Evening star., 1934-12-12
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC HILLIAM BILE.

Great Britain is graphing with the
low-cost housing problem at the same
moment that the issue is uppermoSt
in the United States. A recent visitor
to Washington, who was keenly in
terested III housing developments here,
was E. Beddington BehrenS OF Lon
don, deputy chairman Of the National
Housing Committee. an unofficial body
which seeks the creation OF Brit
ish housing administration and Is ar
IDENTITY supporting SO-called over
crowding bill" now before Parliament.
British private enterprise has built
more than 100000 new houses since
1922, but mostly for higher-paid ar
tisans. Decent homes for loWer-paid
workers are urgently required. The
Housing Committee espouses a plan
whereby the national eXchequer would
make available TO local administra-
tions and semi-private organizations
government funds sufficient to build
under fve-year plan 1,OOO,O00
minimum standard" houses to re-
place slum dwellings, consist OF three
rooms each and rent for maximum
of 10 shillings (s250) q week. A
housing program along these lines
is advocated In Great Britain for the
same reason such project Is pro-
posed at Washington, viz, to improve
living conditions among the very poor
and 20 prime the pump for the build
ing industries.
X n
President Roosevelt's first holiday
greeting card is out. It's addressed to
the United States foreign service
and reproduced in the current Amer
ican Foreign Service Journal. pub
lished at the State Department. The
greeting reads: ITO all members of
the foreign service: At this season in
particular my thoughts turn to our
Foreign Service with pride and with
appreciation of the loyal and efficient
manner in which our country is rep
resented abroad. To the members OF
the Foreign Service send my sincere
greetings for Christmas and the new
year. (Signed)
'FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT"
Senator Huey Long plays no polit-
ical favorites in his choice Of legal
counsel. One of the attorneys who
represents him in the libel proceed
inEs now pending in the District OF
Columbia courts is Joseph E. Davies,
formerly of Wisconsin, who was prom
inent in Democratic affairs and chair
man Of the Federal Trade Commits
sion during the Wilson administra-
ton. Another Of the Kingfish's legal
representatives IS Republican, Seth
w. Richardson, an assistant attorney
general during the Hoover administra-
ton. Mr. Richardson halls from
North Dakota.
Sir Norman Angel, British M. p,
who has Just been awarded the Nobel
peace prize for 1888, spent his youth
in the United States. His real name
is Ralph Lane, Norman Angel" hav-
ing been adopted for literary pur-
poses. He passed many years in the
West as o rancher, prospector and
newspaper man. Returning to Europe
in 1898 as the correspondent of Amer
ican papers, he wound up in the
service of the late Lord Northclife's
organization in London. Sir Norman
acquired worldwide fame with his
book "The Great Illusion" dealing
with the unprofitableness even OF VIC
torious war. In addition to having
produced numerous volumes on po-
litical and economic subjects, Sir
Norman is the inventor Of the money
game" series of card games which
teach the principles of elementary
economics, particularly banking and
currency. Angel was one Of the
pillars of the British Labor party in
Ramsay MacDonalds heyday.
X X X X
James A. Moffett, Federal housing
administrator, took time of the other
night from serious preoccupations in
Washington, controversial and other
wise, to preside gracefully and wit
tily over the sixtieth annual public
sambol" Of the Lambs Club in New