The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-01-19
Redl Estdte Lobby Tough,
Neon, Strictly 'Me-First'


! lot of "me-first" lobbies in Wash.
! ington. But most of them are two
bit affairs compared with the mar
rowest-minded of them all-that
representing the nations real
estate brokers.
/ Currently, about 500 of the
Icream of the real estate business
men-they prefer to be called
realtors, copyright word
they're trying to peddle as pro-
fessor does his PhD degree-are
here in the nations capital.
If you count the dough that goes
to pay your rent bill, and if 20
! per cent or 50 per cent boost would
raise cain with your family budget,
you'd better keep an eye on the
real estate lobby.
If you've run up against stone
wall in getting a local low-rent
public housing authority started,
you'd better study how the real
estate men stopped the project in
its tracks.
If you're trying to get housing
cooperative to build apartments
for union members families, and
the bankers won't put up the
money to get the project started,
you'd better watch what the real
tors lobby does to the coop hous-
ing bill on which hearings have
just started in the Senate.
Calvin X. Snyder, belligerent
and youthful secretary of the Real
tors Washington committee, coor-
dinating agency for Congressional
strategy, feels very confident. He
told the cheering presidents repre-
senting some thousand-odd local
real estate boards meeting here
that 1--WE will. be able to complete
the job of federal rent decontrol
when the present law expires in
June of this year."
In sessions where the press was
barred, Snyder and his aides brief
ed the real estate leaders on what
they should "take to the Hill" in
an organized descent on Congress.
Their major ammunition, now and
in the months ahead, will be sur
veys of vacancies and comparative
rents before and after decontrol,
collected by the scientific" method
of turning. the real estate statesmen
loose to do a block-by-block survey
of their own communities. Admit
edly, even the most ardent of sur
veyors couldn't come up with ac-
curate results by such haphazard
method.
Against these, there will be cit
ed the figures obtained by the Bur-
eau Of Labor Statistics, which Pre-
sident Truman turned over to Con-
gressional leaders in the opening
days of the session, showing big
and hard-to-take rent boosts in
many areas that have been decon-
trolled.
Stung by the overwhelming pub
lie belief that private industry has
not lifted a finger to eliminate
slums, or to rehabilitate near slum
housing, the realtors are trying to
mask their opposition to use of
federal funds for low-rent public
housing by several ruses. One is
the Baltimore PLAN, whereby
law enforcement agencies are pres
sured into enforcing existing hous-
ing codes and sanitary codes in
slum areas. "For $500 or so," the
Natl Association of Real Estate
Boards officials say time after
time, "these slums have been made
livable." They neglest to mention
that this doesn't mean adequate ,
plumbing, but tearing down of the
worst of the open outdoor privies;
it doesn't mean installation of safe
and comfortable heating systems,
but elimination of the most outrag-
eous fire hazards.
A psychological weapon" that
has blocked public low-rent housing
plans in 35 cities in the past year,
according to NAREB claims, is in
sistence. on taking to public refer
endum or to the city council the
issue of setting up a local public
housing authority. "This takes the
local politicians off the spot" Syn
der told the realtors meeting here.
Before, they were being offered
federal funds from Santa Claus to
start local housing projects. The
local papers wanted to know why
they were refused" A referendum
is generally so worded as to auth