The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1920. THE HOUSING HOAX.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3464, 19 April 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1920. THE HOUSING HOAX.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News." -

- The Housing Problem continues to tax the inventive genius of the New Zealand‘ Welfare League. Its members appear, however, to have reached , the end of their tether; they have discovered all there is to be known in jthat great flational scandal, but they‘ cannot demonstrate how '\the money‘ and labour for building houses may be obtained. -They seem to have come to the conclusion that Government should furnish the money‘a,=nd that labour unions should; provide the labour. There can be no dissent about the source of money, and it might be rendered practicable to hand over the administration of the Dominion’s labour afl’airs, or of so much of them as the Government. finds too difiicult and intricate for it to perform, to the labour unions. In Britain there is ample money to go on with, the only trouble ‘being shortage of labour, so much being employed in work of an unessential character. To surmount the difiieulty, the British authorities have prohibited the building of cinema and other theatres, clubs, and such-like struct-u‘.'e.s. The Welfare League ‘states that Mr Peter Fraser, ;\I.P., hassaid that labour for building houses can be procured. but Mr Fraser must be credited with enough commonsense to know that while labour was being virtually monopolised in building ‘theatres ,clubs, Parliament buildings, and such like, there would be none to spare for building houses wherein human families might lay their heads. Why do the \V»elfare League members persist. in. assuming there is plenty of money,’ and that h‘ouse4—buildinl_g ca.nlro‘t be scornmenced because of labour shortage? Why do they carry this attitude so far as to say that labour organisations should be called upon to take the responsibility of showing exactly what labour, skilled and otherwise, could be relied upon, 'and——mark the point——at'. what approximate cost? Are there not already a surfeit of boards, committees, and Commissions appointed to do adminis-trative ‘work ‘Parliament was elected to perform, that all labour organisations should be pressed into Government service? Perhaps Welfare League members mean. that labourorganisations should take over labour‘ adininistration gratis, while the Minis-1 ter for Labour pockets the honorarium’ ——a fair division of labour such as this Dominipn is now well accustomed toone does the work, aiid the other draws the money. But what is the use of barking about house-building while it, is undeniably evident that Government cannot, or will not, furnish the money. The Welfare League knows that o"l.\' the other day the Premier became afflicted with se’ven dolours because he would have to increase taxation to rind money enough to give railwaymen. 7‘ living Wage» Why all the cunning

and subterfuge‘? Why not-, in a manly fi‘_.hiou, state manfully and honestly there is not a "dime in the Treasury for housing people decently The truth is that the Treasury has been emptied for Parliamentary picnics and on expenditure for other nonessential purposes; there was no great hurry for bringing about conditions that would still the rumble of revolution which they who have ears to hear are making no niistake about. Journals of all shades of political colour are inquiring why so large a number of oiliccrs and hangers-on to the Defence Department are not dismissed, and the money saved spent in securing industrial peace and contentment. The money needed to give our railwaymen a living wage and houses to live in would be available if the idle and use_less gang of toa.die'§ to- the Defence Department were given their discharge and put to doing some useful reconstructive work. The Prime Minister has proclaimed there can be no increase of_ wages to State employees unless new taxation is levied, -no matter what the cost of keeping a workable human body and soul together soars -to. Is it not obvious that Government is hoist with‘its own petardi Cabinet has winked the other eye at yprofiteering, not noticing that. profiteers were dragging the State with them into a slough of labour turmoil, from which there was no escape but through increased taxation. If a revolution were being deliberately engineorea things could not look much blacker a.t this stage than they do; if there is no money for paying railway—men a living wage, there is- certainly no money for decently housing the masses of the people. There is widespread disgust with the eternal talk about house-building, for what is the prospect for houses if it is necessary to increase taxation to pay State wages‘? Nearly a year ago a great flourish of trumpets was made ihout doing something to case the housing scandal in Taihape. The Labour Department and the Railway Depar'mlen.t were both going to surprise the b213K~ blocks with their housebuilding in this neighbourhood. The Labour Department has no money, and the l{ail~ way Department is more concerned with the erection of nor-I~ess(m":ial buildings than it is with decently; housing itg einployees; “As :1. finale to ’ the house-building "deception the W9l-i fare League has put its xnacliiaelflr in: motion to lay the sins of the Go\'eru~‘ men: upon labour unions. It seri~‘i ously suggested that houses cannot be: erected because there is a sllostag~; of‘ :labour, and «the Welfare League scriously states that labour o’l'gani~;ations should be called upfifi to show where the necessary labouris, and what the price of it is. The ' “New Zeal-ind Herald” a few. days ago deirioristralted. Government fitness for dealing with public works and labour by drawing I-attention to the fact that two men with wheelbarrows were set to putiiug a railway cutting through a hill. Yet this .insincere prosecution of piblic works goes on while plenty of labour is available for buildings that are not» essential. If labour shortage has anything to do with the absolute coll-ipse of proposals to erect workers’ -:lwellings in Taihape, why not do as tin? authorities in Britain have done, and prohibit the building of theatres, pie-ture—show-houses, clubs, and ‘talking sh-ops?‘ People Wander al'oillld’Sn.lrl(lay and weekday looking for hoaseroom that. doesn’t_ exist, and in the and most of them make -their way to Well'ingcrr_u, or try their luck in some other centre. and thus the housing scandal :>cc~nuor<p acute, first inonc place and then in; another. If the Minister would state} plainly that "money was ‘not availableji £_nr house-building, and was not ‘.il{e‘.y i in be unless the burden of trlxati-mi was further increased, people wonldl not go on placing dependence on anythiug of tyhc rotten stick character. There is nothing to indicate tlmt if Government can find the money there will be any shortage oflabour -.ll’ current rates of pay. The Welf.ire Ll.‘-o_-gue wants to know what ‘-‘.’J;3,‘:S men will want, but its n1e311u.~.*~3~ should realise that wages must ine.-:o*ably be governed by what it costs to I'6‘.-.l‘! workmen in full working Tiealri.-. 71.0 feeling is abroad that Government‘was not sincere in its promises to erect WOl-kers’s homes in Taihape, whatever may have been the’ ease with respect to other localities. I