Public Opinion

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 117, 21 May 1942, Page 4

Public Opinion

. THE HOUSING PROBLEM . | Sir.—W.th regard to the housingi problem, which you have suggesteui could be made easier by the popular I U.S.A, method of using sections made ready to put together, to enlarge, or » to take apart for transport if required, would it not he also an advantage to have several of the next batch oi! State-aided houses divided between! small townships instead of ad Ung j rows to citx sabur )S? Within a dozer, miles of aimoi e. ■ J eral small town-hip> that hax»* maw, little or no progress since moioimp; carried most Lad. to the large. | centres. Aroun i these small cer.i/i . j within a iew miles, are a number o. | farm.-, whose owner.-. aftcj wo; .in_out the possibilities ol then - laiu. J through several years ol good seaso.;. • and had. feel they cannot reasonanij. carry the cost of each builaing a hous I for a marred couple ..ill; several! children, out need more help. i'o-{ gethei Urx would keep several men' employed all the year round. Unrccor lour cottages built in each of these ■ small centres would do a good deal towards helping the farmers’ laooui difficulty, possibly also the domestic ; hdp problem ol their wives. when! gii Is bi ought up in tne country i its < >ndit ons an fai trot 1 he io i-, ecring stage. The building co.-. 1. i should be less. witn the lower price o. 1 i he land. The cost ol living should be lower, where there is room to be self-’ leliant for vegetables, eggs, fruit, possibly also milk, to -ay nothing oil lower rates. The standard oi living need not be lowered, as ea h township has its school, post office and store, j perhaps several shops, and ii not a ■ church at least a building for public meetings, also easy access to second- • ary schools and larger shopping centres when required. Farms ano; townships would benefit, it would savej the time and cost of transporting men ’ by lorry for farm woij<. also it would I be a decided help against the central-j isation that older lands are finding an' increasingly difficult problem. So why j not try the experiment, of course, cautiously? -I am. etc., KATHERINE MERCER. WORK FOR VICTORY f ' night io Mr. Fraser's appeal on behali ‘ of the Liberty Loan. 1 have also list- • ened with equal interest to various ap- i peals over the radio in recent weeks, for men skilled in various crafts to en- j rol for war work. I have also heard I frequently over the air the slogan! ‘We Work for Victory.' These three don’t appear to me to; synchronise. The Prime Minister • asked the citizens of New Zealand, j the small investors in particular, to make definite sacrifices, to go without something, something they will feel the loss of. in order to invest in the Liberty Loan. On the other hand men are wanted for war industries, and the reward offered is not victory, but overtime! rates ot pay for hours worked over 44 | per week, up to double time for over 48 hours. On top of this was added j plus 5/-. plus 5 per cent ~ w hatever' that may mean The pay for a week makes an impressive total. Now, as a

I citizen of Now Zealand and therefore I a potential investor in the Libert y Loan. I am wondering where the money for this overtime comes from. Is il from the Liberty Loan or the National Savings? With our country threatened as| ' never before, and the slogan ‘We! q Work for Victory' on our lips, surely ■we in this country could work 541 .hours a week for ordinary rates of I pay. and instead of overtime think of I vic tor \ as the reward for the extra I hours of work. A war effort which j requires overtime rates of pay can Ji *. be classed as a war effort, j The Prime Minister has asked the 'small investor to make sacrifices to Loan. Why not ■Ho the thing properly, cut out overtime rates of pay and let us all make -a- rite■<•-. and all really work for vic- ! tor*.. I am, etc., “INTERESTED."