The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-12-05
Fair Enough
Nv WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1s45 BY King Features syndic

Fleming, of the Corps of Engineers, adj
ministrator Of the Federal Works Administra-
tion naturally has collided with some Of the
dirty rackets imposed on builders, renters and
buyers of living quarters in most OF our cities
and towns, by manufacturers OF such materi-
ais as plumbing and electrical equipment,
Wallpaper, hardware and sashes and DOORS
| A crooked and predatory combination was con-
trived years ago by which many OF them
Joined their own regional dealers, plumbing
and electrical contractors, parasitic unloneers
and state and local officials and legislators
to rob the people in many ways. They robbed
them as renters and buyers OF homes and
again as tax payers by exhorbitant arbitrary
mark-ups in prices OF material, by colluslve
bidding controlled by monopoies and by alb
surdly wasteful requirements in both public
and private construction.
These facts should touch off the fury Of
every American because the racket Wrings
tribute from most of our housing. The people
to beat over the head are city and town coun-
cilnen and the legislators because these
bodies under pressure by lobbyists Tor the
racketeers and, probably, in many cases Tor
brides, adopted the building codes and the
local licensing ordinances which legaHzed the
robberies and protect the thieves.
General Fleming has been fighting some OF
the building codes without much success. But
IL
outrageous rents in little apartments would
get mad enough at the right people they could
get results. The racketeers have been alerted.
as the Pearl Harbor jargon has 1t, to bend
their blackjacks over your head the minute
the present rush of commercial construction
ends and the construction workers. no longer
able to grab the fat overtime now being paid
out of excess profits by corporations, become
available for straight time, 40-hour jobs on
private housing.
About 10 months ago General Fleming made
a speech to conference Of building officials
in Boston about the building codes and the
looting although he didn't use that word,
which these codes make possible and the tri-
butte which they make compulsory.
'"This would be good time" he said," Ito
re-examine our state and local building codes
to see whether they still rest upon logical
basis or merely reflect accretions OF rules
and regulations imposed at the instance OF
various pressure groups"
That is bureaucratic language. 1t means that
the crooks shove these things through so that
they could feast like cannbals on their fellow
citizens.
"Our experience in FWA,' he said, "Is that
existing codes range from the unbellevably lax
to the almost prohibitively rigid. know of one
state with plumbing code that needlessly
added $4,000 to the cost of every $400, 900
school house by it's requirements as to the
large number of toilets that must be provided.
Surveys have shown that all these toilets could
not possibly be in use at time, but there
they stand in rows of gistening white"
Tackling the same rackets again, General
Fleming wrote piece for publication, again
in the bureaucratic lingo which cuts the throat
Of an idea so that it can't make itself heard.
He said the local building code, Ostensibly
fr, 81 70 ol%
has been used in all too many instances to
accomplish extraneous purposes
"Extraneous purposes" began They had
been used to permit thieves to rob the people.
That was the extraneous purpose and that has
been the effect and so it will be again when
the kid from Guadalcanal Anzio goes to
rent an apartment or house or build little
bower for himself. These crooks will cut his
heart out
I'm many cases." Phil said ut has been
framed to make jobs for one group of building
craftsmen at the expense of some other group,
to increase the use of certain types of materi-
al at the expense of manufacturers Of other
types which may be equally good even
superior. These codes, for good or i'll, are 60
ing to nave a very considerable bearing on
the future of the construction industry. The
nation looks to a large volume of building
activity to help stabilize employment and to
going to need new codes that encourage the
enterpriser and potential home builder"
Maybe you don't know that crooks in the
combinations, who manufacture plumbing, for
example, won't sell you sink or goose
neck for the house you are building. Nope, old
soldier, you have to 60 to their dealer" and
he will belt you just 20 per cent more than
they charged him even though he is not carry
ing the article in stock and it is delivered
direct to you from the manufacturer. The wall
paper thief won't sell to you direct either.
You have to get card from a paper.
hanger on their list to buy it from them at
ALL And when you have bought it they send
him 20 per cent of your money for nothing.
They shake you down for fellow member
Of the gang. The same goes with some kinds
of hardware. And the odds are that If you are
fixing to do your own plumbing or wiring or|
paperhangng the local contractor with ter
ritorial concession to rob you of 20 per cent
issued by big, crooked firm with national
reputation, won't give you letter OF intro
duction. So you have to buy junk and slop
up your walls with paint.
Welcome home, soldier, but stick'em up be-
cause the reception committee OF the patriotic
manufacturers, contractors and crooked or
stupid legislators and councilmen is waiting
on the City Hall steps to frisk you clean
of your savings and blood money and your
future earnings.