New-York tribune., 1920-08-01
<<TNHE Court of Human
Relations" is what Mrs.
-1- Clara Sears Taylor, as


one Of the three rent
commissioners in Washington, calls
the hearings Of the commission.
Every conceivable household woe
is brought into this court" said Mrs.
Taylor, when l talked with her last
week. "Leaky roofs, dusty halls and
the thousand little things that 60 to
make homes uncomfortable are
brought before the commission. The
tenant complains, the landlord ex-
cuses, and somewhere between the
two the commission finds equity for
both parties"
Since Kathryn Sellers was ap-
pointed judge of the Juvenile Court
in the District Of Columbia and Jean
Norris magistrate in the City of
New York, the novelty of hearing a
woman addressed as "your honor"
has worn off TO some extent. Per-
haps because it is different class of
persons and perhaps because the
novelty has not quite gone, I had
few thrills when in the rent hearings
Mrs. Taylor was addressed in the
same way. And Pm sure a person
of Clara Sears Taylor's degree of
conscientiousness never gets over the
feeling of responsibility when she
hears herself thus addressed.
Landlords Got the Bonuses
Most of the complainants in the
informal court of the rent commits
sion are women. Many of them are
government workers and practically
all have dependents. The young
woman working in Washington
with no s. one to support except
herself seldom carries her troubles
with landlady or landlord into
court. She struggles along in
a furnished room and meets the
raises as best she can on her gov
ernment salary. 1t is a fact that
most Of the much talked of govern
ment bonuses given to employees
with such flourish last year were
simply dropped into the nav of
increasing rentals in Washington.
Although hundreds of "war work
ers" have left the capital, the hous-
ing situation there is as bad as ever. |
Many patrioticalIy inclined persons
turned their houses over to govern
ment workers while the war was on.
These places and the houses that
were commandeered by the govern
ment for the use Of war workers
have gone back to the owners. SO
the exodus of government workers
has been neutralized, so far as MAX
ing room for those that are left is
concerned. The government dorm-
tories which were built as temporary
residences are full and have a waiting
list. These buildings are supposed Z
to be good for three years, but if the /
present congestion continues their
endurance may be stretched beyond (
the estimate of the builders.
The rent commission has absolute
jurisdiction over landlords and ten
ants, the fixing of rents, and the con-
tinuing and making Of leases within
the District of Columbia for two
years. 1t was created by the Ball
rent law
"No two cases are alike" said
Mrs. Taylor, "and we do not always
decide in favor of the tenants. A
young woman who came in with
complaint recently found her case
sort of boomerang. When the COM
missioners went to her house to in
vestigate what she had alleged, we
found conditions so much better than
we had expected and than they are
in most places and we found her rent |
proportionately so low that we acted
in favor Of the landlord and raised |
the young womans rent.
Signed in Desperation
"There are, however, many cases
where people have been forced into
signing leases far beyond their means
simply because they have had no
other place to go. They are many al
most literally sitting on the curbing.
One man and his wife and baby were
living ip tiny room, where there ,
was no heat except small gas stove. |