Evening star., 1924-11-14
HITS UNF AIR RAISE /
IN RENTAL RATES
McKeever Declares Only Few
Cases Exist, and Says
Realtors DepIore Instances.

Deploring the unjust and unfair in
creases in rent "by some few cases'
OF unfair owners, Robert l.. McKeeyer
OF the Building Managers and Owners
Association, in an address before the
City Club forum today, declared: az
know that the Real Estate Board and
the Washington Association of Building
Managers and Owners would be willing
to cooperate with and help tenants
drive this type Of landlord out Of Wash
ington"
Admitting that possibly an emerg-
ency exists in Washington, Mr.. Nc
keever stated that that emergency
would be a landlord and owners
emergency and not a tenants emerg-
ency. He stated that he would be
only too glad to lend what assistance
he could to Government employees if
they would organize In an effort to
get better pay.
During the course of his address
Mr.. Mckeever pointed out that real
tors had voluntarily reduced three
times as many rents as there We're
increases and that the statement by
Mrs. Clara Sears Taylor of the Rent
Commission in regard to 1000 evic-
tions recently served upon local
tenants should be taken with a
gram OF SAT-.
Scores Rent Commission.
Mrs Taylor makes great issue Of
the moral phase OF rent conditions. l
don't know OF anything so destruc-
tive to the morals of the people and
the law when a Rent Commission COM
pels people to go ahead, sign up
binding sacred contract, at least II
should be sacred under our constitu-
tional right, and then pay no atten-
tion to what they have signed. A law
that encourages the tenants to black
mail the owners with threats to go
before the Rent Commission does not
seem to be very elevating from
moral standpoint" said Mr.. Mckeeyer.
This emergency for the landlords
and owners is brought about by the
large and rapidly increasing number
of vacant houses and apartments,
which already have made 1t neces-
sary to voluntarily reduce rents In
many cases." declared Mr.. NICK eever,
supporting his contentious following
a survey made I'm January by the
builders association which showed
539 vacant apartments and the recent
survey made by the Washington Real
Estate Board which showed an In
crease of 516 vacant apartments and
a total of 75S vacant houses.
Admits Few Unjust Rent Increases.
Il do not attempt to dodge the fact
that there are some few cases OF un-
just and unfair increases or raises In
rent, but the percentage OF owners who
treat their tenants in this manner Is
very small" declared Mr.. McKeever,
who opposed the statement made by
Mrs. Clara Sears Taylor in speaking
toF IN xt-1In oh
she said that rents had risen in greater
proportion than other living necessities.
Mr.. McKeever quoted the Bureau OF
Labor statistics of the Department OF
Labor showing the increase In housing
rents from December, 1914. to June.
1924. as 35 per cent, compared with the
increase for the same period in food OF
43 per cent, clothing IS per cent, house
furnishings 124 per cent and fuel and
light AZ per cent. He also quoted from
these statistics to show that out of
list of 10 leading cities in the United
States only three have a lower cost OF
living than Washington.
Further Quotation OF Figures.
Continuing his quotation of figures
and statistics. Mr. Mckeever ex-
planned that there are now in Wash
ington 644Ss Government employees,
ernment employed before the war. TO
meet this he declared that the office
of the building inspector showed that
more than 5000 new dwellings had
been erected and that many OF tile
Government empolyes were home
owners. not tenants, and that many
lived in the suburbs outside of the
city.
"In New York. where they also
have rent control, the increase has
been Ga per cent in rents, or nearly
twice as great as in Washington, and
in three cities where there has been
no control the increase has been less
than Washington" declared Mr. Nc
Keever.
Attacks Mrs. TayIor's Statement.
'lf we were completely rid of the
Rent Commission and Mrs. Taylor's
propaganda, which evidently is de-
signed to stir UP i'll feeling and strife
between the landlords and the ten
ants, it is quite likely that the land
lords and tenants could get together.
and when they did get together they
would find good, decent people In both
groups who could adjust their diff
ferences in a friendly manner. sat
isfactory to all parties" said Mr.. Nc
Keever, suggesting that a board Of
arbitration made up of tenants and
landlords could consider the extreme
cases, and would not only save the
expenses of litigation, but would
probably bring about much better
and feeling between
nj ts