davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1954-04-25

ing that FEIA officials have
been lax, or dishonest. or both.
Nor would anyone want to
offer a wholesale denial of
these charges. for some. with
out any doubt. are true. In a
program as large as FILA
handled during the country's
worse housing emergency. We
nality on the part Of officials,
and some industry wrongdoing,
was bound to turn up. More
than one FILA official was dis
missed in the past for miscon-
duct, and some builders and
lenders were penalized.
But it most certainly would
be unfair If the innocent as
well as the guilty in FILA
should be blamed indiScrimi-
nately, and for the agency to
be censured for carrying out
Congresses intention to provide
for easy financing during a
period when every effort was
being made to encourage quick
production Of housing in large
volume.
Easy financing was what
Congress succeeded in getting.
The fact that it was too easy
has made a lot Of faces red,
has created an explosive is
sue, and has helped set the
.stage for the present inquiry
to fix the blame.
Reforms Outlined
Undoubtedly Congress will
lean over backwards in the
future to see that profits are
kept within reasonable bounds.
The other day, Senator Cape
hart said: Never again are
we going to write a law that
will permit this sort of thing
to happen.
Since the housing shortage
is no longer acute, the prob
lem should be fairly easy to
solve. Let the same conditions
confront the country as ex-
listed during the period being
scrutinized and the problem
might be a tougher one. His
torically, Congress has found
that during emergency peri
ods. when the Government
must get things done in a
hurry. the way is opened for
prof1teering and abuses. The
postwar years, during which
veterans were loudly demand
ing places to live, was one of
those times.
But this new attitude of
responsible leaders in Congress
that proper safeguards against
unconscionable profits should
be written into future hous-
Evening star., 1954-04-25
Metropolitan Scene
Death Blow to S|um Rider Seen

Bets are that the contro-
versial rider limiting use of
Federal funds in slum clear
ance to strictly residential and
normally related" construc-
tion will be out of the Inde-
pendent Offices appropriations
bill when it goes to the White
House.
And that's good because
Federal and private partici-
patton in the entire Southwest
redevelopment program here
is at stake.
What probably will kill the
proviso is the testimony the
other day by Federal Housing
Administrator Albert Cole that
it would endanger not only
the projects here but some 80
others in final planning stages
throughout the country.
If the political ruckus kicked
up by New York City, whose
big Columbus Circle project is
among the threatened, is any
sample, there should be enough
pressure from the others to
kill the limiting language.
The provlso was authored
by Representative Philips, Re-
publican, of California, whose
primary interest was to pre-
vent abuses of Federal fund
usage in Slum clearance pro-
grams.
However, William Zecken-
dorf, whose New York firm of
Webb & Knapp has proposed a
$500 million redevelopment
plan for a section of the
Southwest here, told a Senate
appropriations subcommittee
that the effect of the language
would be to sound the death
knell Of urban redevelopment
by private capital.
Mr.. Zeckendorf put his fin
ger on the core of the issue
in these words:
while it is true, of course.
that the act (the Housing
act of 1949, being a housing
act in the broadest sense,
meant generally that housing
should be replaced with new
. housing, there is nothing in.
the law which requires 100
per cent redevelopment with
housing and housing alone
where economic factors indi-
cate such redevelopment would
undermine the mic
soundness of the whole prof.
ect."
Mr.. Cole told the subcom-
mittee that the language also
Evening star., 1954-04-25
Senate Votes

Votes of the Maryland and
Virginia members on the one
major roll call held in the Sen
ate during the week April
1923.
On passage of a bill to make
possible a SO billion Govern
ment building program, by
authorizing General Services
administrator to provide for
construction by executing pur-
chase contracts and extending
the authority of the Post
master General to lease quar-
ters for post offices. Passed
47-30.
Fer: Beall R., Md.
Against: Byrd d.. vs>. Robertson
Cd, Va.
Absent; Butler (R.. Md.(.
Compiled b. Conversational ouArtsfiy)
Evening star., 1954-04-25
By Robert J. Lewis

