The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-06-14
COMMUNICATION
Editor the Empire:

Ve heard a lot aDOut tnlS fOSI- War Security business during the last few years, and never could quite figure cut what it meant. Now l find myself enmeshed right in the middle of it and for sure now don't know what the hell it is all about Can you enlighten me? Here is my, or should I say, our story:
 i Shortly before the cessation of hcstilities with Japan. fine big sign appeared on the corner of Willoughby Ave. near my home. It proclaimed HOMES FOR WAR WORKERS and was erected on the proposed site. Shortly after this considerable a&ivity ensued and soon large fill was put in and three large frame sl.uctures sprung up; then a period of waiting for material, then the end of the war with Japan and a temporary halt to the project. Local pressure was obviously brought to bear due to a housing shortage and shortly there after the sign was torn down and word passed around that the pro ject was to provide homes for vet erans; the work was carried on and I don't deny that it served pur- pose and vastly improved the ap- pearance ol the locality, but at a cost far above its value, due to the usual good reasons; Government money with everybody involved get ting their cut and probably others not involved getting little as we'll then too, location certainly wasn't picked for it's economic value with rock fill at $l33 per yard, nor for it's scenic surroundings with stink ing sewage strewn mudflat on enc side, a decrepit native village on the other and the near tenement and slum district immediately under Courthouse Hill just across the avenue.
 However, it could have been se- lected for it's strategic value for husbands to keep their wives home after dark as a number of them don't care to walk alone up Will loughby Ave Anyway, the project was completed, fine people moved il, and we home owners already in the neighborhood appreciated the ] improvement even if it didn't do the city much good from a taxable standpoint.
 Things went fine for while un- til well-dressed strangers started prcwling around our property With note books and cameras. None of these approached any of the prop erty owners and somehow seemed to be only around during working ilys were not apt to be around. finally got tired of such reports and actions and set about tracing GCwn one of the more persistant of these trespassers. He wasn't ill his room at the Baranof when he learned the purpose ol my visit over the house phone-but he sure as the devil was in when I disre garded ethics and barged up to his room. After torrid verbal dis cussion I learned absolutely noth- ing except that somebody or other intended to and could take my property and the property of sev eral Of my neighbors and to eX- plicitly quote him; Why it's you people in Govt. work we're build ing these fine apartments for We don't want your homes, we just want our ground which your homes are sitting on. We'll give you fair price for your improvements and rent you ,one of our nice apart ments fer S6500 or s75.00 month"
 After my reply to his very sport ing proposition I don't think he ap- proved Of me as a possible tenant. However, I did get lew names to work on. I went to all of these and was referred back and around and learned even less. Soon, I, and the neighbors involved received show cause notices from the District At torney's Office why we shouldn't he 'de-housed' Two of us went up to the D. As Office and iron ically, printed on the door were the words Department of Justice. After pleasant chat with the young D. A. in this 'lf-i-c 5f Jus tice' we learned that he was mighty sorry but he couldn't do anything for us as his orders came from Washington, D. c. He further ad- vised us to get lawyer to enter our protest when Court sojourned at our expense of course.
 In the meantime, the City upped the taxes on all of us and in my case three times what the party be- fore me paid, complained to the Mayor and the City Clerk and in- quired how they could tax us when