Evening star., 1942-11-18
D. {. Action Due
1oEnd Roon)iinq
House Racket
Practice Follows Old
She'll Game, Warns
Regulations Group

Action against a rOOming house
racket on the style of the old shell
game of switching objects appeared
likely. today following a warming
from the War Housing Center and
other organizations concerned with
the standard of living quarters in
Washington.
These agencies have directed new
attention to a practice known to
exist here for years whereby some
"ruthleSSly commercial' rooming
house operators list with the housing
center quarters of standard oualifi-
cations and then offer tenants who
appear as a result of this listing
other quarters which are largely
substandard
Executive power to break up this
practice, it is pointed out. rests with
the District, and is provided in new
rooming house regulations passed by
the Commissioners last May at the
insistence of the Washington Hous-
ing Association. The District Regu-
lations Committee will meet this
afternoon. and it is understood steps
leading to better enforcement of the
law will be discussed at that time.
Must Be Inspected.
The regulations specify that no
license to operate a lodging house
shall be issued unless the health
officer has inspected the property
and found it comes up to specified
standards and unless the super
lntendent of police certifies that the
applicant is of good moral character.
The law further requires that the
hcensee shall conduct the house in
person, or shall designate a capable
manager.
Under the present setup. inspec-
lions are made by several different
agents, including the health officer.
plumbing inspector. building in
spector, electrical inspector and
others. 1t has been proposed that
responsibility for enforcement of the
law be concentrated in the Health
Department and that the work be
carried out by housing division
headed by sanitary engineer.
In the face of the existing emer-
gency, Joseph P. Anderson, director
OF the War Housing Center, an
organization set up by the Federal
Government to direct newcomers to
available living quarters, said he was
urging girls to report back to him if
they did not find room vacant at
the address given.
Has No Police Power.
He explained that his agency, set
up on a volunteer basis, has no
police power, and can only refuse to
list quarters which do not come up
to the District standards. He added
that the only remedy to the situa
ton from his angle would be for all
vacant property in the city to be
listed through the center. In this
way rooms would be inspected and
tenants would be directed only to
those which came up to qualifi-
cations.
Since the law providing police
authority against such practice
has been passed, it is explained. the
greatest fault has been in a lack of
enforcement. This has been attrib-
uted to lack of personnel.
But the increasing numbers of
Government workers coming into
the District and growing evidence
that the shell-game type of housing
racket is more in use makes better
enforcement more imperative than
ever, officials say.
I'VE must take steps to protect
the young girls coming into the
city, said Mrs. Helen Duey Hon-
man, director of the Washington
Housing Association. We've known
for years that ruthless rooming
house operators were practicing this
racket. Now, in the present war
emergency. it seems that our negli-
gence of the past is coming home
to U.S."