Evening star., 1934-08-12

The Federal Housing Corporation is
organizing at washington as the new
est important branch Of the new deal,
and It is expected that a lift will be
given this supine industry through
availability Of Federal funds. No In
d,lstry in the country seems more in
need of assistance, especially of cap
ital What has practically amounted
10 a strike Of private capital has been
in progress for two or three years.
There doubtless are reasons 1ustifytng
a good many investors in not making
funds available to speculative builders,
but the fact is that housing is at its
lowest ebb In many years.
In 1929 loans by banks 10 private
business amounted TO about S55,000.-
600 900 and now they are down to
around S22 200, ,O00 900. OF course, this
money was not all advanced TO the
building industry. In fact, even in
1929 building had begun TO decline.
but OF the total volume advanced an
even smaller portion went TO building
in recent months than in 1929. The
year 1928 was the top year in build
ing. Then private construction
amounted to $5.4l6. 900 600. The value
of new construction had been above
IS. 900 900 900 for several years pre-
viously.
The decline is first observable in the
figures for 1929, which reveal new
funds going into construction as $4,-
45i. .O0O, 900. That was still a high
level, but from that year onward the
drop was precipitate. In 1880 only
50, TAG 900 900 went into new building.
in 1891 only $l,761 600, 900 In 1882
only S734 100000 and last year only
$3.50, ,000,000
Withdrawal Of Private Capital.
Expenditures for public works
reached a peak Of $500, 600 900 in
1880. For 1888 they amounted TO only
81, 800 ,000, ,0G0 The explanation OF
| this is that States. cities and counties
were forced to abandon their. own
public works enterprises through lack
Of funds. 1t is true that the Federal
expenditures increased, but that ex-
pansion was not great enough to make
I'D for the stoppage Of public works
| on the part of interior political divi-
sions A county seems rather small
unit even to discuss in the tale OF
public works expenditures. but II must
| be remembered that there are thou
sands of counties and only one Fed
eral Government. In anything like
normal times the multiplication Of
Jobs here and there over the country
by counties, school districts, park dis
tricts, municipalities, drainage dis
tricts. State governments and so on
runs I'D a total beside which the ex-
| penditures of the Federal Government
seem small.
Some figures which show how pri-
vate capital withdrew from construc-
| ton and public funds flowed out are
given for January and February OF
each of three years. For January,
1882, private funds for building
amounted to $45 5,456, 600; for 1888.
$43. .s76, 600: for 1884, s28,987, 900. For
| February. 1882. private funds amount
f, ed to $55. .327 900: for 1893 526,o76.-
600: for 1884, $3l .307 900.
Meantime, expenditures OF public
funds for building took the opposite
trend. For January, 1882, public
funds going into building amounted to
s39. .344 600; for 1888, $39, ,4S0, 900; for
1884. S157, ATT 900. For February,
1882. public funds for building
amounted to $33,673,000i for 1885,
$26. .637 900; for 1884, SOS, 600.