Lumber's Small Homes Program Wins 1937 Award

Highest honor of. 1937 among trade associations of the country-a bronze plaque awarded annttally by the American Trade Association Executives-was presented yesterday to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association, in recognition of the character and importance of its low cost, small home building program, developed during the year under the direction of Association Secretary-Manager Wilson Compton.

Dr. Compton received the trophy late yesterday at the evening session of the ATAE convention at French Lick' Indiana, from the hand of Secretary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper, representing business and industrial leaders of the some 35O trade associations representing two-thirds of American induqtry.

The small home building program which comes to public attention particularly at this time by this formal recognition of its worth, is considered best among industry promotion programs of the year, from the point of view of commercial vision, and also as having wide national significance in the housing field. ln 1937 lumber's home building program included three major steps.

First, three demonstration small homes were built in suburban Washington, making possible the establishment of actual rock bottom building costs, necessary in the construction of up-to-date modern small houses, as $5000 and under.

Second, the findings from this experiment rvere made public ol 22,00O lumber dealers in the United States, who were brought gradually to accept the new found facts, that low cost homes are possible and profitable to build.

Thirdly, thousands of dealers throughout the country built demonstration low cost small homes in their communities.

As a result men and women throughout the country have been enabled to see with their own eyes what is possible in the small home building, in the lower cost bracket'

Costs in many sections were proven even less than those .of the original three demonstration homes, refuting thor- oughly the idea that home ownership is a rich man's privilege, and establishing in the public mind a realization that under the Federal Housing Administration New Insured Mortgage Plan complete small homes costing $5000 and under are possible for the salaried man or woman earning $1200 to $2500 a year. This home demonstration program is regarded by industrial ledders generally as a thoroughly American solution of the housing problems of hundreds of cities where self-respecting citizens working on small salaries are now able to attain privacy, proper sanitary conditions and modern conveniences in complete small homes of their own.

Every home built by the lumber demonstration included living room, dining quarters, kitchen, basement and heating plant, one, two or three bedrooms, bath and electricity. More than 25ffi of these houses trtr'ere built during the year. 500 more are under construction.

The average costs of these demonstrators built in Bethesda in 1936 were $3765.24; $3780.61; and $4120.45.

Outside of Washington, D. C., 1937 average costs for these houses ran from $3165 to $3858.

Lumber's 1938 program in the small home building field will continue the demonstrations of. 1937 on a more extensive scale. This coming year houses adapted to the requirements and varieties of architecture preferred in various sections of the country will be designed and presented as the "Price Tag" Homes of 1938, all to sell at prices less than $5000.

There will be at least eight of these demonstration homes designed to give major consideration to enabling the industry to offer "More House for the Money," and worked out for maximum appeal from points of view qf price, cubic content and style.

Cooperation of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association will again be enlisted to the end of creating interest of lumber dealers in providing the public with these satisfactory small home units.