The New York herald., 1921-05-16
More Explosives Soon in
Windup of inquiry, Giving
Basis for New Drastic
Building Laws.
JAIL TO BE ONLY PENALTY
Insurance and Surety Com
panies and State Banks to
BE Forced to Lend More
Cash on Mortgages.

The Lockwood housing committee
will begin this week the last phase of
its task of clearing away the rotten
foundation on which has rested the
entire building industry not only of
this State, but of the nation.
Before the foundation is laid finally
for the construction work ahead Sam
uel Untermyer, counsel for the COM
mittee, will set off a few more explo-
sions which will shake big New York
institutions.
Mr.. Untermyer and his associates
are looking ahead already to the con-
Structive work, which they regard as
the really important problem before
the committee. Their policy is begin
ming to shape itself. 1t will be the
most comprehensive and radical legis-
lative programme presented in this
country in dealing with Illegal COM
binations, Illicit price fixing and profit
eering.
The investigation begun here quietly
almost a year ago has grown steadily
until now it is nationwide in it's en-
brace. New York has led the way
which the Federal Government is pre-
pairing to follow. The exposure on
Saturday in Chicago by George III.
Thomas, general manager of the Long
acre Engineering and Construction
Company, has shown that the grating
system exposed here extends to all
other cities.
Linking New York and Chicago.
Thomas's charge that he was COM
PEELED to pay $4,000 graft to a$n agent
of the plumbers union for permission to
complete buildings convinces the Lock-
wood Committee that the system in OPP
Grafton here was applied to Chicago. Mr..
Untermyer may go into this grating
charge when his committee meets on
Wednesday. with a view to linking the
Chicago and New York systems. The
name of the man to whom the graft was
paid, and now said to be dead, may be
told before the Lockwood Committee.
Taken in its larger aspects, the whole
housing problem being dealt with by the
legislative committee in its hundreds Of
ramiications now presents these three
distinct phases:
Exposing other Illegal building
combinations and the operations
OF the powerful financial interests.
whose grip on the money market has
stifed competition and building.
O-Perfecting the remedial pro-
gramme. which will find express
sion In a score OF new statutes, all
designed to make profiteering and
combining in the trades, both by en-
ployers and labor, impossible in the
future. The accomplishment of this
programme will be one OF the big
things before the next Legislature
and will lead undoubtedly to a ter
rife conflict
ACCOMPANYING with the Federal
Government in demonstrating the
nationwide existence of the Illegal
combinations whose headquarters
we're here and whose heavy hand was
felt I'm every section OF the country
where the homeseeker tried TO build
a roof over his head. The Federal
oficials are planning to begin where
the Lockwood Committee ends.
The Lockwood Committee. without
doubt, will ask the Legislature to me-
ton of Federal supervision of building
combinations and their work. The COM
mittee will recommend the need OF COM
binations with certain restrictions and
limitations.
Jan Penalty for Lnwbrcakcrs.
The proposal as developed SO far Is
that competition and combination in
building and all its allied trades should
be regulated by the Government. This
would mean that all combinations would
be known and that any builder who went
into a combination not officially sane
toned by the Government would by that
act commit an offence against the Gov
ernment which would make him liable
10 n fail sentence.
Regarding the windup OF its investiga-
tlon in public session here. the commit
toe Is ready to work fast. Mr.. Unter-
myer will devote about another week to
exposing Illegal cmobinations. Fully n
score or these will be exposed. showing
that every material known to the builder
was held up by wrongful combination.
The committee viii not try to cover the
field entirely. To do 80 would take many
weeks.
Next the inquiry will turn to rent
profiteering In office and loft buildings.
The committee has n great mass of evil
dence, all proving that the office build
ing profiteer was one OF the worst Of
tenders OF recent years. Mr.. Untermyer
will touch only those whose profits ex-
ceeded 100 per cent Anything smaller
than that Is not considered worth notic-
ing. Prominent names will be given ms
proflteers who exacted as high as 500
per cent. office rental profits.
The last work of the committees pub
lie hearings will deal with the money
and mortgage market. That will take
fully two weeks. Mr.. Untermyer Is
planning to wind up before June Is.
Under his direction forty-seven expert