Evening star., 1954-04-24
Capehart Alters
Target Date for
Housing Bill
Probe May Conflict
With Senate Plans
For Adjournment
By Hector Mclean

housing bill was up in the air to-
day as the Senate Banking Com
mittee's preliminary" investiga-
tion of construction scandals was
extended into another week.
Chairman Capehart of Indi-
ana still promised the House.
approved bill would be passed
at this session of Congress. After
five days of hearings, though,
he said he is hoping to get the
bill to the Senate floor by June
"or earlier"
This new target date is about
month later than the earlier
one and treads dangerously on
the lawmakers hopes of early
adjournment to permit a quick
start on campaigning.
Two More Days of Probe.
Closing what had been sched-
uled as the last of five days
of hearings yesterday, Senator
Capehart said the current inves-
tigation will run at least two
more days - Wednesday and
Thursday.
He planned to call as witnesses
several present and former of
f1cials of the Federal Housing
Administration, including How
ard M. Murphy, associate general
counsel, whose resignation was
announced at the close of buSi-
ness last night by the FILA.
The committee had been urged
to call him only hours earlier
in testimony by Guy T. o. Holly
day. who resigned as FILA COM
missioner at the request of the
White House early this month.
Mr.. Hollyday described Mr..
Murphy, who lives in Arlington
and who has been with FHA
since 1888, as IAN extremely able
man" who could give the COM
mittee some answers which may
be useful and important"
HOlIyday Answers Cole.
The former FILA commissioner
himself was on the stand to an
swer charges against him by AL
bert M. Ccle, Housing and Home
Finance administrator, who asked
the White House to fire the Bal
timore mortgage banker.
Mr.. Hollyday said Mr.. Coles
testimony before the commit
tee last Tuesday was the first
time he had heard why he was
asked to resign. At that time
Mr.. Cole charged Mr.. Hollyday
with lack of vigor in investiga-
ton and discipline of irregulari-
ties in the housing program.
The ousted commissioner de-
Tended himself by pointing to
new FILA regulations, adopted
laStDecember, designed to stop
"Swindlers" from fleeing home
owners under the agencys home
repair and improvement pro-
gram
He said. though, that FILA had
insufficient staff and authority
to investigate cases in which
builders have made "windfall"
profits estimated as high as $500
million in the construction of
apartment house projects.
Mr.. Hollyday said he was not
familiar with passages from the
existing Housing Act read by
Senator Capehart, indicating
that FILA had specific power to
demand all records from such
builders.
"On what you said to me-" he
told the Indianian. I'm afraid
I have to agree with you" that
the agency had sufficient author
ity.
Turns Other Cheek.
Mr.. Hollyday turned the other
cheek to the charges by Mr.. Cole,
calling them "miSunderstand-
ings." and concluded:
If, however, my resignation
serves, the purpose of strength
ening our housing laws and max
ing their administration more
effective. I will be happy to have
contributed to that result"
The days one other witness
was Warren Olney III, Assistant
Attorney General in charge of
the Justice Departments crimi-
nal division. who blamed the
FILA and the banks for the
fleeing of thousands of home
owners every year under the
home repair and improvement
program.
He accused the FILA of allying
itself in spirit with the lenders
and builders rather than with
homeowners and renters. and
said the FILA had power to stop
abuses any time it desired by
cracking down on loan insur-
ance.
He also accused the FILA
of "torpedoing" prosecution of
"windfall" cases when the JUS
tice Department was able to
prove false estimates and false
statements against builders.
Opening the afternoon hearing
yesterday Senator Capehart put
into the hearing record news
paper article identifying the
Shirley-Duke Apartments, Inc,
of Alexandria as a 1908" project
whose builders paid dividends to
themselves totaling $2.084.819.
Calling it a "windfall," the
article named the major partners
as Herman w. Huffman; Earl j..
Preston, Silver Spring building
contractor; Bryan Gordon, jr.,
Alexandria builder: William
Bernstein, Silver Spring plumber;
N. j. Sonnenblick and Calvin
o. Black.
AS attorney for the project it
named Carl BudweSky, former
city manager of Alexandria.