national vice commander of the Legion as well as chairman of the Legion's national housing committee.

STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE-IN BRIEF

On September 20, 1946, this committee organized a business corporation, under the laws of Louisiana, known as The American Legion Housing Corp. Two thousand five hundred shares of stock, at $1 per share, were issued and acquired by Nicholson Post, No. 38, the local American Legion Post. Of the 15 members on the board of directors, 11 were veterans of World War II and 4 were veterans of World War I. The original committee continued as members of the board of directors, Mr. Cadwallader being elected to the presidency.

Although the American Legion Housing Corp was not organized as a cooperative housing project, it is operating along the same general lines in that it operates purely as a service to the veterans who acquire the homes. Such an organization can effect economies in the purchase and development of the site, in the efficient design of buildings, arranging the mass purchase of building materials, equipment of mass-produced houses, and financing and administering the property. Further economies accrue in that such projects do not reflect speculative price charges. Any funds remaining in the corporation treasury after the houses are completed, sold and all costs paid, will be prorated and applied against each of the 250 mortgages.

Parenthetically, the corporation has enjoyed the full backing of the chamber of commerce, labor, the real-estate board, the mayor and Commission Council of the city of Baton Rouge, the police jury and officials of East Baton Rouge Parish, as well as the utility companies and others who sincerely wished to assist in providing homes for the community's veterans.

Land

With the cooperation of Louisiana Senators and Representatives in Congress, the corporation bought a tract of land of about 160 acres lying 41⁄2 miles north of the city which had been purchased by the Defense Plant Corp. as a site for transient houses for defense workers: Subsequently the land had been transferred by WAA to the Federal Public Housing Administration for disposal. It was found necessary to have the corporation classified as a small-business corporation in order to have sufficient priority to enable the RFC to purchase the property on its behalf. After this was done the FPHA placed a valuation and sale price of $74,000 on the property.

With the acquisition of the property, the corporation sold off 33 residential lots; a site for a shopping center; the existing water wells, pipes, 11 barrack buildings, together with electrical transformers, wiring and poles. Through these sales, unexpected profits were made. These were used to reduce the cost of houses to the veteran purchasers.

Financing

Simultaneously with the land purchase a plan was laid to finance the property and construct 250 houses for GI's on a nonprofit basis. During this phase of the program the directors of the corporation were ably assisted by several wellinformed leaders in the fields of manufacturing, construction, and financing. Mr. W. Hamilton Crawford, president of the Crawford Corp. of Baton Rouge, La., with wide experience both in the manufacture of building products and in the development of housing projects, was particularly instrumental in guiding the plans and thoughts along sound, productive lines. Mr. W. R. McGaw, president, National Home Mortgage Corp., Baton Rouge, La., handled the financing for the project. The National Life & Accident Insurance Co. of Nashville, Tenn., agreed to purchase the permanent mortgages on all the houses.

FHA guaranty

With the land on a mortgage-free basis, the corporation officials conferred with Douglas Svendson, State director of the Federal Housing Administration, and successfully sought a guaranty of 90 percent of the construction cost of the project. With all important questions of financing and land out of the way, the progress of the project was then accelerated.

Selection of type of construction

Backed by FHA approval, the American Legion Housing Corp. examined more than 15 possibilities, finding the most satisfactory to be the Crawford Houses available through the C. & W. Construction Co. of Baton Rouge, a subsidiary

company to the Crawford Corp. The 250 Crawford Houses included 12 basic types. These, plus care in the use of color schemes, add-ons such as shutters, roof variations, dormers, landscaping, arrangement of house on the lot, made each house individual and distinctive. This work was under the supervision of Mr. O. J. Baker, director of low-cost housing research, Engineering School, Louisiana State University. The houses were examined and fully approved by the New Orleans FHA office.

LAND PLANNING FOR MAXIMUM LIVABILITY AND CONVENIENCE

A preliminary plot plan showing the projected lay-out of lots, streets, business property, location of park and school in relation to homes and adjoining property was approved by Mr. Sam Dupree, parish engineer, Federal Housing Administration, and the police jury of the parish. Land planning for this project has been directed along the lines of neighborhood planning. This will serve as a basis for subsequent city planning, while immediately obtaining the objective of quiet, pleasant, relaxed surroundings for home owners through the intelligent channeling of traffic, the provision of wide, curving streets, well-planned and attractive landscaping, combined with ample lawns to make it a definite departure from the grid system of street planning.

