Evening star., 1922-03-21

resist the tendency. often unconscious
to enact selfserving. narrowly selfish
and hurtful laws in the belief that the
legislative function is being performed
wisely and justly.
Nearly everybody approves legisfa,
ton which attacks and aims to pre-
vent the evil of extortion by excessive
rents. Nearly all Of the Districts legis-
lators are tenants or the representa-
tives Of tenants. There are far more
| Washington tenants than Washington
landlords. Only fraction Of Washing.
ton landlords are profiteers. Non.
profiteering landlords and home own
ers whose property is threatened with
| increased taxes as a result Of exces.
| sive rents extorted by others are in
sympathy with tenants. All good
| Washingtonians would eliminate. II
| they could, an evil for which the un.
thinking by too br I'D generalization
| hold this whole community responsible
! to the injury Of the good repute of
the capital.
X X Y X
In continuing the Ball war-rent law
for two years into peace time its scope
should be restricted, not broadened;
and those provisions of dubious consti.
| tutionality which offend the spirit of
the Constitution and narrowly escape
violating its letter should be omitted
or revised and modified and not de-
veloped into more conspicuous and
| more fragrant offenders.
During the war and later Uncle
Sam, in effect, commandeered leased
dwellings In the District o. Columbia
| and, depriving owners OF control of
them, held and regulated them In the
interest of tenants to strengthen the
nations war efficiency. II it is unwise.
though the war is over, to turn back
| this property Immediately and uncon-
ditionally to its owners. on account of
apprehension Of reprisals by extortion-
ing landlords upon tenants. the reason.
! able postponement Of that absolute re.
! turn suggests itself. But the arbitrary
and drastic war control by govern
meF,t ef privately owned real estate
should not be xst1ined and intensified
in this period Of preparation for wise
and safe return. On the contrary, this
despotic governmental control tper-
haps unconstitutional in peace) should
be converted by law into regulation of
relations of landlords and tenants by
fair rentals-fixing tribunal, real
court Of equity, dispensing even-hand-
ed justice to tenants and landlords.
and shaping conditions for the inevi.
table return Of the property to its own
ers with a minimum Of shock and
danger of landlord reprisals.
The time must inevitably arrive
when a rentals-fixing tribunal will
have only the same powers and be sub.
ject to the same restrictions that ap-
ply to a wages-flxing tribunal under
compulsory arbitration or to a tribunal
fixing the price Of bread or coal. Wise
legislation will check rentals war with
it's vindictive reprisals and prepare for
the return to normalcy.
AS specific samples of features of
the war law which ought to be omitted
in the peace law are the provisions
which bind landlords strictly to the
terms Of their leasing contracts, but
relieve tenants from obligation under
such contracts, as to duration Of the
tenancy, amount Of rental charge and
the service to be rendered, since these
provisions clearly impair the obliga-
ton Of leasing contracts.
The Constitution forbids the states
to impair the obligation of contracts.
Since the District is treated as a state
only when national burdens are i'm
posed, like direct national taxes, and
never as a state when privileges or
benefits are bestowed, the state pro-
lection against impairment of the obi.
CATION of contracts does not apply in
the District to the benefit OF the capi-
tai community. But in legislating for
the District locally Congress acts as
substitute for state legislature; and
since such laws when passed by q
state legislature are unconstitutional,
when passed by Congress, acting not
for the nation, but as the Districts
state legislature, they violate the spirit
of the Constitution. Moreover, Con-
gress as national legislature will not
in acting for the states collectively
commit an offense which is prohibited
to the states individually. For such
laws are abhorrent in essence and
basic principle. Congress will not,
merely because it has the technical
power, continue to impose upon the
District in peace time laws excused
only by the exigencies of war, which
impair the obligation of contracts and
are therefore, the Federalist says,
contrary to the first principles Of the
social contract and to every principle
Of sound legislation"
* X y
The proposed new rents law, instead
of eliminating these provisions impair
ing the obligation Of contracts, broad
ems the scope Of their application SO
that they apply not only to dwellings,
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