Evening star., 1932-09-10
EXTENSIVE DATA
TO Be COMPILED
ON RENT LEVELS
Agreement by Agents and
Senators Follows Protests
on QUESTIONABLE.
MANY INTERPRETATIONS
HELD UNANSWERABLE
Owners and Agents of Buildings
Allowed by Subcommittee to
File Added Information.

Preparation of comprehensive data
regarding the level OF rents in Wash
ington apartment houses Is to be start
ed Immediately as a result Of agree
ments reached yesterday between lead
ing rental agents and the special sub
committee Of the Senate which is in
vestigating the general rent situation.
Protests had been filed with the COM
mittee by leading realty management
agents that they could not fully reply
10 the QUESTIONABLE recently sent them
by Oscar H. Brinkman, committee
counsel. They contended some of the
data requested were in nowise re-
lated to the rental conditions and that
other questions were impossible to an
sWer, 1t was revealed.
Senator Copeland of New York. who
presided in the absence of Senator
Capper, chairman of the Senate Dis
tr1ct Committee, obtained promises
from all six witnesses subpoenaed for
yesterdays session that work of filing
the answers would be started at once
after he had explained that the COM
m1ttee did not expect anything i'm
possible.
hAaShOu 70 ne Au0cO.
Owners and agents Of buildings also
were given permission to file additional
information which they declared was
necessary TO give true picture Of the
rent situation.
Two of the witnesses, during infor-
NAL debate, declared rents had been
reduced recently in preparation for the
new rental season opening October /.
Flat denial was made by four of
the six witnesses that there is any
conspiracy on the part of rental man
ayers to maintain an artificial scale
OF rents. There also was general de-
NAL that there exists any system of
blacklisting of tenants who break
leases and seek to engage other apart
ment units.
Denies knowledge Of Ring"
Randall H. Hagner, in response to a
question gave a touch Of hunor
to the hearing by declaring that
he Is mortified every time he hears
OF the alleged real estate ring be-
cause he conducts a fairly large
business and has never heard Of such
combine. Seriously speaking, he in
sisted that 1t would be impossible for
there to be conspiracy to maintain
rents at an artificial level or to black
list tenants who break leases because of
the large percentage of vacancies now
existing In apartment buildings. He
declared that in a certain group of
buildings there now exists a vacancy of
23.2 per cent. whereas the general va
cancy percentage about a year ago
amounted to but 9 per cent The COM
petition among owners of buildings to
get tenants, he said, now amounts to q
dog-eat-dog affair.
George R. Linkins, another witness.
urged that the real estate interests who
have been asked to answer the COM
mittee's questionable be given the
privilege OF submitting additional data
giving comparisons of present rents, not
only with those during the past year.
but also with periods as far back as
1926. This request was granted by
Senator Copeland, who suggested that
all the realty agents 5e asked TO submit
similar data. Mr.. Linkins declared that
rents have been reduced not once but
several times in recent years and that
there will be further reductions this
Fall.
Deny Artificial Scale.
Mr. Hagner, Mr.. Linkins and H. g.
Smithy were emong those witnesses
who in answer to questions denied that
there was any system of maintaining
Scales.
! j. F. M. Bowie, president Of the
Washington Real Estate Board, re-
ported that that organization does not
feel that 1t can take any official action
In connection with the committees off,
cial QUESTIONABLE for the reason, he
declared, that the board cannot compel
any OF its members to file QUESTIONABLE
answers. He did say, however, that the
board was willing to urge its members
to comply with the wishes of the COM
mittee in spirit Of cooperation.
Speaking as vice president Of the H.
L. Rust Co., Mr.. Bowie said that COM
pany will file its answers to the ques-
tionna1re as soon as possible and to the
best OF the company's ability.
Answers Held Impossible.
When Mr.. Brinkman raised the ques-
ton that some Of the witnesses sub
poenaed had indicated they had re-
fused to answer the questionnaires in
full, Mr.. Hagner insisted that not only
did some Of the questions have no bear
Ing on the rent study, but that 1t was
impossible for them to find answers for
some Of these questions for technical
information. He pointed out that the
committee QUESTIONABLE concerned rent
scales on certain buildings in 1929 and
other years, and explained that If a
different rental agency had managed
the buildings in those years it might be
impossible for the present agents to
obtain the data.
Senator Copeland explained that the
committee did not expect the witnesses
to do anything impossible. He re-
minded them that the rent investiga-
ton was brought about due to the
material reduction in the incomes Of
residents Of Washington and particu-
larly those Of Government employees.
He said he felt that real estate owners
should bear a share of this reduction
in income and he felt 1t was a sign
OF decency on the part of real estate
owners who voluntarily have made rent
al reductions,
Among the witnesses who testified
briefly were Morris Cafritz j. w.
Jacobs of tie B. r. Saul Co., and
James Med. Shea.