Time alone-and the current
Investigations - will disclose
the story Of what has been 60
ing on within the Federal
Housing Adm inistration;
whether there has been any
substantial fraud or criminal
collusion; the place politics
or inter-agency struggle may
have had in the charges, if
any; the extent Of responsible
ity Congress must bear for
oversize profits; the role lob
byists may have played in
shaping the law; the degree of
culpability of builders and
lenders.
So far. little has been re-
vealed that was not already
known long ago by members
Of Congress concerned with
housing matters. True, the In
ternal Revenue Service has re-
ported more than 1,100 build
ers made "windfall" profits.
But so far no names have
been mentioned. And the ques-
ton of whose profits were
made illegally remains to be
determined.
The atmosphere surround
ing the Administrations orig
inal accusation against the
agency has it's unexplained as
poets, especially as to the
lack of Recommendation in the
charges of wrongdoing, and
the abrupt request for FILA
Commissioner Hollyday's res
ignation. But the hearings
have only started. Less than
two weeks have elapsed since
the charges were made by
Housing Administrator Cole.
Perlls Aheod
Already. however, it is pos
sible to point out some salutary
effects on legislative policy and
on the agency itself. It is pos
sible, too, to suggest some of
the perils ahead, particularly
as they may concern the ulti-
mate fate of the agency and
the highly useful and bene-
ficial work it has been engaged
in for the last 20 years; work
that has reformed the coun-
try's mortgage-loan practices
and helped open the way for
an advance in home owner
ship unparalleled anywhere in
the world.
Is is very well, and only
natural. that the public should
be aghast at the stories of big
profits, and the charges imply
Evening star., 1954-04-25

ness for his own good and the
good of his neighbors?
One way of avoiding the is
sue. the Agriculture Depart
ment believes, is to provide the
farmer with more land so
that a grass crop can be
profitable. But how is that to
be done. Who is to pay for it?
Should farmers be subsi-
dized to make up their losses?
For that matter, should farm
ers be subsidized more heavily
to encourage them to use soil
conservation methods? The
administration policy is to cut
down on farm subsidies.
Should that policy be re-
versed to fight the dust bowl?
Existing farm price sup
ports, incidentally, encourage
the farmers to plant crops
which do not check wind ero-
sion, and they encourage use
of poor land. But can Con-
greSs be induced to change
the program?
All these questions are for
the President and the Cover
nors to thresh out this week.
The Agriculture Department
program could almost wipe
out the Dust Bowls. Dry
weather and wind alone do not
cause widespread blowing. It
takes poor farming practices,
and it takes farming Of poor
land to start a Dust Bowl
and even then the drought
has to last about three years
to create serious damage.
inadequate Cooperation
Those adverse conditions are
present today in the arid
West. Only SIS per cent of the
farmers cooperate signifi-
cantly with local soil conser-
vation advisers. And not more
than 20 per cent of the farm
ers there carry out all the con-
servation measures necessary.
Much bad land is being
farmed. In the overall danger
area shown on the adjoining
map. about 20 per cent of the
land now cultivated is consid-
cred by the Agriculture De-
partment to be unfit for farm
ing. In the Dust Bowl areas
Is per cent of the land in use
should be turned back to
prairie. In all, about 7 million
acres of poor land is being
farmed.
Evening star., 1954-04-25
Housing
THE FIRST WEEK o.

THE FIRST WEEK of the
l. two congressional investi-
cations into reported housing
frauds produced at least two
positive results:
o Methods by which the Gov
ernment and public were de-
frauded by some builders were
thoroughly aired
. A wave of firings and resig-
nations in the housing agency
was made public.
The witnesses appeared be-
fore Senator Capehart's Bank
ing and Currency Committee
and Senator Byrd's rather
obscure Joint Committee on
Reduction of Nonessential
Federal Expenditures. Testi-
mony brought out two principal
types of fraud.
In one a builder of large
apartment development, such
as the many "garden"-type
apartments in the Washington
area, would apply for a Gov
ernment-guaranteed loan of,
say, 81 million to finance the
legal maximum of 80 per cent
of the estimated cost of the
job. Then he would build the
project for, say, 100000. The
builder could pocket the $780,
600 difference. Rents, mean
while, were set high enough
to pay off the full million
dollar loan.
The other system of fraud
was this: Slick statesmen would
argue homeowners into order
ing FHA-financed home i'm
provements, collect the money,
do shoddy construction jobs
and then skip town.
These were irregularities
which should, of course, have
been caught and corrected by
housing officials. So it was
inevitable that following the
recent disclosures, FILA heads
would roll. After last week the
score was: Guy T. O. Hollyday,
FILA commissioner: Arthur H.
Frenz, assistant commissioner;
Bernard F. Kenny. exec
utive director. and Max Roller.
technical adviser of Rede-
velopment Agency at Jer-
sey City; Howard M. Murphy.
assistant general counsel; Bur-
ton c. Bovard. general counsel;
Walter L. Greene deputy COM
missioner: Clyde L. Powell.
assistant to Mr.. Hollyday on
rental housing.
Still to be answered by the
committees were these ques-
tions:
How can housing legislation
be revised to guard against
future abuses without destroy
ing the benefits Of Govern
Evening star., 1954-04-25

