Mr. ELLIOTT. Now, in response to that

Mr. GAVIN. Naturally, your people are concerned, because banks and the realtors are not going to find such a ready market for what houses they have constructed in the event these 1,000 houses are built.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, let's apologize for taking up the witness' time. Go ahead and finish your statement, Mr. Elliott.

Mr. ELLIOTT. It is perfectly all right, because he is talking about exactly the point I am going to discuss.

Mr. GAVIN. Therefore, I am not taking up the witness' time, if he quite agrees that that is the point he is trying to reach. Go ahead. Mr. ELLIOTT. Yes, sir; I certainly do agree.

The CHAIRMAN. All right.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Before the noon recess the chairman asked me if I could possibly give him some figure about construction for rental purposes solely.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

Mr. ELLIOTT. And during the noon recess, I developed as best I could information along that line, which I want to give you for the record. It can't be completely accurate because it requires some projection. But examining the building permits issued in Muscogee County, Ga., and in the city of Columbus, for the year 1955, which is the latest figures available, I find that there were constructed during 1955 in the city of Columbus proper, this is within the city limits, 123 multiple-unit dwellings.

Now, Mr. Chairman, of course that means that it is for rent. It couldn't be for anything else. It is a multiple unit. In Muscogee County, outside the city limits-and most of these were in the Fort Benning area, incidentally-there were 178 multiple-unit construction jobs completed, making a total of 301 units, which had to be for rental

purposes.

Now, I can't tell you how many individual single unit houses were built for rental purposes because they are not so broken down into building permit records. But in 1955, 301 certainly were built for that purpose and are being used for that purpose. And if building is continuing this year at about the same rate, and we are told and believe that it is, then we can presume that about 301 or more are being built for rental purposes now, during the current year.

That is the best I can do to try to answer the chairman's question, which is a fair question and I wish I could answer it better, but that is the best I can do with it. Except to say this, that one of the gentlemen present, who is a member of the Columbus Real Estate Board, tells me that his rental department in his business estimates to him that out of the 10,000 units which have been constructed in the last approximately 6 years, in Muscogee County, that approximately 5,000 of them are today rented property.

And further, that approximately 3,000 of those 10,000 units are owned by Fort Benning military personnel.

And may I call to this committee's attention that if something is done to seriously disrupt the real-estate economy of Muscogee County, Ga., by the construction of large numbers of Capehart units, the first persons to suffer in Muscogee County, Ga., would be the members of the Columbus Real Estate Board. They will be military personnel who have bought homes while stationed at Fort Benning, paying for them as they go, expecting some day to come back and live, and if there is a serious drop in the real-estate economy in our community, those people will be the first ones hurt.

And it is especially true if it should develop that the military personnel now living in civilian quarters should be required to move onto the post to fill up the Capehart housing. Because they would have to sacrifice the property which they have already purchased.

And many of them did it under veterans loans and whatnot.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, in regard to your last statement, there are only about 1,800 units there now. And then this would make only about 2,800 units. Two thousand eight hundred units would be occupied by military personnel for which quarters allowance would not be available. There would be in the neighborhood of ten or twelve thousand that live out in Columbus, even with the 1,000 being built.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Yes, sir.

I was projecting my remarks to have a bearing on the future, that if in the future with the construction of these Capehart units and if the fluctuating population, as it does fluctuate at Fort Benning, if it became necessary to fill up the Capehart units with military personnel, then these soldiers who have bought houses in Columbus would be required to occupy the quarters provided for them on the post and it will be necessary for them to sacrifice the property which they have bought in Columbus.

And I think that should be considered by this committee, because it has a direct bearing on so many personnel who have acquired homes in Columbus.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, Mr. Elliott, have you any other facts you want to submit?

Mr. ELLIOTT. No, sir. And I want to express to the chairman and to all members of the committee my sincere appreciation for allowing me to talk as long as I have.

(The building inspection department annual report for 1955 is as
follows:)

Building-inspection department annual report