Fortunately the tract of land was well situated for the purpose. It is located within walking distance of four major industrial plants. No heavy traffic arteries pass through this development. This is due to its location along the Bayou Monte Sano. Through traffic is known to be detrimental and dangerous to strictly residential areas. This has been avoided. However, the subdivision is adjacent to the Scenic Highway and the Plank Road, both of which are planned arteries for the city-parish traffic plan. Bus service has been provided for the project.

The land is well drained and has a great many first growth trees of oak, gum, beech, and so forth, draped with Spanish Moss. A city-parish park is planned along the northern portion of the tract consisting of approximately 40 acres. The site is adjacent to a public grammer school and it is anticipated that the park development will encourage the utilization of the outdoor facilities for picnic areas, baseball parks, and so forth.

Water, fire hydrants, gas, sanitary sewerage, electricity and telephone service have, of course, been provided. Paved streets, curb, gutter, and sidewalk—all are in as a natural part of the project. Both project and private landscaping has been installed, supplementing the natural vegetation as well as carrying out the Neighborhood Planning principle.

Naturally, plans include a comprehensive community shopping center with parking areas, filling station, grocery store, drug store, barber and beauty shops, theater and many other facilities. These stores will be planned to make shopping easy, less time-consuming. Business buildings will be architecturally designed to resemble residential property, thereby enhancing rather than blighting property values.

USING TODAY'S HOUSES FOR TODAY'S PROBLEM

In deciding the type of houses to build and where to get them, the directors of the corporation realized that the man with a few nails, a saw, and a hammer is not the builder who is going to house the veterans of World War II. The building of houses in quantities calls for a kind of ingenuity and know-how typified by today's businessman-builder, one who knows the possibilities of mass production and uses the recently developed techniques and materials. Considered opinion held that only in this manner.could the needed house be built-a house that would of necessity be small, but one which would wring the last ounce of space and livability from today's inflated dollar, and still meet the veteran's demand for quality.

Houses as manufactured by the Crawford Corp., of Baton Rouge, La., were selected because they offered quality comparable with prewar houses. They were efficiently planned to utilize space to the best advantage, the architectural design was superior, and since the manufacturer owns its timber and controls its lumber supply, operates the dry kilns, planer mills, and manufacturing plants, a continuous flow of houses to the housing site could be depended upon-and at a cost more favorable than could be procured elsewhere. The C & W Construction Co. of Baton Rouge, La., which has built similar housing projects, was awarded the contract for the erection of the houses and development of the project site. This contract was signed December 26, 1946, and the taking of subbids, development of plans, etc., then got under way in earnest.

All houses were carefully located so as to utilize the several variations in appearance to the maximum extent. The houses are especially noteworthy for their light, airy appearance and quality of interior finishes. The following outline specifications will describe in general the type of construction utilized.

General.

CONSTRUCTION OUTLINE

These houses in Legion Village consist of manufactured panels and packaged loose members.

Foundations.-Concrete piers provided with metal termite shields. Forms

are reusable.

Structure.-Wood framing for floors, walls, and roofs, with use of southern yellow pine, interior finish of plywood, glued and stapled to panels in plant or of gypsum wallboard furnished and finished at the site. Finish floors applied either in plant or at site.

Roofing.-Plywood sheathing or 1-inch center match boards. Two hundred ten pounds asphalt shingles applied over felt. With metal flashing.

Millwork.-Windows of double-hung wood sash, using mechanical sash balance. Doors of colonial design using western fir or ponderosa pine. Molded interior trim and exterior trim southern yellow pine. Linen cabinet in bathroom. Screens of aluminum or bronze.

Floors.-Oak, pine, and rubber tile. Kitchen and bath have linoleum covering, and are complete with all necessary fixtures, cabinets, etc.

Equipment.—Plumbing and electrical equipment of standard, approved makes. Heating by floor furnace installed in central halls, or by individual space heaters. The specifications are ample and provide many conveniences and extras found only in homes being built in a higher cost bracket.

