Evening star., 1935-05-17
ELLENBOGEN FIRM
FOR D. c. RENT BILL
AS HEARING ENDS
Realty Men Contend Law
Would Aggravate Con-
ditionS Here.
DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS
DECLARED EXCESSIVE
Col. J. I. Peyser Testifes Many
Apartment Houses Not Earn.
ing Adequate Return.

Public hearings on the Ellenbogen
rent control bill were concluded yes
terday, with Washington real estate
men unanimously contending the
proposed legislation would hinder
rather than help relieve housing con-
ditions here.
The principal objection was that
creation of a commission to control
rents would discourage both the
builder and the man with money to
invest
Neither of these classes" the
House subcommittee conducting the
hearing was told, will be interested
in building II the completed property
is to be taken out of their control and
placed under the dominion Of a rent
commission"
Representative Ellenbogen, author
of the bill and chairman Of the sub
committee, told reporters he was
more than ever convinced Of the ne
cessity" of his proposed legislation
after listening to the testimony of the
real estate men.
Whiteford Criticizes Bill.
Roger j. whiteford, attorney for
the Washington Real Estate Board,
told the subcommittee some alley
dwellings need improvement, but ex-
pressed the belief the Ellenbogen bill
would not reach the evils.
Col. Julius I. Peyser, local attorney,
oil do ctr in e
the bill. He said he participated in
drafting the Ball rent act and fol-
lowed its history closely. AS result,
he added, he is convinced enactment
of the Ellenbogen bill would prove
harmful.
Peyser told the committee there are
a number of desirable apartments
available now at reasonable rentals
and that the real estate owners are
not making an adequate return on
their investments. He said assessed
valuations here are too high and that
he would advise any Of his clients to
sell their real estate for the assessed
value If they could get it.
Henry ]. Quinn said the Federation
Of Citizens Associations is opposed
to the bill, and In response to ques-
ton by Chairman Ellenbogen said he
believed the great majority of the
residents of Washington are against
it. He also expressed his personal
opposition to the measure.
Permanent Commission Favored.
Another opponent was George E
Sullivan, attorney, who said he rep
resents a number of trust estates
owning real estate.
Oliver Metzerott, at one time head
of the Ball Rent Commission, said he
thought any similar commission al
this time should be placed on a per
manent rather than temporary basis
Although disclaiming any detailed
knowledge Of current real estate con-
ditionS, MetZerott said he favored the
proposal to deny landlords the right
to evict tenants without first securing
the permission of a rent commission
A number of other witnesses ex-
pressed their opposition to the bill,
emphasizing the same points.
Although the House District Com
mittee has already approved the OIL,
it will be resubmitted to the COM
mittee for further action, based on
evidence presented at the hearings.
Lusk Produces Evidence.
Summing up his theories briefly in
the philosophy that the only way to
handle a housing shortage Is to en-
courage the building of more houses,
Rufus S. Lusk, representing the Real
Estate Legislative Committee, submit
ted to the committee charts purport-
ing to show how existence of a rent
commission checks building activities.
Climaxing considerable controversy
between himself and members of the
committee yesterday, Mr.. Lusk declared
the committee evidently unwilling to
listen to his recital of statistics many
OF them derived from Government
sources. Chairman Ellenbogen then
accused him of misrepresentiug the
facts as to the committees attitude
Mr.. Ellenbogen, however, cid not
claim that LuSk was misrepresenting
facts in his testimony.
One chart produced by Lusk showed
decline in building in the fiscal year
ending June, 1924. About that time
however, court decisions were re-
turned which tended to nullify opera
ton of the commission and a build
ing boom was recorded.
New housing units in 1924 totaled
$3.50 For 1925 this figure had Jumped
to 8,486 units, and in 1926 it leveled
OF to 1911. In this latter year,
however, apartment building had con-
tinued on the upswing, as they ac-
counted for 5,154 units out of the
1911, whereas they had numbered only
1851 in 1895.
Cites PI esent Building.
At the present time, Mr.. Lusk main
tains new building is keeping up with
increasing demand, as 1,700 units are
now under construction and nearly
1000 more are in the planning stage.
Mr.. Lusk also submitted a chart
tending to show that rents actually
increased during operation of the
commission. but upon its demise, and
the consequent increase in new build
ing, they began a decline which ex-
tended into 1884. In this chart, he at
tributed his figures to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, taking the year 1914
for his index of 100. On this basis,
rents were indexed at about los when
the Rent Commission began to func-
ton IN 1919, and they rose to about
140 when the commission passed out
Of existence in May, 1925. For few
months then they continued the grad