Evening star., 1950-02-12
Bricker Sees Chance
OF Political Favoritism
In Coop Housing Bill
BY the Associated Press

Senator BflcKer, republican, OF
Ohio, contended yesterday the pos
sibility of political favoritism is
rampant" in President Truman's
middle income cooperative hous-
ing program. Senator Sparkman,
Democrat, of Alabama, denied it.
Senator Bricker expressed his
views in letter to certain mem
bers of the Senate Banking Com
mittee in a bid for votes to knock
the cooperative program out of
a pending general housing bill.
That program. the heart of the
Administration bill, calls for So
billion in Government backed
loans to co-operatives made up of
families earning generally from
$2,400 to $4.700 a year.
Two days ago the Banking Com
mittee voted, 7 to 6, to defer any
action on the bill until February
% pending a study of what it's
impact would be on the national
economy. Some members believe
the cooperative housing program
would be infiationary.
Senator Sparkman and some
other members of the group have
challenged that conclusion.
Section Nearly Junked.
AS result, the committee
agreed to get the Federal Reserve
Boards opinion at a public hear
ing scheduled for Thursday.
Before the committee voted to
postpone decision on the bill for
two weeks, Senator Bricker came
within an ace of having the CO.
operative housing section junked.
The 13-man committee was di-
vided 6 to s and only Senator
Frear, Democrat, of Delaware,
had yets to vote when Senator
Bricker withdrew his motion to
eliminate the section and agreed
to go along on the two-week delay.
Senator Frear, key man in the
committee squabble, told a re-
porter he had not decided whether
to back or oppose the co-opera-
tive plan. But he said he is in
clined to let the bill go to the floor
for decision.
Il am not in favor of trying to
keep anything like this bottled UP
in the committee" he said.
Sees Tieup With Fair Deal.
Senator Bricker's letter, it was
learned, went to these members of
the Banking Committee: Senators
Frear, Fulbright, Democrat, of
Arkansas; Capehart, Republican,
of Indiana; Robertson, Democrat,
of Virginia; Flanders, Republican,
Of Vermont; Ives. Republican, of
New York, and Tobey. Republi-
can, of New Hampshire.
The document did not 60 to
Chairman Maybank, chief sponsor
of the cooperative housing pro-
gram, nor to Senators Sparkman,
Taylor, Democrat, of Idaho;
Douglas, Democrat, of Illinois, and
Long, Democrat, of Louisiana.
I'm, this bill," Senator Bricker
wrote, "all the possibilities for
political favoritism are
rampant"
The Ohio lawmaker told a re-
porter he meant the program
would open the way to tie the
housing co-operatives with the
Fair Deal Program.
ut would mean special treat
ment for a special group and the
opportunity for favoritism in de-
Gliding which groups would get
loans," he added.
Senator Sparkman said that
isn't so.
Cites FHA Figures.
We've got to trust somebody
to administer these programs, he
said. And I think that our expe-
rience with other housing pro-
grams-where there has been
equal chance for political favor
itism-disproves Senator Bricker's
statement.
Senator Bricker, in his letter,
said co-operatives should be en-
couraged in the housing field, but
that he is opposed to the admin
istration way of going about it.
Senator Bricker said figures of
the Federal Housing Administra-
ton (FHA) show that in 1948
more than half the homes pur-
chased under FILA standard
financing were bought by families
in the $4,000 to $4,000 income
range. He added, this makes it
plain "the bulk of middle Income
families, have been able to obtain
suitable housing through their
ss.sI