Evening star., 1925-01-27

pect rents to be as low as pre-war
days. He said that wages of labor
employed in the building trade has
gone up. But he charged that the
landlords were seeking to obtain "all
the traffic will bear" no matter when
he houses and apartments offered
for rent were built.
Mr. Warren said that he was
solicitor in the Office OF the Interior
Department. He challenged the state
ment made by opponents Of the
whaley bill that Congress could not
enact a. permanent rent act for the
District which would be constitu-
tional He insisted that housing
could be impressed with a public in
terest and that 1t could be legally
regulated.
"If it is possible to limit the
heighth to which buildings may be
constructed" said Mr.. Warren, why
is 1t not possible to limit the rents
charged for the buiIdings?" He in
sisted that until the Supreme Court
should pass on the question it would
be impossible to say whether per-
manent rent act would be constitu-
tional or not
Tenants Tell Experiences
Mrs JuIett b Webb of 2131 Cali
fornia street, the Lonsdale, described
her experience in trying to find an
apartment after she had been given
notice to quit She insisted that
apartments of one room, kitchen and
bath for not more than $35 a month
offered for rent were dirty, abSo-
lutely impo osSible"
J. H Fink, whose case against Mrs
Peck has been given much publicity
testified that he had lived in the
house that he rents for nine years,
for much of the time without any
difficulty whatever. When the house
was bought by Mrs. Peck, however,
attempts were made to raise the
rent. He described to the commit
tee how he had appealed to the
plumbing inspector in regard to a
gas heater for water which leaked
The owner. he said, has sent up a
plumber who told his wife they were
going to put in new heater. In
stead they merely disconnected the
old one.
Frank F. Maxwell, who describe I'd
himself as one of the tenants who re-
Gently received eviction notices in the
darlington apartment house, told the
committee that he had originally
rented his apartment about eight
years ago for $3.50. He said he has
four rooms, kitchen and bath. He
said that his rent had been raised to
s47.50 and then to $3.50 after hear
ingS by the Rent Commission. He
said that owners were now demand
ing s77.50. He insisted that 'intimi-
datton and coercion had been used on
tenants to compel them to pay in
creases in rent"
Appeals for Fair Law.
Mrs oP
ants League, urged upon the commit
tee the enactment of rent legislation.
All they asked for, she said, was a
law which would be fair and just to
both landlord and tenants. She said
now when people in Washington go
TO a real estate agent TO rent apart
ments they are asked, Have you had
trouble with your landlord?" Have
you appealed to the Rent Commits
sion?" She submitted to the commit
tee a list of rs apartment houses in
which raises in rents have been de-
manded and in many Of which evic-
tion notices have been issued
"a statement has been made here
by Mr.. McKeever that rents are drop
ping rapidly" said Mrs. Brown.
They are dropping only into land
lord pockets" Mrs. Brown said that
the Real Estate Board had testified
through its secretary. Mr.. Petty, that
there are 1,724 vacant housing units
in the District. She said this was
much too small a number for normal
rental conditions, and insisted that,
according to experts, there should be
at least 1858 vacant housing units to
bring about normal conditions in a
city the size Of Washington.
Tells of Alleged Raises.
She told the committee that in her
opinion, 80 per cent of the increases
demanded have been issued since Sep
tember, 1924. She presented adver-
tisements from the newspapers in
which apartment houses wera offered
for sale, declaring that they netted
from 35 to 80 per cent returns. She
insisted, too, that advertisements of
apartments for rent were carried in
the newspapers long after the apart
ments had been rented, giving the
implication that the landlords desired
to create an impression that there
were apartments for rent when, as
a matter Of fact. there were not, in
order to influence Congress ON the
rent legislation.
Mrs Brown said that there was a
law in the District to compel a land
lord to heat a rented building. She
said that the law had been construed
at the health Office merely as com
pelling a landlord to have a furnace
in his building, but there was moth
ing about having fire in the furnace.
1--WE, the voteless, voiceless tenants
of the District plead with you to get
us fair play" said Mrs. Brown.
In reply to questions by Representa-
tive Blanton of Texas, Mrs. Brown