"At this time I found it impossible to rent anything that would meet my needs under $125 per month, which sum I could not afford. I therefore purchased a home and anticipate no further difficulties during the period of my assignment at Jeffersonville."

"I am a major and am married and have one child, age 7. Since Government quarters are not furnished to me, I draw $105 per month for quarters allowance. "I was transferred to Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot in February 1948. Upon my arrival Government quarters were not available, and it was necessary to secure hotel accommodations for my family and myself at a nightly rate of $11.50. About a week thereafter I was able to make arrangements for a furnished apartment in Louisville at a cost of $75 per month. This rental fee did not include such utilities as water and gas. The apartment was furnished with an average set of maple furniture.

"The apartment was in need of redecorating and contained but one bedroom, which necessitated the purchase of a roll-away bed for my child. This was set up in the living room at night and hidden behind a screen in a niche in the corner during the day. The apartment was approximately 10 miles from the depot, all of which was through congested traffic and the journey required from 30 to 45 minutes each way depending on driving conditions.

"Near the completion of my lease for the apartment and after a very determined search, I was able to find a furnished house in Jeffersonville in March 1949, four blocks from the depot. It was absolutely essential that I find quarters which would provide more room and privacy for the members of my family since it had begun to affect their health and mental attitude. The rent for the house which I secured in Jeffersonville was $90 per month and did not include heat or utilities. During the winter months, the rent, heat, and utilities average $120 per month. Upon taking over the house, it was necessary to redecorate a large portion of the interior at my own expense. From time to time, because of its age and long service, it was necessary to arrange for repairs to the equipment in the house such as refrigerator, washing machine, etc., all of which is done at my own expense. A coal furnace furnishes central heat, and there is no automatic hotwater heater. While this arrangement is entirely satisfactory insofar as heat is concerned, it does present a real problem in the firing of the furnace and the removal of ashes for myself and for my wife during my absence. It is necessary for me, in the course of my duties at the depot, to take trips to distant points, and this works a definite hardship for my wife during the winter months.

"I have recently begun a new search for a furnished house which will provide automatic heating such as gas or oil fired or stoker. Such places are either not available or demand rent which, in my opinion, is entirely unreasonable. Further, in each instance that I have found a furnished house available for rent, I have been told that redcorating would have to be done at my own expense. Such decorating generally runs between $75 and $100.

"I have no complaint about the treatment that I have received from landlords from whom I have rented. However, since my return from overseas, I have invariably paid more for civilian quarters than I have received from the Government for quarters' allowance."

"I am a sergeant, first class, and reported for duty at this station on December 5, 1949. I am married and have two children. Upon reporting to this station I immediately started searching for suitable quarters for myself and family. I have been unable to locate decent quarters for my family at a price within the limitations of my wages. I am presently occupying a two-bedroom house located within two blocks of the depot. These quarters rent at the rate of $75 per month, plus utilities. My rent has averaged $100 per month since my assignment to this depot. Inasmuch as I am but a sergeant, first class, in the Army, the cost of these quarters has been approximately one-third of my monthly wages. This excessive rent has created a hardship on my family due to the necessity of reducing other living expenses to compensate for the excessive cost of living quarters."

"I am a corporal and have been stationed at the Quartermaster depot in Jeffersonville, Ind., for 2 years.

"I was transferred from Fort Knox, Ky., to this depot. When transferred I was unable to find a suitable place to live. It was necessary for me to move to Gleano, Ind., to live with my parents, a distance of 17 miles from the depot.

"About 4 months later I was able to secure Government quarters at the depot. I held these quarters for about 1 year. I moved from Government quarters

because of a chance to get a place that was much better at about the same amount of rent.

"I remained at this place, 1316 Duncan Avenue, Jeffersonville, Ind., for about 3 months and received an eviction notice without any warning. The place was sold and I knew nothing about it until I received the eviction notice at which time I moved into Government quarters at the depot."

"I am a captain and reported to this depot on March 1, 1948, and upon reporting inquired about any possible housing available in the area. There were no lists on hand of any available housing by the depot or real-estate offices throughout Jeffersonville. Through Captain Mahone, adjutant at that time, we were able to get an attic room in a house near the depot.

