Evening star., 1936-08-17
.|CKES SAYS NEED
WILL FURTHER BIC
HOUSING ACTIVITY
View Expressed Coincident
With A. F. |. Shortage
Estimate.
13, 900 HOMES
REQUIRED BY 1945
Hope Expressed by Secretary
That Communities Will Garry
Work Forward.
Evt Associated Press

| An A. F. of L. estimate that 49,
10000 new homes will be needed by
1945 was coupled today with an
| opinion by Secretary Ickes that "neces-
Sty itself will assure the continuation
CT valid housing program"
Ickes said he hoped that, with no
Federal funds available for new low
cost housing projects. communities
would carry the work forward as local
enterprises"
The P. w. A. administrator views
were expressed in letter to Gen. r.
E. Wood, chairman of the Executive
Committee of the P. w. A. Chicago
General Advisory Board on Housing.
Wood had written to Ickes saving de-
fects in the present program were due
to Capitalization and the initial size
of the program.
Capitalization Necessary.
II am fully in accord with the con-
clusions you advance" Ickes wrote.
Capitalization of the program obvi-
ously was necessary at first. I" " It
always has been my hope that once a
demonstration program had been de-
Veloped, municipalities would carry the
work forward as local enterprises.
This has been our objective from the
beginning"
The first project completed BY p.
w. A, fleetwood Homes at Atlanta.
is being occupied now, but failure of
the Wagner bill to pass the last
congress left the Housing Division
with no funds beyond requirements for
its 49 other projects.
Asserting the committees recon-
mendatons paralleled the bills proyi-
visions, Ickes said:
1t is my personal opinion that
necessity itself will assure the con-
tlnuatlon of valid housing program
In this country
The committee insisted that in Chi
cago rents must not exceed s6 per
room a month, including heat. water
and light, and that other amenities
beyond minimum requirements must
not be provided because they would
| increase rents.
Health Consideration.
The A. F. of L., in its monthly
business survey, said that if "a yery
/ serious housing shortage" was not
remedied, it will mean that millions
OF families must live in the sordid
unhealthy surroundings which breed
illness and crime"
! The federations estimate of needs
/ included replacement of homes which
II said were mot fit to live in" other
requirements, and provision for new
families who will start homes during
the period between now and 1e45
Inc survey asserted that the real
ol1hculty" lay in what it said was q
lack OF adequate housing legislation.
There can be no prosperity" it said.
without recovery in building. vet
building has Jagged behind other in
outles on the road out of depression.
Looking forward to 1945, authori-
ties make the following conservative
estimates of new homes needed: To
replace houses now not fit to live in.
3.25O,O00; further replacement from
1886 to 1945, another $3.50 900: to
provide for new families who will start
homes between now and l945, nearly
6.750000; total, 1886 900 new homes.
100000 New Homes Needed Yearly.
To keep up with the need, then.
we should build 100000 new homes
each year from now until l945. This
would be an unprecedented volume of
building, for the largest number of
homes ever built by private industry
in one year was $4,000 in 1928. and
the average for 1920 to 1929 was
$4,000 yearly"
Private industry could provide only
o6o,OOO new homes year at profit,
the federation said, even Il workers
income reached the 1929 level.
Are the other 100000 families to
live in Slums, or shall the Government
make decent homes possible for them?"
the federation asked.
The survey said building was one
Of the Nations four largest indus
tries, the other being farming, mining
and manufacturing.
Beside direct employment in build
ing. one man employed in the ma,
terials industry is needed to provide
the supplies for each worker on the
construction job. and one in the con-
sumer-goodS industry to provide his
food and clothing" the survey said.
Thus the fate of the building in
dustry affects 100000 workers in
other industries in addition to its own
1900, 600"
There can be no prosperity with
out recovery in building. yet building
has Jagged behind other industries on
the road out Of depression, the fede-
/ ration contended.