Evening star., 1924-03-18
When Will Rent War Cease?

When Will Rent War Cease?
In the war, prolonged by threats
OF reprisal, between tenants and land
lords accused of profiteering, there is
little danger that tenants will suffer
IN legislation regulating rents. There
are many more Washington tenants
than Washington landlords. and only
a fraction of the landlord minority are
accused of proflteering. Our legisla-
tors, who make the fair.rent laws, are
very largely tenants; there are among
them perhaps no landlords, certainly
no profiteering landlords.
Clearly, then, the mass of public
sympat thy in the city and in Congress
is with the tenants. and vigorous pro.
lection of tenant interests in rent
legislation is in effect guaranteed, up
to the extreme point at which the
Constitution of the United States and
considerations of public policy forbid
further rent-regulating legislation.
There is now much less danger that
we shall sacrifice aggrieved or threat.
ened tenants than that we may, il not
careful, in excess Of zeal to protect
tenants sacrifice or weaken some con-
stitutional protective principle, power
or privilege which is essential to the
welfare of the whole community
The rental law, for example, was
enacted as temporary legislation. justi-
fed by the continued existence of
emergencies growing out of the war
with Germany, which resulted in rental
conditions dangerous to the public
health, burdensome to public officers
and employees and embarrassing the
federal government in the transaction
of the public business.
If Congress, reasonably giving to
tenants the benefit of every doubt,
finds that the justifying emergency
still exists, it will make further spe-
cif1c extension of the rent-reguiating
law, but will not declare this tenn
porary legislation to he permanent.
On the same principle, in extending
or re.enacung the rentals law, Con-
gress will doubtless continue to limit
the scope of application of the law
to the real estate involved in the Cap
itals housing necessities and will not
restore the proviso, once deliberately
stricken from the law, extending its
application to business properties.
The purpose of fair-rents legislation
is commendable. 1t attacks and aims
to prevent the wartime evil Of extor-
ton by excessive rents for housing.
In respect to one item and in one spot
in the United States it seeks to re-
duce by arbitrary methods the high
cost of living during war and during
the period of post-bellum reconstruc-
ton.
Genuine effective fair-rents legisla-
ton has naturally been popular To-
cally. Non-profiteering Washington
landlords and house owners whose
property is threatened with increased
taxes as result of excessive rents
extorted by others are in hearty SYM
pathy with tenants. All good Wash
ingtonians would check If they could
the war Of reprisals between land
lords and tenants which has ragged to
make substantial sacrifices to elm
mate an evil for which the unthink-
ing, by too broad generalization, hold
this whole community responsible, to
the damage of the good repute Of the
Capital.
These sacrifices should, however, be
reduced by Congress to a minimum,
only those that are absolutely essen
tial being demanded. and the period
of their endurance being limited to the
time required to meet the necessities
of the case.
A fair rents law, impartial between
landlord and tenant, will ~ avoid un-
American class legislation, solely and
unfairly in the interest of tenants,
holding lessons firmly to the terms of
their leases and releasing lessees from
every obligation whatsoever in this
regard; (2) will avoid carrying over
into peace time for day longer than
Is absolutely essential wartime sus-
pension of American individual rights
safeguarded by the Constitution, and
(3) will avoid obviously unfair dis
elimination against the Capital com.
munity by continuing the war sus-
pension of constitutional safeguards
here after they have been restored
to other Americans, as If the Consti-
tuition Of the United States was not
in force or enforced in the District, or
as If the war could be over everywhere
else in the United States and not be
over in the Capital.