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THE HOUSING QUESTION 47
of the Manchester Housing Committee. He does not want more
houses ; he wants more plasterers. He says :
" ' The scheme was begun in July, 1919. There are now
2,020 men engaged on the scheme, of whom 195 are plasterers.
Altogether 2,000 houses have been begun, of which 890 are finished.
Of the remainder, 1,137 are roofed in, 364 are awaiting plasterers,
and have been in some cases for six months.’
" I am told there are unemployed plasterers ! Why do no*
you get them into Manchester ? . . .
" The letter goes on :
" ' An attempt has been made, without success ’—this is important,
and I hope the Hon. Member will note it—' to induce
the local Federation to vary the demarcation under which the
different sections of the trowel trades work so as to overcome
the delay caused by shortage of plasterers. Eighty plasterers
could be kept in full employment for six months.’
" Why cannot you get over the line of demarcation ? ”
Mr. William Graham : " Is it not the case that in Manchester
an agreement has been reached under which if there is an insufficiency
of plasterers, bricklayers will do the work, and should not
that be brought out ? "
Sir A. Mond : " If the Hon. Member has information to that
effect I accept it, and am very pleased to have it. . . .”
As an example of the standard of intelligence of
Ministers on Housing, the following conversation in
the House of Commons, on 2nd March, 1921, is worth
recording:—
Mr. Waterson asked the Minister of Labour, seeing that the
Government are arranging for dilution in the building trade, if
he is prepared to draft legislation to prevent unemployment in
such industry ; and, if not, what hopes has he that the men
employed as dilutees will be able to secure a livelihood in the
future ?
