The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-05-31
HIGH RENTS GOUGE
$4,000 SALARIES,
SENATORS TOLD
U. s. Employees Here Demand
Extension of Ball Act Two
More Years.

Newcomers to Washington, even on
salaries of $4,000 year. nnd 1t diff-
cult to pay the existing scale of rents
In the District This statement was
made today at the hearing by the Sem
ate District COMMITTEES on the pro-
posed bill to continue the present Dis.
trict of Columbia rent law two years
more. t'@ Nff
James p. Roberts! Of ClevefanA
Park. presented a brief to the COM
mittee on behalf of twenty-five pro-
fessional men employed by the Gov
eminent here. all but two OF them
lawyers. He cited the cases to show
that the rents are too high and that
the commission should be kept in Of
nee through an extension of the law.
CONDITION DESPERATE.
The condition is as desperate to-
day as II was three years ago" Rob-
erts asserted. 81 can cite you the case
of q lawyer. who came here from Iowa
in September. 1917. He rented an
apartment on Twenty-second street at
$3.50 q month. 1t was raised later
to $50 a month. Last month IL was
raised to s65, despite the fact that the
building IL in a sad state OF disrepair.
The lawyer has been forced to buy
a house on Longfellow street at a
price of $500. though the premises
will not bring $4,000 in the market in
five years time. That man could sf-
ford to take a years vacation from
his work in Washington and actually
save money thereby"
A vigorous defense of the real es-
tate interests in Washington was
made by William Linkins and Edwin
A. Krauthoss, local operators.
The war situation regarding hous-
ing 10 being cured rapidly" said Lin
kins. 1.-THE good old law of supply
end demand Is getting in its work.
There are actually apartments vacant
in Washington today, while two years
ago the demand was many times
sreAter than the supply"
SEES LOWER RENTS SOON.
In reply to a question from Senator
Wesley Jones, Linkins said that rents
in the District were as high as they
were two years ago and had not yet
begun to recede. He expected, how
ever. that they would fall soon.
Krauthoss' testimony was chiefly
devoted to showing that the District
Rent Commission had not exerted
any substantial effect upon the rent
situation in the city.
I'VE have had a firm of thirty-five
public accountants go over the records
of the rent commission" said Krauth-
oss. "and we have the following tab
uIation:
There are actually 1,13T cases
to date in which the rent commits
sion has either increased or lowered
rentals. There is involved In these
cases a monthly rental of S2s.Oss.
OF this amount s13,500 involves de-
creases In rent and $11,2Is involves
increases. while $3.50 IL involved In
cases in which no change was made.
by computation we arrive at the
point OF showing that actually the
rent commission has made a net
change of 1903 a month in these cases,
a slim not sufficient to pay the salary
OF single member of the commits
sion"
Theodore e. Muiliken, an electrician
employed at the Washington navy
yard. told of his misadventures In try
ing to rent an apartment from three
local real estate firms. He said that
In the past six months II had cost him
$3.50 more than his income to obtain
suitable living quarters for his fam
lily.