of course, that the
cnly possible way to relieve the
housing situation" he said. 'is by
the building of hcuses-or more and
more houses. 1t was because of the
urgency of the demand for hous-
ing all over the country that I en-
deavornd to cbtGin immediate emer-
gency relief from Congress by the
introduction last ,Srmmer OF the bill
to exempt the interest on mortCages
up to $4,000 from taxation under
the income tax law. This was the
bill which Repre- sentative McLaugh-
lin, of Michigan. introduced in the
House.
THAT bill was criticised In some
quarters as bearing the possible
construction that II would exempt
$4,000 of interest and thus upset
the entire field of investment. So /
had the bill redrafted to remove
that possible ambiguity and II Is
this bill. introduced in the House by
Represen ntative Siegel last month on
which We had hoped to obtain a
good measure of emergency relief.
Opposed by Treasury.
we found the Treasury Depart
ment firmly in opposition to any
Legislation which would diminish to
any degree the governments rev.
enues. Former Secretary Glass said
in a letter to Chairman Fordney OF
tho House Ways and Means Com
mittee that cur bills would cut
down the revenue to an extent en-
tirely out of proportion TO their
tendency to encourage building.
ct thought then that he was
wrong, but had no data at hand
with which to controvert that state
ment, which, ccmirg from such a
source. produced a strongly deter
rent effect upon tho minds OF Con-
gressmen and Senators. The same
question was at issue in the New
York State legislature during the
winter, and / hoped. and until the
last believed, that the State legis-
lature would act and show the way
to Congress.
but there, too, the influence OF
doctrinaire economists seemed to
prevail. although. IL I remember
correctly. the bills obtained major
ity votes on two occasions, but not
within FIVE CT six Of enough to pass
mot until the recent hearing be-
fore the Ways and Means Commit
tee was opportunity given to pre-
sent the facts regarding these bills.
and want to say that ir r1y opinion
those bearings were among the best
and mcst satisfactory 1 have ever
attended. The committee showed an
eagerness to learn the facts, and
from all parts of the country came
men with facts tc present from
their Individual knowledge of the
situation based on long experience
in every branch o: the building in
dustry.
ut Vas perhaps natural that EN-
phasis was laid on the financial
aspects of the problem. for, as
everybody knows, money is the pre-
requisite of all building operations.
1t is the first step, and until il is
taken there is no need of taking
any second steps.
President Kelsey. of the Title
Guarantee and Trust Company, one
of the four or five largest institu-
tions engaged in tho financing of
real estate and building operations
In the country, showed how the
funds of the mortgage market had
been drained ty tie financial opera
tions of the government during and
since the war and how the income
tax law in oreration was not only
turning investors away from mort
gage investments, but was rapidly
draining the market of the funds
previously invos osted.
He was ably sustained in this
contention by MIR. Harron, of Colum-
bia, s. c., who Represented the case
from the point of view of the
Southern farmer, who, having been
persuaded by the government to buy
war bonds and Victory bonds during
and since the war now finds de-
;nands made LpoE him for payment
OF maturing MORTGAGES, and no
source of supply Of money to re-
fund his mortgages because the
usual sources of supply have gone
dry, and he Is forced to sell his
bonds at a ruinous discount in order
to save his plantation from fore
closure. That is q condition preva-
lent all over the country.
Among the builders who were
present end testified to their readi-
ness to carry on operations IL the
basic capital could be obtained AMI
who had been compelled to suspend
or abandon extensive operations
when they found the mortgage
money was unobtainable were e. L.
Brown, of birmingham and New
York; Vice President Greve of the
Realty Associates, OF Brooklyn, N.
Y: Robert e. Simon of the Mer-
chants Association. of New York;
Representative Rowe. of Brooklyn,
and many others. while I personally
gave the committee chapter out Of
my own experience on the same line.
Indeed. all the evidence bore
strongly in support OF the bills, but
tion on the Point raised in opposi-
tion by former Secretary Glass.
However. this has since been sup
piled In the form of a brief by Secre-
tary Parish of the Advisory Council.
HE shows. coLvinciigly ly, <that the |
to the government from
new tsxables. the rrocvct of q. re-
vived end stimulated building In
dustry would amount to several
times the revenue that would be