The Miami times. [volume] (Miami, Fla.) 1923-current, 1950-03-18
THE SPECTATOR
BY ELLIOTT j. PIEZE
COMMISSION MAJORITY
LOW RENT HOUSING
AND SLUM CLEARANCE


Despite all of the arguments to
the contrary, despite all Of the valid
reasons given, despite all Of the
pleas for the sake of humanity that
were made at an unprecedented
meeting of the Miami City Commits
sion held all day Wednesday, the
majority Of the City fathers saw
fit to defeat two measures, which
would have paved the way for the
clearing away Of Miamis blighted
Negro slum areas, and the building
Of modern low rental houses for the
use of the thousands Of low income
families in this area.
The final vote on both measures
was 8 to 2, with Mayor WOlfarth
lining up with Commissioners Louie
Banded and w. w. Charles, against
the measures and Commissioners
Robert L. Floyd and Perrine Palmer
voting for the measure.
In effect, the action Of the Com
mission majority said-NO- we
don't want our slums cleared away
and NO we don't want
families of low income. You may
continue it in any manner you wish
- you may call it by any other
name - but that is exactly what
the action of the Commission ma
jority means in turning down both
proposals.
sat throughout the day long
hearing on the proposals which pre-
ceeded the vote and heard the ar
guments from both sides. It was
generally conceded that Commits
siOners Bandel and Charles were i'm
the landlords corner, but to say that
I was shOckingly surprised to learn
that Mayor WOlfarth was also there
would indeed be putting it mildly.
The whole matter was specifically
a battle of the rent paying people
of Miami - to reduce the unreason-
ably high rents now being charged
by their landlords, and to eliminate
the slums in the down town Negro
section - against, the landlords who
were fighting to keep the high rents
in effect and to keep the slums in
existence. And the Commission ma
jority agreed with the landlords.
Just why the Commission majority
agreed with the landlords in the
face of all of the facts to the con-
trary, will always remain a puzzle
to me.
Many argue that they are in IA
VOr Of slum clearance, but not in
favor Of public low rent housing.
They claim further, that private en-
terprise can do the job. But the
facts just don't add up.
Private enterprise has had ample
time to do the job, and has failed,
in every respect, to do so. The only
time in the history Of Miami that
modern low rental housing has ever
been made available to Miamfs low
income families was through the
aid of the federal government. Lib
erty Square is that example - And
I predict that the only time in the
future that such a thing will ever
come to pass will be through the
same source. The city does not have
the money, and private enterprise
has proved that Il cannot do the
Job at prices that the people can af.
ford to pay.
That fact was made clear again
and again to the con1missiOn-but
apparently, the minds Of the ma
jOs-ity was already made up.
And so, as it now stands, Miami
will not have its disgraceful slums
cleared - 1t will not have low rem
tai housing. 1t must carry on as it
has in the past, with those of it's
residents who are least able, forced
to pay rents far out Of line with
their earnings, and many forced to
live in blighted slum areas because
Of reasons over which they have no
control. What price humanity.