The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE MONDAY, MARCH 17th, 1919. HOUSELESSNESS AND STAGNATION

Taihape Daily Times, 17 March 1919, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

MONDAY, MARCH 17th, 1919. HOUSELESSNESS AND STAGNATION

(With which is Incorporated The T*itape Pent «_ad New«i.

There are indications that Taihape is earning the description of being tho most meek and mild town in the Dominion; that it is competing with Nelson for the honour of being awarded tho right to be termed “Sleepy Hollow'.” Wc incidentally mentioned on Saturday that the owners of a large property, that has ats outlet in Taihape, were likely to sub-divide it for close settlement, and we arc deluged with inquiries as to wdio is going to create such a sensation. Time w r as w'hen closer settlement was commonplace, but Masseyism has made aggregation common and closer' settlement a rarity. Time w T as w'hen people lost no opportunity of doing whatever they thought would add another shillingswrorth of business to what they w-crc already doing; they invented means of improving the general situation, and no one knows that better than the first pioneers of this town and district. Then there came along businessmen from large centres who have no experience of community building, and who just stand behind their counters or sit in their offices from Monday morning till Saturday night waiting for money to walk into their establishments. These people wonder why business is dull, -while watching the custom that might come their way with the display of a little enterprise going to smaller and even less well equipped centres. The Chamber of Commerce, or the Tradesmen’s Association should have known what w r as happening with respect to closer settlement, and their members should have been possessed of the knowledge

that would have enabled the land being successfully placed on the market at the earliest possible date. Tailiap'e people are firm believers in “everything comes to him who waits,” and they are waiting for a long list of better things that are yet in the dim, dark distance. To avoid a calamity is contrary to their methods, and when they arc fortunate in so doing it is purely a matter of chance; they wait till it overtakes them, then struggle out the best way they can, if they are not among the overwhelmed. There is absolutely too much individual effort and absolutely no collective effort; it is man against man, shop against shop, an internecine fight for what little there is, instead of organising collective effort to increase that little, to bring in more for general distribution. What w'ould happen if in addition to the land that is to be subdivided for settlement another twenty thousand acres on the outskirts of the town was to be cut up into small farms'? Taihape business houses could not cope with the increased trade, they could not get the labour to do it simply because they have nowhere to house the labourers. If any arc under the impression that some magician is going to wave a wand and heigh-presto! a few hundred sanitary dwellings into the town they are doomed to be disappointed. There is nothing so certain as that progress is impossible without increased population, and that increased population is just as impossible without houses for people to live in. Business people go on struggling for the custom that cannot increase because the population cannot increase; if one house does better for a period it is at the expense of another, and each get their period of dullness in turn. One house may gloat over the other, but if all opposition were crushed out how much better otf would the one house left be? It is obvious what would

happen, but the lime for such a consummation is past, nevertheless Taihape indifference to progress results in the double action keeping it back and helping some other place forward. Private money is not available for house-building. We pointed out in a recent issue that a crisis hia.d been reached in certain industries, and that those industries must either close down or become State concerns. Something similar has "TTapponed in house-building. Those who would build cannot get reasonable remuneration for their trouble and their outlay; they cannot build because commodities hav'e so appreciated that the. masses cannot earn enough money to pay the rent they would want for them. Precisely the same thing has happened with British coalmines, and is happening in New Zealand. The cost of raising the coal is greater than, the price coal-owners can sell it for allowing for themselves tire remuneration for capital and

management they have fixed, but the British Government does mot assume that because private ownership and enterprise has failed when put to the test, that the nation is going to be without coal. The Government says the Static, must work the mines ,cutting out own-

ers’ remuneration and also- the re rnuncratiou of the middlemen they cm

ploy. Because coat will not permit, of huge profits the mines are not to be closed down, and it seems to us that is precisely what must happen, with housebuilding in Taihape if. as a community, it is to progress. We could not cop'3 with iany considerable influx of business from a thickly settled hinterland. because we cannot house the men needed for the work. We should be glad to see much, closer cooperation of our busiu!'ss community for consideration of the. linage business problems; bickerings about small things which do not matter may easily prove the rock of business stagnation. With common-sense consideration of the housing problem difficulties would middy vanish. Because private 11 inei ■ prise has turned its back cn house erection the community cannot go houseless* neither will- a sciui-doamiant Health Department long permit the packing away of two or throb families in a house only large enough for one. The only practicable course for speedy solution of the problem is for the municipality (o borrow and build. Wo know that many ask: “ What private individual will build t houses to-day?” Such people do not realise that thb

municipality would earn profits that the private individual could not. He would merely got a rent to cover capital and up-keep; the municipality, in addition to covering capital ami upkeep, would receive rates from every house built, as well as find now customers for its electric light and power, and water; but what is far more important is that it would raise the value of all property by a large increase in every section of the town’s business. All the fees charged against the private builder would go into the municipal coffer. The private capitalist cannot build in the borough without increasing the borough’s income, first by fees and then annually by rates collected, The borough could probably borrow at not more than -U per cent., but no private individual will put money into houses at loss than 10 pci cent,, owing to the fees and rates with which the bordugh loads him. It iS forced upon us that the town is at a .standstill; it cannot add any more to its population because there is nowhere for them to live. What are the business people going to do about it? We impress upon loading business men the urgency of action. It tcnly requires a load:a* who wi 1 make .himself thoroughly eonversont wPh the business aspects "f hvnngb housebuilding and then call meetings for their discussion. Everyth ink else will be easv.