Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-11-25
BETTER HOUSING
FOR WORKMEN
Hewitt Stresses Importance Of
Work Just Beginning in
America.
SUCCESSFUL IN ENGLAND
Through Abolition of Slums, Liv-
erpool Drives Out Typhoid
and Reduces tuberculosis.
SUCCESSFUL IN ENGLAND

iEy Associated rreasl
NEW YORK. November 81" Manu-
facturers and heads Of big industrial
concerns arc gradually realizing that
II Is AZ important 20 house their work
men rs IT is TO house their machinery.
and il is gratifying that the United
states government has been asked to
give lima ncial aid to industrial hous-
ing"
Such is tho opinion o. Gerald Traf-
ford Hewitt, al the Er,tish Garden
Clues and Town Planning Association.
Who IS now in this country. In state
mcnt TO the Associated Press Mr..
Hewitt thus briefly summarized the
3n.c4d OF this movement in Europe.
This idea OF governmental aid in
industrial! housing is nothing new.
Very many countries have for years
assisted in the building % work ng-
mcn's houses. In tho United States Il
has been left 10 the mcrcics Of the
real estate spcculato:, with the result
that the workinSman has had to pay
rxorbitant rents for bad housing and
worse environment. If YOU have TO i,ay
- per cent for money TO build work
mems houses to-day instead Of being
AZ { per cent. II means ti:at the rents
have to he higher. uud tho workman
has 10 pay.
The meet brilliant and extensive
example Of housing reform achieved
anywhere IS tho building in Ireland
curing tho last fifteen Years of 10000
cottages through Sovcrnmcn, aid.
I'm 1919. jus, before tho war com
r,Crcr6 l1,yl t,,.roc f.aplo fo-y-u n
With the most comprehensive housing
program ever announced by any re.
sponsitir statesman. THIS program.
put forth officially IS that OF the Brit
ieh governments. WAS tn" proposal 10
make a sure! Of urban and rural
housing conditions :h:",Sh nu; Great
britain and thor. 10y Government Loans
Al low interest. by covrrUmc NJ subsidies
aud by rcnt aud weG" "onrn!rs IoIis. 10
ecc that cnnstruriiN" program OF
housing reform which Hhali supply the
needs disclosed by IN: surrey. even TO
,hc possible cxtcri uf building 100000
houses, now estimated - hc needed.
>aaii he carried out at q ccsi estimated
TO exceed 81 100000. 600. Housing re
co.n, national scale has. ,hcrc-
fore, hcc"Ine matter Of nationsl policy
in Great Britain.
TYPHOID DISAPPEARS
FRON LIVERPOOL. sIIMs
Quite apart frcm the national hous-
inS program. ;h.r" Is IN" crornous
housing reform tina, has toEcn place
in British municipalities. in 1851
Liverpool possessed Tho wora, .lums
in England, hu, since that date i, has
spent millions Of pounds in eliminating
Id Il Il
inS lis citizens In mod! tcncmcn,s
and cottages. The death ra.c has boon
reduced from s!Xty-srv-r 10 twen,:-
seven per i.eoc. Before 1910 typhoid
fever was noVcr once absent in the
years medical return, and sinr-. then
there has not been a case. Tubercu.
losis declined from seven TO one per
1000, and police precautions for crime
have been reduced - per cent. The
cash saving I" Liverpool under its re-
housing police is estimated at s"5o,roo
a year, or double the cos, Of providing
recent homes for workinEmcn.
In Birmingham. as far. back as in
1873, the late Joseph Chamberlain
realized what sound investment r,u-
nicipal housing was. and AT an e1pcndi I:
turc OF over S15.o00.noO B;rming ha M
was cleared of its slums. and this hous-
ing reform has proved an excellent
investment for III" municipality. and
has more than paid back the original
j - per cent bond issue created to
CARR; out this work.
The London County Council has
raised money for years past at rates
varying from 10 4 per cent ia pro.
vide homes for work:nSmen and their
families. Some idea Of tho agnitude
6f the work undertaken by the Council
is shown by the fact that they house
over $4,000 people. and tho gross an
nual rentals collected amount to over
sl."50,000. Just before the war started
they were planning further housing
involving an expenditure OF $1,000. 600.
This is all tho result of twenty years
of hard work and, housing education.
In addition to the government and
municipal housing. there is 4 great
record Of private enterprise such as
the houses built by the various CO.
partnership tenant societies, which IN
The past thirteen years have built over
$4,000 houses. with land and buildings
valued at over si2,o00,0e0, and all the
different estates laid out on garden
city and town planning lines. There
are about fifty of these estates vary
jnS in size from six to 1000 acres. and
comprising a total area Of about I5.00o
acres, OF which only about 5000 acres
have been developed, with over $4,000
houses. representing capital invest
ment of s17.000,000. 4 large proper
tion of all this money for housing has
been loaned by the British government
al low rates of from j.: to per cent.
and this aid has been largely the cause
OF the successful housing results
achieved in EnSlan nd.
Other European countries have not
been slow. to recognize that industrial
housing Is a national obligation. The
city of Stockholm for some years has
: been building and financing houses for
it's workmen. Frankfort on- Main has
spent many millions OF dollars on in
dustrial housing and Whom tho war
commenced II had just started "a scheme
for new harbor at an outlay Of
$i8,ooo.000, which included Il substan-
tiai appropriation for workipgmen's
Continued on Seventh Pare.)