Evening star., 1944-05-26
Gen. Grant Denounces
Private Housing Plan
JAS Pork Barrel Bill
Asserts Measure Would
Hurt Tuxpuyers and
Aid Spectators
BY DON S. WARREN.


The battle between private
and public groups as to how
Washington's slum clearance and
rehousing program should oper-.
ate reached a new height of bit
terness today when Mai. Gen.
U. S. Grant III, chairman of the
National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission, told a house
subcommittee the free enter
prise bill was potentially s'the
most dangerous" District meas
ure he had known in his IS years
residence here.
Testifying before the McGehee
subcommittee of the House District
Committee, Gen. Grant referred te
it as a pork barrel bill" and sug-
gested that under the measure
sponsored by private builders and
"a small group" of civic and busi-
ness organizations, slum- clearance
agency would be set up which In
star chamber" sessions would de-
termine on redevelopment plans.
Attending the meeting and wait
ing a chance to reply were spokes-
men for the Metropolitan Home
Builders Association, including
James c. Wilkes, It's counsel. who
in comments to reporters, challenged
some of the declarations made by
Gen. Grant.
Criticisms Answered.
Gen. Grant appeared to urge ap-
proval Of the slum- clearance bill
proposed by the Planning Commits
sion and Endorsed by the District
Commissioners, as we'll as the
McCarran bill to provide the Ma
ticnal Capital Housing Authority
with a s20,000,0 900 revolving fund.
Answering criticisms that the
NCHA has done little to eliminate
Washington slums, Gen. Grant con-
tended that one-third of the alley
dwellings had been eliminated de-
spite the stopping of appropriations
after funds totaling 1855 900 were
provided for alley dwelling recla-
nation.
Gen. Grant said, the "free enter
prise" bill should be given the title:
"A bill for the condemnation of any
or all privately-owned property in
the District of Columbia for sale at
a loss to the taxpayers for the bene-
ut of speculative builders to be
selected by new autonomous agen-
cy entirely free of control except its
own discretion"
Protests Measure.
He declared his belief the citizens
associations and other groups never
would have Endorsed this bill if they
had realized what harm can be done
to them. He protested the measure
as establishing an autonomous
agency to decide Cd what land shall
be acquired, CD what losses the tax
payers can take in order to make
rebuilding profitable to any one who
can make a bargain agreeable tc
this agency, 90 fix the standards
to be met, "a the number of dwell.
ing units to be built. their char.
acter and their rents, and to decide
for itself whether what it proposes
is in accord with the general de-
Velopment plans for the District.
Finally, he said, the free enter
prise" bill would "obligate taxpay-
ers to pay whatever amounts are
necessary to meet the profit rents
agreed to in some star chamber
with the proposed developers, thus
obllgating the taxpayers to guaran-
tee the profits and financing costs
of the fortunate bargainer." This,
he continued, "manifestly is a very
dangerous thing to do and is en-
tirely inconsistent with the present
structure of the municipal govern
ment, which places administrative
responsibility in the Commission
ers and the planning responsibility
on the Planning Commission"
He made reference to the pro-
posal in the free enterprise" bill
that when the proposed slum clear
ance agency approves project for
loW-rental housing rents which the
tenants could not meet, the Board
of Public Welfare would determine
on rental assistance to tenant appli-
cantS.
Testimony Challenged.
When Ernest F. Henry, a member
of the Housing Committee of the
Federation of Citizens Association,
was testifying earlier this week that
the program under the free enter
(see HOUSING, Page A-4)