Evening star., 1938-05-08

Inc Stdr nereWltn gives the 1ulk
texts Of the letter which Nathan
Straus, administrator of the United
States Housing Authority, sent yes
terday to the Alley Dwelling Authority
and the public reply made by John
Ihlder, its executive officer
Mr. Straus wrote to Mr.. Ihlder as
follows:
Some time ago President Roosevelt
directed me to have prepared and then
to discuss with you proposals for
amendments to the Alley Dwelling Act
which would enable Washington to
participate very generously in the
slum- clearance and loW-rent housing
program financed by the United States
Housing Authority. In response to the
Presidents desire, 1 had these pro-
possls prepared and transmitted them
to YOU on April Z, 1888, with a request
that you meet with me at your earliest
convenience to discuss the matter.
Since the presentation of these pro-
posals to you on April Z, which you
acknowledged the next day. exactly
one month has elapsed and have not
heard from you regarding your views.
This is naturally cause for grave con-
Germ to me and know that it would
be cause for grave concern to the hum
dreds Of people in Washington who
are vitality interested in the slum
problem of this city and to the tens
Of thousands Of people in Washington
who are the direct sufferers from ex-
traordinarily bad slum conditions
Moreover it is only fitting that Wash
ington as the Nations Capital should
participate largely and equally in the
Nationwide SUM- and low
rent housing program now proceeding
with increasing rap.dity in very
large number of States.
Unable to See Objections.
Because of the nature of the pro-
posals which I have submitted to you,
it is extremely hard for me to under
stand why you might have found any
difficulty in accepting them. These
proposals do not in the slightest limit
the existing powers OF the Alley Dwell
ing Authority, nor do they in the
slightest circumscribe the present abil-
ity of the Alley Dwelling Authority to
clear the alleys. to engage in slum
reclamation, to build economical self
supporting housing, or to receive funds
for these purposes from any sources
which are now available to t. On the
! D.
the powers of the Alley Dwelling Au-
thority by enabling it to operate out
side of as well as inside existing alleys,
and above all by enabling it to bor-
row money from the United States
Housing Authority (Which it now has
not the legal power to do) for the pur-
poses Of slum- clearance and low-rent
housing set forth in the Wagner-Stea-
gall Act. Moreover, my proposals
recognize in full the peculiar situa-
tion OF the District by making in
applicable to the District the general
requirements imposed by the act upon
all other localities with respect to the
10 per cent capital participation and
the 20 per cent annual participation
IN the cost of all housing projects.
In short, under the proposals which
I am suggesting, the Alley Dwelling
Authority would have two separate
sources of power instead of one. It
would retain in full all Of its present
powers and sources of income for
purposes of slum reclamation and the
development of self-supporting COM
mercial housing. But as a second
string to its bow, it would have in |
addition the power to participate on
a large scale in the slum- clearance
and low-rent housing program of the
United States Housing Authority for
those underprivileged groups who can
not possibly afford to pay full eco
nomic rent.
Subsidies Not Needed.
I am well aware that you have
long been an exponent of self-sup-
porting as distinguished from sub
sidized housing. However, there is
nothing in my proposals which would
preclude the Alley Dwelling Authority
from following your own frequently
expressed desire that the two Separ-
ate experiments be carried on side
by side to determine which is su-
perior. My own belief is that both
are desirable, but that they serve
entirely different income groups. In
fact, even under the United States
Housing Authority plan, there is
nothing in our law or our practices
which would require the Alley DWELL
ing Authority to accept subsidies for
Its projects If, without subsidies, it
can produce substantial amounts of
new housing at rentals within the
redch Of slum dwellers. II you can
demonstrate your ability to do that,
my proposals will make available to
you very large loan funds which
your present status does not enable
you to utilize In connection with