"After about a week, my wife found an apartment that, although not to our liking, did serve the purpose. Several unsatisfactory conditions connected with the apartment kept our attention on the alert to find a better domicile.

"In December 1948 we obtained a furnished house located about 3 miles from the depot, and which has been quite satisfactory in most respects.

"It is noted, however, that rent is very high in this area for the accommodations that are available. The supply has not kept pace with the demand, therefore, this condition is expected to continue for a long time."

"I am a sergeant and was assigned to duty with the five thousand six hundred and twenty-eighth ASU April 6, 1948. During this interim period of assignment to date I have been unable to locate suitable quarters for myself and dependents in the immediate vicinity of the Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot.

"To avoid excessive travel to and from duty I and my dependents are now 1esiding in a totally inadequate two-room apartment in Jeffersonville, Ind."

"I am a master sergeant and was assigned to ORC, w/sta Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot, Jeffersonville, Ind., on or about August 18, 1947. Prior to this date August 18, 1947, my family resided on an Army post occupying Government quarters. Before reaching my destination (Jeffersonville, Ind.) I was immediately notified that I had 30 days to terminate my quarters.

"Housing facilities at Jeffersonville and vicinity at that time was at a standstill, inadequate. I managed to rent a house in Jeffersonville which was poorly insulated, hard to heat, and the rent was rather high. Approximately 3 months later I moved to a Federal housing unit at Charlestown, Ind.

"I occupy a one bedroom apartment fairly suitable for two persons, but space is so limited that I am unable to use all of my household goods which is in storage. The rent commensurate with my quarters' allowance I receive from the Government."

[From Raleigh (N. C.) News and Observer, March 18, 1951]

KOREA, FATIGUE; HOME, EVICTION?

(By James Whitfield)

A fighting Infantry officer in a hospital suffering a second time from combat fatigue in Korea doesn't know his family back in his wife's hometown at Kinston is facing eviction.

He doesn't know his wife's rent has been increased from $60 to $125 per month. He doesn't know his wife says she can't pay that much rent out of the $300 check he sends her monthly and have enough left to feed and clothe herself, her elderly father and three small children.

AFRAID

He doesn't know all this because she's afraid to tell him.

She's afraid such news might make his condition worse. A letter from one of her husband's senior officers recently noted, "I'm worried about his condition." Mrs. Vincent P. Annello of 406 West Vernon Avenue, Kinston, says "I haven't told him because he's got enough to worry him now."

Lieutenant Annello, who saw combat with the Forty-first Infantry Division in the Philippines in World War II, is in a hospital in Pusan. A member of the Third Infantry Division, which he has served since September, he was previously hospitalized for combat fatigue in Japan.

Back home, Mrs. Annello is taking care of M. F. Taylor, her 72-year-old father; and three children, John, 6; Connie, 5; and Susan, who will celebrate her second birthday next month. Her mother is dead.

Taylor, feeble and unable to work, helps out with the children. But Mrs. Annello says, "I can't work, because taking care of the four of them is a 24-hour job."

Kinston is under the rent control law, but the Annellos rented an apartment that had been converted from a home not under rent control. The rent was fixed at $60 a month.

In December, Melba Cole, owner of the apartment, advised the rental agency operated by W. D. Laroque and T. L. Hewitt that she wanted possession of the apartment to make renovations.

"We've got to move," Mrs. Annello wrote her husband in December."

Lieutenant Annelo wrote Mayor Guy Elliott to get his help in helping the Annellos find other living quarters.

"I've been trying since that time," Mayor Elliott told the News and Observer yesterday, "but it looks hopeless."

"Her case is pathetic," said Mayor Elliott. "She has three small children and nobody seems to want to rent to a mother with children."

Laroque said he likewise had been trying to find other quarters for Mrs. Annello since December "but haven't found a thing."

He said that Mrs. Annello had paid up her rent through March 15 and has been notified in a letter that the rent has been increased to $125.

