LIVING CONDITIONS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 74, 21 December 1918, Page 8

LIVING CONDITIONS

i AN INTERESTING REPORT

! THE HOUSING PROBLEM i >...,.

IE WISDOM OF GROUP OFFICIALS

h'oup captains and officials engaged in I recent epidemic campaign met in the tication Board's room last 'evening to isider a lenort drawn up by a tsub-com-irtee appointed at. a meeting held last ik. Mr. H. A. Parkinson occupied the iir. Mr. Willinni Foster stated Hint [the drafting of the report they had !y been helped by reports from tivu nips,' which"' was disappointing. The S-cominittce held two meeting, and j.i P. Eraser, JLP., had been present,at ither.'.He assumed that the exigencies jthe: election had something to do with

hie report, which was circulated among >' delegates, was discussed in commit- ;. The report as adopted ran:— 'In presenting thib report to thei .Miner of Public Health, the Wellington |y Council, and to the Press, the cumttee of tho heads of the various 'health' itricts organised during the recent inbiiza .outbreak desire ta make quite ar that the committee does not augit that the conditions mentioned hereiassisted in tho introduction of the epiJuic, but is of opinion that some of an did increase tho severity of the outiiak; and therefore suggests that tlic ite should be prepared tp conduct any bsequent cajnpaign—should the nece*y for such unfortunately arise—with ire economy and greater efficiency, .than s'the case this vear. further, thn perienee of members of the various juniittees-revealed conditions in the liv\l and housing of tho people that no s'but a. fool can ignore. This is not i.alarmist's statement. It is a plain jtenientof fact which can be bacl;e(l \*by evidence at any time. It is a mat-('of-conjecture whether there is any. i'nection between these conditions and 3 istate of tiio physical condition of the jple as evidenced in the annual report jthe medical inspectors of the Xducain Department or in the annual rert of the Defence Department survey-' \ the First Division of the ExpoditionY Force and daises A and B of the :ond Division. Whether there be such connection is for tho medical experts ''determine. Meanwhile the following tract from The Dominion* of Decomri2o, 1918, is worth requoting:— ■ "Speaking on the subject, of the lcad- ». causes of physical weakness in the mhood of this country, a medienj offi- '• of wide experience said that ho was Songly'of opinion that the Government ght to make some intelligent use of the jcruieting information that had been acIred. The standard of physical fitness [New: Zealand obviously was too low. iera must be reasons ferthe facts that id' •been revealed, and those reasons ght to bo sought out and examined.'

Iv Housing ,of the People. fThe investigations of tho 'various ptith.' committees reveal the facts that un localities and isolated slum houses j.exist in. Wellington. These shims are Ireproach to our citizenship and ,a mace to national efficiency and they ast be removed.

fßesides the slum areas usually acpted by Wellington residents j as such, p visits of members of the various comIttees revealed undoubted slum localie where slums .were not previously ie*nised aa existing. A letter to the ,Islic Press by Mr. A. Gellatly, officer icharge of the Lyall Bay district, bears [equivocal testimony to the fact that plorablo conditions exist in parts of at favoured scasido suburb. Instances J the city could bo .multiplied, e.g., a utor from ono of the city centres found elve people, representing six different milics, existing in ono small four-room- ,- cottage. A man, his wife, and child jupied ono room, another similar fani-

