Evening star., 1942-08-13
Greenway Tenants
To Testify Tonight
AT Rent Hearing
Cufritz Concludes His
Statement in Defense
Of Higher Rates

Tenants of Greenway. apartment
project at East Capitol street and
Minnesota avenue Sc, are ex-
pected to be given their first chance
tonight to present testimony by
which they hope to keep down their
rent ceilings, when the hearing con-
Quoted by the District Office of Rent
Control goes into its third night.
Morris Cafritz, president of Green
way, Inc. spent his second night on
the witness stand at last nights
session in the Anacostia High School
auditorium. Mr.. Cafritz is asking
Rent Control Administrator Robert
r. Cogswell to fix ceiling rents on
the 795 apartments at GreenWay
The petitions were filed by the man
agement after several tenants had
sought reductions through Mr.. Cogs-
wells Office on the basis of the fact
that others in the project were
enjoying lower rents for Identical
accommodations.
Charles w. Davis, chairman OF
the Tenants Rent Control Commit
tee. pointed out that Mr. Cafritzs
proposed ceilings would mean a 81
per cent increase in rents at Green
way and that such an increase would
destroy the effectiveness of the Rent
Control Act.
Doesn't Expect to Benefit.
Mr.. Cafritz has several times
pledged that there would be no in
creases in rents for tenants now
occupying the apartments, what
ever action may be taken by the
administrator. He said that while
the ceiling he seeks would give him
a theoretical monthly gain of
At from such increases for a long
time, inasmuch as the turnover at
Greenway would probably be low
during the course of the war.
Mr.. Davis, as spokesman for the
tenants defense council, sought to
block the introduction of evidences
comparing Greenway's rentals with
those of other developments built or
occupied after January 1, 1941, the
freezing" date established in the
Rent Control Act. Mr.. Davis said
it would be unfair to use such prof.
ects for comparison, since they did
not come under the legal rent CELL
tngs.
Roger Whiteford, counsel for Mr..
Cafritz, contended that it would be
unwise to restrict comparisons to
dwellings rented on January l,
194l, since the Rent Control Act
would probably remain in effect for
MANY more years and that such a
policy of comparisons would become
more and more impractical as time
went on. The examiners took the
tenants objection under advisement.
In cross-examining Mr.. Cafritz,
tenants counsel intimated that Ger
tain features at Greenway were not
as desirable as they had been de-
scribed by the owner. They referred
to vermin found in some of the
apartments and to the thefts of baby
carriages and automobile tires and
accessories.
Tenant Questions Cafritz.
Arlond Christensen, Greenway
tenant who had originally petitioned
the administrator for determina-
ton of the legal maximum rent. was
granted permission to cross-exam-
inc Mr.. Cafritz after Mr. Davis and
his associates had concluded Mr.
Christensen called Mr. Cafritz's at
tention to certain other large apart
ment developments and sought to
determine whether they were con-
sidered comparable.
Mr. Cafritz has maintained that
the fixing of lower rents on certain
of the apartments at Greenway was
a mistake on the part of his office,
induced partly by his desire to bend
over backwards" in keeping rents
down. He discovered later, he said,
that increased construction costs
made the lower scale of rents un-
profitable
The hearing is being conducted by
all three examiners of the rent con-
troll Office Mr. Cogswell was pres
ent again at last nights session
The hearing will be resumed at 7
O'Clock tonight in the school audi
torium.