The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-12-21

WeeSAU eSsO wv ----E ~-~@ trouble.
 1. The fact that when the public starts building houses, the price Of building materials lln-
 lnedlately goes up, thereby diFn-
 inishing any building boom.
 2. The fact that OUT ind,s-
 trial and social system has changed ia such . way as to
 discourage home.buying.
 The first of these e--increased building costs--was what hain- pered the British during their first building program, started in 1920, failed because the dotorInin. ation of building costs was left entirely to supply and demand,
 In Che United states also, it was rising costs in iD35 which nlpped the building bOomlet which started in i0S0.
 To avoid this mistake at tho start of their gecond building pro- gram in i024, tho British called building contractors, building ma. terlal manufacturer and labor uniong, obtaining from them an agreement that prices and wages would not Dc hlked after the govs crnmont started It's housing pros gram,
 90 for, there has been no such step by tho Roosevelt administra. ton. Dono Of the Presidents ads Visers hav0 talked with different sections Of the building and said;
 Nov of course, we'll expect you Co keep prices down."
 But there hos been no general agreement throughout tho indus. try.
 Defect No. 2
 Defect No. 2, however, b for more important, Real fact b that tho old urge of every man to own his own home now s diluted by four factors: Easy di. yorce, smaller families, the auto. mobile and the machine agc.
 To-day families arc leEs perman. ont, Moro famliieB are pulled apart by divorce, and there B no definite conviction iii the minds of many couples that they want to make . permanent IiyeBtlnont in q homo, Also the smaller fAiils llJ makes apartment h0uBeB 0heap- or and more convenient.
 Even moro important, probably, iy tho shift to large scale ii1duBs trial production, To-day when . factory shuts down, tho worker ffequGhtly gets Into his car and gees Co another city leaking for work. ~ Sometimes no takes his family with him, 4 homo Of his own on which ho is still paying instaliments b the last thing no wants. Q
 Iorouth in tho Dust Bowl, tho tenant farmer system iii the youth has put . premium on mobility for . considerable portion Of tho population. D,.
 Houses for Rent
 Today tho United States is short some 100000 holses. But Btlidles by tho National Housing committed show that the great fieod N not to much houses to rent. Furthermore, the need iB for cheap renting houseB. Almost aii Of tho 100000 houses needed arc for the group paying e30 . month rent of less. There b Q surplus of houses for thoge in the upper rental brackets,
 The Housing Act nov before Congress paves the way s0P s0fne low cost houses by siding fis0Fts gAEe associations Co borrow money from the Reconstruction
 Finance Corporation. These associations, Co turn, would lsnA the money and could lend fer large seale and cheaper building operations,
 Tbb was tho most promising thing accomplished by the present TedOFal Housing Administratioii, namely the construction Of gli. t,uFbaii developments, whore large "A officials hopo that they Can scale operations reduced costs. bring tho cost Of \ 9D,0O0 house down to around 14,O00 by building in large quantities oii tho iTiaii order method.
 No Optimism
 Privately, New Deal housing experts AFent aWfulIy optimistic about tho effects Of the new houss Ing bilI. The now bill brings iiis teFeBt rates down t0 Q per cent which b considered very beneficial, afd it algo increases tic insurance to % per Getlt Of ioaiiS ID 70 $500 On houses occupied by tht owners aiid % per cent afid % Ha4saszan-M-~sa-..--A Aksk9 T,sAK3 0HNnDn