Evening star., 1952-07-31
Local VA Office
Hit on Housing
By Top Official
Poor Job Charged
To Personnel in
Setup for D. c.
By Colt Hendley, Jr.

official today declared the Local
VA housing Office had done a
poor job.
T. B. King, director of the VA
loan guarantee division. made this
statement as he appeared before
a Select House Committee inquir-
ing into the veterans housing sit
uation in this area. The commit
tee is headed by Representative
league of Texas.
Mr.. King said the VA had been
investigating it's local housing
Office during the last year. He
declared:
1T revealed a failure to apply
existing policies and procedures
established by the central office
It also revealed a very consid-
erable failure in observance of the
minimum construction require
mentS.
"It revealed that in the en-
deavors of the local Office to CO.
operate with builders and veter-
ans that orderly processing of
business had suffered"
Office Head Under Fire.
The local Office is headed by
Morgan B. Callahan. He has
been under fire by the league
committee since the hearings got
under way some months ago.
Last month Mr.. Callahan was
given a 20-working day suspen-
sion for submitting false expense
accounts. But he was given the
option of taking the suspension
at his convenience before the end
of September.
Mr.. King also revealed that
number of changes were being
made in the local VA housing
Office. He said that three people
had been assigned there from the
national Office and that two others
had been borrowed from two
other regional Offices. A new ex-
ecutive officer was moved into
the local Office today, Mr.. King
said. to take over direction of the
Office for the next month or so.
I'VE have extended ourselves
to bring the local Office back to
q current status" Mr.. King de-
clared.
According to Mr.. league, Wash
ington builders have been COM
planning that the Investigation
had. disrupted the work of the
local Office. 1t was in commenting
on this that Mr.. King revealed
the new activity at the local Of
flee. -.
Excessive Prices Cited.
Oliver Meadows, committee staff
director, pointed out that the local
Office apparently had granted in
creases in the price of houses to
the builders far in excess of the
increases in the cost of materials.
Mr.. King said that although
the regional loan offices had con-
siderable latitude in granting such
increases, central office directives
were very specific as to the
grounds on which they could be
granted.
Mr.. league commented, "They
apparently didn't have those regu-
lations in this regional Office"
Mr.. King said there were num-
ber of other practices of the local
office that did not conform with
the central Office policy. One of
these was the case where equip
ment such as kitchen ranges were
included in the VA appraisal of
the value of homes, but not placed
in the house eventually sold. Mr..
King said the value of the house
should be reduced accordingly and
that it was "a fair conclusion"
that this was not done in many
cases locally.
Today's hearing was the last in
. series held by Mr.. leagues
committee. The committee now
plans to analyze its findings and
issue a report within the next few
months.
More Protection Sought.
Mr.. league said the committee
hoped to recommend new legisla-
tion which would strengthen pres
ent laws and give veteran home
purchasers more protection.
Before Mr.. King testified the
committee heard from Edward r.
Carr, representing the Home
builders Association of Washing
ton.
Mr.. Carr said the home builders
were disturbed at some of the
things the committee has uncov-
cred and that it is working on
the problem now. He said he had
no definite recommendation at
the moment, but the association
would present some later.
The committee, during earlier
hearings. went into specific COM
plants against housing projects
in the area: Thousands of COM
plants from veterans were re-
ceived. Most of them were that
the homes they purchased were
not in conformity with the plans
Of the home they thought they
were purchasing.