The Dominion. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1920. HOUSING AND LABOUR

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 181, 27 April 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1920. HOUSING AND LABOUR

v . 'An idea of the magnitude of the housing shortage in Wellington is ! given in a recent statement com- : piled for the Progress League by ; its secretary, Colonel G. Mitchell, ' M.P. In the form it takes, howover, the statement cannot be accepted as meticulously accurate.. Colonel Mitchell relies mainly upon a comparison of the increase of population year- by year since 1911, with the .number of houses orected annually, .and this method loaves some important factors out of account. For instance, it ignores . the size of houses, and the increasing extent to which new dwellings are being arranged as residential flats. Possibly a detailed analysis of the position-might modify Colonel Mitchell's general conclusion that dwellings would have to be built in Wellington at the rate of 800 a year for four years in order to' overtake tho present shortage. It is undoubtedly true, however, that there is a very serious shortage of good houses in Wellington and some other parts of the Dominion, and that it will not be overtaken unless a special effort is made and tho present rate of building progress- is considerably improved. In an interesting section of his statement, - > Colonel Mitchell estimates that the total_ value of dwellings erected in Wellington last year, (to March 31) was £269,600, and that of buildings other than dwellings, £344,606. From_ this he concludes that "if all buildings other than houses were, stopped, unless of a very urgent nature, our present building staff would build about 800 houses in a year." From the other particulars cited, Colonel Mitchell apparently assumes that it is/ feasible to employ practically the whole "building staff" on the erection of dwellings. Acute, however, as is the dc mancl for dwellings, it has to be recognised that some other buildings are needed quite ns urgently in the interests of public health and welfare. _ A conspicuous example in point is that nf t]io new schools which are needed badly in tho more congested parts of (.he city. Colonel Mitchell himself has pointedly emphasised this necessity. Yesterday, in company with, the chairman of the Education Board (Mr. T. Forsyth) he inspected a number of city schools, ancYall who are aware of the condition of these buildings will agree that he did not use unduly strong language in describing some of thom as a disgrace to our city and civilisation. His comments ought to servo a> useful purpose in stirring up parents to take an active interest in the election of school committees this week, and particularly to forward the demand for the early crection of ■em schools. Meantime it is evident that any proposal to concentrate building resources mainly on the erection of dwellings .must be subject to reservations. In Wellington, at all events, the erection and extension of primary schools" and other "educational buildings ought to impose a heavy demand on building resources for years to come. Some' building must be done also in the interests of industrial and ' commercial efficiency, and, although the .postponement of non-essential building is in every way warranted, an attempt to copcontrate an undue share of available resources on the construction of dwellings would at best remedy one evil wliilo leaving others to develop unchccked. The housing shortage, in fact, is part—admittedly a vital part—of a building problem which must he considered and dealt with in all its aspects if an adequate remedy' is to bo found for existing evils. As wo have pointed out on various occa-

sions, there is ample scope fov tho adoption of better and move systematic methods in regulating the supply of timber and other essential materials. Even if a full supply, of materials were available, <tV

however, it would remain to solve the labour problem. It would be interesting to hear from the Labour Party, which at present is manifesting some' interest in the housing problem, just what constructive proposals it is prepared to advance in this coiincction. Tho evils of the housing shortage arc most acutely felt by wagc-cariiers and their families. Arc the workers of the building trades prepared to take part in a special effort to remedy these evils, or arc they determined to adhere to a routine procedure which indefinitely postpones a remedy'( These questions call for an honest, answer. It. is evident that tho mere diversion of labour to the construction 6£ dwellings will not solve tlu pitiblcm. With non-essential buildings excluded, it will still be necessary, if public needs are to be met, to improve upon the amount of building that can now be undertaken in a given time. Labour must take a full and active part ii the problem is to bo attacked with any hope of success. It is surely, reasonable to suggest, for instance, that in existing conditions building trade workers might agree as a temporary measure to a moderate extension of the working day,,with increase of pay to recompense tor tho added hours of work. Over a great part of the year a considerable addition might thus be made to the normal dally and weekly output, and also, of course, to wages. Then, again, there"'is the question of allowing unskilled men to engage in building, work with a view to acquiring tradesman status within a limited'period. Under an arrange- . ment made some months ago, a limited number of returned soldiers 111 the AYellington district are at present qualifying under these conditions. If the experiment succeeds, organised Labour, in the interests of workers generally, ought to be as ready as any other section of the community to consider, its extension. With the building outlook as it is, there is little enough danger of flooding the (milding trades with unnecessary labour, and it is quite evident that the body of labour available must be reinforced in solne way if the public demand for houses, schools, and other essential buildings is to be met within any reasonable period; Organised Labour cannot ignore this aspect of tho problem without branding its present housing ' agitation as insincere and futile.