Evening star., 1934-10-09
BETTER HOUSING
DRIVE LAUNCHED
At MASS MEETING.
Mrs. Roosevelt James A.
Moffett and Campaign
Heads Speak.
URGE WASHINGTONIANS
TO M0DERNIZE HOMES
Government Officials Explain
Progress in Program to Re
vive Building Trades.
photo on Page A-5.)

photo on Page A-5J
All the forces Of argument were
called into play last night in urging
Washington to modernize its homes
and other buildings.
At a mass messing which jammed
the United States Chamber of Com
merce Auditorium to overflowing and
left hundreds standing in the open
court, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt,
James A. Moffett, Federal housing ad-
ministrator, and officials of his or
ganization, as well as heads of the
Washington drive for modernization,
asked for cooperation of Capital citi-
zens in the better housing campaign
which the meeting formally opened.
Thomas P. Littlepage, general chair
man of the Washington campaign,
was unable to attend the meeting,
which he had arranged, because OF
illness.
Mrs. Roosevelt Speaks.
Mrs. Roosevelt, in an address which
was broadcast, pointed to moderniza-
ton of the American home as a
crime preventive.
IF we can make our homes at
tractive," the Presidents wife said, Il
think there will be measurable de-
crease in crime"
Mrs. Roosevelt said 100000 900 homes
were in need of repair and 4,500 900
persons could be employed if the
Nation supported Fundamentally the
Governments home repair program.
The improvement of American
homes means so much to the life of
the country" she said.
Mrs. Roosevelt urged home mod
ernization and improvement as one
means of helping mother" giving her
more time and more leisure to devote
to her children, not only, she said, to
improve their Well-being. but to i'm
prove and tighten her own burdens.
The national housing campaign,
which started only seven weeks ago,
resulted in 10000 loans during the
first four weeks, she said, indicating
good cooperation with the Govern
ment throughout the country"
Fleming Presides.
Robert v. Fleming, president of the
Riggs National Bank, presided at the
meeting in the absence of Mr.. Little
page and gave assurances of the CO.
operation of Washington banks in
financing the campaign.
Mr. Moffett congratulated Chair
man Littlepage and his committee on
the work already done before formal
opening of the campaign, for which
he predicted ultimate success. He
then introduced Albert L. Deane,
deputy administrator, and Ward Can
aday, in charge of F. H. A. public
relations, who explained the organ
ization and told the story of the work
to date.
Deane told the audience that if only
500 were spent on every building in
Washington needing repairs, it would
put S8000,0 900 iii immediate circula-
ton here, and would send back to
work thousands of men now unem-
ployed. In the country as a whole,
he said, there are 13 100000 homes in
desperate need of repair and mod
erniZation. II only S100 each we're
spent on them it would put 81, 100000
600 in circulation. And besides these
homes have reached such state that
they are beyond hope of profitable re-
Mobilization.
Outlines Campaign.
Outlining the campaigns program
Deane said: The national housing
act. in part, was the answer to the
demand for administration leadership
in accelerating recovery by putting
back to work hundreds of thousands
of men n'the building industry, which
has been hit harder than any other
by the depression.
'The eyes of the Nation are on
Washington" he concluded. 81 know
you will succeed"
Mr.. Canaday pointed out that the
problem "by no means is one pri-
narily of loans" He said many of
the needed repairs could be made
without the necessity of a loan-but
that the chief aim of the drive was
revival of the building industry.
THE important task of the Better
Housing Campaign Committee in
Washington is to direct your atten-
ton to the needs of your own prop
erty now, so that you may realize the
loss you are sustaining. How many
of you in the last six months have
looked over your own houses critically
to check up the repairs and moderni-
Zation work that is needed? In most
cities where I have asked this ques-
tion I have found that less than 5
per cent have given attention to the
deterioration of their property in the
past six months. Obviously, when
you look over your house and Sc cer-
tain things that must be done in Or
der to save further depreciation, you
will meet these needs by making the
necessary repairs now"
In closing, Canaday said:
May I offer to you as your own
contribution to the solution of this
problem the suggestion that you
start tomorrow to do the work on
your own property which it needs.
If every one of you will do that
and that alone-the success of the
Washington campaign will be as
sured, and in its assurance lies the
inspiration for the rest of the
Nation"
John Poole, executive director of
the drive, explained its organization
and asked cooperation in putting
1t over.