New Actions Set Aside More Materials For Veterans' Housing

Washington, D. C., Aug. 29.-New broad measures to get large additional amounts of constructiori lumber, hardwood flooring and millwork into the Veterans Emergency Housing Program were announced today by Housing Expediter Wilson W. Wyatt and Civilian Production Administrator John D. Small.

The actions, which follow drastic steps announced yesterday to set aside more materials for housing-and to assure that they are held for that purpose-are' l. That distributors vrill get, on an annual basis, at least one-third more housing construction lumber from sarvmills, or two carload lots per quarter, whichever is larger.

2;, That distributors who thus get increased shipments frorft sawmills must hold indefinitely 80 per cent of those shipments for certified and rated orders.

3. That, effective immediately, MM ratings issued to the Army and Navy for overseas construction rvill be "revies'ed most carefully" as to their geographical impact and timing.

4. That. all military housing in this country will be similarly reviewed and a rating no higher than an HH (housing) rating will be used for approved amounts' Heretofore, military housing has carried -MM ratings.

5. That every millwork manufacturer or distributor must reserve indefinitely for certified or rated orders 85 per cent of millwork he produces or receives, unless specifically authorized to do otherwise.

6. That every hardwood flooring manufacturer or distributor must resirve irfrilefinitely for HH and MM orders (the latter only for hospitals for the Army, Navy and Veterans Administration) 100 per cent of the residential hardwood flooring he produces or receives, unless specifically authorized to do otherwise.

7. That 75 pet cent'of all housing construction lumber imported into this country be held indefinitely for certi6ed and rated orders.

The action in,creasing distributors' receipts of lumber from sawmills makes available to them each month an amount equal to 10 per cent of their base period stocks (January L,1942), or two carloads per quarter, whichever is the greater amount. The l0 per cent is an increase over the seven per cent which has been in effect. fhe actions today complete current sweeping moves:in cluding the doubling. of the number of materials on the housing priority lists-to bring about the completion .of a vast number of houses and apartments before the snow flies.

It r,r'as pointed out that while lumber production has been increasing steadily, there has been no guarantee that the increases would be channelled into housing units and housing uses, and this new iction is designed to correct that situation.

In all of these stepped-up set-asides AAA priorities are not afiected. Aee ratings are issued very sparingly, usually only in cases of disasters, pnd these would continue to be used as they have previously.

The previous actions include:

1. Rated priority orders must be accepted by dealers and distributors up to 75 per cent of their receipts for 43 ol the 57 materials listed on Schedule A of PR 33. Larger proportions of the remaining 14 materials must be set aside indefinitely for HH and other ,ratings.

2. The piacing of. 57 materials in short supply on the priorities list-by the addition of. Z7-will assure builders bf principdl materials to complete houses and apartments.

3. The setting aside indefinitely of key materials, and the keeping of complete records for Government inspection, will result in a far greater flow to housing.

4. A 27 per cent slash in the permitted weekly volume of non-housing construction from the current $48.8 million toward a goal of $35 million. Projects will be tightly screened,

5. There were two orders involving cast iron soil pipe. One provides that at least 93 per cent of the output must be in sizes needed for housing. The other states that no one shall use the product for any purpose except installing, repairing or maintaining sewage disposal systems in buildings and that it shall not be used beyond five feet from the building line, except for replacements.

The list of the 27 add\tional materials which have been added to Schedule A follows:

.Cooking and heating stoves and ranges, including space hbaters; gutters and dow4 spouts; combustion. controls (heating, hot water) ; 'household lighting fixtures, other thari portable; insect screen cloth (metal and plastic) ; metal cabinets-kitchen, bathroom (to be built in); metal weather stripping; oil burners and domestic stokers; plumbing fixture fittings and trim including brass tubular goods; rageways (rigid, flexible and thin wall conduit and conduit fittings for electric wiring) ; septic tanks; steel joists; sforage tanks, oil and water, up to 550 gallons; water heaters ; caulking lead; copper water tubing; cable, metallic or non-metallic sheathing; steel and wrought iron pipe, including galvanized, from three-eights to four inches in diameter and including related nipples and threaded fittings; structural shapes (from steel or aluminum) ; stucco wire mesh; siding (asbestos, cement) ; bituminized-fibre drain and sewer pipe; floor coverings, including felt-base, linoleum, rubber tile, asphalt tile, mastic, shingles, (asbestoscement, wooden and slate) ; range boilers; concrete reinforcing bars and finishing lime.

High Building Costs Scored by Public

Nine out of ten prospective home owners eligible to build under the Wyatt plan consider building costs too high, according to a nation-wide survey recently conducted by Ponderosa Pine Woodwork, Chicago.

Only 36.3 per cent of these eligible think that building costs will come down within'he next few years.

The survey shows little variation of opinion between those eligible and those not eligible on the question of high building costs.