Evening star., 1934-09-04
HOUSING OFFICIALS
NAMED FOR DRIVE
TO BEAUT|FY CITY
Canvass to Reach Each
Family Planned by Gen.
eraI Chairman.
COMMITTEE APPOINTED
TO AID FEDERAL UNIT
Capital Should Be Made Center of
Modern, Attractive Homes,
Littlepage Says.

the model city of the country for
residential beauty as well as for public
buildings, Thomas P. Littlepage, gen.
eral chairman of the Federal Housing
Administrations modernization cam
paign in the District, announced to-
day that vital part of the drive for
improvement will be based upon a
house-to-house canvass.
Littlepage also named Is members
of the Executive Committee which
will be in direct charge of the move
ment here, and said others probably
will be named later.
1t is expected that radio, news
paper, motion picture and every other
form Of publicity will be employed to
educate home-owners to the advantage
Of borrowing for home improvement
under the Federal guaranteed F. H. A.
loans.
The Nationwide housing campaign,
of which the Washington drive is a
part, is one of the. administrators
chief weapons to move heavy indus
tries out of the shadow of the de-
preston. 1t has been estimated that
many of the still unemployed millions
are those who normally would be en-
ployed in building and affiliated
trades.
Committee to Meet.
Lttlepage announced that q meet
ing of the Executive Committee will
be held tomorrow or Thursday. at
which time there will be submitted
names OF the chairmen and vice chair
men who will head the various sub
committees and the set-up of a field
campaign will be discussed.
subcommittee will represent loans,
finance, publicity, building industries,
general industries, women's activities,
consultation group, planning and
possibly some others.
AS soon as the committee and sub
committee heads have been named
and have selected the members of
their groups. Lttlepage said, a large
meeting win be held, at which there
will be representatives of every inter-
est in Washington. At this meeting
the entire campaign will be outlined
by speakers, and the importance of
Washington's leadership as a patri-
otic move In the general effort toward
complete recovery will be stressed.
Executive Committee members
named today include:
Melvin G. Hazen. president of the
District Board of Commissioners:
F. P. H. Siddons, president of the
District Bankers Association; Fran
els g. Addison, jr., naison officer for
the District Bankers Association with
the F. H. A; Robert v. Fleming,
president of the Washington Board
of Trade; James E. Collifiower, presi-
dent, Merchants and Manufacturers
Association; James G. Yaden, presi-
dent, Federation of Citizens Associa-
tions; A. c. Houghton, president,
Washington Real Estate Board;
Richard A. Dickson, president, Gen.
tral Labor Union; e. j. Murphy, presi-
dent, Building Trades Employers
Association; e. c. Graham, president,
Hamilton National Bank; Thomas A.
Mullet and Arthur B. Heaton, archi-
tects; Charles H. Tompkins, general
contractor; Miss Mae Murray, presi-
dent, Federation of Business and Pro-
fessional Women's Clubs, and Mrs.
John s. Bennett, president, Women's s
City Club.
Littlepage said much of Washing
toms residential beauty has faded
because Of neglect caused by the
depression. In view of this, he said,
and the fact that the Nations Capt.
tai should be the model city of the
country, I do not believe it will be
difficult to persuade property owners
to take advantage of the sound poll
cies of the Federal housing program. !"
At the present time, organization
of the campaign is being handled by
Robert j. Cottrell, secretary of the
Board OF Trade, working with Little
page. Cottrell will remain as acting
secretary until the organization is
completed.
Key positions like that held by
Lttlepage and committee chairmen
and workers will be unpaid under the
proposed set-up. Funds will oe raised
locally to pay secretaries, stenogra-
pliers and other full-time workers,
it was said.
While the "big push" in Washing
ton has not moved off yet, Washing
ton banks have been making loans
under the Governments guarantee
for the past two weeks for property
improvement. No estimate of the
number made thus far can be made,
since the lending agencies are not re-
quired to report to the F. H. A. for 80
days after the loan is made.
Results Gratifying.
National results, the Housing Ad-
ministration said today, are gratify-
ing, with many national organizations
taking up the sales promotion" cam
paign to help put the drive over.
The Washington campaign, which
is hoped to be the spearhead Of the
F. H. A. Nationwide drive, will fol-
low along the lines carried out in The
Stars $1,000 Better Homes Contest
which closes September IS after hay
ing run through the Summer.
There still are II more days In
which to get entries in the contest
into the Better Homes Contest Editor
of The Star. They will be judged as
soon after the closing date as pos
sible.
Awards in the contest are divided
into two classes-for improvements tc
homes valued at $4,000 and less and
for improvements to homes valued
above this figure. In each class q
first prize of $3.50; second, $100, ano
! third, $50, are being offered, in addi.
ton to four honorable mention
awards of $25 each. The Washing.
ton Board of Trade is offering an.
other 500 for outstanding landscap.
ing improvement, and 500 is to bt
given the Citizens Association whose
members show the greatest interest
| measured in terms of entries.