Evening star., 1924-11-07
DECLARES RENTS
PROMOTE CRIME
Mrs. Taylor Tells City Club
High Prices Make for
immortality.

Many persons are being pushed
into immortality, crime and sickness
by the crowded housing situation and
the necessity of paying high rents.
Some are turning to bootlegging and
other Crimes" declared Mrs. Clara
Sears Taylor of the Rent Commission
before a meeting of the City Club
Forum at the City Club this after
noon. Mrs. Taylor spoke before a
large audience of prominent business
men, including many engaged in the
real estate profession.
Mrs. Taylor stated that the Gov
ernment salaries were fixed just
after the Civil War and that since
that time they had changed very lit
tie. and further pointed out that prior
to the World War the aNrage cost
per room, including elevator and
telephone service. was $40. while at
present the average cost is $25. This,
she declared, raise of $50 per cent.
was real hardship for the many
Government employees, whose salary
had not been materially increased
The lack of houses for the wage
earning class. the shortage in housing
1acllltles for tenants who cannot pay
more than $50. little building activity
IN the cheaper priced properties and
the great depreciation of this type
OF construction and the great adapta-
bility OF this type for remodeling as
garages, were some OF the causes
suggested by Mrs. Taylor for the
housing shortage she declared ex-
lstent. In response to a question by
Robert l.. McKeever, prominent local
rael estate man, as to how MANY of
the 1000 cases cited by her in her
letter to the President were due to
non payment of the rent. Mrs Taylor
oeclared that none of them had any,
thlng to do with the non-payment of
'he rent tenants had previously paid.
Denies Protecting Delinquents.
Mrs. Taylor made it clear. however.
tndt she dld not at any time declare
that the Rent Commission had or
would give protection to tenants or
allo" them 10 remain secure in pos
session of premises because of non
payment of rent. She was unable to
answer Mr. McKeever's request for
Proof that apartments were being
"ithheid from the market to maintain
the high cost of apartments" In
speaking OF matters that came before
the Kent Commission in the decision
OF cases. Mrs. Taylor stated that the Rent
commission mad been asked to include
upon some occasions such items as the
funeral expenses of a former owner
q
policeman in front of an apartment
house and Christmas presents to apart
ment house employees, in connection
with the fixing of the value of an
apartment house
sne declared that the Rent Conn
mission endeavored to fix returns on
properties at rate from to 10
per cent. according to the condition
OF the property. only twice. de-
clared Mrs. Taylor, has the Rent
commission ever of its own initia
tive gone into premises for the pur-
pose of fixing the rentals"
Rents More Than Double.
mrs Taylor said the cost of rent in
the District is out Of all proportion to
the cost of other commodities. The
average rate per room in an apart-
ment house with elevator and tele-
phone service prior to the war was
*io: Now the figure is SIS, she said,
is still between f1,40O and $1,000. Re-
1ore the war, she declared, tho $l0-a-
room basis was Just about all the
Government worker could afford To
pay on the basis of rs per cent of the
income for rent. 1t is easy to see
that with an increase of $50 per cent
in rental and an almost unapprecia-
ciapie increase IN salary, the Govern
ment clerk is in a pretty awkward
predicament and, of course, the Gov
ernment work will suffer because of
this situation"
Mrs. Taylor said the population here
is q large renting population due to
the fact that many of the positions
are temporary, in that the workers
Who come from different parts of the
country have an urge to go back home
eventually. This, she asserted. keeps
them from buying homes.
Sees Crisis Coming.
Rent conditions in the District, con-
tinued Mrs. Taylor, are slowly, but
surely reaching a crisis. Two inn
portant features have developed this
situation, she explained, sharply de-
f1ning the issues and demanding
solution: First, real estate owners
and managers have undertaken an
aggressive policy in regard to rental
increases preparatory to the signing
of Fall leases, the request for in
crease being accompanied in many
cases by a threat of eviction.
Second, tenants have organized
| into a research body designed to Ke,
| at the real facts and to establish
| definitely whether an emergency
exists"
Two kinds or Shortaxe,
There are two separate and distinc,
1T 10 r1,