Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-03

Continued From First Page)
the introduction of the dole sys-
tenn would not accomplish this
purpose"
Work must be pre- vided, and we
believe that it should be directed
to the creation of useful facilities
needed throughout the country
be they hospitals, schools. Ii
braries, churches, public buildings
highways or other arteries OF
transportation"
Cite Investment Value.
Every dollar so spent will afford ad-
ditlonal employment and will produce
a dollars worth of national wealth
which otherwise might be only futilely
wasted in dole system or charity We
believe that the country can afford to
double the amount of its normal con-
structlon volume for properly sllocated
construction projects and housing needs
throughout the country"
To this end the contractors recon-
mended the expenditure by local, State
ana Federal Government of the maxi
mum funds that can be immediately
raised. in sums as large as possible, to
undertake constructive program.
The statement adopted by the gov
ernlng boards of the A. G, C. further
states:
Graphs published by the Govern
ment and other reliable sources clearly
indicate that material costs are ex-
tremely low; that the margins of profits
have been reduced to an absolute
minimum, and that the time for COM
munlty construction is now when its
cost is from 20 to 30 per cent less than
IL normal times. The timeliness of a
program for community construction is
justified on the following points
Immediate availability of the per-
sonal services of competent planners
specializing in various fields of archi-
lecture and engineering.
Low Interest Cited.
Low current interest rate on NUM-
Cipal bonds and interim bank borrowing
by municipalities or other political sub
divisions.
Emergency need Of minimizing I'M
employment, whether chronological,
seasonal or cyclical tIn lieu of COM
munity charity or public doles, capital
lie equivalent sums for the production
Of permanent community facilities
Low prices of construction units,
with consequent greater purchasing
power Of community dollars This in
SureS excellent values to the taxpayer
through labor efficiency, low material
costs and small margins for general
expenses.
Community betterment by facilities
to raise the general standards of living
and the improvement of business
through local circulation of funds ex-
pended for such facilities.
To facilitate such community con-
struction without immediate burden upon
the taxpayers in the present depression
we recommend that, in addition to the
financing Of public construction by
general or special bond issues bond
issues be authorized for a revolving
fund to buy special tax bills issued for
specific improvements, the rotating
funds to be used by the city to carry
such tax bills as the taxpayers might
not wish to meet for the next two years
Such moratorium, We believe, would
remove much of the present opposition
of citizens to needed municipal i'm
proVementS.
we further recommend. relative to
private financing of community con-
struction, such as churches, schools,
hospitals and other semi-public insti-
tutiors, that it would seem sound
financing to borrow on such credit and
collateral at the existing low construc-
ton prices and that, since a great
amount Of such capital is raised by
popular subscription in relatively small
sums over series Of years, it is emf
nently proper that private institutional
work should proceed at once.
An opportunity to work is far better
than charity. We therefore urge that
every citizen and political subdivision
undertake their individual plan Of
construction and improvements now"