Evening star., 1944-04-09
Private Builders
Fail Disn,aIIy,
Thomas Says
cIo Leader Holds
Public Housing
Must Continue

Must Continue
Public housing should be con-
tinued because private builders have
failed dismalls' to provide good
homes for low-3ncome and middle
income worker$ in the past, r. J.
Thomas, vice PRESIDENT of the Con-
gress Of Industrial Organizations,
said here last !night, in announcing
issue of special pamphlet outlin-
ing CLOS views OH postwar housing.
Meanwhile, private builders and
National Capital Housing Authority
officials continued their controversy
over which group shall be given the
job OF retaining the Districts
slums. A. J. Haskell, chief of the
finance and accounts of
flee, is scheduled to testify when the
Senate subcommittee investigating
housing conditions in the District
resumes hearings at pm. Tuesday.
The statement from Mr.. Thomas,
while not aimed at the local con-
troversy, bore directly on issues
under discussion before the Senate
subcommittee.
Urges Public Housing.
Private housing" Mr.. Thomas
said, should be encouraged to enter
any field in which it can operate,
but it must not be allowed to block
the development of public and CO.
operative housing where these are
necessary or desirable
Private builders in the District
have asked that all public housing
be halted. To reclaim the slums
here, they propose the establish
ment OF representative slum
clearance board" which would con-
denim slum areas and sell the
cleared land to private builders for
redevelopment with low-rent hous-
ing.
In contrast, John Ihlder, executive
officer of the NCHA. has proposed a
long-range public housing slum rec
lamation program, under which
$1,000 900 would be spent here
over 20-year period.
Mr.. Thomas charged in his state
ment that "propagandists for spec
ulative building interests" have been
touring the country recently de-
nouncing Nationwide program
for 100000 new homes a year,
which they say is being urged by
supporters of public housing. Mr..
Thomas said he has never heard
OF any such proposals"
100000 Units Year Urged.
The CIO program for postwar
housing throughout the Nation rec
ommends 100000 new public hous-
ing units a year, "and more If pri-
vate enterprise fails to do it's share
of the job," Mr. Thomas said. A
total of 100000 new homes will
be needed during each of the first
10 or 20 postwar years in order to
provide adequate housing in this
country, he estimated.
In the local controversy, Mr..
Ihlder yesterday charged before the
Senate subcommittee that private
builders are interested in slum rec
lamation only because they are
nearly out of work"
In that fact lies the danger of
their attempt to kill public housing"
he told the subcommittee. When
expensive houses can again be built
and sold the slums may lie forgot
ten, unless there is public housing"
In support of his refusal to re-
lease to private builders the priorities
held by the NCHA for construction
OF TAO colored housing units here.
Mr.. Ihlder presented figures to show
that private builders here have been
slow to make use of priorities they
already have been granted. Although
they received priorities last August
for 1000 colored housing units, only
eight of these houses have been
completed, he said. Of the re-
mainder, 160 are under construction,
202 are scheduled for completion
next August, $50 for completion next
November and 1908 for completion
next December.
High Rentals Predicted.
Rents that will be charged for
these 1000 units will be so high that
most slum dwellers will not be able
to afford them, he said.
Mr.. Haskell presented figures in
support of the statement that
NCHA's economic rents" actually
cover the cost of the dwelling, inter-
est, all maintenance and operation
costs and an amount equal to Dis
trlct taxes. He admitted, however,
that the agency received a S33 900
subsidy from the Government last
year for expenses of its Fort Dupont
dwellings that were not met by rent
al collections.
The subcommittee hearing Tues
day will be followed by others at
10 am. on Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday. Chairman Burton of the
subcommittee said that within the
next few weeks he will call on the
District Commissioners and other
municipal officials for aid in draft
ing a plan to block the demand Of
Chairman Bilbo of the Senate Dis
trict Committee for mass eviction of
L