Evening star., 1944-04-04
Clio Leader Asks
Joint Effort
ToC|ear S|unns
Subcommittee Hears
Public and Private
Building Are Needed


slums will require the combined
efforts of public housing agencies
and private builders, Joseph Phillips
president of the CIO Washington
Industrial Union Council, today tolc
the Senate District Subcommittee
studying housing conditions here.
Appearing as witness after the
private builders group today con-
|cluded it's several weeks of testi-
mony, in which it asked elimination
of public housing agencies from the
slum reclamation program, Mr.. Phil
lips said there is more than enough
work for both to do"
He said that as much of the work
as possible should be done by pri-
vate enterprise. But, he added
private builders have not yet DEM
onstrated they can provide adequate
housing for families in the lowest
income groups. Until this has beer
demonstrated, he said, there is a
continued need for the National
Capital Housing Authority and its
program.
Amendments Urged.
Mr.. Phillips urged that the slum
reclamation program proposed by
the NCHA be amended to provide
l. Closer cooperation among the
housing authority, the National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission and planning bodies ir
nearby Virginia and Maryland, so as
to insure large-scale slum reclama.
ton under an integrated plan fol
the entire Metropolitan Area.
2. Colored representation at the
policy level in all agencies dealing
with slum reclamation.
Mr.. Phillips pointed out that COL
ored persons constitute nearly a
third of the Districts population
and cat least 80 per cent of those
housed in slums here"
Six Aims Listed.
He listed six objectives which he
said must be met by the NCHA ano
the private builders:
l. Economic and racial groups
displaced must Immediately be re-
housed in standard dwellings.
2. Construction and maintenance
must be based on union wages.
8. Neighborhood facilities must be
provided.
4. Rentals must be commensurate
with the ability of the families to
pay"
S. Replacement housing should be
well built to avoid new slums.
6. Redevelopment of slum areas
must be carried out in accordance
with an integrated plan.
In closing their attack on the
NCHA before Mr.. Phillips took the
stand, private builders presented
Rufus S. Lusk, president of the
Washington Taxpayers Association
and Charles William Hart, 625 Lex
lngton place NE, as witnesses.
Warns of Political Exploitation"
Mr.. Hart warned of the dangers
of political exploitation" of the pro-
posed public housing program.
MIR. Lusk asked that the NCHA
be forced to give a commitment
that land now the site of temporary
war housing will not be used for
permanent public low-rent housing
after the war.
Inc housing authority has bought
almost 10 per cent of the land on
which it has located temporary war
housing, Mr.. Lusk said. Mr.. Lusk
contended the land, totaling more
than 400 acres, should be sold for
private development after the war
Another witness today was Maui
rice A. Gersing, 1874 Hobart street
NV, representing the Columbia
Heights Improvement Association.
New York Pattern Cited.
Mr.. Gersing urged adoption OF
slum reclamation legislation pat.
termed after the New York Urban
Redevelopment Act. He said that
ne and Mrs. Margaret Hopkins Wor-
rell, president of the Columbia
Heights group, have prepared q
tentative draft of the bill.
hearings will be resumed at 1C
am. tomorrow, with Mrs. Mildred
klllnsk, secretary and director OF
the Family Service Association; Miss
Florence Murray, assistant directo,
OF Catholic Charities of the Dis
trlct, and Jacob Kammen, executive
director of the Jewish Social Service
Agency, scheduled to testify in
favor of the public housing pro-
gram I