Evening star., 1934-01-16
.UNW|N QUESTIONED
BY MRS. ROOSEVELT
AT SLUMS MEETING
First Lady Interviews British
Authority on Emergency
Housing Problem.
ALLOTMENT GARDENING
SUGGESTED FOR IDLE
Speaker Declares Workmen in Eng
land Are Happy After Nov
ing to Country.

ing to Country.
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared
in the role of personal interviewer at
dinner meeting last night under the
auspices of the American Civic Asso-
citation and questioned Sir Raymond
UnWln. leading British authority on
emergency housing and slum clearance,
about subsistence homesteads for work.
ing people. subject in which she has
deep and sympathetic interest.
Sir Raymond was the guest speaker at
the meeting attended at the Y. W. c.
A by nearly 200 persons, who had
come to hear the former chief tech
nlcal officer for housing and town plan
ming to the British ministry of health
tell how Great Britain is meeting the
problem OF emergency housing which is
now being projected as relief measure
IN the American recovery program
Robert D. Kohn, deputy administrator
OF housing under the Public Works Ad-
miniStration, also was a speaker. and
told the audience that 25 to 80 Amer
lean cities are now studying slum clear
ance, question in which the American
Civic Association and its Committee of
100 on the National Capital have taken
..
Mrs. Roosevelt attended the meeting
IN her capacity as member of the
association. One of its directors. her
husbands uncle. Frederic A. Delano, is
president. She had a previous dinner
engagement, but arrived shortly before
Sir Raymond began his remarks.
At the conclusion Mr. Delano stated
that Sir Raymond would answer any
questions about the problems before
the meeting No one stirred until Mrs.
Roosevelt arose. She prefaced her
questions with a few remarks on slum
clearance. which she believed was lone
OF the most important problems today
for our cities" Subsistence farms. a
problem in which she has shown per-
sonal interest, she considered important
in the development of rural districts.
Touches Crucial Question.
do you find people in industrial
centers willing to move?" she inquired
Of the speaker. DO you obtain CO.
operation between factories and people
in moving away from the centers of
population"
You have touched upon a very cru
clal question" Sir Raymond replied
He informed her. however. that little
had been done with it in England, but
cited few instances where the ex-
pertinent has been most successful
AT first We encountered the greatest
difficulty in getting the workmen to GO
outside the cities after the factories
had been moved" he explained, but
now I doubt if you could persuade them
to return"
The movement from the center of
population in London had made prog
ress, he said, until unemployment con-
ditions drove more into the city than
had left. In the last decade 800 900
had moved out of London. but approx
imately 100000 had come into the city
looking for jobs, he explained. He said
however, that new industries have
sprung up in small urban centers, a
fact that has been very ENCOURAGING.
Mrs. Roosevelt turned to the problem
presented by the plight of the coal
miners, but did not refer to her own
recent visit to the coal fields in West
Virginia to see conditions at first hand.
She wanted to know If the miners we're
turning to other occupations. Sir Ray
mond explained that a great many are
seeking other occupations. though this
is more noticeable among the young
people. Most of those leaving the mines.
he said, are taking up the handicrafts
and entering new industries.
But you can't turn all the miners
into bricklayers. when there are al
ready more bricklayers than are
needed" he said.
Allotment Gardening Grows.
Some of the mine children and the
miners themselves, the speaker said,
are turning their attention to allot-
ment gardening. This movement is
spread all over England, he said and
has resulted in hundreds of thousands
taking up gardening.
THE miners like it, too." he told
Mrs. Roosevelt.
Your problem in England is differ
ent from ours" Mrs. Roosevelt said at
the outset. But having lived in Eng
land number of years I know there
is much we can learn from England.
There is one basic thing in which
we are all interested People must
live in healthful surroundings if their
children are to grow up to be the
kind of citizens we will need in the
future Slum clearance for our cities
is probably the most important thing
today. Subsistence farms and all that
goes with them also are an important
development of rural districts
Director Kohn of the Housing Di-
vision of the Public Works Administra-
tion, who was the first speaker, stressed
that in dealing with this problem, the
United States is taking its beginners
steps" and referred to the strides al
ready made in England, where some
100000 dwellings have been construct
ed through public aid.
Praises English Policy.
"They order things so much better in
England" he said. In England they
tear down houses that are uninhabitable
and don't pay any more than the rental
value of the land The houses, being
uninhabitable, have no value"
A new era of thinking has started in
the United States, he said, in explain
ing that 25 to 80 cities are now giving
attention to the study of emergency
housing and slum clearance. He de-
clared the cities should exercise their
power and tear down unfit houses to
meet the problem satisfactorily. In
stead, they have been lowering the taxes
on these houses making lower rental
possible, and encouraging their exist
ence."
Sir Raymond emphasized repeatedly
that the only way to obtain results was
for the Government, instead of private
enterprise, to undertake slum clearance
and conduct the new dwellings under
public management.
The British authority, who is a noted
architect also, declared that slums con-
stitute "a legal crime"
He stressed the usefulness of build
ing up new urban areas outside con-
gested populations as a means of en-
ployment relief and commended Presi-
dent Roosevelt for making provisions In
the recovery program for emergency
housing.
At the conclusion Of the meeting. Mr..
Delano asked for a word from Mrs.
Archibald Hopkins, whose life work has
been in behalf OF Ialley-elimination IN