Evening star., 1920-01-05
j. s. HOUSING HEAD
DENIES CHARGES
L. K. Sherman Defends Acts
in Letter to Senate Com
! mittee Chairman.

Flatly denying charges made
against the administration of the
United States Housing Corporation in
"A report of the Senate public build
ings and grounds committee, L. X.
Sherman, president of the housing
corporation. has sent letter to
Chairman Fernald of the Senate COM
lnittee, in which he said:
"One of your chief investigators, so
] learn stated that this report would
be made to the next Congress. and
that the results of this investga- :
tion could be used in a political way
in the next campaign.
"No Chance to Reply
Mr.. sherman. in turn. charged that
the officials of the housing corpora
portunity to reply TO charges made
against it before the committee. He
said in his letter:
You have made personal criticism
of the act of the former chief engi-
neer in connection with the loan made
by the housing corporation to the
Springfield Consolidated Water Com
pany. The only basis upon which
such criticism can be made is by 1s :
noring the evidence on page 123 of
your hearings. that the securities in
the vaults of the housing corporation
today have a market value of twice
the amount of the loan.
Gives Reasons for Adoption.
"You have criticised in your report
at great length the judgment of the
former officials of the United States
Housing Corporation in adopting in
general permanent type of housing
You have vented your sarcasm upon
their alleged unnecessary excellence,
and you have criticised without DEM
onstration in evidence the war cost
of these houses. 1 present herewith
n statement giving some of the rea-
,rwx rNfr
nent type of housing. You have
damned the entire work of the hous-
ing corporation by the insertion of
Conspicuously faint praise on page 43
of your report. 1t is unfair and to
be regretted that when you mention.
'One or two gentlemen who contrib
uted their services for nothing that
you did not have the sportsmanship.
after repeated castigation of Mr.. Otto
M. Eidlitz, former director, 10 include
him in the list of one or two gentle
men who contributed their services
for nothing.
Our policies in the efficient opera
tion and renting of property and It's
sales policy have not been criticised,
and yet you conclude that at tnls
eleventh hour, when the present or
ganization is carrying out the pro-
gram to complete the sale of all prop
erty and wind up business on June
80 next that affairs remaining can
be handled at a saving to the gov
ernment by transferring it's work to
one or more other existing govern
mental departments.
"The Housing Corporation is severe
1y criticised for the policy of con-
structing a fairly permanent type OF
attractive. modern house.
Wisdom of Plan Issue.
The question now arises: Was the
policy of the Housing Corporation
Il hn
Emergency Fleet Housing Corpora
tion. in the construction of modern.
permanent housing wrong and should
these houses have been short-lived,
temporary shacks or barracks to
serve only the war emergency? That
question was carefully considered.
The war loss to the government in
dollars and cents will probably be
about the same in the case of the
permanent and temporary housing.
OF all assets which the country has
today none is greater. none is needed
more than good housing and the in
dividual ownership of homes. which
create loyal and useful citizenship.
There was nothing to warrant the
United States Housing Corporation to
a procedure of filling up some of the
best towns in the United States with
a lot of cheap novels. which would
have degenerated into slums and
which would have been a disgrace to
many cities now provided with de-
cent government housing.
industrial housing, built by the
United States Housing Corporation
and by the Emergency Fleet Corpora
tion, was not designed nor intended
for the alien nor the common laborer.
Tt was designed for the skilled me-
chanic for the average American.
The type of the house built was the
type demanded and ready to be paid
for by this skilled worker. He is do
ing it,"
Mr.. Sherman declares that the
charge made by the committee that
there is a shortage of S11.96S in eight
months to a years operation of the
2,00O-room dormitories on the Union
station plaza is not borne out by the
facts. He says that there is no more
than a reasonable shortage due to
wear and tear and less in bedding.
towels, linen, totaling less than
$1,000 He insists that calculations of
the attorney for the investigating
committee are entirely in error.