The Dominion FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1920. LABOUR AND THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 196, 14 May 1920, Page 6

The Dominion FRIDAY, MAY 14, 1920. LABOUR AND THE HOUSING PROBLEM

Most of those who spoke at the f Labour Party housing demonstra- ' tion in the Town Hall on Wcdnes- I day night made it evident that they * are much 'less intent on solving the f housing problem than on stirring '■ up bitter feeling in the community. I No really helpful suggestion seems ' to have been made, and the extreme i and disloyal spirit manifested by a number of the speakers shows s thorn to be quite unfitted to take ' part in any social movement aiming * at the promotion of the general s welfare. A number of them turned i aside from the housing question in ' order to make sneering and objec- J tionable references to the visit of the ' Prince of Wales—references which, * in view of the magnificent welcome l that has been and is being given 1 to-the Prince in every part of the Dominion, show how utterly out'of s touch with public sentiment these t men arc. Much might be said about I men who see in this great national - celebration a "nremeditated de- l bauch," and find ir. the horrible j conditions that obtain in Bnssia an ' example for the New Zealand work- c ers to'emulate, but all that matters or is pertinent at the moment is that such men, when they profess v themselves' anxious to promote an c improvement in housing conditions, s arc obviously using the agitation t to further other ends. The meet- s ing on Wednesday night did not * even approach a practical considera- I tion of this great and urgent na- c tional problem, but it served a use- c ful purpose in emphasising anew I that some of the worst obstacles to J a solution are raised by tho men ' : who are at present allowed to sppak s for organised Labour. These men j find in loud talk about' housing 1 evils a convenient means of stir- e ring up the class feeling on which r they batten, and of making_ party •* capital, but they carefully sidestep s the fact that organised Labour has ° an all-important part to play in t the solution of the housing problem, !' and that until it fairly assumes its " responsibilities in the matter all a attempts at a full solution are I vain. .■ . l ' The remedy for the housing v shortage is,- 1 of course, to build J houses, and of factors that at pros- a ent limit the number of new houses v erected infinitely the most important is the shortage of _ labour. _ A «ood deal has been said, particih \ larly by Labour spokesmen, about t unnecessary building, which alleged- d ly is diverting a great deal of lab- s our from the more important work n of building dwellings. As far_ aa t can be judged, talk of this kind a rests upon a somewhat slender fqun- ]; dation, but in any case organised v Labour has the remedy largely in t its own hands. Here in Wellington b and in many other parts of the Do- " minion, the erection of dwellings is t delayed, and the erection of others ] ( that might be put in hand is' pre- r vented altogether, because it is im- t possible to obtain the labour that o is required. This does not relate I only to private operations. Govern- I ment contracts for the erection of a workers' dwellings are going beg- } ging; municipal housing enterprises' c arc having' the same fate, or pro- t cceding at a. snail's pace, andaal e ways the main factor accounting n for this state of affairs is the short- a age of labour. It is quite open to g building tradesmen to turn aside p from other forms of building in h order to speed the work of provid- d ing homes, and this in itself brands' n

much of the talk of Labour spokesmen about unnecessary building as insincere. Undoubtedly organised Labour has a splendid opportunity of co-operating to its' own great benefit and that of the whole community in forwarding such a housing scheme as existing conditions demand. But where, in all the ocean of talk about housing evils that has been put forward on behalf of organised Labour, is there evidence of a single purposeful effort to, cope with the labour aspect of the housing problem? The truth is perfectly plain. If the people are to be provided within any reasonable period with the homes they so urgently need, the existing body of building labour must be reinforced, and, if the thing is humanly possible, made more effective. In such circumstances as obtain, it is only right that any. and every possible means of attaining these results should be considered.. It rests first and foremost with organised Labour to say whether the position is to lie met by_ an extension of -working hours, with, oi course, a corresponding increase in wages; bv the "dilution" of skilled building trades, or in other ways. There remains, of course, the question of bringing in tradesmen and other workers from abroad. Bearing in mind that whatever is done the Dominion will offer ample employment to all available building workers at least for years to come, it ought to be comparatively easy to frame such proposals as would meet the case. As matters stand, however, organised Labour is not only refraining from constructive effort in this direction but apparently is doing something to make bad conditions worse. The point on which everything centres is that the key to the housing problem is an adequate supply of labour, and until they honestly' face this fact and assist in shaping- such a policy as the case demands, tliose who profess to speak for organised Labour must accept a large share of responsibility for the slow progress that is being' made in providing the people with homes.