Committee last year. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, in testifying a few days ago, took the same position.

Anyone with even a little practical experience in the field of building knows this question of interest rates is just not debatable. If the Congress permits the rates to go above 4 percent for any kind of insured loan, then you have said goodbye to your hopes for any large amount of housing for moderate income families. This country must face up to the tough economic fact that interest on loans for building must never go above 4 percent or else the bulk of those of our fellow citizens who need new homes, either for rent or especially for sale, are priced right out of the market.

The Congress should realize that this is the case and eliminate those sections of S. 866 which will surely bring the entire banking and insurance business of America down on the necks of the Housing Administrator and the Treasury, pressing for the top interest rate made permissible by this legislation. We urge that the National Legislature assume the responsibility for this decision and not leave any ambiguity about it whatever.

The CIO is not at this point talking about limiting interest rates on money put up by someone who takes a genuine chance of a loss. We are talking about loans where there is no genuine risk. The people who buy FHA insured mortgages are not taking any risks in the ordinary sense of the word; the reason FHA loans are popular is because the Government has built a business which will pay back borrowers in the rare case where such a mortgage goes sour. That tremendously important fact has been completely obscured in the minds of the general public by the terminology which has been used and the legal rigamaroles which the ordinary home buyer has to go through.

We ask for the lower rates of interest-that is, interest at not more than one quarter percent above the going rate paid by the Government on savings bonds, etc.-for housing projects which are strictly nonprofit in character. The Government will draw up appropriate regulations to carry out this intent. These projects must be sold or rented to persons whose income is not above a certain amount. Generally speaking, those eligible for housing, entitled to these loans, constitute that group in society who earn just a little too much to be eligible for subsidized housing, but who still cannot afford the shelter which the ordinary private builder provides. We are not asking any Government assistance for thise large group in our society, excepting technical advice from the Housing agency which will help them plan and build their cooperative or nonprofit projects.

The housing built with these low-interest loans will be standard housing in every respect. There is only one chance in a billion that the Government would ever lose a dime on a single unit so built under this section of S. 866. And only in the event that the Government does an inadequate job of supervising, either the site selection or the construction of such units, could there be an iota of risk involved insofar as protection of the Government guaranties on the money is involved. Both common sense and statistics demonstrate that there will be a far greater demand for any and all types of shelter for sale or rent at moderate cost-roughly for sums ranging from $35 a month to about $50 or $55 a monthfor many years to come.

Veterans' homestead bill.-Title IV of the Taft-Ellender-Wagner bill provides for FHA insurance of 40-year mortgage loans at a maximum interest rate of 4 percent to finance moderate rental housing projects developed by nonprofit cooperatives. These mortgages would cover up to 90 percent of the value of the completed projects except that in the case of cooperatives made up primarily of veterans of World War II the mortgage could cover up to 95 percent of the value of the project.

To assure adequate financing for cooperative housing developed under this provision, title IV also provides that the facilities of the National Home Mortgage Corporation proposed to be established under title II of the bill, or of any other Federal corporation established to make or purchase real-estate loans, will be available for mortgages insured under this cooperative housing provision. While not expressly stated in title IV, the legislative history of this corporative housing provision makes it clear that it is contemplated that the FHA will extend technical advice and assistance to housing cooperatives in the planning and development of projects. Directions to this effect are contained in the recommendations in the final report of the Joint Committee on Housing and in the report of the Senate Banking and Currency Committee on the Flanders amendments to S. 866.

These provisions have certain advantages over the proposals for veterans' housing cooperatives contained in the Veterans Homestead Act: (1) As contrasted with the lack of any standards of construction or appraisal in the Veterans Homestead Act or any provision for supervision or inspection of construction. the TEW provision would require conformity to FHA minimum standards and FHA inspection of construction; (a) the Veterans Homestead Act contains no provisions for technical assistance to cooperatives which would therefore require these voluntary organizations to rely entirely upon private sources for such assistance. The TEW proposal contemplates that technical assistance would be made available by the Federal Government.

