Evening star., 1937-01-24
HOUSING
D|FFERONS SUBSIDY
TO CLEAR SLUMS
Some Declare Aid Needed,
but Others Say Cost Is
Most important.
IHLDER CITES SUCCESS
OF LOW.RENT JOBS HERE
H. O. L. G. Technician Accuses
Conference of "Sidestepping" Is.
sue in Desire for Grants.

Broad disagreement developed last
night among experts addressing the
National Housing Conference on
whether governmental subsidy is
needed to make possible slum eradica-
tion and the development of low-cost
and low-rent housing projects for the
poor families of the country.
Despite the conferences contention
that subsidy is the only answer. John
L. Ihlder, chairman Of Washington
Alley Dwelling Authority. pointed out
that rooms on his dwelling projects
rent for s6.75 a month without bene-
fit of subsidy. Irving Brant. editor of
the st. Louis Star-Times. however,
suggested the amount of subsidy
needed for the Nation as a whole is
$40. 900, 100000.
Fifty Of the conference delegates
Ihlder was addressing had been taken
earlier on a tour Of the authoritys
projects to see the progress of slum
clearance in the Capital. The trip
was made in busses. which left the
Willard Hotel, where the convention
continues today.
Reverses Gray's Stand.
1hlder's remarks constituted COM
plete reversal OF the stand of H. A.
Gray. director of the P. w. A. housing
division. who said:
Land grants, mail contracts. pref
erential taxation offered to attract
industry to new towns, tariffs: these
are subsidies which have been used
for years to build up our country.
IF We accept without protest such
Government aid to the creation of
profits it is at least Illogical to balk
at housing subsidies designed only to
aid the creation of healthy and happy
citizens"
Alexander SAKE, H. o. L. C. tech
nician, accused the conference Of
"sidestepping" the whole problem Of
low-cost housing in campaigning for
subsidy and urged instead the inaugu-
ration of research into ways of actually
lowering cost of construction and
maintenance.
Declares Cost All-Important.
"As long as we can get enough sub
sidy," SAKE said, I'VE don't give a
hoot about costs. We are looking at
this problem more along the social and
economic lines than along the prac-
tical. The continued activity Of the
in the construction field
will be justified only if it makes some
actual contribution to lowering cost.
After three years of investigation
of the housing problem, about all We
are agreed on is that slum-clearance
is a grand idea and that subsidy
must be provided. Why not try to
achieve low-rent housing by low-cost
Brant, who based his subsidy esti-
mate on President Roosevelt's ex-
pressed belief that one-third of the
families of the United States are i'm
housed told luncheon meet
ing of the conference yesterday that
"all over the United States our cities
are engaged in manufacturing slums."
Plan to Visit Greenbelt.
The delegates today planned to hold
a breakfast meeting before making an
inspection trip to the Resettlement
Administration Greenbelt project
near Berwyn, Md.
The two-hour tour of Washington's
slum-c clearance projects was arranged
by Mrs. Florence Stewart of the Wash
ington Committee on Housing. The
work of the Alley Dwelling Authority
was explained by James Ring, Ihlder's
administrative assistant.
Washington's slum problem is SIM
pier than New York's because of the
greater amount of open space in the
Capital, Mrs Ida Harris. raised In
New York's East Side tenement area
and now president of the League of
Mothers Clubs of New York, remarked
after the tour. The league is composed
Of 5000 slum-dwelling New York
mothers.
Mrs. Harris was one of three New
York mothers who came to Washing
ton last year to plead their case for
improvement before Presi-
dent Roosevelt. She is here to pro-
mote passage Of the Wagner housing
bill. which would authorize Federal
subsidy.