Evening star., 1934-11-20
HOUSING
HALTED BY M'CAR[
Holds Authority for D. C.
$400,000 Project Lack.
ing in Relief Act.
Continued From First Page.)

ClloU IdSC.J
in the hands of Commissioner Allen,
it was revealed today Then arose
the question Of legality on the Dis
trict using Federal relief agent for
land purchase and home building. On
November Hopkins came 10 the fid
Of Commissioner Allen and wrote to
McCarl outlining the case in full and
declaring that as he saw it the project
could be approved.
McCarl yesterday rendered an Of
fetal decision advising that there was
no authority in law for the transfer OF
the funds to the District Rehabillta-
ton Corp.
Allen Interprets Ruling.
Informed of the reasons of McCarPs
ruling, Allen paraphrased them to
mean: 1.-The funds can't be SO used
because the grant of power was for
emergency purposes-and this Is not
an emergency purpose, because the
results would be permanent"
Allen added, in criticizing McCarl,
II guess I am all wrong in believ-
ing that an emergency exists. We
have thousands on the District relief
roll, and hundreds of these are living
in housing lacking proper space or
sanitary facilities. My plan was to
use relief workmen in building Sani-
tary housing for relief families, but
apparently this is not an emergency
McCarl stated in part, in his deci-
sion: Under the Federal emergency
relief act, provisions are made for
grants to States, including the Dis
trict of Columbia, for various relief
purposes, such as set out in your CHop-
kins) letter, and under such various
forms of relief provided for it may
be, as you (Hopkins) state, that the
furnishing of renting quarters to the
needy temporarily is essential either
in the payment of rent or otherwise.
Sees No Provision.
However, as no specific provision
Is contained in the act and no in
formation of such purpose, and in
view of its limited duration and
emergent character, it would seem
quite contrary to its purpose to hold
that there was contemplated the
acquisition OF real estate and the
construction Of homes.
This would involve an undertak-
ing of a more or less permanent
nature, contrary to the spirit and
letter Of the relief act, particularly
in view of the provisions in sub
sequent act-the, national industrial
recovery actin which specific pro-
vision was made for the undertaking
of low-coSt housing projects"
Holding that there was no au-
thority for the District government
to expend relief funds allotted to it
for relief purposes for the acquisi-
tion of real estate and home con-
struction, McCarl cited an act of
March 3, 1877, which provided that
real estate may be acquired by the
municipality only "for school and
municipal purposes"
Allen Makes Statement
Commissioner Allen gave vent to
his feelings in the following prepared
statement:
AN opportunity-the first real and
practical chance to divert a small
portion Of the huge relief expenditure
to worthwhile, -liquidating
project-has been found to be con-
trary to principles laid down by the
statutes. The welfare Of the public
is forced to bow in Difference to a
decision, however well-based on theo-
retical law, which closes the gates
to the speedy solution of the unem-
ployment problem and permits no
removal of the appellation 'emer-
gency' now connected with relief
funds.
THE denial of the right to proceed
with this project affects the innermoSt
recesses Of the relief problem. The man
who can no longer work at the terrific
pace demanded by big contractors
finds himself frozen out of his craft.
and an opportunity to display his skill
is no longer available. Many a crafts
man. whose skill is expert, finds as
the years creep upon him lessening
of output, not in quality but in guam
tity, and high union wages beckon
successfully only the relatively young
and agile who can be pushed and
pushed in production. The low-cost
housing scheme, based on using relief
labor, would take these elderly crafts
men and put them at their trade ad-
mittedly at lower daily output than
expected from younger craftsmen, but
with sufficient expertness in the work
required of them.
THE low-cost housing schemes are
nothing Of last-minute conception
they have been under consideration
for a generation. Many Govern
ment agencies already are set up to
provide this need Of the common
populace.
from relief rolls and to determine
right here in Washington the feasi-
bility of restoring craftsmen to their
trade by applying their efforts to
scheme of capital value. A por-
ton of the clients on relief would
have had an opportunity to work out
twice their meager budgetary de-
ficiency now allowed them by the
Emergency Relief Bureau. Perhaps
they would not have had a full-time
job, but at least a job enabling them
to cross the hurdle and enter a decent
living one.
Sums Up Results.
Summing up his plan, Allen said
the results on the community would
have been:
Local merchants would have
furnished $250,000 worth Of materials,
or 60 per cent of the total cost.
2-Relief plans would have partici-
pated in 40 per cent of the total