Comparative statement of property cost, income, and expense, June 30, 1945

Footnotes at end of table.

Mr. HENDRICKS. Mr. Ihlder, do you have a statement you want to make?

Mr. IHLDER. I will make a 2-minute statement, if I may.
Mr. HENDRICKS. Go right ahead.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. IHLDER. I wish to call to the committee's attention that we are submitting to them a budget that deals only with the amount we are asking to be allowed by this committee. We also are submitting information in regard to the work that is being done otherwise, in order that you may have the full pictures and have them in their relationship to each other.

On detailed questions, I am going to ask Mr. Haskell, of our Office of Finance and Accounts; or, if there is any legal question, I will ask Mr. Brooks, who is our counsel.

Mr. HENDRICKS. I notice you have an increase of $2,300. Approximately $1,675 of that is for pay increases provided in the Pay Act of 1945, is it not?

Mr. HASKELL. That is true.

INCREASE FOR SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS

Mr. HENDRICKS. Why is an increase of $625 for supplies and materials necesary?

Mr. HASKELL. It is a general increase in costs of the operation of the properties due partially to changes in general economic conditions and partially to changes in the various items of work to be done during the 1947 year.

This appropriation will vary from year to year; it may go up or down.

Mr. HENDRICKS. I notice under "Supplies and materials" there is an increase now, but next year you may come in and ask for prac tically nothing-or say $1,000, and the next year you would have to ask for $5,000. Is there an increase in the cost of materials and supplies, or are you buying more this year? What are the items on which this increase is based?

Mr. HASKELL. We call attention in our justifications to the fact that the objective class schedule you are now looking at is not very suitable to an understanding of our operations. The Budget Bureau recommended that we submit a justification based on a "purpose" classification which is a little more intelligible as applying to our operations.

You will find this "purpose" classification in the justification we have submitted, in the first exhibit down at the lower right-hand corner of the page, $17,000. That is the amount we are requesting and this table shows the break-down of that by properties and by various functional accounts.

Mr. HENDRICKS. And supplies and materials—

Mr. HASKELL. Supplies and materials would be scattered throughout. The first group of accounts is the management accounts, which consists of "Project office salaries," "Central office salaries," "Legal, fiscal, and other fees," "Other project office expense," and so forth. Mr. HENDRICKS. All you can answer at the moment is, without

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going completely through this, that it is the increased cost of supplies and materials, and that your request for supplies and materials may vary from year to year?

Mr. HASKELL. That is true. The details of this estimate were submitted by each property manager based on his knowledge of what would have to be done to his property during the coming year.

Mr. HENDRICKS. In 1946 you had $2,275; in 1945 you had $4,816; so you had a reduction there of $2,571 over 1945; is that correct? Mr. HASKELL. That is correct.

Mr. HENDRICKS. And while there is a small increase this year, there was a decrease in 1946 over 1945.

Mr. HASKELL. That is right.

OCCUPANCY OF HOUSING UNITS

Mr. HENDRICKS. Mr. Ihlder, are all of the units under your housing project occupied now?

Mr. IHLDER. Practically.. There are vacancies due to turn-over. When the old tenant leaves we have to redecorate and clean up, so that there may be a temporary vacancy; but we have a long waiting list.

Mr. HENDRICKS. You do have a long waiting list?

Mr. IHLDER. Yes.

Mr. HENDRICKS. In view of the fact many Government employees are leaving and more of them are going to leave, what is the picture in the future in regard to these houses?

Mr. IHLDER. May I make a general statement?

Mr. HENDRICKS. Yes.

Mr. IHLDER. The population of Washington, according to all estimates, is not going to decrease; it is probably going to increase. There will be a change of persons; a good many persons will leave; the war workers who are separated from their jobs will leave and some will take their families, but if they are going to Chicago or New York, they are likely to leave their families here if they have a family house; consequently, there is not the commensurate vacating of houses. the same time, we are recruiting new employees both in the Government and in private industry. Private has had a minimum of manpower during the past 2 or 3 years. You will notice that by the signs in the shop windows-"Men wanted," "Women wanted," for various things. Consequently, those vacancies are being filled, which means we are not losing in population; we are increasing in population. The demand for housing, as shown at the War Housing Center, is greater today than it was at any time during the war in the number of applicants for houses. So change in employment is going on in the Government and increase in employment by private; at the same time, the veterans are coming home and they are finding it very difficult to get houses. We are taking all the veterans we can. When a war worker leaves one of our houses, we give the preference to a veteran to fill the vacancy; but we have not enough vacancies to take care

of the veteran applicants.

In spite of the fact that we have a $2,600 income limit for anyone we can consider, on the assumption that private housing will take care of those with higher incomes, even with that $2,600 limit we still have a waiting list of veterans.