;• a second, a man nnd wifo a third, ; man and wife the fourtlj, where the mmon cooking was also done, one girl :pt on a stretcher over tho bath, and jother girl occupied the curtained-off ib of a miserable passage. OnD.of the cupants rented this cottage at 2Gs. a let. What he made by sub-letting was •t ascertained. Similar conditions were and 1 in nearly every other district. •'Antecedent to any action for the abo;ion of slums must be considered the lestion of housing accommodation for fe people at present occupying them. To at end this committee strongly supMa powers being given to the local civic Ithority to purchase under tho Public ,qrks Act suitable building- arena in iar proximity to the city-say, at Miraar, Island Bay, Karori. Wadestown. aandalloJi, Johnsonville, Tawa Flat, and 0 Hutt Valley—and cut them up in larter-acre sections-for residential subfos. . An. essential part of this sugges}n is cheap and Tapid means of trans|rt to_ those suburbs. Where tram facili!S exist at present thn question of fast jrough trams between the hours of 7 and a.m. and 5 and 7 p.m. is one worthy of nsideration. In tho case of suburbs ■ ;oposed to bo erected under this scheme jpid and cheap tram and strain transport 'essential, and must bo taken in hand njointly with tho acquisition of the nd. 1 :. Cheaper Transit. "That both tram o.r train service must I .w axiomatic. The committee els.that an efficiently managed .(system can bo carried out cheaply id profitably. But even conceding there ay-be a monetary loss on such underling, such, loss is spread over the whole jpulation, and any mere monetary defieney will be more than balanced by the iproved health and the consequent incased, efficiency of tho citizens as a hole._ As evidence of the desirability of imoving the people from congested urban 'eas to the more open suburbs, the com"tej quotes tho following extract from |o Khandallah report :— ' i There were 172 cases of influenza in .this district, of which 12 wero serious and only one fatal, There wore no cases of filthy habitation, no cnsn.3 of overcrowding in buildings, no congestipn of buildings. While these .conditions dp not guarantee immunity from attack, yet the highly satisfnc:tory result of the enmnaiftn noted «l?ove.;isyconcliisive proof that thev •facilitate the successful combating of ■disease and the recovery of tho pick ~.As soon as these relieving sub'urbs are callable for habitation the slum areas ad individual slum houses should be at jw condemned and destroyed. .With reird to the ground for building purposes l the city itself, your committee aproves tho suggestion of building thereon ro-stoned houses'of tho tenement type— yo self-contained homos, ono on 'each 3or, with separate entrances and exits id all reasonable sanitary conveniences— ?aces between ths houses to be not less ian loft., and all close-boarded division no front fences to be abolished.

; Apartment Housss. "The growth of the 'apartment house,' 3 differing- from the 'tenement house,' as been a marked feature of tho housing roWem in Wellington of late years This pmmittee is not disposed to'blame the far for this evil in its entirety; it is rmly of opinion that the excessive ratals are tho main cause, and that the vil will not be remedied until relieving üburbs are available. If. is recommemld that all apartment houses shall be egistered and open to inspection by pecial' inspectors under the Health Deartment. ! "Similar inspection should be made in sspect of all boardiiiirhouses and private hd public hotels, and certificates iesuwl t short regular intervals to these intitutions after inspection. The conditions jeclosed under which many of the young ien and women arc herded in 'hoarding.ouses or aro 'rooming , in apartment ouses are of such a nature as to make he establishment of properly-built mid .roperly-inanagwl hostels a matter of naional responsibility. (Note.—An instance f .overcrowding in unsuitable surroundoge is one where- seven young men boardrs were.found living in a basement with joncrete floor and walk, and no adejuate lighting and ventilation; this in me- of the most favoured ressdeutinl itreeta in the city.) I "Housing is a matter of such national njportance that this (.•ommitteo feels ustified in urging that all houses shall irovide living and sleeping nccomniodadefinite" Juuuber" "of.-.poreons ificler' conditions to be determined by tho ■Xpert .medical advisers of the Health Department. ' [ "Slico invcstJKation by members of the

Health Committee reveals far too frequently tho fact that people, living in houses that could not by any strotch of imagination be termed 'alum' were not observing the simplest miles of cleanliness and sanitation, it is strongly urfjed that nil homes shall be open to inspection by competent women inspectors under the Public Health Act.

"There arc certain classes of people who by nature of thciv work would be uuablo to avail themselves of homes in the suburbs even with cheap and rapid transit. Waterside workers are a typical class. For such cases the committee is of opinion that power should be given the proper authority—in this case the Harbour Board—to erect properly-equip-ped tenement houses of the most approved modern type. Such houses could be erected near the waterfront, ami could be made architecturally attractive.

