Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-06
Herd Housing Will Not
Help Federal Clerks
To the Editor of The Star:

| To the Editor of The Star:
| If the discussion of the proposed
herd housing of the Government
clerks of Washington through private
| benefaction had had no other result
than to evoke the clear-cut statement
/! of Mary Reid Umstead in your issue
of last Thursday on the evils OF the
| real estate loan situation in Washing
| ton, it would still be worth while. Con-
| ditions are such as to call for con-
gressional investigation. Why should
| loan sharks be allowed to fatten on
| the SCanty earnings of the poorest
paid and most worthy class of work
| ers in the National Capital? l was
one of those workers for many years
and can bear witness to the hlgn
character and intelligence OF most OF
them with whom l came In contact.
Many of them do not receive l per
i cent Of the value accruing to the Gov
eminent from their services. Inc
Department of Agriculture, for exam
pie, has men in its employ at less than
the present pay of a good mechanic,
whose services are worth mllLonS 10
the country. 1t is ridiculous that men
! like this should have to live in rented
rooms with their families or be SKIN
ned out Of more than half OF their
earnings by those who hold out the
bait of home ownership in order TO
exact usurious interest from them.
Six years ago the writer told the
readers of The Star about Govern
ment clerk who put his savings into
suburban land near Washington un-
til he had secured 60 acres, some OF
which increased tenfOld In value IN
| 20 years. Nothing can stop WASH
| ington from becoming more and more
| a world center of business and usefui
knowledge, and so nothing can stop
| the city's growth into one OF the
worlds greatest capitals. therefore,
| the possession Of acreage near THIS
| city may be ranked among the safest
and most profitable investments that
one can possibly make, and Govern
ment workers who buy such land judi
| ciously, without paying too much for
| it, are sure to win out. and Such
land will provide the best of security
/ for loans In the article published in
! The Star in 1920 the writer also ad-
vanced the idea of a cooperative home
| loan association for clerks. but thus
far cooperation does not seem to work
we'll with them. Perhaps If the Home
| Club had had regular management by
salaried officials instead of the free
services of clerks in their leisure
| hours, it might have lived longer and
worked better.
! 1t is stated that 10000 clerks have
put their o. X. on the housing scheme.
We all know how easy it is to sign
! ones name to paper, but II is
| question as to how many of these ap-
proving signers of the questionnaire
will rent rooms in apartment buildings
erected for them If half of them
| take rooms at an average of $35
| month, that will provide an income
tof, ,,1x III
900 900. That amount of money will
| provide 10000 clerks with loan of
! 81 500 apiece with which to start
| homes of their own, and very good
suburban home can be built for twice
| that sum. With a lot paid for and
| loan of 50 500 at per cent, q clerk
| who is worth helping can own good
| home within few years. A plan of
amortization or extinction of the debt
can be worked out to save the home
buyer a lot of money over the present
| ruinous rates for second trusts, ETC.,
| and give the clerk the satisfaction of
soon owning every shingle on the
roof that shelters him and his family.
| Clerks have told me that they signed
| the questionable favorably although
they own their homes. One home
| owner told me he favored the herd
housing" proposition because there
are SO many clerks who have no fam
lilies and can live in one or two rooms.
Doubtless many Of those one-room
men or women are supporting their
families in some other locality, whom
they would be glad to bring here if
they could buy their own home in or
near Washington. The expression
rental barracks" is not original with
this writer, but is taken literally from
the German word "miethekaserne"
The lady writer of the letter above
referred to may start something" by
calling a meeting of her fellow clerks
to consider the formation of a'hage,"
or home association, of Government
employees. With a substantial initial
fund provided by some benefactor like
the millionaire whose worthy plans for
helping Government clerks are spon
sored by the Secretary Of Commerce,
many clerks, both men and women
would very likely put some Of their
own money into the scheme. especially
if the Government were behind it,
Twenty thousand additional home
owners would be worth more to Wash
ington and to the owners than three
times that number of cubby.hole quar-.
tiers likely to be provided by the pro-
posed ''miethekasernen."
l.. S. PERKINS.
THINK TT 0VER|