The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-12-27
Liberal Viewpoint
by DIR. Harley ELMER BARNES

~
scheme of social insurance promise to be
the next important ventures of the New Deal. The
building project is the better assured of the two
and it may prove Illuminating to examine briefly
the one extensive and successful achievement
along this line outside of Russia in the period
since the World War. This is the municipal
building project of Vienna, in part wrecked by
the revolution of last summer.
Vienna had to work under terrible handicaps
The peace treaty left the city of 100000 nhabi-
tantS an unnatural metropolis containing one
third the population of Austria with the support
ing hinterland shorn away.
The great city was left high and dry COM
PEELED to import most of its food and raw mate
rails Austria had to compete with the new states
which had been specially favored by the treaties.
1t was crushed by taxation and by financial bur-
dens imposed by the treaty
The slum problem III Vienna at the close of
the World War was as bad as it is in any Amer
lean metropolis or industrial city. Down to 1919
housing conditions in Vienna were a menace to
health decency and efficiency. Three-quarters of
all domciles consisted of small flats of two
rooms or less. Over-crowding in limited quarters
YVES atrociouS.
THE typical fiat, according to Professor
l. Chaddock, was built and equipped as
follows:
lit provided kitchen and one other room,
constructed in large units by speculative build
ers. Many rooms had direct light and air, or
opened on a shaft of~Such limited area as to be
entirely inadequate. The lavatories and running
water were usually situated in the common hall
and were used by several families on the same
floor Very few dwellings had gas or electricity.
The houses, as a rule covered practically the
entire site, providing inadequate courts and no
play space except the streets"
These were the problems which Vienna had
to face certainly far, more discouraging than
anything which confronts America today The
Socialist government of Vienna attacked the
issue with resolution. The city bought up about
a third of the entire land area within its mu-
nicipal limits. 1t also reorganiZed the taxation
system in such a fashion as to make profiteering
in rentals impossible and to effect marked re-
duction in land values The money needed to
construct the new apartments was raised
through taxation. And this taxation was so
planned as to fall most heavily upon those able
to pay.
AS Miss Freundlich points out in her &C
count of Municipal Housing Development in
Vienna:
These charges are distributed among vari-
Gus classes in such a way that 82078 per cent Of
all lodgings and stores in Vienna, that is, $751;
413 have to pay the lowest of the taxes in the
scale, and only 22,332 per cent of the tenements
must pay higher taxes. Eighty-nine of the most
expensive houses in Vienna each yielding more
than one hundred thousand gold crowns in rents
annually before the war, pay 4173,848 schillings
for lodging, which is equal to the sum which
thirty-five thousand workers homes must pay
on rentals
In the year 1928 the municipality of Vienna
raised no less than SO billion Schillings
from the lodging tax alone. From other taxes
it raised enough that about 100 million schil-
lings year could be invested in new houses.
Altogether the city has spent more than 600 mil
lion -schillings for municipal apartments This
is equivalent to over $100OO0O00 in American
money, burden comparable to many billions
spent by the rich and populous United States.
THE improvements have been revolutionary
Compare with the pre-war flats typical
flat in new Vienna apartment as described bv
Professor Chaddock:
ut consists of very small entrance hall
kitchen, one larger and one smaller room and
lavatory covering in all 430 square feet All have
lavatorieS and running water within the flat
Each flat has electric light, gas stove for cook
/ ing, and small stove burning coke for heating
both furnished by the municipal gas company
! THE flats are arranged in units built around
/ large courts, with gardens, Fairgrounds and
! sometimes wading pools for children in the CEN
ter The building must not cover more than one
half the area of the site, and often occupies less
All rooms have direct light and air. In buildings
housing 300 families or more a central steam
! laundry has been constructed equipped with the
most modern devices. Here housewives may do
their own laundry work. Central baths for ten
ants are provided in the large housing units.
KindergartenS, to the number of 1OO have al
ready been established in these municipal
buildings"
These flats rent for from to IL schillings a
month-that u.s. from about $1.05 to $780, There
is slight additional charge for the use of the
central laundry and baths
The good results are already apparent
Vienna's working population can live in decent
quarters at low cost. The number of household
ers mas greatly increased in spite of the shrink
age in the population of the city as a whole In
tant mortality and tuberculosis rates have al
ready been notably lowered
Such is the challenge of poor old Vienna to
the new, prosperous and powerful cities of the
west win their foul tenements. The Amalga-
mated Clothing Workers in New York Citv have
SHOWN that Americans can do as well if they set
themselves resolutely to the task.