The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-09-26

'ersons an hour at Cambridge, Mass.
in this kitchen, for, in addition to the
air-conditioning, there is an exhaust
fan.
wall, inside the unit, is all the heavier
eQuipment-the water heater, air-con-
ditioning machine and the furnace
(Which is much smaller than furnaces
we are accustomed to today, all Of
them automatic, of course.
Next to the kitchen is the bathroom,
and, this, too, has one wall facing the
motor unit. From this wall come the
bathtub with shower attachment, an
electric heater for the extra warmth
that Is sometimes desirable in the bath
on chilly mornings, and lavatory big
enough to battle the baby in. The toilet
also projects from this wall; it does
not touch the floor, leaving plenty Of
room for brush and mop.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing
about such a house is it's cost. The
five-room bungalow type can be built,
with all mechanical equipment, for
only about $500; the scale is gradu-
ated to two-story affairs which cost
less than $4,000.
The advent of pre-fabricated, motor
lied houses at lost cost may, or may
not, have an immediate noticeable eff
feet upon the building industry. Mr..
Gunnison thinks it will.
"They will open up an immediate
market for hundreds of thousands of
homes, create a demand for much la
Dor in the building trades, stimulate
the buying and production Of materials
and make modern, economical and
proper housing available to hundreds
of thousands of families now anxious
to own their own homes, but financial
ly unable to do so because of prices
incomes" he said.
likened to Automobile.
"The application of modern indus
trial methods to the framework of our
antiquated building practices, their in
herent economies, mass production and
buying of materials and equipment
have been correlated in production of
the motorized home so that it has been
brought to the same high plane of
scientific design, engineering perfec-
ton, mechanical efficiency and eco
nomical production that removed the
automobile from the 'millonaire's
plaything' class of less than twenty
years ago to make it standard and
every American family"
1t must be remembered that Mr.. Gun
nison's Houses, Inc, is not engaged in
the manufacture or sale of houses of
this type, but is merely conducting
research, in an effort to show how bet
ter low-cost houses can be built. The
motive is not altogether altrustic, of
course, for Houses, Inc, is subsidized
by General Electric and is assisted by
American Radiator and Sanitary, both
of whom will have plenty to sell when
the pre-fabricated, motorized house be-
comes the general thing. But the work,
in merit and in interest to you and me,
is worthy of publicity, in the opinion
of this writer.
Meanwhile, building is on the up
turn. Picking key cities, it is up 100
per cent for August of this year over
last in Boston; "a per cent in New
York; ii per cent In Philadelphia; 234
per cent in Pittsburgh; 800 per cent
in Atlanta; ITO per cent in Chicago !;
315 per cent in Kansas City, NO., 30
per cent in Memphis; 255 per cent in
Fort Worth; SO per cent in Denver;
$50 per cent in Los Angeles, and 135
per cent in San Francisco.
On the recent Better Housing day
celebrated throughout the nation, $500
new and better homes were started on
a single morning. Conferences are be-
ing held at important cities through
out the world in efforts of many ma
lions to help their people build homes.
g Western Newspaper Union.