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Show a v v v v gp i g LICE CdPM ! TO BUILD IIS iscit Houseboat Solves Problem for Some; They Can Move With Ease SOME TENANTS BUY THEIR APARTMENTS Carpenters Object to Scheme for Use of Many Portable Port-able Houses CHICAGO. April 17. This city is attempting at-tempting to prevent rent profiteering by regulating increases in rates and by organizing a $100,000,000 corporation lo build homes and sell them on easy payments. Meanwhile, Chicago's flat dwellers have been forming unions to wage 1var on alleged profiteering landlords land-lords and committees in the city council coun-cil have been investigating increases in rents ranging up to 100 and een 200 per cent'; '."-.'"'-Several hundred families have solved their individual housing problems, by making theii; homea -; jh '-houseboats, moored In the branches of" the Chicago river, the Calumet and lakes in south Chicago. Once in possession of a 'houseboat, the owner only has to pay 1 $1 a month for the privilege of moor-jing moor-jing his craft. If he does not like his location, he can move his home boat elsewhere. Many of these boats cost ?1 ,000 each and have five rooms, parlor, par-lor, dining room, kitchen and two bedrooms. bed-rooms. Buy Up Apartments In some cases, groups of tenants have solved the rent problem by forming form-ing co-operativo companies and buy-jing buy-jing the apartment houses In which ! tlinu livn 1 The housing corporation, which has !been financed by banks and business iraen, has under construction a plan to 'build a row of model houses in Grant Park on the lake front. Examples of many types of standardized homes would be erected, furnished and surrounded sur-rounded by settings of trees and shrubbery shrub-bery so that a prospective purchaser of a new hoine could look over tho styles before placing his order. Probe Profiteering. Attempts have been made to check the city council and the Cook county Real Estate Board, which investigated 'complaints and, when increases were found lo be excessive, advised the landlord to withdraw his demands. In I generak the investigators have allowed : an increase of about 30 per cent over last year's rentals. A proposal was made lo erect scores jof portable houses but the carpenter's i union declared its opopsition to that plan even if tho houses came from union factories. The recent tornadoes which destroyed de-stroyed 100 houses and damaged 400 more in Chicago and its suburbs have augmented a housing shortage which I had already become acute through suspension of building operations in 'the war and long-drawn builders' contracts. con-tracts. oo |