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606 RECORD AND GUIDE October 30, 1920 the shortage, yet it is almost two years since the armistice has been signed and there has been nothing constructive done to give relief. Instead of the slogan being "Houses," it has been politics and votes. Governor Smith sent two construc¬ tive programs to the legislators, but they were more inter¬ ested in politics than relief, and they adjourned twice without paying any attention to the Governor's helpful suggestions. In fact, their attitude toward the laws which heretofore have protected capital invested in real estate has been such as to actually drive capital out of the field. Early in the discussion it was realized that there was nothing the legislature could do to interfere with the law of supply and demand affecting busi¬ ness buildings. Though there was just as much profiteering in this class of property, and though the halls of the legis¬ lature rang with the suffering of the store and office and left tenant, the police power of the state could not be in¬ voked in this direction, with the result that buildings to re¬ lieve this pressure are being erected on every hand. In New Y'ork City from Fourteenth to Fifty-ninth streets over 8,000,000 square feet of loft and office space is under construction, while the residential feld is practically stagnated. Both party platforms recommended the passage of a law exempting income from mortgages for a limited time from in¬ come tax, in order to set an example for the national gov¬ ernment to follow, and to entice money into housing invest¬ ments. A bill to this effect was presented at both sessions of the legislature. Politics at the last moment twice killed this measure. Another play to the galleries on which the curtain should be dropped is the talk of building new multi-family houses for the laboring man. At the present price of labor and material this is a financial impossibility. Why not admit it? The City and Suburban Homes Company, a corporation or¬ ganized for the purpose of erecting model tenement houses and looking only to making simple interest on the capital invested, erected some houses in Brooklyn in hopes of being able to help relieve the pressure. They found, in order to make the buildings carry themselves, at less than 5 per cent, interest, and provide for a proper amortization of the excess cost of buildings at the present time, that they were com¬ pelled to charge for three rooms from $56 to $58 and four looms from $71 to $73. The relief will come, when it does come, from another direction, unless funds are available to build houses with the intention of renting them at a great loss, and no self-respecting American citizen cares to nor should be encouraged to live in a house under these circumstances. Due to the higher rents the apartments and houses which should be available for the workman are being partly occupied hy families who can in normal times afford to live in more modern and better quarters. Room must be created for them to move and vacate the space they now occupy for their poorer neighbor, and this shifting must be started well toward the top. Furthermore, our great sympathy should not be falsely aroused entirely for the laboring man, who is receiv¬ ing $6 a day for unskilled and $10 a day for skilled work, and in addition large sums for overtime and plenty of work for every day in the week. It is the self-respecting middle class; our clerks, policemen, firemen, teachers and such who are the greatest sufferers and who are little heard or spoken of. England has had a subsidized tenant housing policy since 1851. In 1916 the British authorities anticipated the housing shortage by creating a Bureau of Housing in the Ministry of Health. Since the latter part of 1919 they have had a subsidized builders' policy of about 25 per cent, of cost, yet they are in a worse condition than that in which we find ourselves. In England and Wales during the past three years $500,000 has been spent annually in salaries for the housing bureaus. The number of schemes under consideration was 40,000, yet one year after the armistice was signed not a single house was ready for occupancy. Up to July 1, 1920, about 3,000 houses had been completed out of 100,000 houses which the Govern¬ ment had promised would be ready by that date, notwith¬ standing the fact that 100,000 houses is only one-eighth of the number declared to be needed in England now. England is proposing to build 500,000 houses for her people at an esti¬ mated cost to the taxpayers of Great Britain of over $100,- 000,000 loss every year for a period of.sixty years. A better grasp of these figures can be obtained by taking an individual case. A Government built house, which, in order to make it self-sustaining, would require a weekly rent payment of 32 shillings, not including taxes. (In England the tenant pays the taxes as a part of his rent.) If these taxes were added there would be a weekly rent of 48 shillings. The Govern¬ ment, I am informed, promises to rent these houses at about 11 shillings or a loss, as compared with private capital, of 37 