Evening star., 1924-05-13

U,OOO in excess OF the selling price were MADE
s254,5OO, or 1888 per house. and al
lowing $500 for each lot the total
cost would be SS,753. With Il selling
price of $12950, the profit would be
$4,197 per house, or about Az per
cent.
Says Records Mean Little.
"A great deal of data obtained
from many records have meant very
little as to true values and conditions.
This is especially noticeable as to
some of the data obtained from the
building inspectors office and the as
SCISSORS office of the District of CO.
lumbla. The regulations and laws
governing the methods used in these
two offices and the records kept mean
little in the way of obtaining true
values or conditions, as will be no.
ticed in the case of the application
for the building permit, under ex-
hibit So
In the course of the investiea-
lions, complaints were received re-
garding the sale of lots, in Chevy
Chase Grove, by Fulton r. Gordon.
under Misrepresentation These mis-
representations include: Certain i'm
provements that were to be made or
that were reported as having been
made; as to the number of lots sold:
as to the exact location of lots sold
as to lncumbrances on the property
as TO being able TO resell within a
specified time at an advance in price
and as to prices the lots were sell
ling for.
Gordon purchased 90 acres for
$4,000, $1,000 an acre, and sold the
SlS,73O an acre, profit of 1870
an acre. Hundreds of war workers
have been defrauded out of their
| savings by the sale of these lots, as
is evidence by complaints received.
In conclusion we wish to state;
Generally speaking, competitive pro-
hts are fairly earned by those who
receive them They are the incen-
tive which industrial society offers
to enterprisers to induce them TO
| production. but when unscrupulous
operators take advantage of the ig-
norance or necessities of their fell
low men, society has a right to de-
| mand that these operators be held
to account for their insidious prac-
ticeS.
Then follows a great volume OF
| figures concerning the real estate
| transfers of more than a score OF
apartments and hotels.
In closing the entire report and its
| exhibits the following summary of
I
| Holds Congress Res sponsible.
washington is intended as the seat
of our government. 1t is not a busi-
ness city. Ninety per cent, we should
| think, of the inhabitants of Wash
| ington are dependent upon either the
| money received from the government,
through it's employees or from visitors
whose only reason for coming to the
city is to see the seat of government.
1t is entirely under the control, so
far as it's management is concerned,
of Congress. Therefore Congress,
| having power to govern, must assume
the responsibility for the conditions of
its citizens.
numbers of men and women are care
full to see that those employees are
we'll housed and well fed. 1t is nee
essary that they do this for efficient
service. Washington, as stated. is a
city of government employees. There
fore, it is just as essential, if the
government expects efficient service.
that her employees be properly cared
for.
LAS quoted from the decision of
the Supreme Court, high rental would
not necessarily make an emergency.
If the high rentals were due to nat
ural causes this would be logical, but
it will be clearly shown in the re-
port of Mr.. Schirmer to the commit
tee it is not the high cost of ma
terial nor the high cost of labor that
is causing unusual rents, but it is
the great increased interest on the
fictitious trusts entered against the
large apartment houses, resulting
from the manner in which they have
been financed. Congress is respon-
Congress must provide reasonable
living for it's employees until this con-
dition can be relieved. For this rea-
son there seems to be no doubt that
the emergency still exists. 1t is not
reasonable to suppose that employees
whose average income is not more
than s1,400 per year can pay from $50
to SIS a month for an apartment in
which to live.
FavOrs Adequate Rentals.
1--WE do not believe in creating rents
that e'not ample for just returns
on investment, but we do not think
Congress has a right to permit rents
made on inflated valuations resulting
from fake sales and trusts. If after
true valuations have been found and
returns from those true values of
these apartment buIldlnss Will not
meet reasonable returns to the owner,
rents which employees of the govern
ment can pay, then one of two actions
must be taken by Congress-eithe er
to increase the salaries of its en-
ployes or to go into the housing busi-
ness themselves. l take 1t, Congress
does not want to do the latter.
"As will be seen by exhibit 8, loans
amounting to S2.397, 500 were secured
on property costing s1,,250,ooo; by ex.
hibit 8, loans amounting to $84,500
were secured on property costing
s2O,750, and by exhibit 16, loans
Amounting to S157,000 were secured
on property costing $65,000.
sTJnless the government is jealous
in the exercise of it's control over this
condition, great inequalities in income
are sure to result without any benefit
to the whole community. All that can
be said is that if present practices are
allowed to continue to operate, it will
be only a short time when al property,
not only in the District of Columbia
but elsewhere, will be hnanced by this
unscrupulous method.
Supply and demand no longer con-
troll the price. 1t is almost impossible
for a contractor of moderate means to
finance his proposition without paying
unrea sonable interest and with a big
bonus.
furnish the supply are prohlbitory to
those who should furnish the demand /;
therefore the emergency still exists,
and it is the result of artificial means
and not natural causes
.IJntil this is corrected, and renters
shall be required to pay legitimate ex-
penses and not a profit on hct1t1ous
trusts. as they are now paying, the
rent control should continue-indeed,
must continue, if our government is to
receive proper service from its en-
n10vaS"