Evening star., 1924-02-11
RENT Commission
RETENTION URGED
WhaIey Tells House Members
Need of Body Still Is
Great Here. "


ent when hearings started today be
fore a subcommittee of the House |
disa'ict committee on the Lampert |
bill ito make the Rent Commission |
permanent and to include all hotel !
and business property within its |!
Jurisdiction.
Richard = Whaley, chairman of !
the Rent Commission, was the first |
witness, while the entire Rent Com |
mission was present, accompanied by !
the secretary and counsel |
1T would be crime not to con- |
tinue the Rent Commission. 1t would !
be great injury to at least 10000 /,
tenants to withdraw the protection !
of this act. l believe that il you |
don't continue this law, the rents |
in the District on May %, will be
increased" said Whaley in reply to |
q question from Chairman Lampert. !
Need of Commission.
He explained that his conviction is
based on more than 200 cases which
he has heard personally and said that
tenants quite generally have been
told IF you are not satisfied. why
don't you get out; we can get more
rent from some one else" He said
that the law of supply and demand
has not caught up with the requests
for smaller apartments. Mr. Whaley
quoted from testimony in one case
by one of the largest realtors i,i
Washington. Harry Wardman. who.
he said. had always been absolutely
fair with the commission. Mr.. Ward
man, he said, testified that he was
now building apartments to rent from
SIS to s25 a room. for which he found
there will be d big demand.
Questioned regarding the cost of sec
ond trust notes, Mr.. Whaley read from
Mr. Wardman's Testimony saying that |
these notes were bought as high as 20
to 40 per cent. and that he himself had
paid the latter figure. In this connec-
ton, Mr.. Whaiey emphasized for the IN
formation of Mr.. Bianton the difference
between interest on these notes at {
per cent and the 40 per cent cost which
represented discount
Wardman Denies Statement.
Later in the meeting, Harry Ward |
man appeared in person and denied en- !
phatically after it had been read TO
him, that he had ever testified as he had
been quoted in the record of case at
1911 22d street. You are all wrong
That is not my testimony" Mr.. Ward !
man declared Never in my career !
have I paid more than 10 per cent ex-
never known of second trust notes bring |
ing 40 per cent in the city Of Washing
ton."
Mr.. Wardman demanded that the
record as quoted be stricken out. NO
man in the world has supported the
rent commission as 1 have. When the
rent commission was first organized ,
favored it in opposition to practically
the entire real estate board in the
District / am now satisfied that it
has outIived it's usefulness and that
the law of supply and demand ought
to be allowed to function
Representative Blanton of Texas.
asked if the rent commission had
made any survey to see how many
vacancies there are now. Mr.. Whaiey
replied that the landlords had not
been able to prove vacancies as
cause for higher rents a,adt ano IT. snao al
prevented the rent commission from
making a survey.
Objection by BIanton.
Representative Blanton called at
tention that the armiStice was sign
ed five years and three months ago. I
The Rent Commission grew out of a
war emergency and the legislation
would never have been passed under ,
normal conditions. he argued. He
thought 1--WE ought to get back to
normalcy."
Chairman Whaley said he favored
giving the Rent Commission in
definite life in order to take the club
away from the landlords who now
say to the tenant, you go to the
Rent Commission and when the Rent
Commission goes out of existence.
We'll fix you"
He said he wanted to put on the
landlords the necessity of proving
an emergency exists rather than on
the unorganized and fearful tenants. !
He invited Representative ,Blanton to
sit in at some of the hearings and go
with members of the commission to
visit some of the places which he de-
scribed as "uninhabitabfe."
Representative Blanton called at
tention to the fact that the prest-
dent Of the Hotel Mems Association
was present, saying that the hotels
are charging $40 and SIS day and
the Rent Commission is not stopping
them. He favored including all under
the Rent Commission act and COM
mended the Rent Commission for
it's restricted area. Representative
Blanton was vigorously applauded
when he said I'VE ought to give the
property back to the people" and
predicted that rents would be re-
duced SO per cent within six months.
Mr.. Whaley said that the Rent
Commission. had heard 5000 cases in
four years and cited that az a direct
benefit. There are $4,000 tenants who
have been protected by the Rent Com
mission. He said in reply to COM
plaint by Mr.. Blanton that the in
terest of folks living in Wardman
PARK and Meridian Mansions had
been protected rather than the small
men, that the commi ssion had inter-
ested itself mostly in the medium
class apartment
Collection Of Refunds.
Mr.. Whaley said the Rent Commits
sion ought to be made permanent, be-
cause Congress has the power to
abolish it at any time it wishes. He
that the services of an as
sistant counsel had recently been de-
voted to collecting money in some
500 or 700 refund cases, which the
landlord held in expectation that the
rent commission wu116 b. 1hoa3saBad