The one real advantage of the financing arrangements for veterans' housing cooperatives contained in the Veterans Homestead Act is the provision for direct Federal loans to the cooperatives at an interest rate of one-fourth of 1 percent above the cost of the money from the Treasury. The CIO has, of course, recommended and urged an amendment to this section which would make the cheap money available to all bona fide nonprofit cooperatives or mutual projects. The CIO endorses and supports the general intent and purpose of the Veterans Homestead Act but believes that in practice the veterans would obtain even better results by setting up their co-ops under the terms of title IV of the TEW bill with the lower interest rate incorporated in it. It would seem quite clear to us that upon reflection the veterans' groups would see the enormous advantages in having competent supervision of all construction and such help as might be needed in planning their projects.

Moreover, the CIO feels strongly that the bulk of the veterans of this country would be better off-as indeed all citizens would-if all the housing activities of the Government, both for veterans and nonveterans, were centered in the same over-all agency. The fact is that the Veterans Homestead Act does not completely exclude all nonveterans from its benefits. We feel that it is inevitable and desirable that some mixing of veterans and nonveterans will occur in these moderate priced nonprofit housing co-ops, and we believe that the one housing agency can handle the affairs of veterans at least as ably and sympathetically as they are dealt with by the Veterans' Administration.

At this point we wish to place ourselves on record as predicting that from among both organized labor and veterans' groups there will quickly spring up a great many associations seeking to take advantage of this section of the TEW bill. As we see it, what the Government would be doing would be to encourage and assist a vast army of self-reliant, go-ahead, thrifty young families of limited income to pool their energies and resources and by adopting certain well thoughtout techniques of mutual assistance achieve savings, which will certainly be significant and which should be substantial, in the cost of shelter. Today the group that would be eligible for this type of housing suffers in a no-man's land; it supplies virtually no customers to private builders, and is not eligible (or willing, for that matter) to live in subsidized projects. In practice private contractors would build the houses for these nonprofit groups; the contractors would, of course, make profits. Outside of the lower interest rate that would apply, the savings would result from the elimination of certain promotional overhead costs and selling costs, and from such economies as could be effected through largescale operations.

It is our conviction that hundreds of thousands of working people are only waiting until this law is passed to start organizing themselves to be able to get a lot of moderate-priced housing started. We cannot conceive of any step that this Congress could take which would do more to contribute to the morale and general well-being of the American community than the enactment of the TEW bill with these suggested, necessary changes.

URBAN REDEVELOPMENT

Early in the life of the CIO those of us who worked on the problems of providing adequate housing for millions of members of our organization who lived in the cities, came to the conclusion that redevelopment of our cities was an absolute prerequisite to the elimination of slums in order to achieve more healthful living environment and adequate standard of living for our members.

After years of intensive effort and energy, we prepared a "memorandum on Postwar Urban Housing," copies of which have been made available to the committee, along with this statement, which points out the necessity of planning a national program of urban redevelopments. We are happy that S. 866 takes some first steps in this direction. We wish that it went further along the lines of the

recommendations in our memorandum. We hope that the Congress, in passing S. 866, will recognize that their approach to this problem, though a beginning, is only a first step in the more substantial program which is needed if this blight of our cities is to be eradicated and prevented in the future.

This committee, in our judgment, has an obligation to the underhoused residents of this country. It should and must act quickly on this bill which has been under consideration by the Members of the Congress and its various subcommittees for some 41⁄2 years. Early action would make it possible to implement the provisions of the bill during the present construction season and some alleviation of the housing shortage could be expected within the present year. The time for action is now.

STATEMENT OF NATIONAL FEDERATION OF SETTLEMENTS, INC., NEW YORK, N. Y.

The National Federation of Settlements is made up of 219 settlements and neighborhood houses in 70 cities, 26 States, and the District of Columbia. The staff members of these settlements have first-hand contact with families living in the most depressed areas of our cities. They know the conditions under which families live and can report on the effect which substandard housing and overcrowding have on family life.

A study which was made by 60 of our member houses in 29 cities across the country points up the need for immediate construction of housing available to families of low and middle income. Out of 585 households visited we found that in 81 instances the family was doubling up with another family unit; 25 percent of the 140 veterans' families were sharing another family's home.

