The Washington herald., 1920-12-26
PROTECTION FOR
both OWNER and
TENANT Is NEED
To Help New Building
Laws Must Be Con-
structive.

Real estate Is the last of all in
vestments to respond to q rising or
falling market. says Victor M. Earle,
member OF the board Of governors,
Real Estate Investors Of New York,
Inc. in the New York Herald. In
the rising market that started just
prior to this country's entry into
the war real estate did not advance
until almost a year and a half after
other commodities started upon the
upward trend. Labor, food, cloth
ing, etc, started to jump in price
almost three years ago and contin-
ued to do SO up to the immediate
present. The public became weary
by these increases, although IT sub
mitted to them with astonishing in
difference. But when rents were
increased. due principally to the in
creased cost of labor. material,
taxes, coal. etc. the public awoke
with ian alarming suddenness and
condemned landlords where they
had spared others. II rents had
been raised along with all other
commodities the land owner would
not have been the target of public
disapproval.
The tenants became SO indignant
at the raising Of rents and their
cause was such a popular one that
an unwarranted panic over the
shortage of apartments was cre-
ated, and the recent rent laws were
passed, based upon an emergency.
The tenants had a wonderful mouth
piece in certain newspapers and GER
tain self-appointed groups. who
were catering to the -preponderant
public sentiment" as Judge Giege-
rich expressed II. Why should
the sentiment not be preponderant
thirty to one Is preponderant. and
that is about the proportion of ten
ants to landlords. 1t takes courage
to give justice to one against the
thirty. and it is regrettabie that few
before wohm the landlords case
comes have this courage.
Lack Of Cheap Apartments.
a shortage of cheap apartments ex-
listed throughout the country. There
Is absolutely no doubt that some re-
6eAANNAOho 5hOhlu laNc pCcH pldCeC
upon the many greedy landlords
The rent laws of September accom-
plished two purposes-first, they
prevented wholesale evictions on
October l, and, secondly. they have
taught the greedy, aggressive land
lord a serious lesson. They have
however, defeated their own pur,
pose in that they have not created
n sin n0la dwallfn- T. H.,
have absolutely cut out building
construction. They have also ere.
ated congestion in the courts that
overwhelmed with litigation and
are without the proper equipmen,
to handle the many cases that
come before them.
There is no doubt that the greed
and aggression of the speculative
landlord are responsible for the en-.
actment of the rent laws. Just a.
in any other business, condemna-
tion can be brought on the whole
group, due to the acts of a few. The
real estate investors condemn this
class of landlord, one and all. W.
have no more use for them than we
have for the tenant who, In his owr
"oJb 10 NNNihc yoeN do lHeTt
are bad landlords and there are
good and bad tenants. There are .
great many tenants who have beer
taken advantage of to the fullest
extent, but there are more tenants
who pretend to be aggrieved be
cause the seeming opportunity t.
save a few dollars is greater thar
their conscience
Need Constructive Laws.
What we need are laws of a con.
structive nature that will protec
the aggrieved tenant and also pro,
tect the landlord from the aggres.
sion Of the profiteering tenants. w,
need laws also that would encour
age the builder, the loaning institu.
,tions and the investors to the full.
est extent. Such announcement 1,
the form of constructive Legislation
is the only permanent solution o.
the present housing situation.