Medical Service. "In regard to medical service, the experience of all districts seems to have been very much tho same. During the first five'or rx days of the epidemic tho doctors attended their private patients, and ho attempt was made to deal with the largo number of cases—some serious— that fell outside this field. It ia true the number of doctors was small for the work, the more reason why every available minute should have been utilised for the help of the sick. The amount of overlapping wns very great, and the amount of time lost considerable. This became manifest as soon as the doctors were localised. This happened on the sixth day of tho epidemic,'and tnero can be little doubt that the delay in bringing this system into effect resulted in a great amount of unnecessary suffering, and probably not a few deaths. Once the system "wan in operation the doctors, with tow exceptions, worked strenuously in harmony with the -district committees, and deserve every appreciation for their arduous laboiu'3. ■ "The whole system of control of the mediciil profession has been brought prominently before the people by the epidemic, and there seams to be three, possible ways of improving the present system or 'lack of system: That the nationalisation of the medicnl profession be taken into consideration and that the doctors on the staff of the Public Health Department should be so increased m number that a State doctor would always lie provided for each area, and in time of epidemic all doctors, vrhilo carrying on their private practices, should be compelled to deal with epidemic cases in areas allotted to them. "One small but important fact calls for attention. Much of the doctors' valuable time would bo saved if there were a clear and systematic numbering of the lioiises. Each "householder should be .compelled to have the number of his house in clear figures (dark on-n light background or vice versa) on his gate, but wherever tne gates are above Hie level of tho. road a clear indication of the numbers should ue given at the road level.

* Compulsory Nursing. "The nurses who undertook the duty of visiting the sick reported an astonishing lack of elementary nursing ekiU on tne part'of many women. Ability to prepare plain invali'd cookery or to ilenl witn some of the simpler forma oF nursing was conspicuous by its absence, buen a lack of essential housowifeSy knowledge must tell ngainst national strength at all times, and is especially deplorable in times of crises such as that just passed through. Women equally with wen have their obligations to the State. The State rightly requires men of a cerahn age to give up some of their time to training for the defence of their country against its temporal enemies, so equally women should bo required within certain limits to undergo training for the α-ainst disease, fflie committee therefoie recommends that for 'young women between the ages of 18 nnd 20 yenrs the Stale should institute some form of training in elementary numng, and that nil women, unless engaged in' some other educational training, should be compelled to attend weekly classes in nursing until thev shall have reached a certain prescribed degree of efficiency. Probably the organisation of the St. John Ambulance Society could'- be made of great value in this connection.

Sanitation., "Without suggesting that the civic authorities have been lacking in their ojiort for the sanitation of the- city, this committee has the following recommendations to make:— . . , . "I. The inspection of drains and backyards must be more vigorously and more readily undertaken, and ohieers must have executive powers. ~ . , "2 All streets should be side-channel-led and such channels should be flushed witli water and disinfectant frequently during the summer.' "3. Citizens should again be directed to burn much of the perishable reiiise that now finds a haven in the garbage tin—eitlier in the copper, fires or in .n> improvised, destructor, eiich as an oilcan. "I. That the city authorities be asked to improve the system for the collection of rubbish for the destructor, and if possible use should be made of the existing tram lines for this purpose. "5. Collection of rubbish for the destructor should be made by night, and use made of the existing tram lines tor this purpose. "6. The practice of depositing street sweeping* in public or seiai-public places should be discontinued. "7. A by-law should be introduced requiring at-least 2ft. between the ground and the under-sido of the floor level of all dwellings, and an area of 6ft, of ventilation for each HI square feet of floor space, properly distributed. This ventilation applies to all buildings,-shops, factories, etc.. and should lie carried to the top of wall where necessary by means of proper shafts in the wall. Improvement of Transit "That improvement of tram services in relieving congestion lies i:n the direction of extending tho concessions and accelerating tho time-table. "Efforts should be made to bring all tram services directly under city control, so that universal concession tickets will l>e available at a maximum- fare of 2ld. to the limits of the service. Railway Transport. "The present railway connection between the city and suburbs is quite iv serious embarrassment to residents who are compelled to use tho poof services available. "Tho City of Wellington should lose no occasion to push ahead the proposed Ngahaur.infra-Tawa Pint tunnel, us this work would bring excellent residential areas within seven mile s , i ■ Improved Rosd Services, "Wellington suffers bndly frpm dust owing to the conditions of many streets. "The cleanliness of the city would ho vastly improved if all streets, possibly not wood blocked or concreted, were treated or coated with bitumpn. Such roads can be washed and swept, which in itself will induce 'ckr.nlineM on tho part of tho dwellers on such street-*. Horses in the City. "It should i>o. the policy of the city to freo the streets'of lioises at tho earliest possible date."