Evening star., 1934-05-27

| The fnpendtng housing shortage
and the national housing bill noU
before Congress are discussed and
defined in this article. Mr.. BroDn
is chairman OF the subcommittee
delegated by the N. r. A. Durable
| Goods Industries Committee to
study the national housing act.
BY LEWIS H. BROWN.
1t seems hard to believe, but
America Is facing housing shortage.
In 1888 residential building fell of
to less than one-tenth of the 1925
volume. During 1882 and 1888, there
weren't enough single houses built
to replace those burned down in
these two years. The estimate is
that the country requires 10000
new homes annually and the Labor
Department figures show home build
ing in 1882 and 1888 was 80 per
cent behind this requirement.
In the meantime, young people, the
depression Notwithstanding, have
been getting married and having
children. The actual population is
increasing numerically. Furthermore,
since the start of recovery, the need
for homes has been expanding for
another reason. Doubling up of
families because of economic strin-
gency is lessening. Moreover, many
of the existing home units are in
bad condition and will be in worse
If necessary repairs are not made.
Everybody knows that the time to
repair a roof is before it actually
leaks badly and the rain brings
ceilings down and that the time to
paint is before the weather has got
to the wood. Without repairs, many
houses soon will be so run down that
people will live in them only If they
can't find any place else. A lot
will be so ramshackle they won't be
worth repairing. And bad housing
and bad bealth 60 together.
Will Restore Confidence.
The imminent danger of housing
shortage does not mean, however,
that President Roosevelt's message
to Congress, recommending the pas
sage at this session of the national
housing bill, included plan for the
Government to build lot of houses
across the country. There is nothing
in this bill by which the Government
would be regimenting business or
regulating the home life of the
people.
It's fundamental benefits to the
public will be the restoration of con-
f1dence in the soundness of investment
in urban real estate. 1t will eliminate
the basic factor-lack of confidence
in real eState-which caused the aver
age man to feel that it no longer was
good thing to own his own home.
1t will induce the American citizen
not only to buy his own home, but
to get it paid for. In doing this, the
bill will bring private capital back
into real estate, particularly into real
estate mortgages.
It isn't bill calling for the expen-
diture of vast amount of money by
the Government. It is a sound busi-
ness plan for the benefit of the
country as a whole. The renovizing
and repair end of the bill alone can
put 100000 men to work for four
months this year if the bill is passed
at this session of Congress. If it
isn't passed at this session, it will be
too late to get the repairing and mod
ernizing done in 1884.
Worked on for more than two
years. the bill actually was drafted
by Winfield Riefler, economic adviser
to the President. Mr.. Riefler was for
eight years an economist for the
Federal Reserve Bank system in
Washington. The bill has been
weighed and checked for two months
at conferences of practical business
men. Representatives from the fields
of real estate, construction, banking
and building materials, all sat in at
these meetings.
On an actual basis. from figures
taken from the experience of those