THE HOUSING QUESTION

Grey River Argus, 5 September 1919, Page 2

THE HOUSING QUESTION

THE iniluer.za opideniic did th« Dominion at least one service by drawing a t- j tention \,o the matter of bad housing. There, is ■ undoubtedly aiv.^unnrecendented shqrtasiH of suitable homes for thw people tlirougliuut this country to-uay. From time to tim« attention is drawn to* tris fact by the ceases of hardship arising in many places where people are unable to .secure houses under any consideration short of what can only be called or extortimate rentals. .In the older countries we learn from time to timq. of the progress of inav.y schemes for 'housing l^foun^ ana it, is safe to. say that during; the next , lew years millions of new holies will be i reared in J the United i Kingdom to give the poorer classes "something like a loiuiaoic enviuijiuieiii, |iv . uuk country tha lJositioii . may [be comparatively much less serious," especially in regard to the number and proportion of the people who have Jta live in overcrowded and insaratary ' mslines. but the ; -dii : --j ference isoiily. 6W of degree, and onw i or two of our cities.' and notably the capital cjiy, are ia»t < going the way that leadfe to congestion overcrowding and deterioration. It is not surprising j therefore to see*., the working class « j AVelliiifiton. wiith the approval, ; uo J doubt., .of man.y v other'- citizens, public- ' ly demanding action >oi. the part of the i Goycrniiient on: ;i coinprehonsive national scale. The expenditure of a few inillioiiK no\s' ii; arrestm'u a dangerous teiidenC3 T might qiiito: eoitceivably be the itieans of saving not .only inmnuonible lives, and those especially of the un- ; born hundreds of thousands, but also! lnuuv^ millions of rnonev. The *ioper;i- | tiori of the preset: system of liousir.g is sufch thnt.- it is just those least able to j bcrtr hardships w(io .are mostly called , upon to put up with them. When a ! is forced, ioxtt' of ;> .habitable.Innise it- .is usually througli • poverty. ; Consequently the only alternative is to

go to what in very many cases indeed can only be classed as an uninhabitable place in which to dwell, either because of overcrowding or insanitariness, or both. What sort of a generation of children can be expected under such, conditions, Hitherto no more than an insignificant attempt has been made by the State to give facilities to people of moderate means to purchase homes, of their own. The. quantity of work actually done has not been sufficient tq materially improve the position. The. evils arising from sl shortage of suitable houses, in both toFn and country, are greater and more pressing than is suspected by the majority. W~ have it on. the authority of the Industries Commission that this evil shows evidences of becoming in the no.-"- future far more acute than it is at p-<v»nt. Until now, wHen our Government is committed to a policy of no more than providing a couple of hundred workers dwellings fcattered all over tho country, nobody bufr^those Whose aim was- purely to get the biggest financial return, out of the smallest outlay, have given their attention to the housing needs of the people. • The • supplying of Bouses' has been left almost entirely to private enterprise, but we have reached a stage' at which the housing problem is' miich too acute to be longer left entirely to that uncertain source of supply It is time that. a. National Housing * Department should, be. set up, to be under th" control of a MiTiistijr of the Crown and administered by Commissioners,, who should be men^of business experiojice ■with a 7 nov^e'ige of the Jjuilding trade. Power shr>ul<i' be given «to acquire land nid buildings cnmpulsorily, to nurchase land, make roads, acquire and carry on sawmills and joinery works; to purchase and import suppMes, purchase plant, manufacture articles required for the dwellings. Th's enterprise is supported by the Industries Committee, who urge tfhat a comprehensive scheme of housing construction be vndertaken on the following lines: — Brick, concrete, or other durable material to be vsed wherever possible, except in case<? v-iiere it is probable. tVat the sit.«- will be r*»nui>eri for ether purposes within a noriod "f 35 or 40 years, or in industries such as rw mines that may be vorkpri nut within a limited time. Consideration of economy shoi^d jiM'-.ho pprmittefl to bri^g tho r'iwoiitTip-c; hflloy' a renson: <v tle minimum standard of accommodation, attraetivenefs of d""ign sanitation and convenience.* The Cft^mi+tee a .""en "-U.h the demmid just, made nt t^e W"llinpton pubbV. mp"H"n- to t^i"*! pvf.p.wt. t v at they refo«»TnoTid that ample' 1 ." n.t least £2.n0n.000. must W mnde, to he drawn on b T ' Honsing- Com-T>i>«'<!innp~'i as re.om're' 1 !. a^id *o Iw PupnHpd fo Hinn at 4 per cent, interest, tho diffe v 'iiee between this rat" : and the ra*e which th" Gove v iMnr>r*t pays fnr this rmnoy. tojrefhor with, the cost of administration of the DenartnuMit. to be bovnc by the State. : The ptim indicate/l will provide about 3.000 additionnl houses, accommodating perhaps 15,000 peonle, whichwill to some extent remove the crushing disabilities at nresent existing. The ■houses provided rm^"- the National Sc* erne should be available. fr>r preference to men having incomes below £300, with an additional pllowanee of £25 per child over three in number. Where the houses are let, the basis should be 5 r>er cent p^is rates. In thp cases of houses sold, the selling prices should be the aetnal cost, .plus overhead charges. Liberal terms shoni'} be givon. on a 5 ncr cent, interest basis. Whe-n the houses should be erected in numbers of 'lo or more; sufficient lnnd should be provided where possible, for a garden;' and trams, railways; or other . quick f means f^f traps't shoifld be an important fac. tor. The Commi ttoe further recommend that local borUrs. be. empowered, in conjunction with the State, to initiate and carry into effect local housing schemes. A local body should bo empov.-p.red to frame such schemes in consultation wit.n the Commissioners and. if arvprovod by them, the necessary cap'tal advance at 4 per cent, interest; the Commissioners to be vested with power to investipate building schemes submitted by local authorities. Financial provisions a r e set out, the weekly rent i s fixer 1 , at the rate of 5 tv*v eei\t. o« the . c^st'of ar>vl building, plus 'the weekly proportion of nnnual rates. Every occupier should have the opt'on of purchasing the property occupied by him at a price only sufficient to prevent any loss to a local Body. Loans to companies and employers arc also urged, and rural workers are considere* 1 ,. Providing a worker earns no more than £300 a year, the Industries Committee consider he should be able to B ocure^a £750 loan for a new house,* or £500 to improve an existing one. -It is only right too that regulations be draughted to prevent as far as possible profit-making by the i sale of houses erected under thi« scheme airl also to provide that in the event ('" any sale the purchaser, must be a worker whose income is within thn limitation. No doubt, there will be an objection that a big housing scheme is jiot advisable at present, in view of financial stringency am l ' high prices, but tlvpse factors realiv are part of the war, and so far as State obligations arc concerned, must be considered part of the. cost of the Avar. The. greatest . *awt of the Dominion is its people. No material wealth whether State or nriyato propnrtv, would compensate for a loss nf virility and numbers in our • population, no matter of what section.;" Therefore, the conservation of anything el?" in but a. secoudary consideration filong;sifln that of giving the ' Ti-hole a good living environment Without tha^other. prosperity matters little.. a»»d Avith it adversity in other ways can'* be borne the more easily. '.-.'.