Evening star., 1945-09-18
Building Curbs
Ordered Lifted
October IS
Snyder Announces
Six-Point Plan to
Spur Construction
BY MALCOLM LAMBORNE. Jr

>SeA ASoASAAo oii PQbllC WOl hS,
residential and commercial
building will be lifted October is.
War Reconversion Director John
W. Snyder revealed today as he
announced a six-point Govern
ment program to spur construc-
tion.
Announcement of the lifting of the
restrictions, embodied in War Pro-
duction Board order L-4l, brought
an abrupt end to a projected three
day hearing of a Senate Small
Business Subcommittee, which
opened this morning to hear Gov
ernment officials and representa-
tives OF the construction industry,
who have complained of delay in
getting start in building.
Chairman Stewart of the COM
mittee's complaints subcommittee
read the announcement at the hear
ing and added that the hearings
would be discontinued.
More Materials Sought.
The program was worked out at
meeting yesterday of Mr.. Snyder.
Economic Sterilization Director
William H. Davis, War Production
Chairman j. A. Krug, Price Admin
istrator Chester Bowles and National
Housing Administrator John B.
Blandford, jr. The program sets
forth the following points:
l. 1nter-agency action to increase
production of all types of building
materials essential to construction,
2. Enlargement of War Production
Board inventory controls over scarce
materials to precent boarding.
5. Extension of the OPA's pro-
gram to set dollar and cents ceilings
on all types of building materials.
4. Government credit agencies to
enlist the support of banks and
lending institutions to discourage
unSound lending.
3. Plans for the calling of a meet
ing here of industry groups to work
out a voluntary program of increas-
ing the flow of building materials to
planned projects and to fight in
hated building and real estate costs.
The setting up of an information
center on home values to prospective
buyers, to be worked out by the MIA
and representatives of the industry
Great Source of Jobs.
The boost for private home build
ing followed President Truman,s
declaration in his recent message to
Congress that this was one of the
most promising avenues for provid-
ing postwar employment.
The same idea was emphasized by
Mr.. Snyder today in announcing the
program. He said:
The rapid expansion of the con-
struction industry can be the great
est single additional source of Jobs
IN our entire economy. This was in
the minds of all of us when it was
agreed that L-4l should be lifted.
AT the same time we all recoe-
nize that to expand construction we
must expand the production of
building materials 1t is not enough
merely to lift restrictions. We must
anticipate the bottlenecks before
they become serious and take
prompt and active steps to increase
supply of materials and assure fair
we also know that the present
housing shortage is bound to con-
tinue for some time and that there
may be pressure to increase the
price OF new homes in response to
an active demand All Federal
agencies have been directed to use
all appropriate measures to dis
courage inf1ationary pricing of new
homes. This Is a problem which
the industry itself must help to
overcome. A boom in prices now
would have inevitable repercussions
later on"
Earlier, Mr.. Bowles, called as the
first witness in the Senate hearing.
said that even with the end of the
WPB construction order, the OPA
plans to continue price control over
building materials. Mr.. Bowles
warned that these may be IAN in
f1ationary threat for another year
or more"
He said that the agency already
had received reports of upgrading
of lumber. which was then sold for
a higher price than the legal ceil-'
ing, and he added that yesterday
the agency learned of truck load
OF bricks being "hijacked."
The price administrator pointed
out the agency has no authority to
set ceiling prices on finished homes,
despite the fact Mr.. Bowles had
asked Congress to legislate on this
question earlier this year. The best
that OPA can do, he said, was to
hold down price of building mate
rials until such time as supply met
demand.
Senator Wherry, Republican, of
Nebraska interjected at this point
to declare: IF you have the right
to price new automobiles, you've got
the right to price homes. It's the
first time I have ever heard OpA
say it didn't have the power to act"
A difference Of opinion among
Government officials had delayed
final action on the WPB construc-
ton order. One group, backed by
private industry, had sought to have
all controls lifted and builders given
free hand. A second group had
urged retention of some controls on
(See BUILDING, Page A-2.)
Mats Come Delayed