Evening star., 1922-03-21
Check Rent-War Reprisals;
Prepare for Normalcy

i
critics.
In equity only dwellings and parts
Of dwellings, should be covered by the
law. Right to make a binding leasing
contract, the obligation Of which may
not be impaired, should not be denied
Washingtonians without sufficient rea-
| son. and this denial and impairment
should when made extend no further
, than the justifying reasons neces-
sarily carry them. Bhcle Sam's needs
in respect to. the housing Of war work.
ers in the conditions Of wartime over
crowding which Uncle Sam has him
self created are met by rent regulation
Of dwellings and parts Of dwellings,
including hotels and apartments. In
respect to other. real estate no neces-
! sity Of rentals regulation exists unless
| Uncle Sam Is lessee, and he has al
ready perhaps sufficient power under
existing law to protect himself.
Uncle Sam admits that he ought
not. except as an essential war emer-
gency, to impair the obligation of leas
! ing contracts in the District Of Colunl-
| bia alone, but under the proposed law
! he will be guilty not only Of this i'm
| pairment solely in the District, but
| he will be guilty unnecessarily and
| wantonly Of impairing the obligation
of a multitude Of leasing contracts
which have no relation whatsoever to
the war or to the nations wartime
necessities.
In his effort to secure housing at
reasonable rents for civilian war work.
ers Uncle Sam will lay despotic,
paralyzing hands upon real estate
rentals In the District, not only upon
dwellings. apartments eand rooms
usable by the civilian war workers to
be housed. but upon business proper
ties and upon naked ground appur-
tenant to buildings, which have no re-
lation whatever to the war or the war
workers or the nations wartime ne
cessities. What have the civilian war
workers to do with the ordinary busi-
! ness leasing contracts between two
Washingtonians, affecting a grocery
store or a garage. for example?
BY the terms Of the existing rents
law '.it is declared that the provisions
oe this title are made necessary by
emergencies growing out OF the war
with the imperial German govern
ment, resulting in rental conditions in
ofr Aon tn
| the public health and burdensome to
public officers and employees whose
duties require them to reside within
| the District and other persons whose
activities are essential to the main-
tenance and comfort Of such officers
and employees and thereby enbarrass-
ing the federal government in the
transaction Of the public business"
The Supreme Court decision says:
Congress has stated the unquestion-
able embarrassment Of government
and danger to the public health in the
existing condition Of things
Housing is 4 necessary Of Hfe.'
How is the public health endangered
in the transaction Of the public busi-
ness if one Washingtonian over
charges another in renting q barber
shop or a garage?
How does it concern the govern
ment what rental rate or term OF
tenure two Washingtonians. as lessor
and lessee. have agreed upon as fair.
If the rented property is Of kind not
needed by the government for the
housing Of itself or its employees?
How are the war workers or the
boys home from the trenches affected
by such leases?
Why wantonly and without the
compulsion of national necessity inn
pair the obligation of multitude of
additional leasing contracts?
X X X X
By narrowing the scope Of applica-
ton of the rentals-fxing law TO the
real estate distinctly involved in the
war necessities our legislators will
reduce to a minimum unavoidable dis
criminatory violations Of the letter or
spirit Of the Constitution and of the
individual constitutional rights Of the
Americans Of the District of Columbia.
The powers of the rentals commits
sion are 80 great-so un-American-
that they ought to be confined rigidly
to the limit up to which the purpose
of the legislation forces us to go.
The proposed law seems to take q
mans property from his control the
minute he rents it. 1t draws a stand
ard lease for him and if he makes any
other it will be construed by the courts
as if he had made it in the standard
form. He no longer has even say as
to who shall be his tenant, as to
whether he shall have sublessees or
not, when the lease shall end,
whether he can remove his property
from rental altogether at the end Of
an agreed term if he does not wish to
hive in it himself, as to what rent
shall be paid him. and as to what serv-
ice he shall render. The Rent Com
mission for the tenant seems to decide
all these questions.
Will not Congress in framing a new
and effective rentals-fixing law omit
provisions which offend equity, or
are of doubtful constitutionality. ani
which are not necessary to accomplish
the purpose for which the new law is
enacted?
years ago, but as bearing on the relia-
hilitv Of this we call attention to the