Evening star., 1946-01-13

friends or relatives. This time next year
there will be 5000, ,000-6, 100000 If you
count the host households.
The situation, if not now a crisis. is
rapidly becoming one, and as usually
happens, much of the Nation is looking
to Washington to deal with it. Mem
bers of Congress and administrators of
the various Federal housing agencies
who have given much thought to the
problem are persuaded that passing
legislation will not meet the immediate
need. If it is to be met, somebody will
have to pass a miracle.
Several programs are pending, in
Congress and the administrative agen-
cies. These, however, deal with the
long-range problem, or are, admittedly,
inadequate stop-gap measures which can
hardly make dent in the ever-growing
deficit of housing.
Congress has provided $1s1 ,OO0, 900 to
enable the National Housing Agency to
make available 100000 units of tenn
porary war housing to communities
which will provide the necessary sites
and utilities. In addition, MIA had
about $4,000 trailers, but most of these
have already been assigned.
Supply Far Too Short.
These accommodations are from war
production centers where they are no
longer needed The rest of the nearly
100000 units the Federal Public. Housing
Authority built during the war have been
ohcorhad ipto tbo oeperoI bo,cipo c,,p-
ply. They are occupied where they are,
and are not available for removal. Of
the 100000 which may be removed, 75,-
900 were built as homes and 5000 units
are to be provided by conversion of bar
racks into apartments.
Added to these 100000 will be 1916
new construction, but the most opti-
| mistic prediction of the number of new
dwellings to be completed this year is
475,000. And that goal, if achieved, will
still leave 5000, 900 families doubled up"
To help achieve it, the Civilian Pro-
| duction Administration will institute,
starting Tuesday priorities assistance
| program intended to channel about half
! of the available supplies of building
costing, with land, not more than s1o,-
| 900, or renting for not more than $50 a
month. Returning veterans are to have
preference for these homes. They are
to be placarded for at least 80 days after
completion and during that interval
may be sold or rented only to veterans
War Powers Act Expires June 30.
The new program starts with handi.
cap, however, because it is undertaken
under the Second War Powers Act, and
Congress has refused to extend that act
beyond next June 80. It will be spring
before much construction activity can
begin-both because of the shortage OF
materials and because in most of the
country winter weather stalls building.
Furthermore, it has been argued that
$4,000 home is likely to be beyond the
reach of most veterans, and that con-
tractors probably will be tempted, for
| profit considerations, to build at the
maximum-one $4,000 home instead of
two $1,000 homes.
CPA Administrator John D. Small rec
ognizes that argument. but hopes that
it will not prove valid. In support of
his position he points to the wartime
priorities system which limited homes to
those costing not more than $4,000 and
says substantial number" were built
to sell for less than that. But, as Small
comedies, these wartime homes were pri-
marily for war workers, and what they
could afford to pay determined the mar
ket level. Now, with an acute housing
shortage at all market levels, it would
seem reasonable to expect that the mar
ket could absorb during 1916 all the
| $4,000 homes that could be built with
the restricted supplies of materials and
skilled manpower.
"But if preponderance of applica.
tions show up at the $4,000 ceiling,
Small says, I'VE will have to devise 8
system of quotas to get reasonable
proportion of the new homes in the
lower price range, down around $1,000
or S6,000."
Urges Local Studies.
"The demand can't possibly be met
for long time to come, no matter what
IL
ington, he is tossing back to the loca
communities the burden of assuming 6
major proportion of the problem. MIA
Administrator John Blandford fol
months has been urging the appoint.
ment of local committees to explore al
possibilities of increasing the housing
supply. Blandfords estimate is that il
will be three or four years before there
can be any substantial relief from tn,
shortage.
Small thinks the most valuable contri
button local communities could make tt
success of the program he administer.
would be to seek to obtain full produc.
tion of materials. Committees ought tt
discover why suppliers are not in full
production he says, and why some art
even shut down.
''It may be that the plant needs addi.
tional finances to attain full produc.
tion," he says. 'The bankers in thu
community where it operates should lool
into that. 1t may be that the owner o1
the business is still in the Army, or thai
there is some other management prob.
lem. The towns business leaders ought
to provide the management. 1t may be
that manpower is the limiting factor
The community can help to obtain the
needed manpower."
Under the priorities program materials
in critically short supply are to be con.
trolled. These are brick, clay sewer
pipe, structural tile, gypsum board, gyp.
sum lath. cast iron soil pipe and fittings
cast iron radiation, bathtubs, lumber
and millwork. Suppliers will be directed