The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-12-03

! Il Z
shortage OF desirable low co6t dN1
ings. In periods OF industrial 1xN
sion. they result in what has e.
aptly called house famine" With
it's attendant evils. 81
1t would be comparatively e&syS&
think, to show that the larger paft
low cost housing Is not now go8&
Notwithstanding the splendid serrtG1
being rendered In many directi0nG
especially by such effective orxanI&m3
tons as the National Housing Asno17
citation, no forces are yet at wot19S
which are sufficiently strong persistenea
and extensive to successfully cope with
the real housing problem. To my mind Oh
, however, a peculiar opportunity liz new
presented. Something relatively new
has recently happened in this countrv.s
Employers of labor, not a few buUs
many. are having such great difficultyx
in getting and keeping employees. and
they are so embarrassed by the news
conditions and their great costs, that
! they are ready to consider any prac-a
ticable proposition that will fesee1H
their troubles. 1t ia now easy to draw
their attention to the poor characters
OF much of the housing of wage earn
( ers AMI more especially to the utter
! inadequacy of the supply of small
| houses of suitable types available ~
1t is true that some empioyers-far-
sighted men-~have had convictions on 81
this subject for many years and few
have acted accordingly. 1t has been
mainly for their own employees, hOw~S
ever The significance of the new
awakening is that it Is SO widespread.
that it embraces what might be called
the whole OF the business communftysa
and that 1t reaches from city to city,
nat ,Ata
From a recent study of conditions In
four cities. / believe that there IL today
an opportunity for a substantial and
permanent advance. The four cities
Investigated were Waterbury and
Bridgeport, Conn. Kenosha, Wiscon-
sin. and Akron. Ohio. In some rec
spects the problems are similar for
ali these cities; in other respects, they
are local and peculiar.
i In all cases the local organization
resolved that before plunging in and
building something. they would ind
out by careful investigat on the extent
/ and character of the demand for
! houses. and also the experience %
other places in meeting somewhat par~
! allel conditions and requirements. The
| first step, ii seemed to them, was a SO.
cial and economic diagnosis-an analys.s
sis that would give them confidence Ia
the prescription for immediate needaxs
and at the same time enable them to-
adopt measures that would be preven~
tive In character and apply to meet
ing the situation in more normal
times.
i The recommen dations submitted to-
these four cities have been so framed
as 10 meet the actual housing Needs
] of workingmen, on terms which their
wages make possible. The proposals.
are not essentially new. and not In any
sense radical. In fact. they follow
conservative and well tried out.
/ schemes OF other housing compaT1ics.a
Virtually everything recommended haa
been successfully executed elsewhera3
/ in this country for the same classes %
workingmen. with the same income Or
even less No one house or method n
endorsed as the only one, although the
emphasis Is put upon the single fam
/ lily, self contained, detached house Or
cottage. as on the whole most desfr>S
/ able when possible. In addition to the
! single family house. detached. the
| recommendations include an endorses.
ment of the single family house inS
groups: also of we'll arranged. WELL
lighted apartments or flats. All these
| types have some advantages of econ-S
ony of land cost or land improyemenx3
/ cost. or of house construction, and
| take into account the fact that differ
/ emit people have different taste and
/ preferences as well as different needs
/ In housing. as in other matters. What
| is best depends upon conditions and
circumstances, and the cost. Thenos
recommendations were. of course, only
the first step In constructive proc
gram. Every effort. however, was put
forth to make ii definite and prac-E
! ticable step. and to suggest logical
methods for following the matter
promptly by action.--John Nolen. In
American Industries for November.