Is it possible to improve use
Of the western lands? Expert
ence since the Dust Bowl of
the '30s indicates it is. Much
of the old danger area is in
fair shape during the present
emergency. That Is because
farmers who suffered in the
'30s learned to conserve their
land resources.
The danger now lies with
farmers who were not there in
the '30s or who are absentee
owners. During the prosper
Gus '40s these farmers did not
realize the danger they faced.
They farmed carelessly. They
plowed virgin land, pushing
westward and southwestward
into ever poorer and poorer
land. Three million of the Z
million bad acres, for instance.
were first plowed within the
past IL years.
Presumably these farmers
are now learning their lesson.
But will the lesson be remem-
bered throughout the West
when the 20-year weather cycle
repeats itself Gas it has done
regularly since the plains first
were farmed in the 1890s) and
another drought strikes in the
1970s? The answer will de-
pend in part on what tomor-
rows conference accomplishes.
AS for the current year, the
outlook is uncertain. On Feb
ruary 19 the highest sustained
winds in Weather Bureau his
tory gave the Dust Bowl its
most destructive storm. Since
then rains have been generally
poor. The rainy season is
about to start. It lasts through
May and June.
If rainfall Is normal, cover
crops can be planted and by
next year farmers can think
about getting back into the
paying crops-if the rain con-
tinues to be normal.
But if the rains do not come.
the Dust Bowl will enlarge and
deepen. A downturn in general
business conditions could then
start the prairie farmers
toward another panic of the
'3Os and the '90s and could
create widespread ruin and
abandonment of farms.
This is SOLDERING problem
for six Governors and the
President.
Evening star., 1954-04-25
Politics
THERE ARE other v

THERE ARE other ways,
l. but the easiest way to win
an election is to have a good
personal background, a popu-
lar issue and strong organiza-
ton support.
j. Parnell Thomas had none
OF these. Consequently, it was
hardly surprising that he was
defeated last Tuesday in the
Republican primary in the 7th
congressional district of New
Jersey. Mr.. Thomas was try
ing to recapture the House seat
he lost when Jail doors changed
behind him for payroll padding.
Last Tuesdays fiasco-which
ended in a 7-to-1 landslide
against Mr.. Thomas-was his
first fiier into politics since he
received a full pardon from
the then lame-duck President.
Harry Truman. His criminal
past (even though it had been
forgiven him officially) was
black mark No. l against him
at voting time.
Black mark No. 2 was his
issue: He was running on a
platform of being 1000 per
cent for Senator Mccarthy"
Mr.. Thomas opponent, Incum-
bent William B. Widnall, was
running equally foursquare be-
hind President Eisenhower.
The President proved to have
the more substantial coattails.
Black mark No. 3 was lack
OF organization support. The
local Republican machine in
Northwestern New Jersey IA
vored Mr.. Widnall and cam
paigned for him.
In commenting on his VIC
tory, Mr.. Widnall said he did
not regard the primary as a
true test of McCarthyism."
But other observers disagreed,
although they thought that
McCarthyism was perhaps the
least important of the three
factors that contributed to Mr..
Thomas defeat.
To non-JerseyiteS, the out
come of the Widnall- Thomas
contest probably provided the
best watching But as far as
indigenes were concerned. the
big issue was bingo. This game
of corn kernels on a 25-square
card has been illegal in Jersey
since l04S, although . local
Evening star., 1954-04-25
By John w. Thompson, Jr.

BY John W. Thompson. Jr.
conflicts with the Presidents
housing program.
There should be enough ad-
mlnistrative checks at the
Federal and local administra-
tive levels to provide the nee
essary safeguards. This busi-
ness of legislating in money
bills rarely if ever accom-
plishes good purpose.
The Son Named Adam?
Family of a local scribe in
sisted to him the other day
they had passed close to one
of Nations newest hydrogen
weapons.
How did they know? Be
cause the truck was plainly
marked. It said III. Baum
and Son."
Y \ X \
Fiscal Moeic
Neatest Trick of the Week
Fairfax County, which had
advertised a tax rate boost
to $285 to meet increased
expenses, now has announced
that it will boost proposed
outlay for the year beginning
July l another $4,000 and
cut back the tax rate to the
old $2.70.
The apparent fiscal leger-
demain of increasing costs and
reducing tax rate results
primarily from increased as
sessments but also:
/. From cutting the county
appropriation to the school
board on the understanding
that more Federal money
would be available for the
schools.
z. increasing estimated sur
plus by $4,000.
4 \ II \
Mortho Said :.
Quote of the week-From
the ample, money making
mouth of Entertainer Martha
Raye, when asked by a New
York reporter over the tele-
phone as she filled out mar
riage forms in Arlington
County Courthouse whether
she was getting wed:
We'll, I'm not playing ping
pong"
Il 4 4
Bock to Petworth?
Although a majority Of the
District Board of Education
appears to have rejected the
proposed transfer Of the Pet
worth School to colored pu-
Evening star., 1954-04-25
betrayed by Corpl. Dickinson.

