Evening star., 1948-04-07
Montgomery Officials
Testify on Viers Mill
Objections Tomorrow

Commissioner Brooke Johns will
head group Of Montgomery County
(Md0 officials who will testify at
House Expenditures Subcommittee
hearing tomorrow on the contro-
versial Viers Mill Village housing
project near Wheaton, Md.
The officials, with veterans, orr
ganization spokesmen, are expected
to spell out complaints that the
homes were over-appraised by the
Federal Housing Agency and the.
Veterans Administration; that the
buildings do not meet county stand
ards, and that some construction
is shoddy. =,
The huge, low-cost project. still
under construction, offers veterans
one-family dwellings at $8,700 each
About 260 have been sold. The
FHA and VA have approved guar
antees on the loans.
Builders Testify on Value.
Several private builders trouped
before the committee yesterday to
present their own appraisals of the
development, which averaged about
$1,000, including profit.
VA, meanwhile, answered a re-
quest from Representative Beall,
Republican, of Maryland that the
committee determine whether a VA
appraiser assigned to the Viers Mill
project once drew plans for the
development. He identified him as
a Mr.. Parli.
Morgan B. Callahan, VA loan
guarantee officer for the Washington
area, told The Star that Richard
L. Parli, an Arlington architect, was
one Of the five appraisers who visited
the project. He said Mr.. Parli had
drawn up plans for the Viers Mill
builders earlier.
The VA official said investigation
convinced him, however, that Mr..
Parli merely drew the plans as a
craftsman, not as an architect" He
said Mr.. Parli told him he was in
structed by the builders only to put
the plans on paper and not to make
any changes.
Valuable as Appraiser.
GAS long as he had no connection
with the builders, Mr.. Parli was very
valuable to me as an appraiser on
this particular project" Mr.. Gala
han said. He added that Mr.. Parli
is one of the highest regarded ap-
praisers on our lists" and that he
merely was "one of the team 81 five
appraisers" who passed on the
projects value.
Perry G. Burdette, Montgomery
County tax assessor, told the COM
mittee yesterday he would set cost
Of the Viers Mill homes at about
$6,400. A 10 per cent profit for the
builders should put the price at
about $1,000, he said.
Francis X. Metzger, a county as
sessment supervisor, testified that
construction is far below average"
considering the SO, ZOO sales price.
IF they asked 5000 or $6,000,'
he added, "it would be more equit-
able"
Principal complaints of the build
ers about construction centered on
concrete foundations, which several
testified were crumbling or cracked.
Mr.. Meter said no tax assess
ment has been decided for the
homes. Tentative assessments, how
ever, based on the number of cubic
feet in the units and 1941 building
costs, would place value at about
So, 400, he said. He stressed that
this would not reflect present build
ing costs.
Alvin c. Ketcham, a Chevy Chase
builder, said that on the basis of
private investigation, he would put
cost of each of the Viers Mil homes
at $5,694. with. an additional $500
for the lot. This, he said, would
not include profit.
Fayette M. Latham, general man.
ager of the Veterans Mutual Hous-
ing Cooperative, attacked the VA
appraisal system in other testimony.
VA and FILA officials viii be called
at later hearings. according to Rep
resentative Snyder, Republican, OF
West Virginia, who heads the SUBJ
committee.
Representative of the Viers Mil
Co. and the Harris Construction Co.,
the contractors, also are expected TO
testify.