| Show O YOUR OWN HOME By Frederic Frederic J. J Haskin Breathes there a man with a soul so dead who never to himself hath said Own Your Own Home Ieso If It f 1 so let him attend the tho your own-your- own-home own exposition when it appears 4 in his town and forthwith be con con- This exposition has already been held in Chicago and New York where It turned thousands of settled cliff clift dwellers Into determined home homeowners homeowners homeowners owners and Is now now on its way to various various various va va- va- va rious other cities It consists of a D. whole miniature suburb reproduced in elaborate detail detail de de- tail including many different types of attractive homes set oft off by oy tiny gardens and dignified by that boon of the landscape Nothing Is lack lackIn lackin lackin in tho the thoVa Va way of homely realism from tho tho latest thing in laundry tubs tuba to the tho best typo type of rambler roses for forthe forthe forthe the front veranda All that goes In Into Into Into In- In to to the making of the modern American AmerIcan AmerI- AmerI can as homo homo as well as much that doesn't Is is there before the dazzled gaze gazo of the tho home seeker to say eay nothing of the hom homes themselves There are arc severe little stucco houses hous hous- es os quaint little frame dwellings a a wide selection to choose from largo large and pretentious brick houses All are aro reproductions of prize prize- winning designs from a national small house contest which was held under the auspices of the tho American Institute of Architecture and In took which a thousand architects part part A nationally known 1 J tural jury selected selected twenty nine twenty nine designs de- de d de designs signs in three classes lumber brick and stucco and back plastered metal lath for lor prizes totaling The awards were governed principally by bythe bythe bythe the economy of space shown in the floor plans and preference was given giVen given en to designs that would be reasonable reasonable reasonable reason reason- able In upkeep and reduce general genera operating expenses to a minimum Io For or the exposition Is designed deigned to reach the great mass of small home builders It strives to show theman tho the thoman thoman man with only a small amount atc of at c how he can build a comfortable comfortable comfortable comfor comfor- table thoroughly up-to-date up house at a surprisingly low cost and thus escape exorbitant rent Home-building Home is not only desirable desirable desirable desira desira- ble now it Is a necessity the organizers organizers organizers organ organ- of the exposition point out A- A According Ac A cording to Robert H. H Sexton its managing director the national dwelling shortage at the close of last year was placed at the tho appalling figure of In normal times he says the United States j builds between and family dwellings each year In 1919 anI only such dwellings were erected and In 1920 but were reported One-fourth One of at the population Is either living In rented quarters or Is Improperly housed Tho country is homes short This situation the home-building home promoters declare is a menace to the nation from two important hI aspects First It has a deleterious effect effort I upon the public health In New NewYork NewYork York a recent housing survey I ai K brought to light many Instances I where families o of twelve and fifteen een members were living crowded together er in one and two rooms The public public pub pub- i lic lie health departments of other cities report a similar state of affairs Nois Nor No Noris is overcrowding confined to so-called so slum districts it is also found to prevail prevail prevail pre pre- vail among the middle class The scarcity of or homes breeds discontent it is pointed out and keeps a large part of the population population population lation restless and roving whereas for the tho good of the nation it should be quietly housed The homeless citizen citIzen citizen cit cit- Izen who drifts from one community to another Is seen to be a possible source of social and political er The government is beginning to realize that homeless citizens and families rich richand and poor are not usually usually usually ally the best American citizens says Mr Sexton It Is beginning to realize that every additional homeowner homeowner homeowner home home- owner makes an additional credit possibility to the nations nation's wealth and an additional urge for all other forms of permanent construction In other words Mr Sexton believes the government is coming around to the Chesterton Ian belief that under the system m of private property every citizen should be a private property owner Just what the government Intends to do about it however still remains a mystery It Is known to have acquired acquired acquired ac ac- ac- ac vast reams of Information upon the subject to have been deep in the consideration of public health reports on housing condition an and financial reports concerning mortgages mortgages mortgages mort mort- gages and loans as well as reports on rent in various cities but the nation still awaits a home run from congress Senators Calder Edge and Kenyon have made their Import important nt recommendations but as asyet asyet asyet yet nothing has come of them crt City Building Projects Meantime various cities have at attempted attempted attempted at- at tempted relief measures A few have themselves gone into the homebuilding homebuilding homebuilding home home- building business for the benefit o othe of the public while others have placed restrictive measures upon profiteering profiteer profiteer- ing landlords New York has made things as pleasant as possible for the home-building home public by exempting its property from taxes for the next five years But for the mos most part the would- would be home owner is left to solve his difficulties for himself He can either eith eith- er build a house at the present high cost of building materials knowing that eventually that price must come comedown comedown down or he can pay an exorbitant rent for a house which he never willand will and probably wouldn't want to own In one case he buys stock that is certain to go down In the other h he pays a large rate of Interest on stock that belongs to someone else Of the two alternatives building seems to offer the better returns Take for instances a house which costs including the price of the land If rented the owner would demand 15 per cent profit on his his Investment in investment investment vestment which would make the monthly rental In New a house of pf this value would voula bring a month Now the home homebuilder homebuilder homebuilder builder has only 1260 invested In his property He must pay interest on ou the mortgage in addition to the taxes but altogether his entire carrying carrying carrying car car- charges come to Just 33 a month In building he saved nearly 50 a month which would have gone to a land landlord ord had the ho house se been occupied on a rental basis One of the greatest deterrents to homebuilding home- home homebuilding homebuilding building on a wide nation-wide scale of course is the of a large number of ot citizens to obtain the necessary necessary necessary essary capital They are ate perfectly willing to build homes long to do doso doso doso so in fact but they cannot oven even begin begin begin be be- gin to pay for the lumber To these eager but thwarted your own homers perhaps the building and loan association is the best answer To the person who owns the tho lana upon which he wishes to build or who has saved enough to pay one- one fourth or third one-third on a piece o ol of property the building and loan association association asso asso- elation lends the necessary capital which the borrower pays off ort In regular regular regular reg reg- ular monthly payments The would would-be home homo builder who lacks oven even the one-fourth one or one- one third property interest required would do well to Join one of these associations and begin the accumulation tion as a savings investor until he can obtain a loan A fair rate of or interest In Interest Interest In- In terest is paid on savl savings gs accounts I There are of these building and loan associations in the United States which are doing a real service to the people as well as making a great deal of money It Is estimated that the mortgages held by thorn thom no now aggregate in excess of their total membership Is about persons and Iw approximately approximate approximate- ly home purchase loans loans totaling totaling to to- were made mado by bythorn them thorn last year All of the tho associations associations associations are under the strict supervision of the banking departments of ot the tho state and are regularly examined the tho same samo as other saving Institutions I. I I Philadelphia probably owes its designation designation I nation as tho the City of Homes to th the great multiplicity of its savings ana loans associations which are looked upon Ullon as the real of the own own- your-own your home movement t |
