Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-09-14

uaasion 81 the properly "A question att
er ever possible allowance had been
made for increased costs OF all kinds.
In the effort to prevent the gross
est of these abuses the state legisla-
ture enacted laws which were intend
ed for the protection of tenants. and
intended to curb the rapacfty OF. cons
s%cienceles owners Of rental property!
The good faith Of the legislature ap-
e not to be questioned, butt ap-
pears that in its effort to make hciaeE
more numerous and accessible. it has
accomplished exactly the opposite. In
placing restrictions on the handling
and rental Of residence property, and
in limiting the returns therefrom by
various e%xactions. the law has operat-
ed to curtail building activity, and
| money which would otherwise have
been drawn into building enterprises
by the prospect OF large and quick
profits is being devoted to other
uses. ~
Among other things, it is said that
the. speculative builder has disappear
I'd. There is a popular prejudice
against speculation. Part of that pre-
JUDGE is well founded. But whatever
may be the act with reference to 9TH
or forms of speculation, the specula-
tive builder has been q very useful
citizen. The speculative builder as a
mar who builds houses, not because
he wants them.for his own use. or be-
cause he expects to hold and rent
them, but purely as a speculation. He
builds expecting to sell at a profit.
Sometimes he is able to sell at a profit.
Sometimes he suffers a loss. But
whatever the results to him, the COM
nlunity has more houses; and with
more houses the public has more to
choose from. n the problem OF rents
adjusts itself.
The reason that moro houses have
mot been built, in New York as else
where. is that there has been doubt
as to the profitableness of building.
Scarcity Of labor, scarcity Of materials,
high prices for both, and uncertainty
as to the supply Of each. have all been
contributing factors. Doubts as to
how long the high scale of costs would
be maintained has been another and
very important factor. The prospec-
tive builder. whether for personal use
rental or SALE. has been deferred by
this fear Of sustaining loss. And II
legislation operates so as to create
either h certainty or the probability
, we Lose ~ oFf@o& = A.. - ~
pie will NOT build.
Experience with housing Legislation
illustrates the difficulties which tn.
state encounters when it undertake,
to provide a substitute for the freel,
operating laws of trade. When TIL
price of one article is fixed it become
Immediately necessary to fix tn
prices of a dozen other articles in or
der to avoid bringing the industrial
machine to a standstill. If we fl
rents we must fix building costs o
there will be no building. And If W
Xix the prices of lumber, shingles, ce
ment, paint and hardware, we mus
n fix the production costs of all these
is which means that we must fix tn
x wages and conditions of labor. An
e all that will be ineffective unless W
e invest somebody with authority Il
keep everybody else at work. &
Government functions best, an
the people are most prosperous, whe
the activities of government are dc
voted as completely as possible to tn
removal Of every unnecessary, restrie
r ton from the operation of legitimat
individual industry and enterprise.