Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1946-03-29
WNU Service, 1916 Eye street, NV,

WASHINGTON, D. c. - It is fully
expected that what is left Of the
plan for settling Americas number
one problem - the problem of find
ing a home-will be cut up by con-
gress and pasted together in some
new, strange shape by now. If it is
still in the works when you read
these lines there is possibility that
what finally emerges from the hop
per will be more what the patient
planners wanted and less like what
the various pressure groups wanted.
The interesting thing to me about
the debate on this measure in the
beginning was this: although the ad-
ministration features Of the bill went
squarely against the conservative
grain of our conservatively in
grained congresses, it had one
champion who usually sits as far
away as he can possibly edge from
anything of even a pale pink hue.
I refer to Sen. Robert Taft, Re-
publican of Ohio. What Mr.. Taft
says never falls on deaf ears in the
senate even if the ears are doubling
ones and sprout from the heads Of
those cruelty affronted members
once referred to as "the sons Of wild
jackasses." Vox Taft to the conserv-
alive is his masters VOX.
The two key features to the adj
ministration bill were the subsidy,
which would grease the way for
quick construction Of the lower
priced type Of homes, and the price
ceiling which would make it cheaper
to live in a house than resell for
profit. That is, the present owner
of a house could sell his property
for any price he could get without
restriction, but owner number two
would have to resell it for what he
paid (plus, of course, reasonable
cost for inprovements).
These two conditions may have
been good or bad. Whether they
were or not they were opposed for
two main reasons: first, because
they were considered government
interference" and therefore radical,
and second, because powerful lob
bies, the profits of whose principals
would have been curtailed, put all
the pressure they could on congress.
In spite of the feeling that the
spirit of the housing bills was Glib
eral," if you prefer that word to
"leftish" or New Dealish," Senator
Taft supported it. He had made a
careful study of housing and come
to the mature conclusion that the
administration idea, as embraced in
the bills introduced by Senator Wag-
ner in the senate and Representa-
tive Patman in the house, was as
nearly the right sort of legislation
as could be obtained. The CLIO took
the same view.
Now when viewpoints as different
as these two arrive at agreement,
the simple citizen is inclined to
think that their joint approval is
pretty sound sponsorship.
Labor Wants
Planned Action
The CLIO has printed very bust
nesslike booklet on the subject in
which we are reminded that we
have always had housing short
age because our cities just grew like
Topsy, that the shortage is steadily
growing and that estimates show
that by the end of this year almost
three and a half million families
will be homeless unless they are
taken in by relatives or double up
with others-as the President sug-
gested they will have to do mean
while.
The reason that we always had a
housing shortage, according to the
CLIO, is because we never had a
housing policy. We have a public
school educational policy; a police
protection policy; a war and navy
policy. AS a result, we have a
pretty good school system, our police
give us reasonable protection to
life and property; we have never
lost a war nor suffered invasion.
But we can't have roofs over our
heads.
That is what the current housing
legislation is supposed to provide.
One more factor may be injected
into this controversy which could af-
feet it materially: the veteran, chief
sufferer from homelessness, is as yet
unorganized. Once organized, he
could out-pressure the other pressure
groups.
Since heard fortnight speeches
of Senator Vandenberg and Secre-
tary of State Byrnes which sounded
q sharp warning to Russia that the