Evening star., 1925-03-07
"a Strong Pull, All Together'


and a percentage of Washington ten
ants has brought the Capital commu
nifty to the very brink OF disaster
Washington has narrowly escaped the
injury and humiliation of continu'
ance permanently into peace time of
wartime rents-regulating law, which
was unsound and hurtful economical
ly, defeating it's avowed purpose, and
which debased the American status of
the Washingtonian by the slurring
contention that in. the District of Co,
lumbia alone of all American commu-
mites the protection guaranteed by
the bill of rights to life and property
is denied; that here alone the obliga-
ton of contracts may be impaired with
impunity, and that here alone one
may be deprived of his property with
out just compensation and without due
process of law.
This disaster threatening war of re-
taliation must in the community in
checked.
Within three months our war
rentals-fixing law by its terms will
cease to function. and the courts have
already paralyzed its activities.
The whole of the Capital community
must, and will, cooperate to the end
that no landlord retaliation of today
through excessive rentals increases
when the restraint of the rentals law
is removed shall drive Congress next
December in retaliation in the interest
of tenants into vicious legislation,
hurtful to the whole community and
violating the letter or spirit OF the
Constitution.
The whole community must not be
permitted to suffer through continu-
ance of this vicious circle of vindictive
retaliatory reprisals between members
of two groups of Washingtonians, les.
sors and lessees, landlords and tenants
property owners and renters.
An armistice is to be arranged by
direct dealing between landlords and
tenants preliminary to a treaty of
peace without victory operative either
Immediately or at the latest after May
%, when the rent-regulation law for
mally ceases to exist
Everybody must do his public-spirit-
ed part in this movement for the gen.
eral community welfare.
1t is evident that the realtors were
In earnest when not long ago they
nladPn6
the public interest in the absence of a
rent-regulation law to keep rentals
reasonable in Washington and to care
FOR tenants whose landlords insisted
upon rentals that We're not reasonable
They indicate their intention of pro.
ceedlns Systematically and through
organized cooperation along the line
OF this public-spirited activity, and un-
doubtedly the tenants as a rule will
heartily respond
Nobody expects that in the readi1st
ments that will follow the regaining
by owners of control of their rental
properties there will be no differences
OF opinion concerning what is reason
able rental and no incompatibilities be-
tween certain landlords and certain
tenants which will result in the shift
ing OF tenants from one landlord to
another. But with sincere co-operation
In the community interest between
property owners and tenants yindic.
tive reprisals and grossly excessive
rentals can surely be prevented.
Ihe permanent cure of the evil
OF inadequate housing facilities for
families of small means is to build
and put in competition, for rent
or sale, a great multitude of chean.
sanitary dwellings. Washington has
some conspicuously public-spirited
realtors and builders of large resources
VINO would probably, in response to
an appeal to their public spirit as
loyal, devoted Washingtonians. make
pecuniary sacrifices to meet ade-
quately the obvious community need
of the wholesale building of chean
sanitary homes. OF course, this helm
ful cooperation can be rendered i'm
possible If these Washingtonians-in
deed, all Washingtonians, collectively
are undeservedly and persistentlv
slurred, denounced and threatened as
selfish. mercenary and heartless inter.
ested solely in protection of their own
pocketbooks and without an atom of
concern for the welfare of either Can
ital or Nation.
In this equitable readjustment Uncle
Sam must himself cooperate as not
only exclusive lawmaker for the Dis
trlct but as Washington's greatest
employer. He will recognize that he Is
himself in the latter capacity the
main cause of the evil to be cured
ana ne Will for this reason cooperate
the more vigorously to effect this cure.
1t was the influx of more than 1OO.-
goo war workers into Washington.
without governmental preparation for
their reception, which upset the local
housing market, caused extortion
through excessive rentals and made
inevitable the practical commander.
ing of rental properties in Washing.
ton as a war emergency.
In this peace-time equitable read
justment Uncle Sam will not fairly
shift the responsibility for the evil
conditions to be cured upon others and
ignore his own obvious obligations.
As the great and dominating en-