Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-03-09

T.
~ feel better"
- - Mr.. Men a.
Mr.. PICKERING mara d.
1--WE get n new slant on II and
come back and go TO work
again
To get an idea Of how many
sauabbles occur, look at the size
of Detroit. There are from $50
900 TO 400.0 places being rented.
Nine out OF 10 get along very
quietly.
But the others-in nine months
there have been pretty close TO
10000 disputes. That figures out
10 a new fight every five minutes,
working an eight-hour day.
Not all Of them are serious.
Sometimes it's a tenant wanting
the landlord 10 patch a place
where the plaster fell down, or
maybe redecorate the apartment
<kSe landlord says he won't.
$50 what happens ." says Nc
Namara. THE tenant most likely
does IL himself. SO that way.
the landlord still gets the best
OF ~. In spite OF rent ceilings"
Mcintyre adds, though. that
tenants are inclined 10 accept the
obvious fact that it's hard 10 get
manpower 10 do these jobs.
There are n lot Of cases. Of
course, that can't he settled so
easily-one man recently landed
in court for hopping his landlord
over the head with wrench
That's what makes Mcnamara and
Mcintyre 60 out and walk around
the block.
Mcintyre tells Of another case
that didn't get in the papers but
made him pretty mad. One land
lord owned 81 houses, mostly four
room affairs and only few with
Easements, all rented 10 defense
workers.
The rent was legal but the land
lord collected gifts Of 81. 81 or
s. a month with the understanding
that the gifts" wo,ild be pretty
good insurance that the tenants
could remain for the duration
When the rent control office
said the gifts" had 10 stop. Nc
Intyre recounts, the landlord
threatened To sell the houses over
The tenants head-and did so. all
81 houses. when the rent office
refused 10 back down.
On the face Of n. YOU would
think that the housing shortage
might be a disguised blessing If il
resulted in lot Of people owning
their own home instead Of renting.
.McNamara and Mcintyre say
At this is true only within GER
tain limits.
There are cases." says Nc
Namara. "of man buying a
house for SIS, 900. You ask him
N he thinks It's worth ~. He
saws, No. but what difference
does II make: I've got five kids"
Their idea, he says. Is 10 keep
up the payment until after the
war, and then give UP the contract
and figure that it's worth the loss
for the sake of having a place TO
live.
This. Of course. would he gem
eral pain in the neck just as n
was 10 years ago when people were
losing their property. taxes were
delinquent, and the tax load fell
on the shoulders Of the more provi-
dent people who were hanging on
10 their homes.
They are fighting this danger
with the one-third down payment
rule, which applies if house is
occupied, and the new owner forces
the old occupant 10 move. With
a larger down payment Mcnamara
says, people can't afford 10 buy
with the intention Of ducking out
later. and at the same time in
flationary prices are discouraged.
IL you follow the news from
Washington, you know that Prem
tiss Brown just fired a blast con-
corning landlords bombarding
Congress to change the rent con-
troll law. You'll notice that I've
been very carefully steering away
from this row. This is because
/ don't feel like answering the ar
guments that l know darned well
would pop UP. whichever side |
Apok. don't want to be roped
To that one.
But I'll go along whole-heart-
eddy, with Mcnamara and McIn-
, tyre on their main contention that
il the vicious cycle Of initiation
gets going, we'll pay through the