The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-01-05
Workmen's Dwollir 81.

Lord Salisbury has written IN Hrlicle
on''L aborers' and Artisan. nWrliiags.
which appears in III" November num-
Der of the National Il 'jcT. ".A- com-
petition becomes closer. say Lord
Salisbury. 1.-The suhrf,ug- -; M" poor
from bad housing becomes N.rS severe.
Thousands of familic> nave only sin
gle room to dwell in, where they sleep
and eat, multiply ANA die, For this
miserable lodgng" * speaking, Of
course, of towns-''tchy pay Il price
ranging from two shilings 10 Eve shil-
lings week. 1t is difficult To eXag9er-
ate the misery which such conditions of
life must cause, or the impulse which
they must give TO vice. The depres-
sion of body and mind which they ere
ate is an almost insuperable obstacle to
the action OF any elevating or refining
influences.
He then proceeds to examine the vari-
Gus ways by which some remedy may
be effected He inquiries whether it
would be better worth while TO build
''high"-that is to say many stored
dwellings on the spot, or to build "afar'
in other words, to transfer the work
ing population to places outside the
town, but communicating with it by
railway; and this latter question again
leads him into the rates charged and
the accommodation provided by the
railway companies for the working
classes. The Peabody trustees. Sir
Sidney Waterlow's company, and MIR.
Gatlit1's company, are considered, one
after the other, and the general con-
clusion reached is that private enter
prise cannot offer cheaper article than
the Peabody trust, and Vet tina, this ar
ticle is too dear for tie bulk OF the
working classes. There is no reason.
he says, why parliament should not aid
the great work by loau,. and he pro-
cecds to point out thai there i also no
reason why the owners Ot property in
towns who employ Il number Of hands
should not do in towns what owners OF
property in the country do for their
tenants and for rural laborers.
1.-The government, he concludes,
might fifty lead the way. They EN-
ploy in the post-oilicc, in the police, in
the custom-house and at'other govern
ment establishments n large number of
people whose wages are considerably
below fl S., which is the average in
come of the Peabody tenants; but do
not believe they have made any pro-
vision worth speaking OF for the hous-
ing Of those people. II has never been
held to be their duty 10 do So, but in
the present EFFICIENCY it is u task which
they may well be called upon in the
public interes, to fulfil. If the example
were set by them it would probably be
followed before long by the large com
panies who, b. virtue Of the grea! 20
sition which parliamentary powers have
given to them, fill II quasi public cha"-
acter-dock companies, railway CONF
panies, and the like. There can be lit
tie doubt that ii provision to this extent
were made the stress upon the dwelling
market would be greatly relieved, and
the residue of the laboring poor would
find it much easier to obtain cheap
lodging than they do now Such meas
urcs, nj all events. Lord Salisbury, says
would be palliatves. though an entire
cure may be very distant. He says
there are indications enough that in
one way or another, by public and pri-
vate action, 4 remedy is possible for
very much Of the misery and degrade
ton which cast 50 terrible shadow
over the prosperity Of the country.