Evening star., 1943-10-16
Construction in 1943
4O96 Below AZ Period
Miss Perkins Reports

DurlnR Cne nrSC nine months OF
this year construction activity
passed the $6,100,0O 900 mark, but
this still was almost 40 per cent be-
low the same period last year, Sec
retary of Labor Perkins reported
/ today.
At the same time figures provided
by John B. Blandford. jr.. National
Housing Agency administrator,
showed that, under the privately
financed phase of the war housing
program, 05,592 new family dwell
ings were started and 99,640 were
completed during the first eight
months Of the year This compares
with 1854 units started and 1880
corapleted under local MIA quotas
for private war housing in the first
eight months of 1912. In August
private builders started 1873 units
and completed 1867.
The MIA schedules privately
financed construction in its local
war housing programs if the need is
for family units for which a postwar
need is reasonably likely and If the
private builders can meet necessary
wartime requirements. Approx
mately IS per cent of private war
housing is financed under mortgage
insurance written by the Federal
Housing Administration, one of the
operating units of the MIA.
267,107 Units Built.
Under the publicly financed phase
OF the program, 267,107 units in
volving ne" construction were COM
pleted during the first eight months
of the year, compared with 74,588 in
the comparable period of last year.
Construction was started during the
eight months on 1875, 1852 units, COM
pared with 1877 ,462 in the 1912 period.
In August 30,4l0 units were COM
pleted and 10,l51 were started.
Completions of new publicly
financed war housing in the first
eight months of 1943 included 49,
1854 family dwelling units, 1882
dormitory units and 14,771 trailers.
Most of this construction is under
the jurisdiction of the Federal Pub
lie Housing Authority, unit of the
MIA.
Production of war housing through
conversion of existing structures
leased by the Government resulted
in the starting of 1859 family units
and the completion of 4,O90 in the
first eight months of the year. This
phase of the MIA program, which
is carried out by the MIA Homes
Use Service and the Home Owners
Loan Corp, did not become active
until the early part of 1943.
On August 81, a total of 252 1899
war housing units were in various
stages of construction. These in
cluded 84,291 new privately financed
family dwellings, 13,479 family units
being produced through publicly
financed conversion, and new pub
llcly financed construction involv-
ing 1884 family units, 30.387 DOR
mitory units and 1901 trailers.
The $l,200,000,0O0 of privately
financed construction was less than
half the value of such work COM
pleted during the first three quar-
ters OF 1912" Miss Perkins said.
Public onstructi ion activity
amounted to $4,900,OOO, 900 dollars
as compared with approximately
$1,000, 100000 in the first nine
months of 1912.
Construction Declines.
"All types of construction for
private account showed heavy de-
clines from 1912 with the greatest
occurring in the nonresidential cate
CORY where the volume of STA
100000 amounted to only Is per
cent Of the total of s454 100000 in
1912. Private nonfarm residential
construction expenditures of s576,-
100000 in the first nine months of
1943 compared with $1,217O00, 900
in 1912. Expenditures for farm