New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-30
Jews to Call
Rent Strike
Of 100000

also attacked the Jewish landlords.
The Justice attacked the bill which
| allows Is per cent increase a year
as being too high, and also attacked
the plan for lending $50,00O0O0 to
builders to encourage construction.
House CONSUMPTION Urged
"1n spite Of all that we hcar--and
know-about rent profiteering," he
said, land the misery it is causing;
In spite Of all the talk about there be-
| ing shortage of housing; in spite of
all this there are still hundreds if not
| thousands of vacant rooms in this city.
There are houses which are almost un-
| tenanted; fine, big, healthful, beauti-
with as many as hundred rooms. And
! say to you that just as the govern
ment conscripted life during the war,
so now the Health Department can
conscript the homes Of wealth.. H.,
was interrupted by vociferous cheer
ing. When it subsidized he continued {:
II do not want to be misunderstood.
1t can conscript those houses in this
great public emergency, and rent them
at fair rental to the citizens of New
York, and pay that rental to the owners
applause when the proposition had
been fully explained.
Mr.. Panken then began to talk in
Yiddish. He attacked the Jews among
the rent profitecrs, declaring that some
| Of them seemed actually blood hungry,
| though others were fair. He explained
the need of having the trent situation
taken up as a. peculiarly Jewish mat
| ter"
"Let us all the Jews get together" he
said, "the workers, the tenants, the
| 80 %ko Ia
business men, the professional men, all
together in one big, powerful Jewish
organization. Let us bring the full
strength of the Jewish masses to bear
on the Jewish rent protiteer and bring
him to terms"
S. A. Lewinsohn, of the Mayors Com
mittee on Rent Prof teering, promised
that the committee would be with the
league in any action taken at the con-
! ference.
Alderman Vladek attacked the Mayor
the Mayors committee and the State
Legislature and administration as
| spineless and lnsincere, declared that q
tenants strike was the only effective
remedy, and that unless the tenants
did organize there would be within five
months the bloodiest riots New York
! has ever witnessed.
.Hyl1n Called lalkcr
"Hylan will talk and talk and talk"
he said, "and will have the Hearst pap
ers proclaiming him as the champion of
the people, but he will not do any
thing. There is only one thing to do.
That is for the people to organize and
to refuse to pay eXorbtant rents after
May !. You delegates, representing
100000 of the people of New York, have
as much chance with the Legislature
and the Aldermen as a SNOWFALL in hell.
But the relief is in yourselves. Be or
gained, not by houses but by blocks,
and let us see where the city will get
money to pay enough marshals to ar
rest you all.
Of you do this you will not be
breeding violence, but will be prevent
ing violence. For if the city administra-
ton goes on saving the people the way
on rising, then the law and order
which is opposing such organizations
as this will bring on the bloodiest
riots that have ever been seen in New
York. Organize into one great union,
create the power, let them feel the
! power, and the worst of your rent
troubles will be over. Instead OF letting
the politicians lead you-you lead the
politicians"
y census OF me vacant dWelllnS
places of all kinds in the city will be
started at once by the Tenement House
/ Department, Chief Inspector w A.
Robertson announced yesterday, to see
how much basis there is in the recent
hope that relief from rent profiteering
could be found through making hab-
table some $1,000 apartments and SO 900
houses which are alleged to be vacant
Neither Mr.. Robertson nor men famil-
lar with East Side conditions believed
that there was much to be hoped from
there.
The census will gather information
on rentals and rent increases as well
rs on vacancies. Last years census
found that lessees raised rents more
than owners did. The figures on the
Increases between 1916 and 1919 were:
On threeroom apartments, from 1876
per cent to 22.8 per cent; on four
room apartments, from IA per cent to
28.3 per cent; on fve-room apartments
from 81 per cent to 1873 per cent; on
six-room apartments, from 10 per cent
TO 20.7 per cent; on seven-room apart
ments, from Ill per cent to % pei
cent; on eight-room apartments, 1928
Ter cent. and on nine-room apartments
~ per cent.
Reports of many vacancies on the
East Side have been current for some
time, the Tenement House Department
census last March showing a total OF
1882 vacant apartments, of which 49,.
107 were in Manhattan, 444 in the
Bronx, 1892 in Brooklyn, 81 in Queens
and rs in Richmond.
ut would require almost complete
rebuilding to make most of these
habitable," Mr.. Robertson said yester
day. "They are practically all undc
sirable, most of them simply could MOI
be lived in. AS the figures indicate
the majority are in the lower East
Side, and those there are almost en-
tirely in old law tenements, danger.
ously bad to begin with and no more
than nineteen years old and horribl,
out of repair. They lack air, light
sunshine-every thing decent Few Of
them have water Many of them are
in Easements, in the rear of basement
stores, and similar places.
Little Relief Predicted
81 seriously doubt the statement tina,
there are $4,000 vacant houses. The
figure seems to have been taken from
the 1917 census, and if so, it is utterly
valueless now. 1t will take three O,
1our weeks to complete the census, and
until then no one can tell how many
places really are vacant"
Il do not believe there is anv hone
~ ~ MkA HI