Evening star., 1934-05-12
House Meanwhile Approves
$3.50, 900, 900 to Improve
Highway System.
PLAN TO AID HOME
BUILDING DRAWN UP
Program Would Sluice Money
Into Channels for Construc-
tion and Repairs.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
President Roosevelt expects to ask
Congress next week for Sl,322 100000
to carry on the recovery program.
Out of that fund is to come the
S223, 100000 that restoration OF vet
erans' allowance and pay cuts will
cost. All extra appropriations voted
so far by Congress also are to be in
cluded so that ordinary expenditures
may be held within budget limits.
Among other item- to be deducted
are $4,000. 900 for crop loans. an
equal amount for farm mortgages,
S29, 100000 for Mississippi food con-
troll work and s5.OO00 900 for the
Army'S airplane program.
Even while the President and his
cabinet were working out the appro-
priation figure yesterday, the House
passed a bill arranging for S46o,-
100000 expenditure for road build
ing, a bill bearing preamble which
stated that it was 'for the purpose
of increasing employment"
Home Plan Virtually Ready.
Meanwhile Mr.. Roosevelts plan to
help private industry rebuild Amer
lca's places to live is virtually ready
for Congress.
The program runs the gamut OF
housing from simple repairs on the
smallest home to construction OF low
cost apartments.
The plan involves the expenditure
of hundreds of millions OF private
capital comparatively little by the
Government. The use Of a mutual
insurance principle would allow the
lenders of these millions to guaran-
tee, with Government help, their own
loans.
BY thus reducing the apparent risk
of lending. great amounts Of new
money are expected to be made avail
able, and the largeness of the supply,
| plus Government supervision. will
| help to keep interest rates down.
! Closely guarded for weeks, the plans
have been worked and reworked by
| presidential advisers, with congress
sional help, until now, except for last
minute changes, the whole program
is ready for Congress.
Creates Huge Agency.
Officials maintained their silence
today, but the broad aspects of the
plan were authoritatively said to en-
compass the creation of a huge in
Surance agency under the Govern
ment, originally supplied with Gov
ernment credit and later supported By
private money.
This corporation would be headed
by directors chosen from among pres
ent Government heads and might
contain some individuals from private
finance and industry.
The agency could insure both leans
for conditioning and for new build
ing. thus taking into its fold both the
plans for emergency stimulation of
repairs, remodeling and moderniza-
| ton and the long-range plans for
creation of new homes, farm and city,
small and large
Serious consideration has been
| given to the organization of housing
board to coordinate existing govern
mental housing activities.
Another insurance activity would be
| the guarantee of investments in build
| ing and loan associations.
Savings of investors, mostly small,
| in building and loan associations run
to eight or ten billions contributed
! by approximately 100000 investors.
Third Phase of Plan.
A third part of the plan involves
the creation of mortgage associations
| to take up the slack left by frozen
private agencies which are usually
sources for large construction loans.
A fourth major feature covers
financial details, aimed in a general
way at making it easier for COM
mercial banks that are members of
the Federal Reserve system or of the
Home Loan Bank system to take in
| mortgage loans for rediscount.
The plan aims to tap all available
! sources of private capital, which
through fear, or for other reasons.
have remained out of the real estate
market.
In so doing the Government would
also seek the right to supervise the
| whole construction field so as to pre-
| vent speculative building, guard
against high interest rates and other
wise see to it that building opera
! tions developed in an orderly fashion.
A major note of the program is
/ to help private industry and finance.
but where such help is accepted to
exercise necessary supervision.
The plan has an emergency aspect
in stimulating the reconditioning of
homes. Through the insurance agency,
loans Of qualified lenders would be
guaranteed against loss up to a certain
percentage, probably around 25 per
cent.
To Educate Owners.
officials have estimated that a
billion and a half might be spent for
reconditioning. and the program calls
for an extensive publicity campaign
to tell home owners how they may
take advantage of the plan.
Going hand in hand with this en-
ergency reconditioning program is the
Home Owners Loan Corporations ac-
tivities in making money available for
distressed home owners for this pur-
pose. 1t is probable that this work
will be co-ordinated in the general
program.
dOWH yes O4 pOIk
barrel" and discrimination against in
dustrial States, the House passed the
road building bill, 255 to 26.
Although the authorizing measure,
which now goes to the Senate, was
not on President Roosevelt's legisla-
tive program, Chairman Cartwright
of the Roads Committee and author
of the bill has claimed presidential
sanction of the principle of additional
funds for Federal highways. He