Evening star., 1941-05-04
TroubIeMet
On Defense
Plans
New GreenbeIt Units
Not Available for
Agency Workers
By JAMES FREE.


ing plans for the fast-growing
Washington area have struck
snag, it was learned last night.
The story might be called Gov
ernment Workers Left Holding the
Bag Again-Or Who's Going to Get
the 1000 New Housing Units at
Greenbelt?"
Briefly, the situation is that public
provision has been made here for
housing families of enlisted Army
and Navy personnel and civilian
workers on construction projects for
the two services but the regular
Government defense agency en-
pIoyes may have to scramble for
themselves for family dwelling
units
officials of Defense Housing CO.
ordinator c. F. Palmer's division
thought they had made a good
start toward taking care Of defense
agency workers through arrange
ments for construction of 1000
homes at Greenbelt, Md, to be
financed under the Lanham Act.
Use of Funds Limited.
Closer study of the Lanham Act.
however, revealed its funds were
intended to supply housing for
families of industrial workers in
new or overcrowded defense areas
and for families of enlisted Army
and Navy men in or near camps and
cantonments.
Representative Lanham, Demo-
crat, of Texas, author OF the meas
ure, said yesterday that as far as
he knew, the committee considering
the bill (the House Public Buildings
and Grounds Committed had never
thought of any groups except civil
ian industrial workers and enlisted
personnel of the armed services in
connection with the projected emer-
gency housing plan. The question
of including Government defense
agency workers had not come up,
he said.
Members of the Defense Housing
Co-ordinator's staff have been
studying the situation and are con-
sidering requesting Mr. Lanham to
amend his bill specifically to include
families of defense agency em-
ployes.
This is desirable, they point out,
not only to make the 1000 homes at
Greenbelt available for this purpose,
but also to assure that any further
projects that may be sought under
Lanham Act appropriations for the
Washington area can be so used.
Single Women Eligible.
Should the amendment procedure
fail, the only defense agency work.
ers eligible for public defense hous-
ing will be single women, who can
apply for space in the 1000 units
projected for Washington either un-
der Defense Homes Corp. financing
or under temporary shelter pro-
gram separate from the Lanham
Act. Latest information is that the
units for single women are to be
constructed on permanent, SELF
lquidating basis under the Defense
Homes Corp.
Everything else provided for Is not
for Government employees, defense
or non-defense, temporary or per-
manent. Public construction has
been recommended, and in some in
| stances, already begun, for 300 units
/ for civilian personnel at the Navy
Torpedo Station at Alexandria; 300
units for civilian and 500 for en-
listed personnel at the Navy Yard
and Naval Air Station; $50 units for
enlisted personnel and civilian work.
ers at Fort Belvoir, and 35 units for
enlisted personnel at Arlington
Cantonment.
The 1000 houses at Greenbelt are
to be built under supervision of the
Farm Security Administration. Sites
have been surveyed, and construc-
ton of the initial $50 units is set
to begin in the next week or 10
days. The homes are to cost from
S2,750 to $3.50 each, with the aver
age cost estimated at $1,000. These
figures do not include development
costs or expense of extending
Greenbelt's public utility system.
In laying out Greenbelt as a model
suburban community of the fu-
ture," however, its builders planned
for its eventual expansion to several
times its present size of approx
mately 900 housing units.