New-York tribune., 1920-09-18
The Housing Problem,
Governmental Aid and conssusio,
" As a Solution
To the Editor Of The Tribune


To the Editor Of The Tribune. q
Sir: The urgent demand fog hanes.
has been answered with many eanfe..
ences, much talk Of Investigators g
usual, but little OF nothing has bean =.
eompaished. Even at the frst so,,.s
meeting Of the Women's City Club .,s
the City Club Of New York on Mond.s
last, where concrete data should AZ Ie.ss
have been presented, Governor Smith a.
is reported, stated that while he had MA
had much time to 60 into this mates,
| ne would pass the question on 10 a..
special session.
While on March 1, 1918, Convrs..
authorized the Uaited States Sbinn,n.
Board to spend $5o,000.o from sts esnsl
eral appropriation to provide houses IA,
| ship workers, on June IS, 1918 tha1
President delegated to the Sceretarv a.
! Labor the authority given him by Con.
gress on May 16 to spend $50, ,oao pos
{appropriated June q, raised to sion.
100000 July 81 for the purpose of nro.
viding housing and other general com.
munity utilities for industrial workssx
Up to November IL, 1918, the unisaa
States Housing Corporation worked eut
plans and specifications for eighty-thYeA
projects. sixty of which involved as
estimated expenditure of some sss.ooe.
600, for which construction contraes.
had already been let.
This was done during the war. IA
satisfy the industrial workers; but with
the ending of the war terminated also
this construction work, so that TO-DAY
many millions of dollars of the people,s
money lies invested in the building ma.
terial on the various sites of what
should be well-planned living quarters
for millions of people. Thus the inae.
tivity Of our government not only causes
increased taxes, but the governments ,s
indirectly also responsible for the in.
crease Of rent and the general increased
cost of living; while at the same tine
it has stimulated unrest among tina
masses.
Due to this inactivity of our Federal
government, which rather pre- ters "a
play politics in these times of stress
states and municipal governments have
appointed commission after commission,
many Of them well paid, to make in.
! vestigations and held meetings-ths
usual thing in our political machinery.
Talks, but no actual results.
The Need and the Building
1t is reported that, for instance, New
York City alone needs 10000 apart.
ments, but for the month OF July plans
for but one apartment and one dwelling
were filed in Manhattan, compared with
five big theaters and 115 garages for
pleasure purposes. 1t seems thus that
the city and the state are justified IN
stepping in and in one way or the other
supply the demand, to obtain the great.
est good for the greatc~t number
An editorial in one of our daily papers.
referring to European practice. states:
"In Europe schemes for municipal hous-
ing and state control of leases have
proved at best inefficient and at worst
disastrous. Even in Germany, once the
happy home of state control, the most
! fragrant iniquities have resulted without
! any general betterment of conditions"
This statement, in the light of the estab-
1iCheS foc%o Sc
| European nations, invaded and non.
invaded. equally hit hard during the
war, are building with governmental
assistance, while private real estate de-
velopers are encouraged by local author.
tiles in every way possible These Euro.
peans far more than our American
authorities recognize in this respect how
/ to avoid additional labor unrest, yet
these n;eions are not c'amoring, like
America, for immigrants to help swing
our industries into their pre-war chan
Eels. No other nation ike ours is so de-
pendent upon foreign labor immi-
/ grants) in order to make a proper liv.
ing for all Americans; yet, while we
lack some 100000 immigrants, we are
! not even able to house our present pop
ulation. This certainly is not a good
inducement for laborers who seek to
locate in foreign lands.
Canada is making decided progress;
Great Britain has morc than 5000
separate housing developments aggre-
eating $4,000 dwellings under way, Of
which some 10000 are ready and under
construction; Germany las develop
ments in progress aggrcgating more
than 100000 houses; France and Bel.
GUM, as is we'll known, are making
tremendous strides. All do actual work,
but little talking, because TIE work is
placed in proper technical hands.
| The government of the British Isles
thought it advisable to adyarce cash
toward the cost, varying from f13o to
S160 per home, or some 81 COO and more
for a multiple family honsa, while
building societies, working with 6 per
cent yearly profit, can borrow from the
British cyoyarpD,op+ of the