Conditions under which these families are living, because of the impossibility of finding housing at the rent they can afford, are inimical to family well-being and to the bringing up of healthy children. For example, 84 families are sharing a toilet with from 1 to 13 families; 9 are using outside flush toilets while 28 families are dependent on privies. A further indication of the unhealthy aspect of these conditions, it was reported that 162 of the homes were infested with vermin, and in 56 cases with rats. The stories of children bitten by rats are not infrequently heard by settlement workers.

From the following excerpts of the studies some picture can be gained of what it means to a family of low income to live under poor housing conditions. Remember that these families are only a sampling and indicate similar conditions in the neighborhoods under scrutiny.

NEW ORLEANS, LA.

One Irish-American family of six with three boys and a girl ranging in age from 11 months to 17 years is living over a store in a loft which has been made into two apartments. Their home, which is in the rear, is entered by going through a great wooden gate leading into a paved court and then up steep wooden stairs. For this, the family pays $8.75 a week out of the combined family earnings of $39 a week.

The family sleeps in two dark rooms; the parents and baby have no access to the air except through the door to the second dark bedroom. Here sleep the three boys, 17, 14, and 12, with air from a narrow window. The only other room is the kitchen which has a door and window opening into the hall.

NEW YORK CITY

A Polish-American veterans' family of three is living with parents and a brother in a four-room apartment. Says the young mother, "Every room in our small, four-room, railroad flat is a bedroom except the kitchen and that's dark. Only one has two outside windows. So that my husband may have proper rest during the day (he works nights), the baby has to be taken out of doors, weather permitting, and that's not an easy task. We live on the fourth floor so that my carriage has to be stored about a block away. My husband and I have combed this city in search of an apartment at a reasonable rent, but so far we have not been able to get a thing. Ever since our marriage 2 years ago we have had to live with my mother, and because of the closeness of quarters, at time we get on each other's nerves."

SAN PEDRO, CALIF.

1. A family of three is living in the trailer in which they came to California 3 years ago to do war work. They have not been able to get a house in all that time. There is no space that must not serve a very practical purpose. This does not allow the 11-year-old daughter much freedom or any feeling of having anything that is her own, and there is no opportunity for privacy for any member of the family.

2. A family of four living in three rooms says that plumbing and water lines are in bad shape, and the house is a firetrap. "We ask the landlady so many times to fix things that have to be fixed and she refuses to do anything. She says she has not done anything for 10 years for anybody that lived here and she is not going to do it now. She said if we don't like it to move, but we can't find a decent place to live, so we just have to stay here."

LOUISVILLE, KY.

A family of four moved to Louisville so that the husband, who is a veteran, could go to school. They have been unable to find an apartment. They live in one room in a hotel. The mother says, "The housing situation is a very perplexing problem with us. Because of our two children, we are unable to find a suitable apartment and a reasonable one. The present one-room efficiency apartment which we are now occupying is highly irritating as the children must be quiet most of the time that they are at home, so that the other roomers at the hotel won't be disturbed. As a result, both of us are becoming extremely nervous and irritable. The boy is just at the age where he must have room to play and be able to voice his protests once in a while, and he is unable to do so because of the small amount of space. We are, as yet, still trying to find a larger place and have applied for Bowman Field which we find had already 4,000 veterans on the waiting list, so that is just a dream!"

CHICAGO, ILL.

This family of six is living in one basement room with six small windows in it. The room is dark and damp. As Mrs. H. says, "I have become very discouraged over this housing and food and clothing problem. I feel I am doing wrong to keep my children with me in these conditions. If there was ever one hope of finding something livable, I would feel better. Do I have to separate the children from us in order to live like humans? We do not have a bathtub which makes things more difficult. I have one child sick in bed now, and he can't get any rest. "The floor is wet where there is a leak, from where we don't know. The owners can't seem to afford a plumber. We have tried to patch the leak with cement and other remedies to no avail. I have answered ads for flats, but there is also furniture to buy or no children wanted. Where can people with children live?" These stories could be repeated ad infinitum. They all testify to the need mounting steadily year by year and to the discouragement that self-respecting people feel in the face of the conditions under which they are forced to live. The National Federation of Settlements has gone on record repeatedly in favor of the Taft-Ellender-Wagner comprehensive housing bill. We particularly feel that the public housing titles are of paramount importance and we urge their retention.

