Construction of bathing beach, etc., for colored population.......

25,000

Repairs to statue of Gen. George Washington in Washington Circle.

Care and mintenance of Mount Vernon Park....

500

1,000

Public buildings and grounds-Continued.

Operation of pumps which operate fountain in Dupont Circle......

Heating offices, watchmen's lodges, etc.

Total, buildings and grounds.

Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Commission, Klingle
Road Valley and Piney Branch Valley Parks and Pat-

$2,500

1,500

82, 480

terson tract...

300,000

Water department:

Increased water supply (authority to contract for $1,450,000 in addi

Amount of bill as reported to Senate, $23,933,943.80.

4,500

20,000

24, 500

3, 536, 164

67TH CONGRESS, 2d Session.

}

SENATE.

{

REPORT No. 523.

AMENDING THE FOOD CONTROL AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RENTS ACT.

FEBRUARY 23 (calendar day, March 1), 1922.-Ordered to be printed.

Mr. POMERENE, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 2919.]

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2919) to extend for the period of two years the provisions of Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, as amended, having considered the same, report favorably thereon, with the recommendation that the bill do pass with the amendment as hereinafter stated. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following in lieu thereof:

That the emergency described in Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, still exists and continues in the District of Columbia, and that the present housing and rental conditions therein require the further extensions of said act.

SEC. 2. That said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, as amended by an act entitled "An act to extend for the period of seven months the provisions of Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, and for other purposes,' approved August 24, 1921, be, and the same is hereby, reenacted, extended, and continued, as hereinafter amended, from the date of the approval of this act, until the 22d day of May, 1924, notwithstanding the provisions of the first section of the act, entitled "An act to extend for the period of seven months the provisions of Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, and for other purposes," approved August 24, 1921.

SEC. 3. That section 101 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 101. When used in this title, unless the context indicates otherwise

"The term 'rental property' means any building or part thereof or land appurtenant thereto in the District of Columbia rented or hired and the service agreed or required by law or by determination of the commission to be furnished in connection therewith, but does not include an apartment.

"The term 'person' includes an individual, partnership, association, or corporation. "The term 'apartment' means any apartment or part thereof in the District of Columbia rented or hired and the land and outbuildings appurtenant thereto and the service agreed or required by law or by determination of the commission to be furnished in connection therewith.

"The term 'owner' includes a lessor or sublessor or other person entitled to receive ent or charges for the use or occupancy of any rental property or apartment or any interest therein or his agent.

"The term 'tenant' includes a subtenant, lessee, sublessee, or other person, not the owner, entitled to the use or occupancy of any rental property or apartment.

"The term 'service' includes the furnishing of light, heat, water, telephone, or elevator service, furniture, furnishings, window shades, screens, awnings, storage, kitchen, bath, and laundry facilities and privileges, maid service, janitor service, removal of refuse, making all repairs suited to the type of building or necessitated by ordinary wear and tear, and any other privilege or service connected with the use or occupancy of any rental property or apartment.

"The term 'commission' means the Rent Commission of the District of Columbia. SEC. 4. That section 102 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 102. A commission is hereby created and established, to be known as the Rent Commission of the District of Columbia, which shall be composed of five commissioners, none of whom shall be directly or indirectly engaged or in any manner interested in or connected with the real estate or renting business in the District of Columbia. The commissioners shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and three of the commissioners appointed shall be learned in the law and shall have been engaged in the actual practice of law before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia for a period of at least five years prior to their appointment. The term of each commissioner shall be for the period covered by this act, except that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the commissioner whom he succeeds. The commission, as at present constituted, shall continue in office and shall have and exercise all the powers and duties now vested in them pending the appointment and confirmation of the five commissioners provided for herein. The commission shall at the time of its organization and annually thereafter elect a chairman from its membership. The commission may make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry this title into effect. All powers and duties of the commission may be exercised by a majority of its members. A vacancy in the commission shall not impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exercise all the powers of the commission. The commission shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed."

SEC. 5. That section 103 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, as amended by said act approved August 24, 1921, be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following:

"The commission shall also have the power to appoint two inspectors, outside of the civil service, who shall receive a salary not exceeding $2,000 a year each, payable monthly."

