Mr. WRIGHT. I am concerned about the form of the bill, and I would like to ask the witness whether or not in the event you cannot agree upon a price, this bill would authorize you to acquire this property by condemnation. Is there sufficient underlying legislation? Mr. BOYKIN. We are to have that right, but we do not want to exercise it if we can help it. Mr. WRIGHT. That is the last resort. Mr. BOYKIN. That is right. Mr. WRIGHT. In case you cannot agree upon a price with this legislation you can acquire the property either by condemnation or negotiation? Mr. BOYKIN. That is right. Mr. JOHNSTONE. We already have the right to acquire the fee. This legislation would authorize us to grant a life estate to these people, to reserve a life estate to them. They are two ladies who have just recently finished building their home. The CHAIRMAN. You have had a conference with them and you expect to be able to make an entirely amicable agreement? Mr. JOHNSTONE. Yes, sir. Mr. BELL. I am not entirely clear as to the location of this tract. Mr. BOYKIN. I have a map here. This is the parcel right here [indicating on map]. We own three sides of it. The CHAIRMAN. That is about 2 miles above the Chain Bridge? Mr. BOYKIN. Yes, sir. This is the parcel here [indicating on map], and we come down on both sides of it, now, and the National Capital Park and Planning Commission have also acquired some land. Mr. BELL. What road is this [indicating on map]? Mr. BOYKIN. That is the Leesburg highway. This parcel [indicating on map] is vacant, except where the residence of these ladies is located here [indicating on map], off a road. So we will be able to use parts of this tract, which will be agreeable to them. That is the reason why we think we can get this [indicating on map]. We can arrange to accommodate our needs and at the same time allow these ladies to stay there for the remainder of their lives. Mr. JOHNSTONE. I will say, Mr. Chairman, that the Senate likely amended the bill, and the Senate amendment was agreeable to us. The CHAIRMAN. At the opening of the hearing I read the Senate bill as reported to the Senate. Mr. JOHNSTONE. The Senate put in the words "nonassignable” and "nontransferable," and that is agreeable to us. The CHAIRMAN. We thank you gentlemen very much for your statements. (The Senate bill was ordered favorably reported.) (Thereupon, the committee proceeded to the consideration of executive business, after which it adjourned, subject to the call of the chairman.) OF HOUSING IN CONNECTION WITH No. 4 SUPPLEMENTAL HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEVENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON H. R. 6483 A] BILL TO AMEND THE ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT 71047 MARCH 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, AND 24, 1942 Printed for the use of the UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1942 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA APR 21'42 AMENDING THE ACT TO EXPEDITE THE PROVISION OF HOUSING IN CONNECTION WITH NATIONAL DEFENSE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1942 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, Washington, D. C. The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Fritz G. Lanham (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. We are met this morning for further consideration of H. R. 6483, an act to amend the act entitled "An Act to expedite the provision of housing in connection. with national defense, and for other purposes," approved October 14, 1940. This measure passed the House of Representatives on February 11 and went to the Senate. It passed the Senate, as I recall, on the 2d of March. It has to do with housing and public works in the metropolitan area of Washington, to make provision to meet the congestion brought about by the great increase in population due to war work. The Senate added $20,000,000 to the measure. In view of the fact that the obligation is upon the Members of Congress, acting through their committees, to investigate how the taxpayers' money is to be spent, and not to impose unnecessary obligations on the taxpayer, it seems that we should have some hearings to make further inquiry into the matter of these modifications and additions in the Senate bill. The Senate struck out the House bill and wrote a new bill, retaining some of the features of the original House bill, and putting in a number of amendments. Before proceeding further I want to call attention to an article which I read a few days ago in one of my home papers of Fort Worth, Tex. It has no date line, but the information contained in it must have emanated from Washington, and before these hearings are over we should like to have somebody appear before this committee who is responsible for statements like this going out to the country. This is the statement: Women typists are needed immediately for employment in war offices in Washington, D. C., the Civil Service Board announced Saturday. The entrance salary is $120 a month, and opportunities for rapid advancement are excellent for women with ability, it was stated. Emphasized was the fact that appointees are assured of reasonable living accommodations in Washington. The board pointed out a Government agency has on file an ample supply of available rooms in the residential district, most of them within 35 to 45 minutes' transportation time from the Government offices. Single rooms range in price from $20 to $30 a month and double rooms from $30 to $40. Room with board ranges from $40 to $50 a month. Applications are being received at the Fort Worth Post Office, or by mail at the Tenth United States Civil Service District, Customhouse, New Orleans. In the first place, if the statement is true that living accommodations are available at reasonable prices for all of these workers that are being brought into Washington to crowd further the condition that exists here, then this housing that is asked for, with an increase of $20,000,000, is not necessary. We should like to have some information with reference to it. Enticing inducements are held out here to lure these people into Washington, stating the salary which they would receive would be ample to allow them to make some saving, but we all know that it would be difficult for them to exist on this amount in Washington with the prices that exist here today. Furthermore, we have had information that there are a great many idle workers today in these offices here who are twirling their thumbs, and that the work could be done with half of their personnel. The situation here is evidently being complicated by statements of this character being given out, when as a matter of fact we know—and it has been testified before this committee in our hearings-that these young women workers come in here and are so dissatisfied after a day or two that in many, many instances, because of their inability to find a place to live, they go back home. I am inserting this clipping from a home paper at the beginning of this hearing in order that somebody who has responsibility may have an opportunity to come before the committee and explain why articles of that kind are being given out to lure these young people here to Washington, when, as a matter of fact, the papers are carrying pictures of rooms where they have idle employees that have not been working for a long, long time, but are still on the Government pay roll and are drawing salaries. I think it is high time that we stop this kind of propaganda to further increase the congestion that exists in Washington. This morning we want to start in primarily to consider one feature of the bill as passed by the Senate, found on page 5 of the Senate bill, subsection (b), which adds an additional $5,000,000 to the bill, and reads as follows: (b) The sum of $5,000,000, to remain available until expended, is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of enabling the National Housing Agency (1) to provide housing on an area consisting of approximately nine blocks in the southwest portion of the city of Washington, District of Columbia, for employees of the United States (including their families, if any) whose duties are determined by the National Housing Administrator to be essential to national defense and to require them to reside in or near the District of Columbia, and (2) to provide temporary housing for the persons required to move from such area as a result of its being used as the location for housing for employees of the United States. This, as I understand it, is a part of the plan that is known as the Goodwillie plan. Mr. Goodwillie advises me that at the conclusion of our original hearings he was ill and could not appear, but he is present this morning and we would be glad to have him make a statement. I should like, in the first instance, if I may, to ask him a few questions with reference to the testimony in the Senate. We have read these hearings in the Senate, Mr. Goodwillie, and they are certainly very interesting reading, and there is some surprising information given, and we are wondering if conditions down in that section are actually as bad as they are pictured in these hearings. For |