Evening star., 1945-09-20
Burton tC Lend
Hand in Settling
S|um Problem
Agrees to Conference
Before Toking Post
On Supreme Bench.
By DON S, WARREN.

belOIe lie IdkeS OluCC do dil dooo-
ciate justice of the Supreme Court,
Senator Burton, Republican, of
Ohio will lend guiding hand
in settlement of Washington's be-
logged slum-clearance problem.
A request for a get-together con-
ference on the subject, on a be
fore-you- leave" basis, was made
to Senator Burton by Chairman Nc
Carran of the Senate Judiciary
Committee shortly after the Senate
had confirmed the Junior Ohio SEN
ator to the place on the high court.
Always welded to the cause OF
good municipal government, Sena-
tor Burton agreed to do all he
could, though mentioning he had
much to do before he leaves his
Senate post.
Compromise Bill Seen.
The net result of their forth
coming conference on District slum
clearance may be a joint bill COM
promising earlier differences over
the future chart for eliminating
Washington's alley dwellings and
other slums and how rebuilding
programs should be handled.
Senator McCarran, a former
chairman of the Senate District
Committee, is the author of one
of the competing bills in the
Senate on what to do about the
National Capital slums.
ole n
member of the District group for
nearly five years. spent several
months late in 1943 making per-
sonal inspection tours of the slums
and Government rehousing devel-
opments. Then during the first half
of the last year he conducted eX-
tended hearings on the problems.
Recently Wrote Summary.
Recently Senator Burton wrote a
summary on the problems and the
pending bills. In this, observers say,
he sided somewhat with arguments
of the so-called public housers' as
to ,low-rent projects, but still left
the door open to agreement on
many points, with advocates OF
giving free enterprise a first full
chance at slum clearance and re-
housing
Hope for an ultimate agreement
on a bill, to be known as the Nc
Carran Burton bill, was advanced
today by Senator McCarran when
he said, Il am willing to go
a long way in compromise if
We can agree jointly on a bill
which will settle this problem in
the right way. That may prove
possible, even likely"
Better speed is needed as the 1924
slley-closing law has twice been
extended for lack of new legisla-
ton, and Chairman Bilbo of the
Senate District Committee recently
served notice he may oppose any
further extension of the deadline
against alley dwelling occupancy
beyond next July !.
Cant Go on Forever"
when that date arrives he
said recently, I'VE may tell the
police to move the alley dwellers
out of Washington. we cant let
this 60 on forever"
The McCarran bill, while provid-
ing s2O,000,00 more for Slum rede-
velopment here, would abolish the
National Capital Housing Agency
and transfer its functions to other
Government groups. One of these
would be a new land agency to &C
oulre sites. Private builders, agree
ing to definite restrictions, would
be given a first years opportunity
to do rehousing work.
Senator Burton recently took the
position that NCHA should be con-
tinued at least for limited func-
ton, though giving private enter
prise "a real chance" in the low
rent field, but it was not clear to
what extent, if any, he would be
willing to have the low-rent work
ing of private enterprisers support
ed out of public funds. Private
builders have contended this would
prove cheaper, but this claim has
been challenged by NCHA ano
other public housing spokesmen.
Hearings to Be Resumed.
Senator Capper, Republican. Of
Kansas, is the author of another
slum clearance and rehousing bill
which the private builders say give:
too much advantage to the public
housing agency. They have bitterly
fought it.
Hearings on the issues are to bt
resumed, probably before the enc
of this year, by the Judiciary Sub,
committee, headed by Representa-
tive McGehee, Democrat, of Missis'
sippi, but no date has been set
First definite action likely will
come in the Senate, since Mr.. Nc.
Gehee has been fighting all public
housers," including the NCHA ant
the National Housing Agency. HI
indicated as late as yesterday ht
could not see why public agency
should be subsidized to do work
private builders could do