Show washington snapshots by janies james preston preston the washington br braggers aggers arent bragging about it and for obvious reasons bu mr U S government Is fast becoming the flie biggest private real ical estate proprietor in the world right now he has approximately private homes bellies and about farms faring on hla his handt hands acquired via the mortgage route A breakdown of hla his real estate holdings old as of march 31 shows home owners loan corporation has seized houses and properties valued at and is acquiring more at the rate of about every mouth is renting many of them for bor a monthly income of the farm credit administration lias has farms valued at the federal housing administration with the best record was holding on that date properties valued at defaults in the HOLO HOLC operations are running about 10 per cent and in the FOA about 15 per cent thus in a country where more people own there own homes than in any other nation uncle sam is now coming to the fore as the worlds biggest private landlord and that leads to another item about government competition in the private field apparently there Is to be no letup in competition with bustness business as aa is indicated in a behind the scene over the spending spree bill an effort by the minority group in ill the howse house to insert a clause in the bill prohibiting the new spending in fields where it would be in competition with industry was immediately mod lately scuttled by the majority forces in the senate the appropriation committee has inserted a clause limiting competition with privately owned public utilities incidentally the majority form forces in ill the house decided it would be better to hare the new spading audited bl the where most of audited by the where most of it will be spent instead of by the expert bookkeepers of the treasury sonic some of the sideline side line spectators in washington aro are predicting that another effort is to be made to reform the courts that the adminis la Is about ready to tear the lid oft off the sealed packing case and try to revive the corpse therein they are basing their prediction on oil the fact that the secretary of agriculture has made two recent statements the occasion for a verbal at the court this was followed by a broadcast speech by a member of the labor board cracking at the court the better informed observers agree with this the prediction but believe the now new attack is only to keep the issue alive and that tho the real fight wont come until after the fall elections and in the matter of elections the thinkers have hae thought up a now new one for the citizenry to ponder the suggestion is now afloat on uie the political pond that we change election day to citizens day on which occasion citizen jones would go to th election counter and transact all his business with the govenar mant while voting lie ile would supply the govern government men with important statistical data on changes in business crops cattle conditions whether he rents or owns his bis home and similar information the thinkers think uncle sam could thereby Hi minate a lot of door bell ringing by census takers and other inquisitors Inqui and just to insure a big turnout in election day or citi citizens zend day the government would asses a 5 poll tax to be returned it if the citizen voted |