Evening star., 1934-11-04
Makers of Mass-Produced
Homes Push Financing.
Materials Purchased,
SAVINGS BANKS STUDY
REAL ESTATE LOANS
Proponents of Pre- Fabricated
Houses Emphasize Quality, Low
Costs and Stability.
BY JOHN A. CRONE.
Special Dispatch to The Star,

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, November 3.-Hailing
the Governments announcement on
5 per cent maximum interest charges
and y per cent service charges and
Henry l. Harriman'S suggestions of
mass production of low-cost country
and suburban homes, many groups in
the building trades speeded their
preparations today to begin work as
soon as the construction program Of
the Housing Administration gets
under way.
Several of the makers Of maSS-pro-
duced homes pushed their financing
plans. which, contrary to Wall Street
reports, will not be private pool ex-
ceeding two billion dollars. Other
contractors placed orders for ma
terials.
At least one local life insurance
company got ready to make mortgage
money available and savings banks
showed greater willingness to consider
applications for real estate loans,
Idea Evolved Slowly.
The idea of mass-produced houses
has evolved somewhat like automo-
bile manufacture The first automo-
bile was merely a carriage to which
motor power was added. The first
mass-produced houses were shipments
OF plans and raw materials, with doors
and windows already cut out. Later
such 'pre-cut" houses were factory
fashioned, SO that little saving had
to be done on the building site. Hard
ware was standardized
The success of these mail order"
houses led to further experimental
tlons. Cement. cinder blocks, cotton
and steel then were tried 1t was
possible to make cement and cinder
blocks quite as easily as bricks. 1t
was also possible to design, stamp out
and cut regulation pieces of steel on
mass production basis. These dwell
lngs are referred to as "pre-fabri-
Gated"
E. F. Hodgson Co. Of Boston in 1898
offered one-story houses of panel
construction wood. complete heating.
lighting and plumbing at lower than
average prices.
New Materials Tried.
These were just few of the prede-
cessors of the home and garden de-
velopmentS. which have received so
much publicity as result of the ad-
ministrationS subsistence" home
stead plans. Generally such develop
ments offer from one quarter of an
acre to several acres on which a
l-story completely equipped house.
with garage attached, is built. Some
of these houses. mass produced. with
a refrigerator, washing machine, gas
heater. furnace. plumbing. shrubs.
trees, flowers and chicken coops, along
with an acre or SO of land, can be
had for $4,000 cash.
When building activities showed
signs of slowing up, as early as 1927,
architects, bankers, building material
manufacturers and others began to
think In new housing terms. They
decided to try out new materials.
There are at least half dozen mod
ern housing concerns utilizing new
materials in varying combinations,
and there are more than a dozen
pre-fabricated housing companies
whose creations are built around steel.
Advantages Are Cited.
When architects, builders or con-
tractors start talking about the latest
in housing, such as the pre- fabricated
houses, they emphasize quality, costs
and stability.
The pre-fabricated house, built like
refrigerator. can be air. conditioned.
This also makes it easier to heat and
easier to keep clean, as dust is ex-
cluded
Along with these qualities goes the
equally important item of costs. If
the new houses can be had on easier
financial terms than existing ones
and can be obtained at a lower COST
say these proponents of -fabrica-
ton, then they will tend to take
their place ON such points just as
did the automobile.
Some pre-fabricated houses utilize
the heating system for hot water as
well as heating the refrigerating unit
Tor conditioning as we'll as keep
ing food. The units are so arranged
that they can be cut off when not
in use.
Copyright 1934)