The Wilmington morning star., 1945-12-16
Veteran Housing
BY MARQUIS CHILDs

By MARQUIS CHlLDS
This time when they 60 home for the brief
Christmas recess, they will hear from the re.
turned veterans themselves. The question. of a
place for fighting men and their families to
live is the hottest issue in the country and it
is still only in the warming-up stage.
It explains why the Truman administration
has hastily backtracked to apply controls on
building materials again. These and other
controls were taken oSbes G TOO in
It explains the Senate's hasty action in
voting $16O, 900, 600 to be used to- adapt emer.
gency wartime housing for the veterans in
cities and college towns. Made-over barracks
will not be ideal by any means but some such
makeshift is necessary for the months ahead
Reports reaching OPA show that in almost
every city and town across the entire country
the situation is the same. They show, too that
the talk of self-discipline put out by the build
ing industry to justify removal of controls was
largely nonsense.
A study Of OPA reports makes plain what a
grim story it is. Thousands of families have
been evicted. Hundreds OF thousands are living
in cellars and garages which are damp ,and
unsanitary.
The headlines from city to city AL monot-
onously repetitious. They tell human interest
stories of veterans returned from two three
and four years of service to find that thew
must live separately from their wives and chill
dren, doubling up with inlaws who are already
crowded.
In each community they are casting about
desperately for some expedient. At Great
Lakes ports they have sought Lake steamers
for use at dockside during the winter months,
Veterans seeking shelter for wives and chill
dren often grow desperate. One former officer
in Illinois city after IL days of futile search,
worked himself into a frenzy and began to
smash the furniture in the local veterans ad-
visory office. Yet, withal, they are remarkably
ptient.
The vacancy rate on rented dwellings, per-
haps the best barometer of the housing short
age, has moved downward in most cities al
most to zero. The contrast with 1910 when the
crowding had just begun is striking.
In San Francisco the gross vacancy rate
five years ago was nearly per cent. In May
OF this year it was per cent and it is
probably less than that today. In Detroit it
was 3.3 in 1910 and less than l per cent in
July OF this year. The percentages for 1945 are
deceptive in that the vacancies which do exist
are largely sub-standard dwellings.
VI Day released a small building BOOM
But it is not in houses or apartments. Lansing
Michigan, for example, reported 81, 900, 900 of
new construction and exactly three Sc, 900 hous-
es going up. The construction was industrial
and commercial That is fairly typical of what
is happening around the country.
One consequence is that the price of houses
has been soaring. Confidential reports to OPA
show that in many areas speculative boom
is in full swing. Modest swellings that once
sold for $45O0 are bringing up to $95O0.
In one community housing units built during
the last war-years for sale purposes were sold
under order L-41, limiting the cost of new
houses, at fair price They are now bringing
half again as much in speculative market
Some veterans who can find the down pay
ment are buying this inflated property. 1t is
a measure of their desperation.
But the possibilities Of loss and bitter disil-
lusion are plentiful especially when the veteran
makes the discovery that loan privileges under
the CT Bill Of Rights are worthless in the face
OF such imitation. Multiplied many times over
this disillusion can have serious political con-
sequences.
These grim facts Of life are certain to in
trude on the holiday cheer of many a con-
gresham. The idea of going back into bar
racks again even though it has been reas-
sembled into family type units will not appeal
to GI Joe and if he can find somebody from
Washington to tell his troubles to, he'll do it..
But he will take that barracks if it comes
down to choice of that or more separation
from the family he returned to with the wars
end.
copyright 1945 by United Feature Syndicate)
Inc.)