SEC. 6. That the last sentence of the first paragraph of section 105 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"Any member of the commission may sign subpoenas, administer oaths and affirmations, summon witnesses, conduct hearings, and receive evidence touching any matter which the commission is authorized to consider or investigate, and the substance of such evidence, when certified to the commission by the member of the commission who heard and received the same, may be made the basis of the commission's determination respecting the matter under consideration or investigation.'

SEC. 7. That the last paragraph of said section 105 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"Such attendance of witnesses and the production of such books, accounts, records, papers, and correspondence may be required from any place in the United States at any designated place of hearing. Any person who shall neglect or refuse to attend and testify, or to answer any lawful inquiry, or to produce such books, accounts, records, papers, or correspondence, or who shall fail or refuse to file with the commission plans and other data in such detail as the commission may require, descriptive of the rooms, accommodations, and service in connection with any apartment, required by the commission, if in his power to do so, in obedience to the subpœna, order, or lawful requirement of the commission, or who shall neglect or refuse to comply with any lawful determination or order of the commission, requiring him to furnish heat, electric current, or other service in any rental property or apartment shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof by a court of competent urisdiction shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment

for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. No officer or employee of the commission shall, unless authorized by the commission or by a court of competent jurisdiction, make public any information obtained by the commission." SEC. 8. That section 106 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 106. For the purposes of this title it is declared that all (a) rental property and (b) apartments are affected with a public interest, and that all rents and charges therefor, all service in connection therewith, and all other terms and conditions of the use or occupancy thereof, shall be fair and reasonable; and any unreasonable or unfair provision of a lease or other contract for the use or occupancy of such rental property or apartment, with respect to such rents, charges, service, terms, or conditions is hereby declared to be contrary to public policy. The commission upon its own initiative may, or upon complaint shall, determine whether the rent, charges, service, and other terms or conditions of a lease or other contract for the use or occupancy of any such rental property or apartment are fair and reasonable. Such complaints may be made and filed by or on behalf of any tenant, and by or on behalf of the owner of any rental property or apartment, notwithstanding the existence of a lease or other contract between the tenant and the owner; and in fixing and determining the fair and reasonable rents, rates, or charges for any rental property or apartment the commission shall, in all cases, take into consideration the character and condition of the property and the character of the service, if any, furnished in connection therewith. "In all such cases the commission shall give notice personally or by registered mail and afford an opportunity to be heard to all parties in interest: Provided, That notice given by the commission to the agent of the legal owner of any rental property or apartment for the collection of rents shall be deemed and held to be good and sufficient notice to said legal owner. The commission shall promptly hear and determine the issues involved in all complaints submitted to it. All hearings before the commission, or any member of the commission, shall be open to the public. If the commission finds that the existing rents, charges, service, or other terms or conditions of the use or occupancy of any rental property or apartment are unfair and unreasonable, it shall fix and determine the fair and reasonable rents, rates, or charges for the rental property or apartment under consideration, and may fix and determine the fair and reasonable service, terms, and conditions of the use or occupancy of the property, and may also order and require the furnishing of such service by the owner as it shall lawfully determine to be fair and reasonable. In any suit in any court of the United States or the District of Columbia involving any question arising out of the relation of landlord and tenant with respect to any rental property or apartment, except on appeal from the commission's determination as provided in this title, such court shall determine the rights and duties of the parties in accordance with the determination and regulations of the commission relevant thereto."

SEC. 9. That section 108 of said Title II of the food control and the District of Columbia rents act, approved October 22, 1919, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 108. Unless within 10 days after the filing of the commission's determination any party to the complaint appeals therefrom to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in general term, the determination of the commission shall be final and conclusive. The said Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, in general term, is hereby given jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals taken from determinations of the commission, and said appeals shall be given precedence over the other business of said court. At the hearing of said appeals the chief justice of said court shall preside, with at least two of the associate justices of said court, to be designated by said chief justice, and in the absence of said chief justice, the senior associate justice of said court shall preside, have the powers and perform the duties of said chief justice. If such an appeal is taken from the determination of the commission, the record before the commission or such part thereof as the court may order shall be certified by it to the court and shall constitute the record before the court, and the commission's determination shall not be modified or set aside by the court, except for error of law. If any party applies to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and shows to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence in the proceedings before the commission, the court may order such additiona! evidence to be taken before the commission and to be adduced upon the hearing in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as the court may deem proper. The commission may modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and it shall file such modified or new findings, which shall be conclusive, and its recommendations, if any, for the modification or setting aside