It required about 8 months to complete the project so that early spring (1948) found all the work completed, individual sales closed, and 250 veterans and their families living in homes which are pronouncedly better than their money could buy if expended individually.

FINANCING THE HOME PURCHASE

The houses in this project range in price from the most economical type, a twobedroom plan priced at $6,300, to the most expensive type, a three-bedroom plan, having in addition living room, dining room, kitchen, and bath, priced at $7,700. These prices are total. They include all cost of raw land, site improvements, landscaping, the house itself, interest, taxes, FHA fees, in fact every item right up to the keys. Due to the fact that these houses are financed under a FHA guaranteed loan and because responsible local citizens have undertaken to iron out all financial wrinkles, veterans purchasing these houses will be enabled to move into them without any down payment. They will be able to live in the houses by making monthly payments of $40 to $49 per month, beginning the second month. This, of course, depends on the house which they select and are able to finance. The only cash the veteran will need will be that required to pay closing costs.

These houses provide an effective substitute for rental housing, since the monthly payments compare favorably with rentals for much less commodious quarters. In addition, due to the nonprofit sponsorship of the American Legion, each veteran acquiring one of these houses will have an equity of approximately $1,000 in his house the day he moves in because it will be acquired at a cost at least that much under the prevailing market. To prevent possible inflation, each veteran purchasing a house is required to sign three promissory, negotiable notes payable to the American Legion Housing Corp., payable, respectively, 1, 2, and 3 years from date at 4-percent interest, for the full FHA value of his house. Their payment is conditioned upon his living on the premises. Thus, if he lives in the house 1 year, the first note is returned; if he lives in it 2 years, the second note is returned. If he lives in it 3 years, the third note is returned, However, if he sells or rents the house, he is required to pay the full amount of any note remaining in the hands of the American Legion Housing Corp. at the time.

FINALLY

Whatever success this project (or any similar project) achieves will be due entirely to the magnificent cooperation of every person and organization in contact with it. Business and professional men, builders, bankers, FHA person

nel, real-estate men, labor, manufacturers, and individuals, both in and out of the Legion, have enthusiastically cooperated and the Legionnaires directly responsible for the execution have worked long hours and held many, many meetings to bring about the present favorable conditions.

Nicholson Post No. 38 of the American Legion feels that this is a graphic example of what local cooperation can do to meet the housing problem for veterans. Here is a case study of what every local community, which feels it has a responsibility to provide adequate housing for its veterans, can do through cooperative action. Through united effort and public spiritedness, the business firms of the community (banks, material dealers, real-estate men, labor contractors) can provide housing at a cost well within the means of the average veteran.

With this feeling as the guiding spirit, any veterans' project is virtually assured of success from start to finish.

Nicholson Post No. 38 has secured the agreement of the Crawford Corp., makers of a complete line of houses, to assist any other post of the American Legion or any other veterans' group in organizing similar housing projects. Interested parties should write direct to the Crawford Corp., P. O. Box 989, Baton Rouge, La. (The following communications were received from the American Legion in answer to questions put by members of the committee to Mr. Robert S. Dinger:)

Hon. BRENT SPENCE,

THE AMERICAN LEGION,

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION,
Washington, D. C., February 10, 1950.

Chairman, House Banking and Currency Committee,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR CONGRESSMAN SPENCE: On February 1, 1950, when our Mr. Robert S. Dinger testified before your committee on the cooperative housing bill, H. R. 6618, several requests were made that we endeavor to get further information to be incorporated in the record at a later date.

Congresswoman Chase Going Woodhouse of Connecticut asked if we could supply the committee with information as to the average size of housing developments which have been sponsored by American Legion posts. The purpose of this question was to develop for the committee the manner in which savings can be realized in initial development costs by the elimination of a speculator.

We do not have any figures on file in this office upon which an accurate average number of housing units per development sponsored by American Legion posts. can be based, but have offered our cooperation with the Research Division of the Housing and Home Finance Agency for developing such statistics.

In hearings before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs in 1948 the theory was developed that large projects containing 100 units or more would realize a greater percentage of savings per unit by the use of mass production methods such as on-site fabrication and the purchase of large quantities of material.