betrayed by Corpl. Dickinson.
Only B per cent of the Chi
nese and North Koreans who
chose the West dared 60 back
to the Communists later.
There was no report on the
treatment they got once they
had been feted before Com
munist cameras in the jazzed-
up welcome home" ceremonies
at Panmunjom.
The 2l ex-buddies of Dick
enson who stayed with the
Reds were last seen sporting
bell bottomed Communist civ
yies and headed for school in
China.
Evening star., 1954-04-25

they had converted. Corpl. Ed
Dickinson Of Crackers Neck,
Va, lost his taste for COM
munism in time to defect"
back to freedom. Last week
the United States Army had
young Dickinson on trial. He
was accused of collaborating
with the Communists and in
forming on his fellow prisoners
for special privileges from his
captors.
Men who testified they had
suffered because Of Dicken-
sons tattling were heard last
week. Some said they had
been beaten because they were
Evening star., 1954-04-25
ew Of The Week: Jersey Vote FILA Scandal, CTS Trio
Continued From Page A-29.)

Continued From Page A-29.)
Supreme Soviet met to ZAP
prove" the 1854 budget, as
cryptic a document as any the
Communists have put out.
Items formally designated for
defense were cut 10 per cent
from last year, but this was no
indication of a slow-up in the
Kremlin's armament drive.
Heavy industry is due for an
other boost, and within this
class Is the real muscle Of the
Soviet war machine.
Evening star., 1954-04-25
Dickinson

THE COMMUNISTS sent
l. $500 Americans home
from their North Korean
prison camps in Operation Big
Switch late last summer. They
kept 21-leSs than a sixteenth
of l per cent-whom they had
converted to communism.
Another whom they thought
Evening star., 1954-04-25
Plains Governors Tackle DROUGHT
By Richord FrykIund


Governors Of five Western
States will be in the White
House tomorrow to discuss
with the President means Of
stopping the most destructive
dust storms the West has ever
seen.
Conditions in today's double
Dust Bowl are worse than in
the bleak '30s, according to
the Agriculture Department.
Black blizzards are carrying
of valuable topsoil. running
crops, and starving livestock.
The hot winds are drying up
farm and city water reser-
voirs which the scattered
rains do not refill.
Though the damage to land
and crops is the worst ever,
Westerners are not panicking
as they did in the '30s. Farm
ers so far have ridden out the
storms protected by the
money left from the fabu-
lously good years Of the '40s.
But the Governors want to
halt the destruction before the
farms savings are eroded
away.
Colorado Gov. Dan Thorn
ton, a friend of the President,
has indicated he and the Gov
ernors of Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas and New Mexico will
suggest an educational cam
paign for the farmers and
Government incentives for soil
conservation.
Government Program
The Agriculture Department,
which is advising the President
during the conference, will find
itself pretty much in agree
ment with the Governors. The
department will recommend
this program VIRTUALLY the
same one, incidentally, that
Washington has been urging
on Western farmers during
emergencies since the '30):
. To save blowing land, plow
deep burrows across the fields.
turning up heavy clods that
will hold down the loose top
soil. This is only a short
term emergency measure.
. If the wind and drought
last. get some kind of growing
cover on the land-any kind
of vegetation-grasS, sorghums,
even weeds.
. Keep the cover on the land
by grazing it lightly if at all
and by plowing only if moisture
comes, and then without dis
turbing the top stubble.
The department also will have
some advice for avoiding fu-
ture Dust Bowls-again the
same advice it has been pass
ing out for years:
Q Conserve water by contour
plowing, preserving the stub
BILE cover and building tree
shelter belts"
. Turn poor land back to
grass and keep it on grass.
. Cut down on grazing Of
poor land.
The Governors, of course,
know these basic principles as
well as does the Agriculture
Department. The problem is
to put them into general op-
Grafton.
Question Of Equities
For instance, a farmer who
can make a living on 40 acres
of wheat when the weather is
good cannot survive if he has
to convert his small farm to
grass in order to keep it from
blowing in dry years. But if
he stays with wheat during
droughts his farm blows away,
and the erosion spreads to bet
ter farm land nearby. Can he
be put out of the wheat busi-
Evening star., 1954-04-25

