Evening star., 1935-11-19

of the p. w. A.
every one will, stand in its community
as an enduring monument of what
can be done.
Causes of Low Standards.
No one can with justice deny the
right Of every man, woman and child
in this country to occupy q home
which is at least sanitary and ade-
quate in space provision. Hence, 1t
must seem strange to those who con-
slider living conditions. other than
their own, that as much as third of
our urban population has never en-
joyed that right. Why not?
+ can best answer this question by
reviewing the forces, either passive or
active, which have worked against the
improvement O. these conditions. This
review will also C1....-t OF an answer
to those critics who vigorously oppose
our entrance into the housing field.
The most persistent of these critics
have been the realtors. The general
tenor Of their criticism is that We are
competing unfairly with private en-
terpciSe. The realtors claim that
they have always been able to supply
the housing needs of the country and
that our operations threaten to ruin
their legitimate business.
How does this criticism check with
facts? In 1884. the Department of
Commerce made a real-property in
ventory of 81 typical cities in the
country. This showed that one out
of six dwelling units was more than
40 years old. About the same per-
centage was UNIT for habitation: one
out of seven had no private indoor
water closet; and one out of five, no
bathing facilities
1t does not necessarily follow that
all these latter conditions will apply
to the dwellings over 40 years old:
yet breakdowns Of this inventory in
dicate that the Oldest urban housing
Is always to be found in the slums,
and even the most cursory glance
tells that there also the worst hous-
ing is to be found. What conclusion
is to be drawn from a study Of these
facts? Simply this: First-there is
a tremendous amount Of housing-in
these "a cities alone, a quarter Of a
million dwelling units-declared unfit
for habitation: and second, nothing
whatsoever has been done about it.
We need not look far for the
reasons behind this state. The realtors,
in spite Of their claim, have done
nothing about it because there was
no profit in the construction Of decent
housing for slum dwellers. For this I
do not blame them. After all o busi-
ness can be conducted at personal loss
for just so long, after which it folds
up. What do blame them for is
their refusal to admit the self-evident
truth. If there had been profit to
be made Of slum clearance we should
be rid of the slums by now.
Sees No Competition.
have always maintained that the
slum clearance work undertaken by
the housing division offers no competi-
ton to the traditional operations Of
the real estate business. AS our prof.
ects go into operation can now state
that their construction is proving TO
be q boon to private enterprise. Con-
slider Atlanta, Ga, where we have two
projects, fleetwood" and "Univer-
sity," nearing completion. Note that
neither project is yet finished. In
the fleetwood area, within a month
after construction began, five large
lots were sold in a rising market;
construction was started on a gas sta
ton and a $4,000 theater. In the
University area real estate corpora
ton has purchased whole block
for development. In addition, IL scat
tered lots have been sold. In both
areas new houses have been built
and there has been q substantial
amount Of remodeling Of existing
structures It is the openly expressed
opinion Of local real estate Arms that
the construction of these projects has
stimulated, in the immediate vicinity,
real estate activity for which there
has never been q demand in the
past. Anyone who could forget his
prejudice long enough to digest truth
would realize that this is only reason
able and inevitable For our slum
clearance projects are always located
in decaying sore spots In potentially
profitable areas.
Their fundamental purpose is to cut
out the cancers in these areas, in or
der that, in time, they may be wholly
rehabilitated. I have sufficient re-
spect for the business acumen of the
realtors TO know that, in time, they
must and will realize that we are
opening up large virgin territories for
their benefit. do not ask them to
indorse our work on any higher level.
As q matter Of fact, we have to date
employed nearly 5000 persons In our
real estate activities. In almost every
city in which we are operating, our
first move was to call on the local
real estate board, to explain our in
tentions, to ask for advice and rec
concentrations for personnel. Our ap-
praisers have been, almost without
exception, members of the Real Estate
Board Appraisal Committees or men,
bers of the American Institute of Real
Estate Appraisers. Our negotiators
have been members of the National
Association of Real Estate Boards.
With the exception of the building
trade workers. realtors stand to profit
directly and Immediately as much
as any single group, from our pro-
gram.
My somewhat acidulous remarks
have been directed 50 far, only at the
average realtor in answer to the op-
position offered to us by his national
associations. As q general rule, he is
primarily with the sale or
rental Of average middle class hous-
ing. There are other types, however,
whose income is derived from the
rental or slum properties.
Irefer to those landlords. who, to
use . slang expression, put the