Evening star., 1939-04-30
Alley Authority
Projects Halted
By House Conferees
Senate Action Cuttinq
Out Body's Funds
Is Approved

IS approved
Denied the privilege of borrowing
operating capital from the Treas
ury, the Alley Dwelling Authority
approaches a new fiscal year with
practically no independent funds at
its disposal to continue its year-to-
year program of clearing and re-
claiming Washington's nearly zoe
inhabited alleys.
The final hope was killed last
week when House conferees on the
Treasury-Post Office supply bill
concurred in a Senate amendment
striking out S5OO,00O to carry on
this work. The previous Congress
had authorized the A. D. A. to bor-
row E1,O00,000 annually from the
Treasury for the next five years but
made no provision for payment. In
stead of appropriating the million
the House had reduced the sum to
half that amount and the Senate
eliminated it altogether.
The Senate economy move was
based on the statement of the COM
mittee that lit feels that ample
funds will be made available to the
A. D. A. to enable them to demon
strate what can be accomplished
without an additional loan of $780,
O00." This reference to a source of
f,,pIe --o1otnI a. tho fir,on tn O 8E =
100000 loan from the United States
Housing Authority to build low-rent
houses and to additional funds ear
marked for this purpose.
Cripples Program.
THE committee apparently did not
realize that loans from U. S. H. A.
can be used only on low-cost sites
and for the construction of low-rent
houses on those Sites" the Wash
ington Housing Association claimed
in an explanatory statement U. S.
H. A. limits the amount of money
that can be paid per square foot of
land acquired. For this reason U. S.
H. A. loans cannot be used for re-
claiming the worst slums in con-
gested areas, where properties are
assessed at higher rates" The lin
itation is $3.50 per square foot.
The action of the House con-
ferees not only makes the A. D. A.
entirely dependent on present and
future loans from the United States
agency but it also will have the ef-
feet of seriously Gripping the pro-
posed program of low-rent housing
for which seven projects are now
being planned.
The local Authority's work in the
alleys is entirely separate from this
latter program. The former is a
provision for slum reclama ton
through self-liquidating projects
financed by interest-bearing loans
from the Treasury payable from the
rentals on the properties.
The two programs have become
confused somewhat in the public
mind; this confusion, no doubt was
responsible in part for Congress re-
fusing to vote separate funds for
the A. D. A. At least that is the
opinion advanced in local housing
circles.
One Phase Now Suspended.
The loans from the U. S. H. A.
are made on the condition that
slum dwellings be demolished or re-
paired in numbers equal to the new
homes to be erected, local authori-
ties and communities being respon-
sible for this equivalent elimina-
ton" Because of the limitation on
land acquisitions, it is necessary for
the A. D. A. to build on outlying
tracts and in the less expensive slum
areas.
1t had counted on independent
funds to go into alley areas costing
S150 per square foot or more, and
in this way help demolish enough
houses to meet the terms of the
U. S. H. A. loans. Now that Con-
gress has deprived it of an inde-
pendent appropriation, this phase of
alley clearance must be abandoned
for the new fiscal year, at least.
The problem involved in the
equivalent elimination" of slum
dwellings, therefore, looms more for
midable than before Fortunately
for the A. D. A., the Federal authori-
ties impose no time limit of dras-
tic nature.
The A. D. A. with capital of only
$865,000 during the last four years
has reclaimed alleys in IA squares.
Two have been resold at a profit.
On five squares the agency erected
ia good houses. The other squares,
not being suitable for housing, have
been converted to commercial prof.
ects, such as garages and workshops.
One square has been leased as a
parking lot, pending possible use by
Congress for a Federal building.
1t is not entirely correct to say
that the A. D. A. will be left without
any independent fund of its own
during the coming fiscal year. 1t
will actually have about 100000, but
the sum is considered worth less
than a drop in the bucket in COM
parison to needs.
The agency received, however, it's
appropriation for administrative eX-
penses in the independent Offices
supply bill The same bill author
lied the use of an uneXpended bal
ance of $11 900 that will be available
after June 30 In addition, it can
draw on the revenues of its proper
ties which will amount to about
cS0 mn I,lriru tho roor