Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-08
"A PHONY
ACCOUNT
BY Fulton
Lewis Jr.

WASHINGTON. May Son
w page four of your letter 10
me, Mr.. Blandford, you really
get around 10 the meat of the
picture. Let me quote:
1.-THE national municipafpublic
housing program was authorized
by the Congress In 1887, 10 meet
an urgent need. IL was approved
by 80 state legislatures and
carried on In several hundred
communities through local
housing authorities, directed by
leading local citizens.
1T should he understood that
loans made by the federal gov
eminent are being repaid; that
the government II collecting
interest on every loan; that
this interest revenue now Ia
more than covering admins
trative expenses; that the only
expense To the government has
been its subsidy appropriations
which. up to the end of June
30, l943, tOtaled only SEA-
555,949.r
TUT, tut. Mr.. Blandford- Why
Il didn't YOU say. aise that
after this scheme had been in
effect for about two years Con-
greSS repudiated the whole
thing. and forbade you 10 go
any further with II?
Why didn't you say that
when you tried 10 get an en-
largement Of the program the
House of Representatives voted
Overwhelmingly not TO take il
up even for debate?
Why didn't you say that city
after city, having had taste
of your projects. has turned
thumbs down on any more OF
them7
And that total of % million
the total amount that the
slum clearance program has
cost the public 10 date; let's
get that straight, above all.
It's fact isn't it. MI. Bland
ford. that while the loans made
by the federal government are
being repaid, the federal gov
eminent is furnishing the money
that is repaid to itself?
It's true. isn't II. that when
YOU mention that total cost 10
the taxpayer of Tess than 3
million dollars. up 10 last July
. |, YOU happened TO forget the
LITTLE item Of is million. dollars
winch II has cost 10 operate
your agency up 10 that~tlme >
DUT let's take your y million
ID dollar figure That's the
subsidy YOU admit paying up 10
that time
Your own records show that
the first Slum clearance project
didn't begin operating until
June. 1910. and that between
then and June 30. 1912. only
part Of them went into opera
ton. a few now and a few later.
Therefore
Isn't II true that your =
million dollar figure represents
the cost Of the treasury for only
two years, during which time
only a part OF your projects
ever got into operation at all;
and that large part Of those
that did get into operation did
so only at the tag end of the
tWo-year period?
You see. Mr.. Blandford. you've
been the housing administrator
for two years.
I've been watching this houS-
ing program since 1885. long be-
fore you were ever heard Of.
and long before you heard of II.
! probably Will be watching II.
long after you've become ex-
administrator
I've been watching it since the
days when Senator Bob Wagner
Of New York was cOntriving 10
concoct the first Slum clearance
bill and 30 | happen 10 know
where some Of the skeletons are
buried
/ believe in SUM clearance.
and ! was roofing for him And
] remember getting a pretty bad
Jolt in the corridor outside the
Senate chamber one day. when
he explained his delay, ne said:
"INHE public isn't ready Ia
take a slum clearance pro-
gram yet, Fulton; the public
won't pay the bill. I've got In
work out some plan TO make il
look like it's self-liquidating."
Your sos 100000 cost 10 the
taxpayer figure is a phony The
truth is that as soon as this pro-
gram goes back on a Sum-clear-
ace basis, tho cost 10 the tax
payer will be about SOS, 600 600
year.
That goes on for A full So
year period, and il means a
total over the full time Of ap-
proXimately S1.5000OO0OO.
In addition TO all that. is the
administrative cost OF your
agency which is now running
about 100000 year. which
brings the total cost TO about
S175O. 600. 900
For that YOU have less than
SS00000 600 worth OF Slum
clearance projects.
Now. tell me again. that this