Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-05
The Rent Rebellion
BY Frederic J. Haskin

pncre IN all Ot tho reeIdeniial ulkulcfs |
appears TO bc charged with desperate |
motives.
Gradually, the tenants who have suffer- |
cd from rentprohteoring during the past |
year are organizing in their vnrious bor- |
oughs and preparing for action. They have |
not yet decided just what the action If To /
be, but all arc agreed that they must /
take it. Tenants mass meetings are bong |
held on an average Of every other night, |
tenants petitions and protests are keeping |
the printers busy and the temper of these |
meetings hnd protests may be gathered |
from the following excerpt from an cx-
soldier tenants speech which WAS do |
lIvered from soap-box platform the |
other evening"
I'VE went 10 war to protect our homes, |
ladies' and gentlemen. and now that we |
have returned we find them wrcsted from |
us by an enemy more insidious moro vii
lainous than the Hun. ] need not say who
that enemy is"
Here loud applause ON the audience
rignifed that nc need not, but the speaker
could not resist the temptation to cay it
anyway you all know who il is," he
continued. 'fYou have all suffered from
his hideous attacks rhat enemy, ladies
and gentlemen, is the rent profto0.
TENANTS TO ORGANIZE.
A few nights later. circular was dis
tributed from the platform Of n similar
meeting, calling on al outraged tenants TO
join the Tenants Rights League Of Great
or New York, which is seeking To bring
together into one organization, | 900 900
tenants 10 resist to the utmost. through
concerted action, further profitecring IN
the home of our people"
Full page advertisements in tho daily
papers and plaza rbs in the street cars, sub
way trains and elevated trains VIII make
these leechng home-breakers run UP the
white flag and call for mercy" pursued
the circular dramatically. This is your
battle. Do not look for substitute to do
your fighting Get on the firing line with
your victinised brother and go into action
Mt once"
So far as is known, tho only firing limo
the tenants have IN mind Mt present is
situated in the midst Of the State Lcgis-
la'ure At Albany but occasionally there ~
threat Of staging more violent ono
should tins battle end d,sastrously The
conduct Of the Legislature ON the ques-
tion of rent-profteering has been one 70
challenge the admiration Of al students of
politics IT has professsd repeatedly in the
form Of innumerahle bills. stern dasire to
punish greedy landlords. According ~
one Albany authority. il has introduced ms
many as q such disciplinary measures
during tho present session. Again we have
heard IT was ~. but whether IL or 30, the
fact remains. as the said authority points
out. that there is nothing easier than 70
introduce bill in anY legislative body,
provided you arc member. Tho diff
ficulty lies in getting II passed.
For while this syrnpathetic but i'm
potent course satisfied the tenants. but
recently, AZ the evictions and dispos@ess
notices increased. IL was suggested to the
Legislature that little action wonld not
be dispieasing Thus, urged and prodded
hy their constituents, the members Of tho
State Assembly AZ last reluctantly mar
ruwed their attention 70 nine Of the most
promising bill. and announced that they
xrre about ready 10 put lew OF them
through
Immediately. new protests began 70
arrive in Albany, but this time from out
ragged landlords, who asserted that the
passngc Of any bills c,utaIling their actIv'-
ties would sirnnly spoil everything. They
pleaded with the Legislature 70 use a
little common sense. Common sense, they
said, was not to interfere with the free
course of rents, bat 10 pass law exempt
ing mortgages from taxes, 50 that peopin
would build more houses. When you re-
State congressman, you are merely Great
ing 4 palliative and are making no effort
to strike at the roots of the problem. The
thing TO do Is to build, build, buIldl
MAKE LEGISLATORS MAD.
This rather bewildered the Legislature,
and many Of its members we're inclined 10
believe that the landlords were right,
especially since they began 70 hear dis
quieting reports OF the spread of tenants
soviets and residential Bolsbevism IN
New York. Thus, all might have gone
we'll with rent-prohteerlng had not the
landlords sent large delegation to com
bat an even larger delegation of tenants 70
Albany This delegation made the mistake
of being Impoiite TO the Legislators. They
said that Il laws were passed restricting
the profits from rents they would go 10
court and have them declared unconstItu
tional. and they finally frankly told the
assembly that they had the inalienable
right to profiteer if they wanted to.
Now, to profteer is one thing and to ad
init it quite shamelessly is another, which
the landlords soon found out. As one
scandalised editor commented, mo one
| could fail 10 be amazed at their indisere-
/ tion that agents and owners should put
| on all the price that the trade VIII 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 cons der fair or reason
able, is, to say the least, a psychological
| blunder Ii inevitably works to their own
| disadvantage. Blatant ak just furnishes
| the apology, the excuse, which demagogues
or dreamers, or both, need to put over re
/ pressive legislation, regardless of economic
| truth"
| Whatever it may have furnished to the
| denlagogues and dreamers, it at least
/ furnished the tenants with a splendid
+. argument After the landlords got through
| in fact, the tenants really didn't have to
say much at ALL They had come prepared
to convince the Legislature, by tre-
| mendous accumulation of evidence and
argument, that rent-prohteering was
! gong on, and then the landlords beat them
| to it and supplied all the evidence for
them. 1t was little Disappointing but
| most profitable.
The most important rent-relief bill now
| before the Legislature is one which con-
strues as ''presumptively oppressive" all
/ rent increases IN excess of 25 per cent
which have been made in New York since
April |, 1919, and which gives the courts
power to pass upon all such cases An
| other limits landlords profits to 20 per
cent under the broad police powers of the
| State which may be extended to cover
matters affecting public health
WANT tRoFITs LIMITED.
M - u