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JIM NORTON executive vice president of the Lumber Merchonls Associqtion of Northern Colifornio 4546 El Conlno Rcol, Sullo 0 Lor Aflor. Collt.91022 (4151 9/al-1617

N-EWSPAPER articles are being pub- r\ lished around the countrv these davs warning the general public that the days of the single family home may well be numbered. These independently written reports delve into local situations, ci,ting the high costs of land, mortgage finance, labor and materials.

Many of these reports state without res. ervation that only the very well-to-do will be able to buy a single family home and then they will buy it on a lifetime mortgage and pass it along to their heirs. The prices suggested on such homes begin at $50,-

To most of us, this is a startling and repulsive forecast. For generations, the ownership of one's home has been a much-soughtafter American heritage. Certainly it's a goal worth our efiorts and we had better start giving more thought and action to preserving the opportunity to purchase a single family home.

In a recent issue of Buikling Maerials Merchand,iser, John Walker, vp. of Lowe's Co.'s, North Wilkesboro, N.C., proposed a program to save the single family home. Basically, Walker would like to see the single family residence mortgage be assigned a special federal tax exemption, and the interest received by the investor be declared tax exempt from his federal income tax pay- ments.

His proposal would reduce the selling price of a residence, reduce the monthly payment by the purchaser, increase the yield to the investor, and employ many additional people presently not qualified for more technical or*skilled employment, he avers.

He believes single family dwelling starts would increase by 35/o the first year and provide 30,000 additional housing units in the nation. This would add $6.4 billion to the construction industry and the increased volume of business will generate increased profits before tax for thousands of corporations involved. Therefore, the final result would be to produce tax revenue for the federal government by three times more than the amount of tax revenue lost incurred by this proposal.