Congressman Albert M. Cole of Kansas requested an itemized break-down of the $1,000 savings per housing unit which was realized in the 250-unit veterans' housing project at Baton Rouge, La., which was sponsored by Nicholson Post No. 38 of the American Legion, and referred to in our testimony. Contact has been made with Mr. R. C. Cadwallader, who is president of the American Legion Housing Corp., and we are enclosing herewith a copy of a letter recently received from him.

The inference might be drawn from Mr. Cole's question that the purchase of land from the War Assets Administration made possible the $1,000 per unit savings. The inference might also be drawn that this property was sold at a special price to the American Legion Housing Corp. I would like to make it clear for the record that this property was offered for sale on a competitive bid basis and the contract awarded to the American Legion Housing Corp. on that basis. Figures disclosed in the attached letter of Mr. Cadwallader show that it was necessary for the corporation to purchase, along with the land, various buildings and barracks which had to be sold before the land could be developed as a housing project.

We hope that the information contained herein will be of assistance to the committee in their consideration of H. R. 6618 and that the committee will not hesitate to call upon the American Legion for any further information.

It is respectfully requested that this letter and the attached letter from Mr. Cadwallader be incorporated in the record of hearings on this bill as a supplement to our testimony of February 1, 1950.

At this time please permit me to again thank you and the members of your committee for the courtesy and consideration which you extended to Mr. Dinger and the writer at the time we appeared before you in connection with the above matter.

The American Legion, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MILES: This will acknowledge your letter of February 1, 1950.

I am not quite sure as to exactly what you mean when you say you want an itemized "break-down covering these cost figures." As you will perhaps recall from your reading of the pamphlet in question, the American Legion Housing Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nicholson Post, No. 38, built 250 houses and sold off certain other properties on which housing was constructed by other

owners.

According to the audit statement by Carter & Carter, the certified public accountants who audited the affairs of the American Legion Housing Corp., the cost of the 106.34 acres and improvements was $75,028.61. The water, well, commercial, frontage, barracks, and other lease property was sold and resulted in the receipt of $58,073.10. Thus the land represented a net cost of $16,955.51. The balance of the land was divided into a number of tracts and appraised value was established on each of the acres. The residential area of 65.02 acres was divided into 283 building lots, with a raw land value of $700 per acre representing a value of $45,514. The estimated value of the land to be developed was 80.28 percent of the total estimated value of the land not sold. Therefore, 80.28 percent of the net cost of $16,955.51 was allocated to the land developed and 19.72 percent, or $3,343.63, was allocated to the land retained and not developed for housing.

The total FHA valuation of the 250 houses was $1,857,780. The American Legion Housing Corp. sold these 250 houses for $1,670,800. The difference of $186,980 represented a gift by the American Legion Housing Corp. to the 250 veterans based upon 10 percent of the cost of each of the houses in question.

The FHA valuations were felt to be an appraisal, and subsequent sales in Legion Village showed them to be conservative, so that, in effect, a man who paid $6,300 for a house in Legion Village actually was the owner of the property for a going value in the Baton Rouge real-estate market of $7,300 or better. Of course, considerable fluctuation exists between the various houses, due to different lot sizes and type of house on the lot.

The American Legion Housing Corp. used a flat value of all lots, irrespective of the size of the lot or whether it was corner lot.

These figures are fairly well borne out by the fact that the American Legion Housing Corp., paid a contractor $1,729,300 and with other costs, as of the date of the audit on April 30, 1949, spent $1,753,315.84 for improvements.

The difference was made up by the sale of 33 lots and other properties, by the gift of all legal services to the corporation, by a reduction in the closing costs, including the title insurance and notarial fees, by reduction in the architectural costs, by the free use of office space belonging to the American Legion, by a reduction in an insurance-premium cost, by reduction in the costs of survey made in surveys.

The cooperation of the local government in creating fire, garbage, and streetlighting districts and in assisting in the solution of drainage problems, and of the Post Office Department in providing for door-to-door carrier service, and of the bus company in routing a bus line through the area, contributed materially to the tremendous increase in values as contracted with costs. Likewise the fact that Legion Village was built on a piece of land situated on two sites of an existing elementary and junior-high-school site, contributed to its real-estate value when finished.

In other words, the value of any piece of property or home is dependent not only on what it costs, but upon the satisfaction and conveniences that it represents in relationship to its surrounding locality.