Evening star., 1948-10-12
Continued from Page C-1.)

reflect themselves in results unless
and untif they are put to practical
use by those who build, finance and
sell or rent homes. That is why our
first step following the passage of
this act was to arrange Nationwide
meetings, under the sponsorship Of
the Federal Housing Administration
and the National Association Of
Home Builders, of Government and
industry representatives to explain
and discuss the potentialities of
these new aids.
There is, however, no single key
that will open the door to lower
costs. The easy way to lower costs is
to lower housing standards. 1t is the
wrong way.
The right way is to maintain our
housing standards and to raise
standards for the production, mar
keting and operation of our housing
More efficient management and
more productive labor, more re-
sourceful design, more progressive
and cost-saving methods in home
building, and the removal Of arti-
fetal and unnecessary barriers to
cost reduction, such as obsolete
building codes and poorly co-ordi-
mated production practices, provide
opportunities for lowering prices,
even at current levels of cost.
This means, however, that costs
cannot be cut with single stroke
of the ak, but that they can be whit
tied down significantly by pairing
them at scores Of places in the whole
process Of home production.
/ The Housing and Home Finance
Agency expects to make further
contribution in this process under
the authority and funds granted it
by the recent Congress to carry on
housing research, in cooperation
with the industry, within limited
but important area.
It's immediate efforts are to be
devoted principally to promoting
improved building codes that will
invite and encourage new lower
cost processes, methods and ma
terials in the housing field, and to
stepping up in the industry the
program known as modular co-or-
dination, through which more ma
terias will be produced and more
housing designed to an agreed-upon
scale Of standard dimensions, &C
that a house can be assembled ano
built on the site more simply and
economically.
Technical Progress Cited.
A considerable amount of tech
nical progress has already beer
made in recent years, both through
the work of the Government and
through industry. The Housing ano
Home Finance Agency already has
made available its findings on q
uniform plumbing code, which are
being tried out in various COM
munities with promising results ir
terms of performance and savings
Numerous tests of materials ano
reports on problems or methods
have been provided at industry's re-
quest to advance housing techniques
With our added authority, we car
expand our effectiveness in the fields
of Standardization and more eff.
cient assembly of materials. Nc
overnight miracles are to be ex.
pected and no sudden efforts or
current housing methods or costs
can be looked for out of such tech
nological development.
The progressive and gradual ef-
feet of improved knowledge anc
production, however, is of lasting
and fundamental importance. We
have a high standard of living ir
this country in large part because
we have persistently and patiently
sought better and improved methods
of doing things.
The more we apply that approach
to housing. the more hope there will
be for better housed America ir
1.-THE years to come.