io6 
THE HOUSING QUESTION 
Or read this extract from a Ministry of Health 
circular to employers on Labour in October, 1920 :— 
“ It is a recognised fact that inadequate housing is one of the 
most fruitful causes of industrial unrest. 
" Discontent amongst the working-classes, resulting in in 
efficiency, and the waste and misery of strikes, vitally affect 
commercial enterprise. 
" if each employee were in possession of a comfortable home, 
discontent would undoubtedly be decreased. . . . 
“ Local Authorities are working to satisfy local housing demands 
by means of their State-aided schemes, but the demand still 
far exceeds the supply." 
And lastly the famous pronouncement of Mr. Walter 
Long (now Lord Long) in 1916, when he was President 
of the Local Government Board (now the Ministry 
of Health):— 
“ It would be a black crime indeed if we were to sit still and 
do nothing by way of preparation to ensure that when these 
men come back they shall be provided with homes with as little 
delay as possible. To let them come back from the horrible 
water-logged trenches to something little better than a pigsty 
here would indeed be criminal on the part of ourselves, and would 
be a negation of all that has been said during this war that we 
could never repay these men for what they have done for us.” 
The Government has totally stopped further rural 
housing probably because they do not think the suf 
ferers command many votes. Read, then, what men 
who live in the country have to say:— 
Mr. Maurice Hewlett, the Vice-Chairman of a Rural 
Council in Wiltshire, than whom no man knows better 
the life of the agricultural worker, wrote to the Times 
on July 10th, 1921 :—