Evening star., 1947-01-26
Hawkes. Proposes Bill
Keeping Rent Controls
With IS Pei. Raise
ey the Asseeioted Pres.

BY the Assoeiofed Press
Four Republican Senators.proposed
legislation last night to continue
rent controls for the rest Of 1947
with Is per cent boost in ceilings.
Senator Hawkes. of New Jersey
said the bill probably will be intro
duced tomorrow. He predicted it
will become the vehicle by which
Congress will act to continue the
present rent controls now due to
expire June 30. Other sponsors Of
the measure are Senators Mccarthy
of Wisconsin, Cain of Washington
and Malone of Nevada.
The CIO Immediately assailed the
proposal and called upon all its
unions to fight it.
Senator Hawkes. said he favors a
provision by which landlords could
raise rents up to IS per cent beyond
present levels if they offer tenants
a years lease. But he told a re-
porter he and the other Senators
have not decided whether to link
the lease requirement with the
authorization for increases.
New Construction Decontrolled.
Senator Mccarthy said the bill
will remove Immediately all ceilings
on new construction or quarters
which had not been rented in the
previous year.
II believe that with a provision Of
this kind we can get lot of people
to make available living quarters
they may have in their homes but
have hesitated to rent because they
didn't want to bother with the red
tape of Government controls and
having some 22-year- clerk tell
them they would have to reduce their
rent ne told an interviewer.
He added he has little doubt the
removal of ceilings from new houses
and apartments would boost con-
struction materially and eventually
tend to level off rents when more
space became available.
Senators Hawkes. and Mccarthy
said the proposed date for ending
all rent controls had not been de-
termined finally but probably would
be December 81, l947.
Chairman Taft said the Republic
can Policy Committee has marked
the rent control question for an
early priority but has not reached
any decision on a party stand.
Favors Increase With Control.
Personally, Senator Taft COM
mented, he favors a continuation OF
controls with a substantial" in
crease in rents. He said he would
like to see some system worked out
under which increases could be made
on a basis of individual merit, al
though Government agencies have
contended this is almost impossible.
On the Democratic side, Presi-
dent Truman has urged that rent
control be continued and expressed
hope that the line would be held.
But he told news conference
Thursday that he is leaving the de-
tails entirely UP to Congress.
Chairman Tobey announced the
Senate Banking Committee will be-
gin hearings Tuesday on rent con-
trolls, with Maj. Gen. Philip B. Flem-
ing, head of the Office OF Temporary
Controls, as witness.
Senator Tobey said the committee
will study public housing at a hear
ing February 4, with Dillon Myer,
United States Housing Administra-
tor, as a witness. He reported men,
bers of the American Legion also
have asked to be heard.
CIO Issues Memorandum.
The CIO released to its affiliates
memorandum by John Thornton,
chairman of it's Cost of Living Com
mittee, denouncing the Hawkes. pro-
posal and reporting that "the Ma
tional Association Of Real Estate
Boards is pushing this program in
Congress-"
Mr.. Thornton argued that the
measure would permit "a wave OF
blanket increase of Is per cent
He also declared that when a lease
was signed under the Is per cent
increase authorization, the apart
ment would be automatically de-
controlled for any subsequent ten
ants" and predicted that landlords
would use every legal technicality
to evict tenants"
Senator Hawkes. outlined his ideas
further in a speech for the Brook
lyn Real Estate Board in New York
last night. He reported he had
talked to hundreds of tenants
paying $40 to $50 a month rent
and that SO out of 100 expressed
willingness to pay Is per cent
increase.
He also declared that "the owners
of real estate for rental have been
segregated for mistreatment under
our American system since the end
of actual hostilities." His speech
was distributed by the National
Association of Real Estate Boards
Training School al Laurel
To Start Construction Jobs