Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1925-01-16
HIGH RENTS
UNPOPULAR
IN CAPITOL

Chickens are coming home 10 roost
for landlords in the District of Col
umbia and they don't like il bit. The
sight of the roosting chickens is eaus.
ing the real estate men acute distress
and they are telling their troubles to
the world in fearful and agonized
tones.
For years, landlords in Washington
have had things pretty much their
own way and many of them have
taken advantage of the situation e
gouge tenants numerically. Despite
efforts to curb greedy landlords dur.
ing the war and in the years since the
wars end the situation has shown no
improvement and conditions have
finally become so intolerable that
drastic legislation dealing with the
situation has been introduced in Con
gress. The legislation proposes. among
other things, board of commission.
ers to fix rents ON residential prop
critics.
In the last few months, tenants have
ben demanding relief in no uncertain
words. The landlesds have been seek
ing TO convince the tenants and the
world at large that everything is love
ly but they have not been making
much progress. That the plight Of
the tenants is serious is indicated by
the fact that so cautious and eonserv-
alive a man as President Coolidge Is
actively interested in the fight to pro-
tect the tenants and is backing the
proposed rent bill.
To the unbiased observer. il APP
pears that the landlords have only
themselves to blame for the situation
confronting them. Most Of them have
boosted rents TO levels unheafd of in
the National Capitals history. They
revelled in an orgy of land and build
ing speculation that drew the severe
eensure of congressional inyessigat-
ing committee.
Now, when their chickens are flock
ing home TO stay with them over
night, the landlords are greatly dis
tressed. They are resorting TO tears
and threats, but are not getting much
sympathy except from fellow real
estate spectators in other cities, who
see the proposed District legislation
as a danger to Pouging landlords in
every section of the country For this
reason, the fight for the rent law IN
Washington is Of interest to every
rent payer in the United States.
Sixteen persons, all Negroes, were
lynched in 1924, the smallest number
of any year since records have been
kept, Tuskegee Institute announces.
The 1924 record was II less than the
SO recorded in 1923.
At first thought, the 1924 lynching
record suggests that the United
States is becoming more civilized and
law-abiding. On second thought, 1t
is recalled that other forms of vio-
lent crime, such as murder and rob |
berv, did not decrease but increased |
last year, so it is plain that falling
Off in mob murders does not neces- |
sarily indicate that Americans are
forsaking lawless violence.
Perhaps. as the New York Times |
suggests, the explanation is that the
South is learning that it must treat |
its Negroes better If it hopes to keep
them at home.
Zone explanation that suggests
ITSELF" asys the Times, though
its validity is not likely TO be adj
mitted in the South, is that States
with large Negro populations
have been so disquieted and in
convenienced by the much dis f.,
cusesd exodus Of black folk to /
the North that something like a