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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  inefficiency, ­
  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  sufferers ­
  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  :—