The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1939-03-16
Housing Pldn Is
Hit BY "A. r. Of L.
Fort WuYne Creating Sluns
In Opinion Of Labor
Officials

by the Federal Housing Administra-
tion featured report of the A. F. of
L. Housing Committee on this scheme
submitted to the President and Con-
gress by the Executive Council of the
American Federation of Labor and
made public by William Green, presi-
dent of the A. F. of l..
According to the report, which was
adopted by the A. F. of l.. Executive
Council at it's recent meeting in Miami,
Florida, the cheap one-family portable
houses built under the Fort Wayne
Plan lack most of the usual housing
conveniences, are constructed OF shod-
dy material, promote unemployment
among building mechanics, infringe on
the sound slum clearance and lowrcnt
housing for small income groups de-
veloped by the United States Housing
Authority, and create new slums which
are but slight if any improvement on
the old slums now universally con-
demned.
"Under the Fort Wayne Plan," Mr.
Green said, "the FHA has supplement-
ed it's mortgage insurance by Federal
and local subsidies in order to build
small, one-family houses on tax
exempt vacant land to house families
on relief rolls.
"These houses are constructed on
land borrowed from private owners
for period of years in return for tax
exemption. The houses are pre-fabri-
| Oft hn
site and can be removed from one To-
cation to another when the landowner
desires to obtain the return of his
land.
"The pre-fabrication and construc-
ton is carried out by unskilled relief
labor paid by the Federal Government
from WPA funds"
Nine-Point Indictment
AS result Of its study of the FHA-
Fort Wayne Plan the Housing Com
mittcc Of the A. F. Of l.. reached the
following conclusions:
81. The land acquisition method un-
derlying the plan is highly objection
able as it will inevitably lead to flag
rant land speculation due to the repur-
chase feature of the plan and complete
tax exemption of the land while it is
held and developed by the municipal
housing authority.
"2. The practice of moving houses
around frsla enc place to another is
) uneconomiCal, enhances the sense OF
insecurity and impermanence among
the families thus subjected to floating
makes rehabilitation of such families
impossible and is therefore objection
able from the social point of view.
Increases Building Trades
Unemployment
"3 The plan will serve to under
mine the already precarious structure
of municipal finance in the commune
ties which undertake it.
a. 1t will tend to perpetuate ano
cause further widespread unemploy-
ment among the building mechanics
and laborers, depriving them of nor,
NAL employment.
"5. BY being limited to relief labor
it will provide an incentive for fami'
lies to remain on relief.
Substandard Housekeeping Facilities
a. Substandard design utilized un'
! der the plan is real threat to the de
velopmcnt of good housing. Failure tC
meet minimum size requirements anC
lack of adequate heating facilities
laundry facilities, kitchen facilities
and complete absence of storage space
condemn the design as utterly made
! 6, ,{> IL
especially true of mixing in one room
the functions of cooking, laundering
and eating and general living. The
design of the house will serve i'll {
very real sense as a deterrent to the
development of the higher standard OF
3 living.
Flimsy Construction
"S. The substandard construction o.
the houses and the flimsy materia
utilized make the houses structures o.
doubtful durability. While the con
struction of such houses deprives la
Dor of normal employment, the net ef
feet of the operation is to infict upol
our communities nothing better than
new Slums.
Inferior to USHA Dwellings
SO. Slum clearance and low-ren
housing for slum dwellers can be ant
is being carried out more effectivel,
, and more economically under th'
f United States Housing Act with ful
! participation of private enterprise ant
y, with full observance of minimum
standards of construction and design
as we'll as of minimum labor stand
1 ards in normal private employment
The sound, permanent low-rent hous
! ing program of the USHA, designed t.
! provide decent, livable and lasting
homes to the ill-housed families, mus
o not be jeopardized by turning low-rcn
housing into proving fround for un
scrupulous land speculator and self
;, seeking promoter, willing to inhic
y upon us nationwide slum for private
y gain, at the expense of the taxpayer
/ as we'll as the slum dweller."
Setback to Better Housing
5 In concluding the report, signed b.
Harry c. Bates and John Coefield, VIC
G presidents of the A. +. of L., the Hous
inc (ommittp 90 stated.