Evening star., 1934-09-15
$1,000 in Prizes Offered to
Stimulate Improvement
of Dwellings.
BUILDING TRADES HELD
HELPED WITH INDUSTRY
Committee Will Study Entries
Next Week-F. H. A. Seeks
to Better Business.
BY G. T. KELLOGG.

Today is the last day of The Stars
81 1000 Better Homes Contest.
Entries will not be eligible after
midnight tonight
The contest has accomplished that
which it set out to accomplish; it has
stimulated the improvement of homes,
the attendant modernization of neigh
borhoodS, and the accompanying good
of making the Nations Capital more
livable city.
In addition, it has stimulated the
building trades, and, in turn, industry
in general.
Seeks to Help All.
1t Is through campaigns such as the
one The Star has sponsored in Wash
ington that the Federal Housing Ad-
ministration seeks to improve business
and relieve unemployment over the
entire nation.
And, while The Stars contest closes
at midnight tonight, the drive for
home and property modernization
which it originated is being carried on
through the Washington Committee on
Better Homes, sponsored by the
r. H.A.
The entries in The Stars contest,
which will be accepted up to midnight
tonight, will 60 to the committee in
charge of judging Monday morning,
when the group will meet at The Star,
and it is hoped to announce the prize
winners next week.
The Silver Star Model Home Com
mittee, which will have charge of
judging the contest entries, will meet
at 1915 am. Monday to receive the
entries. At that time rules Of pro-
cedure for judging the improvements
will be laid down. Members of the
committee include:
Committee Members.
James S. Taylor, former chief of the
Division of Building and Housing,
Bureau of Standards, now connected
with the r. H. A.; DR.. Louise Stanley,
Bureau of Home Economics, United
States Department of Agriculture;
Charles H. Tompkins, Washington
builder; John Nolen, jr., city planner
for the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission; A. C. Hough-
ton, Washington realtor; Irwin S.
Oliver Owen Kuhn, managing editor
of The Star.
This group will decide which home
owners will receive the two first prizes
of $3.50 each in the two classes of the
contest; they will decide who is to
get the two 500 awards, for second
places, and the $50 awards for third
places, as well as the four awards of
S25 each in the two classes for
honorable mention" prizes.
The prizes are divided into classes
comprehending homes valued above
$4,000 and homes valued at under
this amount.
In addition to the awards listed
above, the Washington Board of
Tlade has offered a prize of 500 for
outstanding landscape improvement,
and another 500 is to be given to the
citizens association whose Better
Homes Committee has done the most
work to further the contest, measured
in terms of entries from its member
ship.
Washington Campaign Soon.
The Washington campaign under the
r. H A is expected to get under way
within the next week or 10 days, under
direction of the general chairman,
Thomas p. Littlepage. Headquarters
are to be established in the Shoreham
Building. and house-to- cam
paign conducted to sell" the idea
of home Observation-Disclosures loans
guaranteed by the Federal Govern
lnent or any other way to aid in giving
employment and stimulating industry
in general.
Federal Housing Administration au-
thorities have announced moderniza-
ton Is picking up all over the country
since their drive has been under way,
and In Washington alone 1t is known
that improvements and repair work
are on the upward trend.
Building permits issued for repairs
and modernization have been climb
ing for the past three months, and
the figures are far above those for
corresponding months last year. The
28 building and loan associations in
the District have loaned approximately
$500, 900 for home repairs since July
!. here, and other indications point to
success for the program Of home
modernization which is designed to
relieve unemployment and lift the
Nation from the slump Of the de-
preston.