Evening star., 1944-06-09
New Step ST! Slated
For Accord on
|SIunn Clearance
Committee of 100
To Coll Conference
OfContending Groups

OfContending Groups
A new attempt to bring about a
compromise in the long standing
and spirited battle on slum clearance
between proponents of public and
private housing will be attempted
by subcommittee of five of the
Committee Of 100 on the Federal
City.
This action was authorized YES.
terday at a meeting of the Com
mittee of 100 in session at st. Johns
Parish Hall, 819 Sixteenth street
NV. The committee, of distin-
guished Government. professional
and business men and women, Is
being enlarged.
Frederic A. Delano, former chair
man Of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission, was
authorized in his capacity as chair
man of the Committee of 100, to
appoint the subcommittee.
The subcommittee was authorized
to invite representatives of conflict
ing points of view on slum clearange
to attend conference in an effort
to compose differences over pending
legislation.
Sesqui Celebration.
Meantime. proposal was laid
informally before the committee for
an elaborate celebration here in 1850
of the sesquicentennial of the Ma
tional Capital The suggestion, In a
letter from a Detroit member Of
the American Society Of Landscape
Architects, was placed before the
committee by Horace w. Peaslee,
architect.
1t was proposed the celebration
take the nature of Government
fair, or open house, with the Gov.
ernment as host and with the Fed
eral City as the background, or the
fairgrounds"
The Committee of 100. which was
formed in 1922 by the American
Civic Association, predecessor to the
present American Planning and
Civic Association, decided to take
hand in the housing controversy
by adopting three resolutions. The
resolutions were introduced by Mr..
Peaslee, by Charles H. Tompkins.
president of the Charles H. Tomp-
kins Co., building contractors, and
by Miss Harlean James, executive
secretary of the American Planning
and Civic Association.
Gen. Grant Speaks.
The action followed an address by
Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant III, chairman
of the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, who praised
the urban redevelopment bill now
before Congress, and sharply criti-
cized the private enterprise measure
for slum clearance.
4 Mr.. Peaslee's resolution, adopted
IAfter considerable debate, recon-
lmended that all interests unite on
la slum- elimination and redevelop-
ment program in which investment
housing shall be utilized wherever
possible and public housing wher-
ever necessary, that a joint effort
be directed toward achieving the
desired objective of decent housing
for all at the earliest possible mo-
ment, and that, in the process, both
public and private housing be dealt
with as elements of general PLAN
ming for the city as whole, and
not as elements apart from other
planning considerations"
| Observers pointed out that this
declaration came closer to being the
objective of the urban redevelop-
lment bill sponsored by Gen. Grant
and the public housing advocates
than the objective of private hous-
ing proponents, who have contended
there should be no public agencies
in. the construction business at all.
Tompkins Offers Proposal.
A move looking further toward a
solution of the controversy was
taken by Mr.. Tompkins, who said
later he had not testified at any
OF the congressional hearings on
Slum clearance.
Mr.. Tompkins proposed a resolu-
ton, unanimously adopted, that to
implement the Peaslee resolution,
the subcommittee of five call to-
gether representatives of the con-
f1icting interests 'tin an effort to
reconcile their viewpoints and unite
on a single bill with appropriate
amendments.
MIR. Tompkins' resolution was
seconded by Joshua Evans, jr., vice
president of Hamilton National
Bank.
I Gen. Grant, when asked by ques-
tioner from the group If such an
attempt to compose the differences
would be helpful or harmful" re-
piled: ut might be helpful"
Our BILL" he added, was in
tended to be compromise, to do
the work anyway it could be done.
I'm very hopeful" he concluded.
Adopting Miss James resolution,
the committee expressed apprecia-
ton for the scholarly review and
analysis upon planning contribu-
tions and shortcomings in the de-
velopment of the Federal City" pre-
sented in the Bureau of the Budgets
report on proposed reorganization of
the Park and Planning Commission.
On motion of Gen. Grant, the
committee praised Mr. Delano for
his leadership, outstanding fore
sight, sound judgment, considera-
ton for the views or others, adding,
We most gratefully thank him for
his great services to our city and
to our country"
Mr.. Delano submitted his resigna-
ton to the Committee of 100 as its
chairman. He promised, however,
to appoint the newly authorized sub
committee of five.
Five Food Handlers
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