with Provisions for Secondary Mortgage Financing

Washington, D. C., June 4-Branding the TEW Bill as simply a program to spend the American people's money for them, Norman P. Mason, President, National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, Washington, D. C., told the Ifouse Banking and Currency Committee today that the net result of the bill will be to spend the money, have a big agency, and still not improve the housing situation.

The average American, of course, would like to see everyone housed in a better home, Mason pointed out. It is quite possible that somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of American families would like to move into a better house, a more convenient house, or one located in another place, but it is questionable whether -or not they would like to spend a larger proportion of their in'come for that privilege.

A study of the record of how the American people spent their money in 1946 (the last year for which there is a breakdown) brings out the Iact that the American public spent $12.6 billion on essential housing in 1946 compared with the many more billions spent on luxury items, saicl Mason.

For example, he continued, in 1946 the American people spent $12.1 billion on liquor and tobacco. This is almost the same amount spent for housing. It is also interesting to note that the increase in the amount spent for liquor and to,bacco between 1940 and 1946 was 724 per cent, and this is exactly the percentage increase in rvages and salaries for the Ameri'can people between 1940 and 1946.

On such items as jewelry, cosmetics, beauticians, turkish baths, personal care, travel by plane, bus or train, recreation, including movies, horse and dog racing sports, the American people spent another $12.7 billion, or $100 million more than they spent on housing, Mason averred.

"When you analyze these figures you reach the conclusions," Mason stated, "that subsidies for housing are in effect subsidies to the producers of other commodities, an extremely large proportion of which would be luxury items."

"What is the bill supposed to do," Mason asked. "ft cer- tainly won't add anything immediately to America's supply of homes." fncreasing the Federal debt and increased expenditures of tax money, Mason stated, likewise is reflected in the increased cost of living.

The bill proposes to spend over 9 billion dollars without one thing in it that assures either more homes or better homes, he pointed out.

There is no suggestion made that rvill increase the supply of either labor or materials, nor is there any suggestion that will speed up 'construction that is already going forrvard at an unprecedented rate, he continued.

Financing promises and outright grants to farmers, even though related to housing, will certainly not produce additional housing when the available supply of materials and labor are already being channelled into housing, he said.

"Under such circumstances," Mason charged, "the action of the TEW Bill can only result in inflation by providing that government compete for materials and labor in order to build homes for those who can't pay for them while those who have the money to buy homes wait. This type of action perpetuates not only the housing shortage, but the inflationary tendencies."

This triply-inflationary TEW Bill not only will not alleviate the housing situation, but will make it worse by driving prices higher and by shackling private industry with doubts and with shortages of materials, Mason said.

Mason recommended that the Committee report out a bill that would modernize Titles I and II of the National Housing Act; provide a stimulus for banking institutions to invest in Title I, Class 3 loans, and to provide a means of secondary mortgage financing for Title II and Title I, Class 3 loans through the R. F. C.

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