HOUSING: The Way to Do It

The ruggedly individualistic U.S. housing industry, which has seldom been able to agree on what a federal housing policy should be, last week surprised everyone, including itself. At a round-table sponsored by BUILDING,† the five great trade associations of the industry—the Mortgage Bankers, the Home Builders, the Lumber Dealers, the Associated General Contractors, and the Producers Council —got together on a comprehensive program in support of U.S. rearmament.** Chief point: house building should be cut back to 1,000,000 units a year from the current rate of 1,400,000.

The way to accomplish the cutback, said the builders, is not by...