The Daily News. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1919. THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 July 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1919. THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

It is quite evident that the real ! position with regard to the housjing problem is not fully realised I even after the persistent manner in which it has been brought before the public both in Britain and New Zealand, and yet it affects very materially the well being of the community, and because the public have grown so I familiar with the existence of this problem it has been treated with callousness. There has been no clear conception of the monstrous physical, intellectual and moral degradation which so frequently results from bad housing, though to those who suffer from the evil it is becoming intolerable. Last week the "Wellington City Council decided, after an animated discussion, to expend £IO,OOO on the erection of seventeen houses on a. piece of the Council's laud, but it is manifest that even with the workers' homes which the Government is to take in hand, only the fringe of the trouble will be touched. It is not surprising that Labor Eepreseutation Committees sent to the City Council a strongly worded communication on the subject of the alarming house famine there, emphasising the merciless exploitation of the people by house owners, the evils of the bonus system, the disgraceful and dilapidated condition of many houses, the rat plague in many buildings and the dangerous overcrowding and insanitation prevailing in many parts of the city, also to the shameful and heartrending eviction of women and children from their homes. In a lesser and modified form the house problem is affecting Taranaki towns, houses heretofore let to tenants being sold over their heads, and the occupants forced to rake shelter where they can. Married people without children can generally find quarters, but those with children are turned down ruthlessly. No matter what the accommodation is the rents charged are so high that ordinary wage-earners can at best only afford to occupy one or two rooms, hence the overcrowding and its dire effect. Admitting that the cost of labor and building materials have soared to a high point at which no cautious man would venture to build houses as an investment, he is further deterred from such a step by the fact that tenants,, as a rule, talce no care to keep the house they rent free from, damage and neglect, so that the constant necessity for repairs becomes a heavy tax on the owner. It was only recently that a case occurred in which the owner had to face an expenditure of over £IOO by reason of the vandalism of the tenant, and until this sort of evil is made a crime those who have to rent houses will suffer j and the lower the social scale, the greater will be the difficulty to supply sanitary dwellings. At the same time it is hard to imagine what sort of an existence can those people have who are forced to herd like cattle in overcrowded dwellings where there is perpetual turmoil and disorder, a total absence of privacy, and cleanliness is impossible. Fortunately, the, problem in New Zealand is not anything like as acute as in the Motherland where in the ten towns with the highest infantile mortality 9.1 per cent of .the population lived mor£ than

two in a room, where the bodies of children who die are placed on a table or dresser, so as to be somewhat out of-the way of their brothers and sisters who play, sleep and eat in their ghastly company. Unless, however, the problem is attacked with determination in the large centres of the Dominion, it will only be a question of time before such a shocking state of affairs will exist here. It is bad enough already, but can be remedied by the adoption of the proper means, while neglect to take action will be criminal. This housing evil is one of the worst that can beset a country, for in its worst form it takes a heavy toll on the strength, vigor, and energy of the community, while in its normal stage it causes endless worry and anxiety and a great waste of time and money, besides the harmful effect it has on the rising generation. There must always be difficulties in the way of housing that section of the community j which is ever on the move, but even these could' be provided for decently if there wa9 a disposition on the part of the authorities so to do, but it is chiefly with regard to the settled people that most concern should be felt, and it is probable that a satisfactory solution of the housing problem would innl ?rially tend to assist in reducing to a minimum the industrial unrest that now exists. The future prosperity of the country depends upon the way in which its citizens are made fit for the performance of their duties, and can only be achieved by the provision of sanitary homes and surroundings. The responsibility rests primarily upon the Government and secondly upon the municipalities, and it would seem advisable that a serious conference should take place between these authorities so as to arrange for definite action in the direction of providing suitable homes and sweeping away insanitary and dilapidated dwellings and shelters. The cost involved is a secondary consideration, though it should also receive intelligent attention so that some means may be devised for lessening the expense of const-fiction without prejudice to the end in view. It is no use nihblinj? at the outer cdsres of this problem, for it needs tackling en bloc and needs it urgently.