shillings per week per apartment. What, then, can we do? First and foremost re-establish the confidence of'capital—that it it is in¬ vested in hou.ses that the laws will protect the investment. Second: Change our national income tax laws. Either have a gross sales tax and rescind the excess profit taxes which have been great deter¬ rents to enterprise' and business, or exempt, as an emergency measure, income from mortgages from the surtaxes. If we can get Congress to grasp the situation and act at its next session, a great deal will have been accomplished. Third : Enact national and state laws to Increase the facilities of the building and loan associations. Fourth: Get after the coal mine owners and their mysterious sub¬ sidiaries and cut out several of the royalties and unnecessary piling up of profits, so that the brick yard and cement and other mills can turn out their commodities at reasonable prices. Fifth : Enact laws that will compel the large savings banks and insur¬ ance companies of all kinds, charitable and philanthropic institutions to do their fair share. At present the burden is carried by a few. The re¬ serves of these companies and institutions should be divided and a fair proportion invested in real estate mortgages. As it is, throughout the country less than one-third ot all the mortgages a»e held by institutions and over two-thirds by estates and private individuals. Sixth : The railroads should give priority to coal, and to building mate¬ rials which are going to be used for creating new homes. Seventh: All discussion ot laws for municipal housing must cease. The State must either do it all or not at all. Business cannot compete with the state. Eighth : Some permanent state agency should undertake tho study of the housing problems and from time to time recommend proper lawa and regulations to protect the health and morals of the community, to regu¬ late and properly safeguard co-operative and installment schemes for land and buildings; to see that proper standards are maintained so that in the new sections of our growing cities such conditions as exist in our so-called slums in the older parts of New York shall not be repeated; encourage competition in zoning and town planning, in model tenement construction and economies in planning and building. It should also con¬ duct a never-ceasing campaign in favor of owning your own home. Statis¬ tics should be gathered and given publicity, of the need for housing and the quantity under construction, it possible to prevent excessive over-pro¬ duction, followed by wholesale foreclosures and depression. Ninth : If possible, we must devise some feasible plan by which labor will not go out on strike but will continue to work during the period of a dispute. A school building in course of erection in New York City had a record of 65 strikes. Tenth: Public opinion should be brought to bear upon the artisans to give a full honest day's work for their pay. There is no reason why a bricklayer or plasterer should do from one-half to one-third of what used to be a reasonable day's work. Eleventh : The so-called rent laws should be carefully considered and amended, so as to give relief where it is needed, yet to make a man live a form of government subsidy to take up some of the slack, should there be a great drop in prices of building material. Twelfth : If necessary to encourage more rapid response to the nee^s, up to his contract. I am convinced that bad as tbe housing situation really i^. it is not quite as bad as it has been pictured. I think, gentlemen. I have shown that there is much con¬ structive work which can be done. Your organization is a great body for forceful and effective work. With the sup¬ port of the national organization, of which you are mem¬ bers, much can be accomplished. Remember above all that yours is one of the greatest commercial activities in the country, and among the most important. By the character of the houses which you build, by the type of neighborhoods you create and by the manner in which you maintain and manage your properties, will be reflected, to a large extent, the character of our citizenship. The landlord and his agent, through their influence, can be a tremendous influence in the home life of our people, and can be a very great factor in reducing the cost of government. The cost of maintaining our police, fire, health, street cleaning and charitable agen¬ cies, totaling hundreds of millions a year in this state alone, are largely within the control of those engaged in the real estate business. If the proper example is set, the community can usually be induced to live up to that standard, and where cleanliness and healthful surroundings prevail the cost of gov¬ ernment is bound to cost less. With honest officials and real co-operation between those engaged in the housing of our population, and the physical development of our state and its municipalities, real progress,can be made toward the solu¬ tion of the housing problem. You are all familiar with the present prices of materials. I thought you might be interested in a few figures which I (Continued on page 621)