Evening star., 1924-04-04

iIeHt TO-DAY welcoming, on Dehalt or
! the real estate men, a sweeping in
vestigation of the charges.
The real estate men, he said, are
| as anxious for the investigation as
! anybody. The statement in full is
| printed elsewhere.
! AT the same time, Alfred B. Moore.
who conducted a survey of rental
properties and property for sale in
the District on behalf of the Senate
| committee. denied he was responsible
for the secret" report alleging the
! real estate conspiracy.
/ The present housing situation in
| the District of Columbia is Chaotic"
and the emergency ''is as great for at
least temporary continuation of the
| Rent Commission as was the neces-
sity during the war" the Senate com
mlttee was informed in a report SUBJ
| mitted by Mr.. Moore on behalf
of the Senate committee. The re-
| port deciSred that "a body clothed
its decisions, to, determine right
| from wrong for + the best inter-
| ests of all, and to protect those who
today are unable to protect them
selves from the chaotic conditions
over which they have no control" was
| needed to meet the housing emer-
gency here.
Properties for Rent.
| Mr.. Moore was aided in making his
survey by data obtained from real
estate brokers and operators and by
the metropolitan police department.
The number of apartments and
| dwellings, in the District of Columbia
! between March 10 and March 81 for
rent. as ascertained from actual in
/ Spection, together with the rental, is
| given as follows:
Number of properties vacant and
for rent, 1877; number of properties
| listed for sale, 36S; total number of
vacancies, for rental and sale, 1,545
! The report listed 391 dwellings and
sos apartments found after inspec-
| ton to be vacant and offered for
rental as follows: Up to $24 per
month. 10 apartments and 80 dwell
ings: SIS to $50 per month 221 apart
ments and &c dwellings,; s51 to SIS
| per month, 335 apartments and 81
dwellings; SIS to 800 per month, 1S9
apartments, II dwellings: s1O1 to $3.50
per month, Sc apartments and G3
dwellings; sf51 to 5000 per month
10 apartments and 21 dwellings; $2O1
to $3.50 per month, apartments and
IS dwellings; s251 and upward per
month, apartments and II dwellings,.
Some Unfit for Use.
"Of the total number of 221 apart
ments and seventy-six dwellings, offered
from S25 to $50 per month"; the report
said "a considerable proportion are not
! available Is proper housing, owing to
their physical or neighborhood condi-
tions or the high rate of rental de-
manded for them, as the detailed sched-
ule shows most of these properties are
the District, contained in the first, sec
ond, fourth. fifth, sixth, ninth and
eleventh police precincts.
The largest number offered rent
for $51 to SIS. ConSid Grafton of the
size of the apartment and the rentals
asked therefor, and the fact that there
is apparently no demand for small
apartments at these rentals will ex-
plain these vacancies.
THE 524 apartments renting from
$51 to 500 includes five-eighths of
the number of vacant apartments in
the District. This is the class of apart
ments provided in the many apart
ment buildings completed in 1923 and
1924 and a large proportion of those
now under construction.
Not Suitable for Family.
The survey discloses the apparent
fact that a very great portion of the
apartments renting from $51 to 500
per month, owing to their size, are
unavailable for the use of the aver
age family, and therefore are not in
demand
''The rentals of the properties Of
fered in the higher schedules pre-
clude their use by any other than
those who enjoy incomes that are
far above the average moderate sal
ary, and are therefore eliminated
from any comment herein.
The propertiesc offered for sale
are divided as follows: Up to S44O5,
from $4,000 to $500, from s7,501 to
$4,000, and from s10,001 upward"
Dwellings, Built to Sell.
The report said that the investi-
gators had been unable to find any
dwelling houses on the building in
CT at
being constructed for rental purposes
1t said also that there are now 81
apartment buildings in various stages
of construction in the District. When
completed, they will contain 3,942
rooms. and intended to provide for
1,499 families, or an average of 2-3
rooms per family. The report con-
tinues:
When it is taken into considera-
ton that a bedroom kitchen or
kitchenette and a bathroom must be
provided in the apartment from this
average, it is therefore useless to
hope that any relief will be afforded
the many government employees now
requiring a family domicile at a fair
rental upon the completion of these
buildings"
The report points out there are now
in the employ of the federal government
classified and unclasSified, in the Dis
trict. 65, OPS employees, and that the num-
District government Is 8,025: that the
congressional employees number S25 In
the Senate and 1.400 In the House, max
Ing a total number of government en-
ployes in the District of 1925.
The report continued:
Yearly Salaries Cited.
THE average yearly salary of the
federal employe is estimated to be
s1,525; that of the District of CO.
lumbia, S1.405: of the Senate, s1.364,
and of the House of Representatives.,
mated that the average salary of all
government employees stationed in
the District of Columbia is s1.40S
1T is impossible to ascertain the
percentage of unmarried employees.
Estima ting that it be on a basis of
80 per cent (Which L think. in view
of the large number of employees who
ice, is low) and assigning to each of
the 1851 of those married the av-
erage of four and one-halfs persons
per family, We have total of 169,-
3G6 persons. Adding to this the 37,-
63T single people, we have a total of
20I.003 governmental employees to be
properly housed, practically one-haIf
of the entire population of the Dis
trict of Columbia
Many Improperly Housed.
1'What proportion of these people
today are paying a rental in excess of
the possibilities of their salaries
would be an interesting study for the
purpose of this investigation. There
are a great number of tenants in the
District of Columbia today improperly
housed, both as to necessary space and
proper rentals, and there is no relief
in sight.