HOMES FOR WORKERS

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 13 April 1908, Page 4

HOMES FOR WORKERS

lh.e Wellington! City Cuunoil has ny texed up(vr. tho puzzliTig task of supplying deserving workers with suitable hom&s. At the last meeting a resoluti<<n was carried which stated Uu« desirability of the citizens of Wellicgton purchasing 250 acres of land on which tc ca-oct houses, and t3ia,t tihe City- Council ondcit^cr to arraoigo ■with the Wellington Harboa* Boaa"d nieiiins of pioviding wharf tinployoeo and othtirs with homes i i oasona,bly proportionate to oarnings. Frcm tlie disoussidn. which ensued it was obvious that tho Council recogniisod it was up against a problem, which, will take a lot of solving. "The worker,'-' Cr Fisher is reported to ha.v© Raid, "is wo>rs3i off today than, he was 10 years ago, because the Council had not attempted to solve thi© housing pro-b-l^an." Wo arc not so surst tliat the worker is worw off now tliaoi a d«a- . cade ago>— teitainly hei is Lettea.' clc-thed, better fed and his staodaj'd of living gemeatilly i,s higJicr. Ca' BaJlingcr is cue of those who do not telieivei in municipal inti!a"ventiom, •'I don't believe in workmen's homeo," he declared. "I don't bciiuve they will he a success Workers are well treated in Now Zealand. It is Iho coaistant demands for increased wages which has sent up tho rents." The "constant demand for increased wages?' probably had somotliipg to do with rent imc'rcases, but, of course there must havu bee-n, other and more patemt causes; such, for in&tainco, as the demand for tho houses themselves being much gi-eater than the supply. 'Pile task of making tihe supply equal to the demand for lwwses a* «j Qerta ( in rental is 000 whioli bristles with, difficulties. It is really philanthropic, not commercial, for th& cl^ar intention cf the Council must b© to invest tho liionoij- &h a dMincts^ lowei* rate' cf interest than it ould cam. And at the. best only a favored few could be presented with the premium which the low-rent house would represent. A scheme whereby workers might acquire homes of their <;wn would probably add more to- their pi'otaperity tluui a plan ft<r eternal renting. But tho proposal tlwit opportunity should be offered tc purchase the property is rosisted by the aooialistio section, who cay they set-, in the municiipal ownership of hcuses the first, step towards the ultimate nationalisation of all land.