Evening star., 1938-10-22
STABLE BUILDING
PLAN IS OFFERED
Longtime Planning Put
Forth as Way to Keep
Ball Rolling.

A move toward more stability from
year to year in the home construction
industry is suggested to savings, build
ing and loan associations by the Home
Building and Home Owning Committee
of the United States Building and
Loan League in its last bulletin before
1t changes personnel at next months
convention.
longtime planning for home owner
ship. preparing groups of people at
least five years before the time for
digging the foundations of the house.
is put forth as a sound way to keep
the ball rolling year in and year out
In construction work.
For example, it is pointed out by
Clarence T. Rice. Kansas City, Kans,
chairman. that if just l per cent of
the $l2.000000 weekly addition to
factory pay rolls noted the last of the
the next five years, more than 10000
families would have down payments
for new homes in 1943-44. Some 81 900
of the total cost, interest plus principal
of paying for a $4,000 home property
can be saved, the committee says, by
achieving an economic-sized down
payment of 20 to Is per cent before
starting instead Of taking the easier
sounding way Of 10 per cent payment.
Planning Should Start Early.
Even, however, for the meager 10
per cent some systematic saving Is
necessary for the average family, it
is pointed out, and planning should
be started ahead of time in the interest
OF home ownership.
The committee recalls that savings
and loan institutions a hundred years
ago made a great deal of the phase
of their work which it is now suggested
they emphasize. Systematic saving
for down payment on a home was
practically the only kind Of investing
that was done in the early associations.
Some active campaigning. perhaps
with clubs for "home-owners of 1943."
could be started, somewhat in the
nature of Christmas clubs, and the
march toward sufficient down pay
ments could be achieved with mass en-
thusiasm, it is suggested.
With home building being planned
half decade ahead Of time, there
would never be a complete depression
in building any one year." says the
committee. by process of longer
time planning for home ownership on
the part of more and more citizens
the Nation could arrive at a much
more stable year-to-year level of home
building activity, and this would be a
most healthy state of affairs.
Long Term Program.
IF SIS month were saved out of
the s12,OO0,0O0 weekly increase in
factory wages reported by the Secre-
tary Of Labor between mid-July and
mid-August, and this were kept up
Systematically for five years, the money
being allowed to earn a normal return
in a savings and loan association,
there would be available $3l,200,000
to make $1,000 down payments on
$4,000 to $4,000 houses. Then in an
other Is years the debt could be paid
of the properties by monthly payments
only $40 or so larger than the amount
the families have been saving Thus
the thrift habit which has been built
up over the half decade can also be
used to further home ownership"
The committee recalls that Econo-
mist Norman j. Silberling of Stanford
University. addressing the 1887 annual
convention of the league, has laid a
charge upon the building and loan
associations to use their influence to
introduce stability into the construc-
ton industry. The suggestion is de-
signed to give the business a starting
point for meeting that responsibility,
it was said.