Evening star., 1925-01-14
TENANTS CHEER AS LANDLORDS
ARE ATTACKED At RENT PROBE
Ball Threatens to End Hearing to Get Order-Mrs.
III. c. Brown ColIapses-BIanton Defed BY
W0man-Witnesses Air Com plants.

The case of the tenants versus the
| landlords was pleaded last night by
| tenants themselves, with dramatic in
| cldent, In the huge marble caucus
| room of the Senate Office Building
FOR three hours the joint congress
sional committee heard the support
ers OF the proposed permanent rent
law for the District of Columbia.
MRS. Henry c. Brown, secretary of
the Tenants League, active in mar
shaling the witnesses before the COM
mlttee, suffered a heart attack as she
concluded her own statement Seeing
her evident distress, Senator Cope
land, physician and former health
commissioner of New York, hurried
to her side as she sat huddled in
chair. He manned one side of the
| chair as Mrs. Brown was carried out
or the caucus room and across the
| hall to Senator Copeland's office,
where she was given treatment by
| the Senator. Later Mrs. Brown was
| able to go to her home.
Attacks Bring Cheers.
Several hundred tenants and a
| sprinkling of real estate men gather
| ed in the big room for the hearing.
The tenseness of the atmosphere was
apparent in the bursts of applause
which came from the crowd when a
Il X,
attacking the landlords
Representative Blanton of Texas
an opponent of the proposed bill, was
fatty defed by one witness. Miss NJ
ID. Nails, when he questioned her as
to her income and her place of en-
ployment. She Is employed in one of
the department stores. AS she left
the stand Mrs. Florence B. Merrill
was on her feet demanding that the
ina hxyM To, So ell {,nrw
the witness questions be deducted
from the eight hours allowed by the
committee to the proponents OF the
rent bill
Mr.. Blanton's questions are utterly
ridiculous" said Mrs. Merrill
Mr.. Blanton with some heat an
nounced that he intended to put such
questions as he saw fit, that he did
not intend to be controlled in this
matter by the chairman. members of
the committee or the witnesses.
Blanton Is Irked.
Il ask the chairman not to allow
me to be lectured by witnesses here"
said Mr.. Blanton. He added that If
the hearing was not to be conducted
in an orderly manner, with full op-
portunity to question the witnesses,
he did not care to participate in it.
II can get my full rights in the
House itself if this legislation comes
before It," said Mr.. Blanton.
Finally Senator Ball, chairman.
threatened to discontinue the hearing
IL there was not order in the room
and If the applause was persisted in.
The committee sought earnestly to
obtain evidence which would sub
stantiate general charges made earlier
in the day that tenants had been
threatened with eviction or harsh
treatment by their landiC IDS. or the
real estate agents. should they carry
their grievances either to the Rent
Commission or to the congressional
committee.
Declaring that he had been called
up a dozen times on the telephone
during the day by anonymous
speakers who said that landlords had
sent around colored men to certain
tenants yesterday with a message
that If they appeared before the
congressional committee it would be
the worse for them, Senator Ball
urged any one who had knowledge of
such threats to come forward and
speak. But there was no direct testi-
mony given to substantiate this
charge.
Agent Is Accused.
A statement made by Mr.. Matheny
of the Susquehanna apartment house
in reply to Senator Ball was to the
| effect that they said they'd get all
| who went to the Rent Commission
with complaints" The they" he
said, referred to the owner and the
agent The remark, he said. had been
! made by the agent, Stacy Reed.
Robert E. Norfeet, who formerly
| lived in an apartment at 1107
Eleventh street. told the committee
that George W. Linkins, the owner of
the property, had said to his wife,
Mrs. Norfieet, that "he was going to
get US out because we went to the
Rent Commission to get our rent
reduced"
I'VE are out" said the witness,
adding that an eviction notice had
been served on him.
Mrs. Norf1eet took the stand. She
told the committee that the only
thing which the owner had against
them as tenants was that they had
applied to the Rent Commission, and
that he had admitted 1t before the
Rent Commission.
In the Municipal Court, she said.
Judge Meehan had told her, Don't
you mention the Rent Commission
in this court. 1t is like waving a red
| flag before q bull"
repairs are heIuseU.
Charles S Davis of 456 Louisiana
avenue employed in the Department
| of Agriculture, testified that the land
! lord of his former dwelling had
| threatened him if he went to the
Rent Commission and said that the
| landlord, who would not make any
repairs after he had gone to the COM
mission, explained that he refused to
do so because-the Rent Commission
had beeen appealed to by Mr.. Davis.
The housing situation here has
been the cause of the disruption Of
my family" said Mr. Davis. My wife
and my daughter have gone to New
York to live, where they can rent a
dwelling for less than we could here
| in Washington"
That's because we have rent law
in New York" suggested Senator
! Copeland.
The burden of the testimony of the
I