Evening star., 1934-07-16
Details Should Be Interesting.

Untl the Commissioners choose to
make known exactly what they have
in mind regarding the construction
OF low cost housing in the District.
presumably as d part OF Federal relief
works. 1t is perhaps idle to speculate
on then plans. Perhaps they nave no
definite plans end are waiting to
draw them up before discussing them
But Commissioner Aliens bare an
nounce;Dent that the District is to
try its hand In Iow-cOSt housing con-
struction is interesting enough on its
face. Il is obvious, in the first place,
that while the District Commissioners
and the director OF the Board Of
Public Welfare, Mr. Street, may be
intimately concerned with such
plans, the money must come from
the Federal Government. In the Sec
ond place, if the low-cost housing is
TO amount TO anything more than
the construction o. temporary bar
racks. such a development should be
closely co-ordinsted with the alley
clearance program, now being formu-
lated by other agencies
All of the reports from the District
Building have connected Commits
sioner Aliens announcement OF q
low-cost housing plan with state
ment from an apartment house
owners association relating to the
higher cost OF operating apartment
houses under the N. r. A. The re-
ports have put two and Two together
and concluded that the statement Is
the forerunner OF rental increases.
and that Commissioner Aliens low
cost housing plan is sort of warn
ing in reply. Commissioner Allen
says that he had not seen the state
ment relating to higher cost OF oper-
ating apartment houses when he said
what he did about low-cost housing.
As matter OF fact, it is somewhat
naive to connect the two. The ten
ants who might be affected by rental
boosts from apartment house owners
represented by the Building Owners
ana Managers Associa ton are not
those for whom the Commissioners
having first obtained the money and
the necessary authority, are planning
10 provide housing at public expense.
Nor does it necessarily follow, as
has been suggested, that because the
relief authorities are now spending
about $l00.0 a month in rental for
families on the relief rolls, it would
be economically sound to invest in
land and buildings and continue 10
pay rental-in the form of malnte-
nance and operating costs-in the
new quarters. But that, OF course,
Will depend on what Commissioner
Allen and Mr.. Street and the Federal
authorities with whom they are asso-
cisted have in mind.
Model housing, or low-coSt housing,
has not yet been undertaken as d
form of relief for the unemployed.
Such housing has not been intended,
in the hrst place, tor those on the
relief rolls. New York'S loW-cOSt
apartments, built under the super
vision OF the State Board OF Housing
in connection with Slum clearance,
bring average monthly rentals rang
ing from 1896 to Sl2.50 Il room. with
dining slcoyes and Kitchens counted
as half rooms They are built as SELF
liquidsting projects. repaylng con-
struction loans with interest-but not
as homes for the unemployed who re-
ceive rent money from the relief
rolls.
The suggestion that unemployed
artisans might be utilized in construc-
tion OF low-coSt housing may be prsc-
teal But labor on Federal relief
projects has been paid The prevailing
wage scale and whether the Commits
sloneTS and the Federal authorizes
could effect any saving by utilizing
unemployed labor remains another
question. later to be settled by the
eXplsnat ton which Washington viii
await with interest.