The Dominion. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1919. THE CRY FOR HOMES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 289, 2 September 1919, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1919. THE CRY FOR HOMES

Any doubts the Government may have felt about the absolute neces-

sity of undertaking a big housing scheme must be resolved now that it has received the report on this subject compiled by the Parliamentary Industries Committee. This body obviously was under no temptation to think out new ways of spending money. At every turn, as its inquiry extended, it was met by demands for State : expenditure in developing neglected resources or in other ways stimulating industrial expansion. As a whole its report demonstrates very clearly that there is good hope of a profitable_ return on nil the money the Dominion can possibly devote to industrial development for a very long time to come, What it has to say about housing is on this account so much the more striking. The construction ■ot thousands ot houses under a State-controlled scheme does not offer profit in the same sense or in the same degree as, for instance, tho harnessing of water-power, but the committcc could not be more emphatic than it is in stating that thousands of houses are urgently needed and must be constructed. It finds that the present high cost of building materials and other diiiiculties connected with building are grounds not for delay, but for prompt action on the part of the Government. This undoubtedly is sound, for in the present conditions of restricted building the evils oi the housing shortage are rapidly developing and the'problem of finding a remedy becomes more serious every day. Tho committee is well advised t'lso' in pointing to the shortage of houses as one root cause of industrial unrest. This is a country in which it ought to be open to any industrious worker to acquire a home of his own. The. possession by a worker of his own home tends to give him not only contentment, but a sense of responsibility which makes definitely for industrial harmony and efficiency. Indeed, it seems rather unlikely that the Dominion will ever make the most of its _ industrial and other opportunities until at any rate the bulk of ■ its workers have acquired that stake in the country which ownership of their own homes implies. Of late years an ever-increasing number of people have preferred to buy.-. or build nouses instead of paying rent, and undoubtedly this change would have developed much more rapidly than it has but for the exr t/aordinar,v difficulties which have arisen in the path of those desiring to acquire their own homes. Because these difficulties militate seriously against industrial efficiency, and also against the wholesome family life in which the best qualities of any people are developed, it is distinctly a matter of national concern that they should be overcome. 1

Laying chic emphasis upon the evils of the housing shortage, the committee is conimcndably explicit in outlining a remedy. It recommends the creation, of a national housing department under the control of_a Minister of the Crown, and administered by a commissioner and two associate commissioners who should be'men of business expci'ienco with a knowledge of the building trade. This proposal is practical ana to the point, though it may be suggested that in the selection of a Minister to control a defined enterprise like housing thei-e is everybe said for appointing a, technical expert, preferably an experienced building contractor. The less political interference there is with a housing scheme the better, and a Minister of Housing would probably be better able than a commissioner to assert his independent authority within the limits broadly set by Parliament. As a first step in providing ways and means the recommends that the sum of two millions be made available, and it states that this sum will provide _ about three thousand houses, ' which will to some extent remove the crushing disabilities at present existing " The estimate of cost, a little less than £070 per house, looks rather optimistic, particularly in view of the recommendation that materials more durable than wood should be used wherever possible. It is evident in any case that if the housing problem is to bo solved tho capital outlay by the State—an outlav it would recover gradually over a long term of years—is bound to run into millions.

Such suggestion as the committee makes for co-ordination of activities as between the State and local authorities, and also in regard to advances to industrial concerns and farmers, may call for detailed consideration. At the present stage, However, it seems more necessary to direct attention to one important detail in the recommendations which on tho face of it is hopelessly unbound in principle, and if it were applied would inflict serious injust,cc " le the community. This is the proposal that in flic case of both State and local bodv Inuldir.g schemes a loss of interest as between 4 per cent, and the actual cost of loans should be borne jv the i.tate. Under this arrangement the loss, whatever it amounted to, would be imposed as a burden 011 cue bulk of the community in order to a It on relief to a fortunate few. However enterprisingly a Slatehoußinjt scheme is. developed, the number of those who dircctlv benefit over a considerable period will Ue a comparatively small proportion

of the total population. There is no justice in an arrangement which would give the members of this group houses at something less than cost price and add in ruiy degree to the burdens of the much larger group whose members ;ire acquiring or renting houses undor conditions l»ss favourable than those of the State scheme. The bes-, that can be done under a State-housing schcme with justice to all concerned is to make houses available at cost, and to reduce that cost to the lowest point possible by the efficient organisation of construction on a bic scale, the acquisition of land in large areas, the improvement, of transport, and such 01, her ways as offer. The proposal to cheapen houses to a comparatively limited number of people at the expense of the > rest of the community is plainly inequitable. It would bear with particular hardship on a large number of people who are excluded from the benefits of a State-organised housing scheme only because they are making sacrifices in order to acquire homes under existing conditions.

One big question that ought to be taken up at once in a "practical spirit is that of finding the labour for want of which any really enterprising housing scheme is of necessity confined for the time being to paper plans. As matters stand, with building operations at a low ebb, building tradesmen are in very short supply. The Government ctiii rcadilv ascertain how far this state of affairs will be altered wh-::n repatriation is completed, and it is incumbent on it .to do so without loss of time. Already it is certain that many more building tradesmen than are available in the Dominion arc needed, and the only obvious way of obtaining them is to introduce them as immigrants. As paft and parcel of the big housing schcme it is bound to inaugurate, the Government ought to take organised measures to reinforce the ranks of the building trades to whatever extent is shown by inquiry to be necessary. A general invitation to building tradesmen in Great 'Britain to emigrate to the Dominion not Ik advisable. The right course would be to send a building expert to England to engage and organise such an additional labour force as is un-cloubtod'-y -required if housing operations on a big scale arc to be undertaken i:i this country.