The Washington times., 1925-01-23
ASK
FOR TIME
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Continued from First Page,l
least burdensome OF all commodities
necessary to District residents.
8. That the purpose Of the or
ganization OF the Tenants League
was for the exploitation Of tenants
for the profit Of it's organizers.
4. To define the boogaboo phrase,
"pryramiding Of trust" and to prove
this practice could have no effect
on rents.
Submits Seven Charts.
Mr.. McKeever submitted series
Of seven charts to prove that condi-
tons In the District are not alb
normal and asked that they be in
serted into the record.
Quoting Department Of Labor
statistics Mr.. McKeever contended
that the average increase of rent
is only IS per cent, and that the
cases which have been testified to
Time and again Chairman Ball.
Congressman Hammer of North
Carolina and Senator Copeland chal-
lenged some Of the statements made
by Mr.. McKetRer. but he refused
to let them pin him down to adj
missions which would detract from
his argument.
WIN Refute Tenants.
The joint committee was notified
by Mr.. McKeever that before the
cally all OF the testimony which
had been given by tenants would
be refuted.
He said that his office had plenty
Of apartments to rent for less than
SIS and filed with the committee
a list Of them. together with their
rent.
Desiring to show that the
Tenants League Is not q sincere
organization. he read to the joint
committee the papers filed in a re-
cent legal suit against e. H. Schir-
mir, president of the Tenants
League, by Francis M. Butts.
He accumulated the fact that
Schirmir got $50 from Mrs. Butts
as part payment on q $500 third in
terest In the league and that he
represented the league would be
extremely profitable to it's pro-
moters."
Taking up the subject of the pyrar
miding Of trusts Mr.. McKeever said
nobody but an imbecile would make
loan on property in excess Of it's
fair value and that fourth, fifth,
sixth. seventh and eighth trusts are
myths.
Blanton Makes Reply
He said that he had found upon
investigation that in a good many
cases when the records indicated
there were a half q dozen trusts on
a property that in reality all but
two Of the trusts had been paid
off and those, who had paid had
failed to make an official record OF
that fact.
An attempt by Mr.. McKeever to
claim that the true difficulty IL the
fact that Government employees do
not get a living wage was taken up
by Congressman Blanton, who said:
81 don't pay any attention to the
passing Of the buck by real estate
men In sending to Congress the
claim that the solution to the rent
situation Is the raising Of salaries.
know that amusement places
are an index to the wealth Of a
city. and / know that the theaters
here in Washington are loaded to
the doors days in advance, indicat-
ing that Government clerks have
plenty of money to spend.
Threatened, BIantOn Says
At tbs juncture, Congressman
Blanton advised the joint commit.
tee that he had received telephone
threats at his office that unless
he lets up in his opposition to the
Whaley bill, certain persons will
visit his Texan district and try
to defeat him.
REST assured" Congressman
Blanton said,' these threats will
not deter me. 1 wish they would
go down into my district
Senator Copeland explained that
the reason he introduced his Joint
resolution was to escape the ex-
pense of $4,000 a year to five Rent
Commissioners at $4,000 each. He
said he knew this was objected to,
in Flaming placard," sent out
by real estate men, through the
business district
Congressman Blanton told Sena.
tor Copeland it would take closer
to 500 additional judges in the
Municipal Court to take care OF
thee rent situation than the one
which he would provide.