Evening star., 1938-11-19
New Machinery Held
Unnecessary for
Housing Plan
Bodfish Tells President
Small Investors Funds
Can Be Used

Small investors funds can be used
TO finance intermediate low-cost
housing, as suggested by President
Roosevelt at recent press con-
ference, without the creation of any
new machinery. A message to this
enect was sent to the President by
Morton Bodfish, Chicago, vice presi-
dent OF the United States Building
and Loan League, who said that
the means already exists in the form
OF several thousand community saw
ings and loan associations which
are in a position to fill the gap
which the President said existed
Commenting on his wire, Mr..
Bodfish said that already half
billion dollars has been advanced
for the construction of small new
homes through these channels since
January, 1886, and savings and
Joan association does Exactly what
was suggested to be done on a
larger scale, pools the funds of small
savers as a credit reservoir for home
construction.
Explore Opportunities.
The section of the population that
can pay from IS to $40 month
per room for its housing is the
group which the President said had
not as yet been taken care of and
he announced that he was cam
vassing ideas for some means to
reach them. The proposal in the
leagues telegram pointed out that
there are 5000 active cooperative
savings and loan associations in
every community which are doing
this sort of job and are counter
parts of the building societies in
Great Britain.
I'VE respectfully petition that you
and your advisers explore the pos
sibilities of these institutions and
encourage the flow of small in
vestors' funds into them to achieve
your purpose rather than by the
creating of new instrumentalities or
increasing the real estate mortgage
holdings of either the Federal Gov
ernment or commercial banks" said
the telegram. The Federal Gov
ernment has adopted the policy of
working through community or local
business institutions in establish
ment Of IL Federal Home Loan
Banks, in chartering 1900 Federal
savings and loan associations. and
In insuring accounts in hundreds of
State chartered thrift and home
financing institutions. Our institu-
tions desire to cooperate in any
reasonable program and if common
plans could be evolved it is possible
that these institutions might do the
job in this country that our counter
parts, the building societies in Great
Britain, have done almost alone for
British housing and recovery
Pay Suggested Rate.
Commenting on the communica-
ton to the President, Mr.. Bodfish
said that 3l4 to 312 per cent had
been the return on their funds sug-
gested for small investors in the
Presidents preview of the plan. In
this connection, he pointed out that
thousands of savings and loan as
soGations today pay this rate of
return and that holders of accounts
ranging from $40 and $25 up to sew
eral thousand are the bulk of their
investors.
The associations have already
made some inroads upon the field
of intermediate low-cost housing,
Mr.. Bodfish pointed out, having ad-
vanced $573,OOO 900 since the begin
ming of 1896 for construction of
homes, according to estimates by the
Federal Home Loan Bank Board.
The average individual loan per bor-
rover has been 1925, which means
that the average house and lot pro-
vided by it was about $4,000 to
S4,500 property, being thus within
the very rental range suggested as
needed by the President.
His telegram further indicated
that the associations which have
done this financing have facilities
for receiving savings and investing
all of them in advances for small
homes and modest rental properties
for the class of wage and salary
earners you apparently have in
mind"