HOUSING SCHEME

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 153, 30 June 1934, Page 2

HOUSING SCHEME

ON NATIONAL BASIS ENDOBSED BY U.S.A. A national housing scheme as a means of materially reducing unemployment and giving men work at their normal trades was propounded at the recent Dominion Returned Soldiers’ Association conference at Wellington, and wai approved. The full proposal was as follows: That this council of the N.Z.R.S.A. urges upon the Government and the Unemployment Board the urgent necessity of putting into operation some additional scheme of employment which will provide work at the normal trades and occupations of the mon concerned; and that as more than half the unemployed are connected cither directly or indirectly with the building industry a national housing scheme should be inaugurated, as this w’ould, in our opinion, offer the best means of finding employment of this nature. In support of the proposal the following points were emphasised:—(l) Building <costs were now at as low a level as they had been for a very long time; (2) work would be provided at or near homes of the unemployed and obviate the necessity of sending men into camps; (3) all work and money spent would be directly reproductive; (4) men would be employed in their own trades and their skill retained and morale improved, (5) the wages paid would be ruling rates and the spending power of the community thus materially increased. Mr. H. B. Burdekin (Wellington), in moving the adoption of the remit and that the Dominion was short of at least 10,000 houses at the present time. The idea behind the proposal was primarily to reduce unemployment, and it would also provide homes at a reasonable cost. Government Consideration. Mr. W. Perry, Dominion vice-presi-dent, said that a similar proposal had been placed before the Government recently, and he had reason to believe that it was receiving very serious and earnest consideration. Mr. D. McMahon (Te Aroha) moved as an amendment that the proposal be referred to the executive for consideration that he saw dangers in a scheme involving expenditure of millions of pounds, and he was not prepared to support it without the most careful investigation. Mr. W. E. Lcadley (Christchurch) said that the proposal merely indicated to the Government and the Unemployment Board a field that it might be profitable to work and that would reduce unemployment and be in the best interests of the country. He believed it was a constructive scheme. As a former member of the Unemployment Board, he considered that the No 5 scheme was demoralising •to relief

workers. The new scheme should not be confused with the No. 10 scheme, which was oven to criticism because it had allowed largo concerns to receive assistance they did not require. Mr. T. McCarroll (Thames) said that

his district had the largest percentage of unemployed in the Dominion. Under the No. 10 scheme the district had spent £ll9, 000 and only four returned men and 21 other unemployed had been given work out of a total of 647 unemployed. A National Saving. Mr. B. J. Jacobs (Palmerston North) considered that even on the lowest basis a housing scheme tvould be a national saving compared with the present vast expenditure on unproductive relief works. The amendment did not receive a great deal of support, and the motion was tarried.