WORKERS' HOMES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 17535, 31 March 1919, Page 4

WORKERS' HOMES.

CR. SIGLEY'S SCHEME.

At a recent meeting of the Borough Council, Or. Sigley-*-wha was then contemplating retiring from the Cfeuarij]k~ formulated a scheme lor the pro*isioi* of a large number of -workers* tomes. Seen by a "Chronicle" representative), after he had consented to allow himself to be nominated as a candidate ft* til* Mayoralty, Cr. Sigley said that in attempting to evolve a scheme which would help to solve the housing 2&kblcm, he had been actuated solely Dy*« desire to leave behind him some tangible evidence of his, practical sympat^, for the workers. "Fully intending: "m' I then did. not to!seek re^electbmj-mlt^ having this idea in my mind, I feH.s* \ was up to me to pass it on fbt-thtMW^' sideration of the incoming Mayor ajpt'.' Council," saidOOfr f Sigley. "It 1 wai§nr hope," he added, "the scheme wtww. be adopted as a practical solution qf% very acute problem* Now that X have) < been persuaded to stand for the Jffiaalft-' alty, I shall, of course, make Mis scheme a prominent feature of way Municipal policy," "■**'"*. Asked for an explanatory oamm^^jt his proposal, Cr. Sigley said his achej^contemplated the erection, in snbatttk.tial instalments, of not less than $ffa workers* homes. "As a tradesmW* closely associated with the buildinffuiir dustry," he proceeded. "I have *&jiS. recognised that under existing oon IS* tions private enterprise cannot posriJWjr provide suitable homes at a tant the means of the average *erke& present-day cost of material* affedlalp our 'makes quite unattainable as fitrw-' dinary business proposition tfee"; ideal of a good house at a «heap tenW^tluit is clearly shown by the BotftugVckron-' cil'g last attempt to erecVilfiarienf. homes, th« cost of the howMa.tnaldigl a high rent inevitable^ ConM^tuintU;, after giving the matter earnest oonsilU eration. I came to the obtaellteioji - thit the urgently-needed solution must Ks , sought form a scheme freed from tl*., considerations which must MoessantjK' weigh with the investor who builds a view to securing an Immediate^pmsfc fit. On the assumption that>ihe^smjp munity can afford to da What the^p»vate investor cannot do, i.e., -Wait pit X the resultant profit on the «nter^|»|lu v I reasoned that it would be g&crf\M§fc. ness for the municipality to TmUd ;r«tr homes .under conditions which tfatpf' enable them to become rrafiiJearning:; say thirty years, hence, ir the, intern meeting a great and growing "n^ft^ without entai'ing any, appreciable/lm^ den upon the community. PopuJatioir is wealth. We must keep our papula-" tion, and the only way to do thafris^jfcb provide decent homes for v>he worker*. We have the land—plenty of foHJnHt ntust build the homes. And I ftxpticcm*^ vinced that we can do this suacessfuUyv if we go about it in the right wray^ Briefly, my suggestion is, that £h# v houses —some ten or twelve fd*,*,*tar± ' —shall be erected by day labour under; the supervision of a competent'SexpeWj that the Council purchase all requisite material in balk at bedrock poetjatet that all unnecessary expenses "be elinw- ' nated. I am planning {or^«opdjbnck • or concrete houses, to be let aftt<dWHiite rents of, say, 10/. for three ttririftSjß<* } for four rooms, and 15/. for five.rwms,. and I^think this can be attained if itfee? carrying out of thevbuiHing tefaeiie^is left to practical men. I quite miieu pate tl^+ despite the building ecdtowni^ . effected by big buying and oomj^ete^t administration, it may be neceUKtrj^^ ~ order to keep the rents down to-t»iug_ >• pointed limit, that the scheme iihiTO, be to some relatively small ;e*tei^:*wK" sidised by the Corporation; but^thte-sj|i^ sidy would, I suggest, be, no morfphjafej equivalent to the sinking fund neoMsi^;!;-. to the ultimate purchasing ,of the orafes' by the Borough. In other WOrdslif **'f the end of about thirty yean the W&wraw' would become the property of twpßpp?^ ough, and the whole of the recitft^enj derivable from them would conititute' a very profitable return on the itartmH^^ ment." ■ . , * •