"HAVE TO MOVE

"I just can't pay that much rent," said Mrs. Annello. "I'll have to move. I can't find another place to go."

Laroque said that Mrs. Annello had been behind in her rent.

She claims that the rental agency refused to take her rent money after the notice she received in December. Then last week she said she got a telephone call that the rent was to be paid at once.

"I didn't get down the day I got the call," said Mrs. Annello, "and was summoned to appear before Magistrate W. J. Thomas."

To escape eviction then, she related, she paid $120-two months rent-to the rental agency and $3.75 for the cost of the magistrate action.

"I tried to pay my rent another month for $60," she said, "and this was refused. The next day I got a letter advising the rent had gone up to $125. All they've told me is that Miss Cole wants to do over the place. But I don't know what improvements they could make."

EVICTION ACTION

Laroque said that unless Mrs. Annello pays the $125 a month, that eviction proceedings will be instituted.

Elaborating on the housing problem. Mayor Elliott said the need for housing in Kinston is acute. He said that 50 homes are needed immediately for the persons who will be engaged in erecting the DuPont plant there and that 200 or 300 more could be used.

An apartment project to provide housing for 178 Negro families and 72 white families is under construction, but completion date is in the distant future.

Authorities at Camp Lejeune are making demands on Kinston for housing and the Kinston Chamber of Commerce has a representative employed full-time to handle housing problems.

Mrs. Annello, who can be evicted any day now, met her husband while he was in training at Camp Davis during World War II and they were married in October 1943, after he was graduated from officer candidate school.

Her husband, a first lieutenant, remained in the Reserve after being discharged from the service and entered the Army again in October 1948, where he went to Germany to serve in the occupation forces. While there, their youngest child was born.

They returned to the United States when their oldest child, the victim of a heart malady, had to undergo a heart operation in Children's Hospital in Boston in 1949. What next?

The brave young mother of three children doesn't know.

(From the Kinston (N. C.) Free Press, March 15, 1951]
KOREAN SOLDIER'S FAMILY FACING EVICTION HERE

Mrs. Vincent P. Annello, of 406 West Vernon Avenue, Thursday, was facing possible eviction from her apartment, while her husband is in a rest hospital after combat duty in Korea. The alternative is to pay double rent, effective immediately, according to Mrs. Anneilo.

Mrs. Annello has three small children and her father who will have to move to new quarters-when they can be found. There are very few adequate quarters available.

Miss Melba Cole owns the house and has asked for it in order to make it possible to renovate and improve the property. LaRoque and Hewett, her rental agent, is handling the matter. Some time ago she obtained permission to decontrol the rent on the house, since it was not under rent control when the control law became effective but was being used as a residence. The decontrol order came through from Goldsboro some weeks ago.

On December 15, the owner had notified Mrs. Annello she woul have to move, because she planned to renovate the structure. Decontrolling of the rent followed and instead of the $60 per month which has been collected on the downstairs apartment, the agent has advised Mrs. Annello it will be $125 per month in future.

Mrs. Annello Thursday renewed her search for other quarters and declared she didn't know what to do or where to go." She was hopeful of getting her problem solved before her husband learns about it, however, for as she says, "he has enough worries of his own."

[From the New York Daily News, March 19, 1951]

PROFITEERS FATTEN ON FAMILIES OF GIS AT HOUSING-SHORT CAMPS (Eight months ago the Army suddenly reopened Camp Pickett, Va., and almost overnight 35,000 GIs descended on nearby Blackstone, a typical small southern town with 3,528 people, a 10-block Main Streetand no escape from boredom. What's happened since, both to the soldiers and civilians, is told by Reporter Edward O'Neill, who talked to GIS, their officers and townspeople and made his own investigation in GI uniform. The following is the first of three articles.)

(By Edward O'Neill)

BLACKSTONE, VA., March 18.-Like the dreary playback of a 10-year-old newsreel, GIs wander forlornly about this suspicious and slightly frightened little town, fritter away their money on vice and honky-tonk entertainment, line up for movies, remember back when they knew nice girls.

