We also would like to call to the committee's attention the fact that the same city officials cleared out a colored and white neighborhood, which was about 50 percent colored and 50 percent white. It was known as the Waverly development project. That area today is occupied exclusively by white people, and there is a letter which I got from the Baltimore Urban League, a social work agency, that I would like to submit for the record.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, it will be made a part of the record.

(The letter referred to follows:)

MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC.,
Norfolk 10, Va., July 15, 1953.

Norfolk, Va.

GENTLEMEN: Attached please find plans and specifications with certain pertinent exhibits along with our check for $45. We regret to have to return this folder, but our New York outlet has cut us off from FHA presentations.

We know you are aware of the passage of a new bill, June 30, and no one is able to entertain any loans on a discounted basis until the new regulations are issued by FHA and VA.

This particular loan is further complicated in the fact that it is a Negro loan, and the tightness of today's market makes it impossible for this company to place it regardless of what discount is available until we can get a go-ahead sign from our New York outlets.

Sincerely yours,

MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC..
WARREN A. OTT, President.

Mr. MITCHELL. It has been said by some Baltimore officials that colored people are living in that area now, and the letter will show clearly it is occupied entirely by white people.

In conclusion, I would like to call your attention to the activities of the FHA. Perhaps the most colossal illustration of FHA's sins is up in Bucks County, Pa., where an enormous new city, known as Levittown, which will have thousands of homes, is being built solely because it is getting FHA financing. The owner of that development says that it is going to be exclusively for white people. He is willing to let dogs in, but no Negroes.

Not only do we suffer from this type of cruelty in the housing program, but in addition to that, often when these devolpments take place colored people are cheated out of their just returns, when they sell their property. For example, I would like to call the committee's attention to a quote which we have in our testimony, concerning a hearing which was held out in the State of Oklahoma. In that hearing one of the real-estate men came before the committee and testified that he was offered $4,000 for some land, which was to be bought. He went into court and ultimately got $12,000. He asked the housing appraisers why was it they only offered $4,000 for the land that was worth $12,000. There, in the Congressional Record, is a statement that "There was just a bunch of coons living out there and we, therefore, thought the land was not of much value."

In Savannah, a classmate of mine has a Presbyterian Church. That church was forced out of the area that I mentioned awhile ago. His congregation was first offered $8,000 for the church property. Later they were offered $13,000; finally they went into court and got $40.000 for it.

So, it is a very horrible thing, gentlemen of the committee, that not nly do we get excluded from these areas, but then when they start learing the land they cheat us out of our property values.

The final thing that to me is of great significance because it is the rst time I have seen in writing what we know happens all along, was his letter which was sent by a mortgage company, concerning its olicies on colored loans under FHA. I would like to read this aragraph:

This particular loan is further complicated in the fact that it is a Negro loan, ad the tightness of today's market makes it impossible for this company to place regardless of what discount is available until we can get a go-ahead sign om our New York outlets.

If I may, Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert that.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, it will be made a part of the cord.

(The letter referred to follows:)

r. CLARENCE MITCHELL,

BALTIMORE URBAN LEAGUE, Baltimore, Md., March 22, 1954.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,

Washington, D. C.

DEAR CLARENCE: I checked today directly with the Harry Bart office, the veloper of the Waverly project.

With the exception of four vacancies, the project is completely tenanted by hite families. This lays to rest the rumor that a couple of Negro families have en accepted.

Always cordially yours,

FURMAN L. TEMPLETON, Executive Director.

Mr. MITCHELL. These things will not happen if our amendment is lopted, and it seems to me the Congress of the United States has a ity to halt this kind of abuse of public funds.

That is the conclusion of my statement.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. You made a fine stateent. What you said is very impressive.

(Mr. Mitchell's prepared statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF CLARENCE MITCHELL, DIRECTOR OF THE WASHINGTON BUREAU,

NAACP

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I am Clarence Mitchell, direcr of the Washington Bureau of the National Association for the Advancement Colored People.

Our organization requests that the Housing Act be amended to provide for otection against the growing pattern of segregation which is promoted by using officials of the Federal Government.

Our proposed amendment reads: "The aids and powers made available under e several titles of this act are not to be conditioned or limited in any way on count of race, religion, or national origin of builders, lenders, renters, buyers, families to be benefited."

We are firmly convinced that the housing agencies now have full authority to sue regulations which will prevent segregation in housing that is financed on whole or part by Federal funds.

The Federal Government has clear authority to require that public housing d facilities or housing in redeveloped areas must be available to all qualified nters, buyers, or users without regard to race.

The Federal Government has clear authority under present law to require that IA insured property must be available to all qualified persons without regard race as a condition of obtaining Federal insurance.

Unfortunately, the Federal agencies have never had the courage to exercise is authority, and, for that reason, we are asking that your committee amend

the Housing Act to provide that as a condition of receiving Federal assistance in the form of loans, grants, or insurance, Government agencies and others must agree that housing and other facilities made possible by such grants, loans, or insurance must be available to all qualified persons without regard to race.

The present housing policies are a somewhat wordy echo of previous discrimi natory practices which have been in effect ever since the Federal Government entered the housing field.

As evidence of our effort to correct this problem, I would like to submit for the records, a memorandum sent by our organization to Mr. Raymond Foley, Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, on January 11, 1952.

The Congressional Records of August 15, 1951 (pp. 10293 and 10297) and June 27, 1953 (pp. 7752-7753) show that the housing agencies have consistently tried to make the Congress believe that existing regulations prevented the kind of abuse that we have set forth in our memorandum.