The text of the resolution passed by the delegate body of the National Federation of Settlements on April 20, 1948, is appended.

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE DELEGATE BODY OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF SETTLEMENTS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, APRIL 20, 1948

NATIONAL HOUSING BILL

A recent survey of housing conditions throughout the country made by the National Federation of Settlements confirms our local neighborhood experience that large numbers of families are continuing to live doubled up with other families, and that the need for new apartments, especially for the low and lowermiddle income group of veteran and nonveteran families, is increasing rather than diminishing.

We believe that Congress has facts before it in the form of hearing minutes. surveys, and testimony gathered over a period of 4 years, which indicate beyond reasonable doubt the urgent need for the immediate passage of a national housing

We reaffirm our strong support of the Taft-Ellender-Wagner national housing commission bill, S. 866, and most particularly those titles of the bill which include (1) provision for low-rent subsidized housing for the low-income family, (2) enabling legislation to aid private enterprise to build shelter for middle and lowermiddle income families, (3) provision to encourage and assist cities to initiate plans for rebuilding blighted areas.

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL BOARD OF THE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL HOUSING BILL, MAY 1948

The national board of the Young Women's Christian Associations has supported the Taft-Ellender-Wagner housing bill (S. 866) in the Senate, and urges speedy passage of the companion measure (H. R. 2523) by the House of Representatives. It is imperative that the bill as passed by the Senate not be weakened by amendments which would destroy its effectiveness. Delay in enacting legislation for a long-range housing program would be extremely wasteful in view of the great need for housing, public and private, rural and urban. This need was expressed in numerous statements at hearings held in various communities by the Joint Congressional Committee on Housing.

Since 1860, YMCA's have taken an active interest in the housing of young Women. In hundreds of communities YWCA's have established residences for low-salaried workers and room registry services. Many of the girls who use YWCA services come from families that are under severe handicaps in maintaining standards of health because they are putting a large proportion of their wages into homes that are not adequate for their needs. Many are members of racial minority groups whose families are living in crowded, unsanitary quarters because nothing else is available at rents they can afford to pay.

It is our belief that private enterprise cannot now, or in the foreseeable future, provide decent housing, new or old, for low-income families and that, therefore, there should be provision for publicly assisted, low-rent housing.

Furthermore, public financial assistance will be necessary in urban redevelopment and in acquiring and clearing the land in slums and blighted areas, if it is to be made available at prices which will permit its appropriate redevelopment.

We therefore urge the support of members of your committee in speeding passage of this legislation which is so necessary for the welfare of the American people.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE TAFT-ELLENDER-WAGNER BILL (S. 866) BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN TO THE BANKING AND CURRENCY COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MAY 1948

The National Council of Negro Women, with a membership of more than 900,000 women representing every State in the Union, wishes to go on record again in support of the Taft-Ellender-Wagner bill (S. 866).

Our organization has been active over a period of many years in urging the development of a national housing policy and passage of legislation which would stimulate production of adequate housing for all income groups. It is our firm conviction that the Taft-Ellender-Wagner bill meets these requirements and at the same time achieves as fair balance of all issues involved as would appear attainable at this time.

We are particularly concerned with provision in title VI for a federally aided public housing program to meet the needs of families of low incomes whom private enterprise cannot serve with decent housing now or in the foreseeable future. These self-supporting citizens have the American right to look to their Government for the kind of assistance that will afford them an opportunity to occupancy of decent housing in which to raise their families.

The provision for 500,000 units is a modest program, for it is an unavoidable fact that millions of American families of all racial groups cannot provide themselves with decent housing at present costs.

For thousands of Negro families whose incomes are in the lowest brackets, whose search for decent living facilities is thwarted by arbitrary restrictions, exorbitantly high rentals and inflated purchase prices for "hand-me-down" housing, there is an undisputable need for additional units of low-rent public housing. They, too, have a right to realize our accepted goal of a "decent home for every American family."