Home Loans as Relief Means are Proposed

Bv T. H. Kewin President, The United Lumber Yards, lnc., Modesto, Calif.

Reltrinted lrom the Modesto (Calif .) Nczus-Herold.

I have watched with much interest Mr. Wiiliam Randolph Hearst's five-billion-dollar prospective loan propaganda, and naturally it has caused me considerable concern as to what the outcome of this might be. I am concerned from the standpoint of the taxpayer and the throwing of this huge sum of money into public building enterprise or public enterprises of any kind which will naturally have to be paid in the future by taxation of one form oi another.

--I-"- wondering if it would not be possible to accom_ plish the results which Mr. Hearst has in mind and at the same time create the indebtedness in a \May that would nol eventually have to be paid from taxes. -I have in mind the apparent complete breakdown of the financial institu_ tiorls. in not being broad-minded enough to meet the crisis whrch we are now in. We have watched for the past several years the public as a whole looted by high-powired rnvestment trusts so closely allied with banking insiitutions that in a measure in the iublic mind today ;h"

Iog\:4 upo_n with little respect and at the'same ti-t th; publlc's reflex is that he is not functioning as he should.

W.e see large numbers of banking institutions, building and loan companies,.mortgage- comfanies continu"liy cali ing loans .and insisting. upon building up tremendols ,"_ serves of idle money, havlng in mind" thi one thoueht of their own self-preseivation ither than lfr" "lrii""ti#'i"h; owe- to the_ public in that they are custodianj of publii tunds. A bright spot is a few outstanding indep6ndent bankers who are doing- their part and fulfilfing thiir obli- gations as they feel their duty-calls.

I am wondering whether or not Mr. Hearst,s worthv pro-posal would not better serve its purpose if the federil and state government would provide a bond irsu. prorrid- ing.the nec€ssary money to stjrt a home building cairpaigr and loan this money to the prospective home ownei a{ + per cen-t or J per cent on a ten-year period and the govern_ ment. thereby not only recove? its-principal inves"tments but also its interest accruals. This, in my judgment, would put thousands of men to work, all the way fiom the lumberman in the woods to the finished projeci of a home, not only the building material and labor but the refinements of the home of the appliances, furniture, etc.

The thought I have in mind is a constructive desire to induce the.young-man of today who has had ten years of wild speculative life to a realization of the neceisitv of owning his own home, which at the same time will ma'ke a better citizen of him as well as build up additional taxable property. I believe the time has arrived when it is neceesary for the financial institutions to realize that the home owner should not be penalized with the highest-prieed money and continually loaded with parasiticaf charges of one form or another, but on the otheihand he should-have the -cheapest money available. Why should stock gamblers be.favored by financial institutioni with money a-s low as lr/2 per cent to 2 per cent and at the same time the man who is enleavoring to put a roof over his family pay an average of 8.4 per cent plus many additional penaliiei for having the -thrift of trying to build a better community as well as make for better citizenship?

Is this not a probable partial solution of the unemploy- ment problem and at the same time is it not sound arid constructive ?

Ne* Book on Standard Wbod Mouldings

Announcement is made by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association that the new publication ..Standard Wood Mouldings-700o Series-Revised 1931" is now being made available for distribution.

This new publication by the Central Committee on Lumber Standards makes a timely appearance following President Hoover's announced advocacy cif home building, and designers and builders now will be able to specify from stock beautiful effects in beamed ceilings or paneled walls; properly constructed door and window sections; assemblies of authentic Colonial and Gothic designs-in fact, some 250 different moulding patterns, each coisistent with good architecture. Heretofore such details were possiblc largely for luxurious homes where specialized niillwork and high architectural fees prevailed. Now the modest home at standard prices can be an architectural gem, as far as interior accoutrement is concerned.

The book contains some 25O patterns, each with serial designation; eighty-one typical assemblies; a cross-index from the revised to the old series, and an extended index to the various types of mouldings. It is available from the Central Committee on Lumber Standards, Washing- ton, D.C.

Above: Plant of The Shevlin-Hixon Company at Bend, Oregon. This mill has an annual capacity of 8000 carloads of Ponderosa Pine.

Below: Plant of The McCloud River Lumbet Company, at McCloud, California. This mill has fifty-two modern dry kilns, and an annual capacity of 8000 carloads of California Ponderosa Pine and Sugar (Genuine White) Pine.