;  .  .

m-94



THE  HOUSING  QUESTION

the  operations  of  the  National  Light  Castings  Association.
Efforts  have  been  made  to  encourage  other  makers  to  undertake
the  production  of  the  materials  of  which  there  has  been  a  shortage,
and  of  substitutes  for  these  materials,  and  there  are  indications
that  output  is  now  improving.”
Not  a  word  of  blame  :  not  a  word  of  undertaking  to
deal  with  the  refractory  Association.  The  Government ­
  is  true  to  its  masters.
(5)  The  history  of  an  officially  promulgated  untruth.
When  Dr.  Addison  was  forced  to  leave  the  Ministry
of  Health,  the  Government  having  decided  to  restrict
its  housing  programme,  the  new  Minister,  Sir  Alfred
Mond,  brought  with  him  as  Director-General  his  friend
from  South  Wales,  Sir  Charles  Ruthen.  That
gentleman,  eager  to  find  favour  in  the  eyes  of  his
Chief,  gave  an  interview  in  the  Press  on  July  16th,  1921,
of  which  the  following  is  an  extract  :—
“.  .  .  The  position  is  this.  In  the  early  days  of  the  State
housing  proposals  it  was  considered  that  about  500,000  houses
would  be  required,  on  which  a  loss  to  the  State  of  about  £io
per  house  per  annum  was  anticipated.  The  general  attitude
of  the  Ministry  was  to  proceed  to  approve  site  plans,  house  plans,
etc.,  for  these  houses.
“  Passing  over  the  period  occupied  by  the  preliminaries  in
connection  with  this  big  undertaking,  we  find,  when  the  change
from  Dr.  Addison  to  Sir  Alfred  Mond  took  place,  there  were
approximately  176,000  approved  tenders  for  houses,  and  prices
soaring  higher  and  higher  almost  weekly.
“  There  was  a  constant  soaring  from  the  commencement  of  the
receipt  of  the  tenders  till  about  four  or  five  months  ago.  The