Evening star., 1939-09-10
Montgomery Housing
Unit 10 Make Survey
For Low-Rent Homes
Will Inspect RuroI
Conditions Tomorrow;
Federal Aid Assured

Members of the new Montgomery
County (Md) Housing Authority
will make tour of the county to-
morrow afternoon and inspect liv-
ing conditions in the rural sections
preparatory to formulating plans
for construction of number OF
Federally financed small homes.
Accompanying them will be rep
resentatives of the United States
Housing Authority, the Farm Sc
curity Administration, city-planning
engineers from the National Capital
and Maryland National Capital
Park and Planning Commissions,
Montgomery County commissioners
and architects helping with the
project.
Tentative plans of the county au-
thority were outlined last night by
Mai. E. Brooke Lee of Silver Spring,
chairman of the new group, which
includes DR.. J. w. Bird of Sandy
Spring, vice chairman; Mrs. Ray
mond Clapper of Chevy Chase, Sec
retary- treasurer; Thomas C. Darby
of Darnestown and 10 V. Morgan
OF Edgemoor.
L. S. H. A. Pledges Help.
Mai. Lee said they call for the
consideration of the county as con-
sisting of eight large agricultural
sections and for the construction OF
two villages or groups of houses in
each of those areaS-one group to
be available for rental to white
workers of the lowest income group
and the other for colored workers
of the lowest salary brackets.
The chairman asserted that he
had gone before United States
Housing Authority Administrator
Nathan Straus with Senator George
L. Radcliffe and Representative
William D. Byron of Maryland sew
eral days ago and outlined this
tentative plan.
Administrator Straus, it was
stated by Maj. Lee, later wrote him,
pledging the county authority the
fullest cooperation of the United
States Housing Authority toward
the Inauguration of rural project
in Montgomery County at the ear
liest possible moment"
County Pays No Cash.
Maj. Lee disclosed that under the
plans of the national authority the
construction, maintenance, opera
ton and liquidation of these hous-
ing groups would not cost Montgom-
cry County any cash, that the entire
cost of the project would be provided
by the Federal Government and
liquidated through rents or Federal
contributions.
The county authority proposes to
buy the sites for the various villages
and at the end uf the 60-year mort
gage term of the U. S. H, A. the
group of houses will belong to the
Montgomery County Housing Au-
thority, which is branch of the
government of Montgomery County,
whose members were appointed by
the Board of County Commissioners
and serve without compensation.
The proposed houses will be plan
ned of substantial construction with
running water and sanitary facili-
ties, modern heating and each
house will have an adequate" gar
den plot The houses will rent at
Sc, So. $40 and $l2 per month and
the occupants will enjoy certain
benefits, such as local Fairgrounds
and other opportunities for i'm
proved living conditions.
DisIOcations Avoided.
Maj. Lee pointed out that by plac-
ing two such villages in each of the
main agricultural sections of the
county the present opportunities for
work will not be disturbed and
there will be no dislocation of the
general merchandising or other set
ups of the communities. In addi-
tion, the lack of Capitalization of
the projects will not put an undue
strain on the county's present school
system, as the children of the same
families that will live in the new
locations are now attending school
III lIlC odiIlC BCilcIdl ScCllOllS VI
Montgomery County.
He said that over long period
of years the Housing Authority, or
"the natural course of events" is
required to remove one existing
substandard dwelling unit for each
new unit to be built, and the Hous-
ing Authority is authorized to ac-
uuire such suhstandard dwelling by
either purchase or condemnation at
reasonable prices. The purpose of
the program is to improve the liv-
ing conditions of the lowest paid
group of workers who now live in
the agricultural sections of the
county and to help, and not upset,
all other governmental and eco
nomic local conditions.
The construction of such a large
group of houses will, If worked out,
afford considerable employment
during the next 10 months in which
county residents will participate,