m n t-guaranteed financing?
Why did the agency take so
long to clean up a mess that
has generally been known to
exist for several years?
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-03

not been expanded, but they
have a plan If they wish to go
ahead. AS their house stands to-
day, it is a simple rectangle with
dimensions of IT by So feet.
The living room measures Is
feet 4 inches by "a feet. The
kitchen is 8 feet 8 inches by 16
feet 4 inches. One bedroom is
8 by IL feet, and the other is
II by Is feet.
The house has radiant heat.
Siding is of the board and batten
type. The interior has drywall
construction. None of the par
titions is weight-bearing. Bids
were sought and the contract
was received by Frank c..
Sterrett.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-03

DIRECTIONS: Out New Hampshire
Avenue, right on Missouri Avenue NV.
(lChich becomes Riggs Rd) out Riggs
Rd. to Chillum Place, right on ChiHum
Place to Jefferson Street, and model
home. Open Daily and Sunday til dark.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-03
Is Tight Budget
The Big Bugaboo in
Your Home Plan!
Continued From Page BID

Continued From Page BID
tain from a contractor. Some
houses are being built today for
from around $40. to around SIS
a square foot. The size Of the
house has a big bearing on the
per-square-foot cost.
Why is the size of a house a
factor? The answer is that the
cost of plumbing, heating. kitch-
en-, septic tank. well or other
charges could possibly be about
the same for a small house as
for a larger house. Thus the cost
per square foot fol-. a small house
would reflect a higher percent
age of the cost of these items
than that for a larger house.
AS you can see, it's easier to
come up with a lower per-square-
foot cost for larger house than
for a smaller one. So it's almost
automatic that if you can afford
a big house with a minimum
of high-coSt equipment such as
extra bathrooms and fancy
kitchens, you're going to be able
to get more house for the money
than if you can afford only a
small house.
Any one who has ever taken
a trip to Europe in an ocean
liner knows that the first-class
passenger gets more space for his
money than a tourist-class pas
senger. But how many can af-
ford either a big house or first
class passage to Europe?
The point is, if you're on a
budget and want a trip to Eu-
rope badly enough you'll choose
the pleasantest and the safest
ship and go tourist. And if you
want a home badly enough, you
will want to get as much house
as you can for the money you
can afford to spend.
More and more development
builders are considering design
to be an important factor in
their operations. AS a general
thing, development houses can
have easier financing, lower
down payments and some con-
struction economies not always
possible when a single house is
built.
But there are balancing fac
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-04-03

tors. An individual house is de-
signed to your own needs. It can
eliminate one thing. for exam
pie, to gain another. Space. for
instance, is real important to
some people. To get more of it.
they might be willing to forget
any ideas they might have about
two bathrooms or cut down on
kitchen equipment.
If you're on a tight budget Gas
who isn'tD you'll need more in
genuity to get the house you
want than if you have money
to burn. But some people are
putting budget ideas to work
every day. Members of the
Shaffer family were among them.
Their house was designed for
future expansion. So far it has
Evening star., 1954-10-18

WHEATON, sGI-Approyed. S12,s50--
3 bedrms,. liv. rm.. sep. din. rm., kit,
bsmt. 2-story semidet.; walk. dist. to
OWNER, Lo. 4-6405. 80
Evening star., 1954-10-18
HOUSES SALIVA. tcens.l

FOR SALE NY OWNER-3-bedrm.
rambler on half acre with 80 trees:
knotty-pine interior. fireplace. bsint..
scr, porch and garage. on Shirley
hwy: ! 5 min. to Pentagon. biks.
from new elementary school. SIT, 5,950.
CHARM-s1 900 down.
Ideal home for the working couple
or small family. Very large 2-bed-
rm. home. Formal dining room. Cozy
fireplace. Beautiful lot with towering
trees, Very lovely home. Take over
large loan. Monthly payments like
oppcrtunPsy' osns EpWAp RE1Ss 9s0 r. BR1Gds ssS
REALToR, Lee hwy. at Glehe I'd.
THis iii Zines Zines THE BELL-Juss nm
ishedi New 4,bedrm... 2ls-bath. in
dividually styled: 2-story, PHA-ap-
proved home: bedrns. down with
bath. 2 bedrms. up with bath. MAS
ter bedrm 17xl21: full hsmt.; sep.
din. rm.: conv. close-in N. Arl. loc.
Next to gold we think For only
sea. $50. Amazing! EDWARD n.
BRIGGS, REALTOR, Lee hwy. al
Glebe rd. IA. 5-8402. 20