Evening star., 1947-10-25
Realtors, Taft, Communism, Etc.

To the Editor Of The Star:
Your editorial THE Communistic Senator
Taft" indicates that the punching is getting
active and you don't like it.
Yes, our $50 local real estate boards through
out the United States are bitterly opposed to
public housing. We do think it is the first
step toward socialistic state and toward
communism, if you please. Socialism and
communism are the same thing. The father
of both has said so. Karl Marx, when he is
sued his famous call to workers in 1S4S, called
it the Communist manifesto.
The creation and ownership of housing is
the main bastion of private property and pri-
vate enterprise. When they take that, they
take the works.
In Russia they dispossessed 100000 farm
owners and all the city property owners before
the Socialist state could be set up. It's happen
ing now in England.
Yes, we will continue to oppose public hous-
ing wherever it raises its head, whether on
the right or the left. There are 2l,000,0OO
home owners who feel this way and who
will some day express themselves There
are millions of men like the realtors engaged
in private enterprise and the business Of sup
plying housing who feel this way.
You cannot have just little public housing
as matter of appeasement without surren-
dering the whole position. can imagine how
your newspaper would shout to high heaven
about the freedom of the press if the Govern
ment decided that in order to meet high costs
1t would issue just one free newspaper in
every State or in every major city so that the
public could get the news without paying Tor
it, 1t all depends upon whose OK is being
gored.
You can discredit me as the employe of the
realtors rather easily Newspapers have this
power You cannot change the convictions
of our $50 real estate boards, and if prove
to be an inadequate spokesman they'll get
| another.
We cannot go forward toward greater pro-
duction by running first to the right and then
running to the left. All this gets us is con-
fusion and stagnation.
When 1 stated that thought Senator Taft
was following the socialistic and communistic
party lines in housing, told the truth. How
| ever wrote him letter of apology because
| I felt that had been guilty of bad political
| manners in referring to the communistic party
| line at this particular moment. I am willing
| to admit that there is certain amount OF
| etiquette that we ought to observe in political
| controversies.
| You say that the American people are going
| to get decent housing at prices they can
afford. They are getting 1t. Tney are gettlng
housing now at as low price as they ever
did in terms Of family and national income.
It doesn't cost any more in terms of present
incomes to buy new house now than it always
has 1t has always required from one-fourth
to one-fifth of family's income to buy a
| home The Government, however, has de-
| pressed rents so that now it only takes about
| one-seventh of familys income instead Of
one-fifth to rent home and that is why we
/ do not get more rental housing. It you are
| going to take as a measure of what the
| American people can afford to pay, what the
New Deal says they ought TO pay instead OF
what they always were willing to pay, you
| can build any kind of an argument you want.
The free market is the only test that know
| of which shows what people can and will
| pay for the housing they want. This is all
we are asking for. Let the people decide
| through the free market how good housing
| they want and how much they are willing
/ to pay. Apparently you do not believe in this
| principle Congress or somebody else should
decide for the people.
It Is easy to punch away at q minute unirl-
! nuential communistic party. It Is tough "a