HOUSING: Gothic Gazebo

The President approved expenditure of an additional $450,000,000 on the weirdest structure on the whole New Deal lot—the defense-housing program. Lopsided, haphazard, covered with cupolas and gimcracks, the program already looks like a Gothic gazebo conceived during a half-mad architect's nightmare.

From its cellar up, it is improvised. It began in a small way under the supervision of the U.S. Housing Authority. Then Congress took a hand. In October 1940, Congress began appropriating for a real, bang-up, nationwide defense-housing program. Federal Works Agency Administrator John Carmody, whose agency was picked to handle most of the appropriation, turned a chunk of money over to the Public Buildings Administration, gave a chunk to USHA, doled out some to the Farm Security Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Army and the Navy also got $100,000,000. Carmody kept a wad for his own office, to be used by a Division of Defense Housing. Everything was soon beautifully haywire.

Into the uproar Mr. Roosevelt projected Charles F. Palmer, with the title of Defense Housing Coordinator. Coordination took the form of a cat & dog fight between Palmer and Carmody. Eventually Carmody was eased out.

By October 1941, practically all of $400,000,000 was gone. Of an estimated 300,000 dwellings needed for defense workers, only some 32,000 had been built. Meantime defense workers up & down the U.S. jammed rooming houses, commuted miles to distant factories.

The housing program was on the verge of collapse for want of funds when Congress voted it another $300,000,000 and $150,000,000 for "community facilities." The appropriation (which Mr. Roosevelt hopefully signed last week) did not mean that wandering defense workers could figure on moving into $300,000,000 worth of new homes in a few months. Congress had yet to pass authorizing legislation. House & Senate were at odds over new ideas, new gimcracks for their Gothic gazebo.