Those who have brought their wives and children with them are far worse off. The victims of outrageous housing profiteering, they must live in Tobacco Road quarters and pay the equivalent of New York City rents.

THE SAME SORRY STORY

The whole squalid picture gives you that I've-been-here-before feeling of the prewar days before USO and decent soldier facilities. All the mistakes of 1940-41 are being carefully repeated here.

As a typical victim of the housing gougers, consider 25-year-old Corp. George Lindley, of Muncie, Ind., a 7-year Army man, who last August was transferred from Fort Meade, Md., to Pickett. He brought along his attractive wife, Mildred, and their son, Butch, 4.

After a dozen blunt turndowns from local home owners, the Lindleys finally obtained two upstairs room in a private house, sharing kitchen and bath with the family. The rent-$107 a month.

"I started to kick like a steer," George told me. "But I didn't get very far." Lindley, in fact, got the unanswerable Blackstone routine: "If you don't take it, I'll rent it to someone else."

WORST YET TO COME

Later, he suffered these other housing deals:

A three-room attic sublet 11 miles from camp where his family had to provide its own heat and share the bathroom. Rent $75.

83762-51-pt. 1-46

A two-room "apartment" sandwiched between a car and washroom in a Blackstone garage, with the bathroom and hot-water supply 30 yards away. Rent $50.

A three-room apartment in Petersburg, which is 39 miles from camp. Rent $55. Finally, the Lindleys lived, if you want to call it that, in a three-room cabin 9 miles from camp, deep in the dirt-road Virginia backwoods. Most of the windows were broken, there were only two wood-burning stoves for heat and the well was half a mile away.

I met them there. Mildred and Butch were bundled up in the living room while George wrestled to get the logs burning.

"If things have been so rugged here," I asked Mildred bluntly, "why didn't you go home?"

Her answer was the answer of all young Army wives-and it would take a pretty hard-boiled character to say it doesn't make some sense.

"My husband is going back overseas," she told me simply. "It seems that all we've known is separation-and I'm determined to stick with him until he ships out."

Well by now, the Lindleys' housing problem is solved. Corporal Lindley is en route to Europe and some other lucky corporal can take over that fine backwoods shack, complete with all eighteenth century improvements.

$150 FOR ONE ROOM

Somebody will, too. I found other GIs paying up to $150 a month for a single room, living in tumbledown trailertowns, bedded in a damp ex-barracks—at $20 a room-where the community bath and shower room are shared by 50 families. One lieutenant told me about a pleasant woman who invited him, his wife and child into her home after they'd exhausted themselves in a fruitless hunt for quarters. They were bedded down on a hallway couch and next morning, their host waved away their thanks, but not so pleasantly.

"That will be $6 for you and your wife," she said crisply. And another $2 for the baby.

PEOPLE ARE SHOCKED, BUT—

But you can't exclusively criticize the rent profiteers. When soldiers' wives walk into a grocery, they may find their food items double-priced. The second, higher-priced label has been hastily pasted over the legitimate price tab. With household appliances, too, there's been a markup for the military, and in rent, groceries, or pots and pans, the answer is always the same:

"If you don't want to take it, somebody else will."

In fairness to Blackstone, most townsfolk are shocked at these cliperoos and friendly toward soldiers' families. But when, dressed in GI uniform, I tried to get a hotel room, I found out firsthand what the men had been griping about. With Kay Boyd, a local radio performer as my "wife," I asked for a room for a month.

"I have very good civilian customers I have to take care of," the proprietress almost shouted at me. "They're gentlemen salesmen worth more to me than some camp GI. Neither you, the camp nor the Government can make me give up my rooms, either."

She told us to see the USO, but the best they could suggest was something way out of town and no guaranty of transportation into camp. We went back to the hotel and this time, the proprietress threatened me with the police and MPs "if you don't stop bothering me."

TOLD WHERE TO GO

"Go to hell," she added patriotically as we turned away.

"It makes me ashamed to be from this area," Kay said quietly.

But there it was-and will be until the Government comes through with some kind of Federal housing program.