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32 
THE HOUSING QUESTION 
*■ We found that the rates, added to the rent charged, mean 
that the houses are impossible for workpeople. For instance, in 
Bristol, where houses have been built in most admirable positions 
and in the most admirable way, for a living-room, parlour and 
three bedrooms the rent and rates amount to 2is. 2d. weekly. . . ." 
“ There is a total charge of 21s. 6d. per week for the houses 
mentioned, 17s. yd. for a house with a living-room and three 
bedrooms, and 16s. for a house with a living room and two 
bedrooms, and that is more than the ex-service men can afford.” 
SIXTH EXCUSE 
That the Cost will be Ruinous 
SEVENTH EXCUSE 
That the necessary Capital cannot be 
Found 
The former excuse attempts to show that the British 
people, now and in the future, cannot afford the annual 
charges which a complete State-aided Housing Scheme 
will bring on the Exchequer, owing to the impossibility 
of fixing the rents high enough to meet the interest 
and sinking fund on loans together with the usual 
landlord’s expenses for repairs, voids and management. 
The latter excuse is an assertion that the Government 
and the Local Authorities combined cannot, at least 
without grave detriment to the finances of the nation, 
borrow the money for paying the builders, quite apart 
from the question of being able to pay annual charges. 
Let us quote once again the Minister of Health in