Under the new housing Administrator, Mr. Albert Cole, the situation has not improved, although a great many words have been spoken and written by Mr Cole and his subordinates on this subject.

We are convinced that when the President mentioned minority-group problems in his housing message of January 25, he intended to reaffirm his important prisciple that Federal funds should not be used to promote and expand racial segregition and discrimination.

Despite the President's fine intentions, Mr. Cole and his subordinates continue to approve housing policies which permit housing patterns that would not in any sense embarrass the Malan government of South Africa which is openly dedicated to a program of complete racial segregation.

The same memorandum that we submitted to Mr. Foley was submitted to Mr. Cole for consideration. As yet, we have not had any promise that the housing agency will change these practices that we have complained about.

If the committee wishes to get a firsthand picture of how the Government is being used to promate racial segregation, I recommend that a trip be made to Savannah, Ga., and Baltimore, Md.

The Savannah trip will reveal that land in the middle of a slum area populated by colored people has been cleared and a low-rent project has been built there. This project sharply contrasts with the surrounding area in that there are gras plots, trees, play areas, paved streets, and a general atmosphere of cleanliness It is occupied exclusively by white people. All around it are the shacks and unpaved streets where the colored people must liv.

A trip to Baltimore would reveal the workings of a slum clearance and urhe redevelopment program under the present policies. In that city, a plan is afk to redevelop an area adjacent to a State-owned armory. For years, white res dents in the area have vigorously fought to keep colored people from owning homes in the neighborhood.

Now these forces which express themselves through an organization known 25 the Mount Royal Association are seeking to extend policies of enforced rac segregation to the armory site. The boundary lines of the proposed project have been so drawn that the Western Maryland Dairy, which is owned by white pere certain warehouses, also owned by whites, a white church, and a considerable parcel of white occupied residential property will be allowed to remain in the area which is to be cleared. Those in charge of the program say they are trying to create a Beacon Hill in Baltimore.

On the other hand, the redeveloped portion is expected to restrict colored occupancy to a walkup type of apartment building, immediately adjacent to at area already occupied by colored people. An elevator type of apartment building for white people will be built which is immediately adjacent to the white secto Although there are a number of substantial properties such as churches homes now occupied or used by colored people, these will be demolished along with slum-type dwellings. The residents and users will be forced to find a commodations outside the area.

There is little hope that the national housing officials will remedy this co dition because the father of the Baltimore idea, a Mr. Richard Steiner, has be made the Deputy Director of the Division of Slum Clearance and Urban Be development of HHFA.

In such developments, the colored families are not only ousted from their land areas, but they are frequently cheated out of a fair price for their property An example of this was given by Mr. Buren B. Day, an Oklahoma City, Okla. real-estate man who appeared before the Housing Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs on December 6, 1953. Mr. Day pointed out that local appraisers bad

BALTIMORE PLAN TO CLEAR OUT COLORED RESIDENTS AND CREATE WHITE "ESACON HILL"

(This plan will use Federal Money to Reduce the Land Area Available for Housing Open to Colored People)

lowered the value of land when they turned in their reports, because the property was occupied by "a bunch of coons right out there by the river, not very much value." Mr. Day pointed out that these same appraisers are now used by the Veterans' Administration in housing matters. The reference may be found on page 3027 of the housing hearings.

Of course, other communities may be a little more polished in their statements but our experience shows that they, also, follow the practice of reducing valus of property just because it is occupied by colored people.

In the Savannah case that I have mentioned previously, a colored Presbyterian Church was located in the area that was cleared. At first, the congregation was offered $8,000 for the property. Later, the price was raised to $13,000. However, when the case was taken to court, the congregation won a $40,000 judgment There are numerous illustrations of FHA-promoted segregation, many of which are in the Maryland and Virginia areas around Washington. However, the most colossal of FHA discriminatory policies may be found at Levittown Pa., where thousands of new dwellings are built in an entirely new community with FHA assistance. Mr. Levitt refuses to let any colored person buy or rent one of these houses.

These illustrations show clearly that our amendment is needed to halt Federa sponsorship of racial discrimination in housing. Therefore, we urge that it he included in the bill.

The CHAIRMAN. We will now recess until 2:30 this afternoon, at which time we will meet in this room. Our first witness will be Mr. Rafsky, city of Philadelphia housing coordinator. And, then, we will have Mr. Moore of the United Community Defense Services and Mr. Grantham of the National Institute of Farm Brokers. We will meet at 2:30 in this room.

(Whereupon, at 12:05 p. m., the committee recessed to reconvene ai 2:30 the same day.)

AFTERNOON SESSION

(The committee reconvened at 2:30 p. m., Senator Homer E. Capehart, chairman, presiding.)

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order.

Our first witness will be Mr. Rafsky, housing coordinator, city of Philadelphia.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM L. RAFSKY, HOUSING COORDINATOR. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Mr. RAFSKY. My name is William L. Rafsky. I am the housing coordinator of the city of Philadelphia, and represent the city administrators today. I hereby request that my written statement be made a part of the record.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, your written statement will be made a part of the record at the end of your oral statement and your extemporaneous remarks will likewise be made a part of the record. The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed, Mr. Rafsky.

Mr. RAFSKY. I will merely summarize some of the points made and would be glad to answer any questions that may be raised.

I would like to say, by way of prefacing our position on the proposed Housing Act of 1954, that we in the city of Philadelphia, particularly since 1949, have tried to apply all the known techniques in terms of solving our own problems of slums and blighted neighborhoods. We either have finished-and I think there are some records in the President's Advisory Committee on that or have underway programs designed to attack slum