The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-06-28
THE HOUSING PUBLIC.

Tx TVOOSbtNa FOoItSs
Morton c.. futile or the Aberthaw
Construction Company. Boston. writes
to the Manufacturers Record in very
interesting and logical way of the
housing problem. in its relation to
new industries. In view Of the fact
that the Aberthaw Company is en-
gagged in construction work in Pen
sacola. and that this city is at this
time looking out for new industries
to locate here. the following excerpts
from Mr.. Tuttle's article are worthy
OF consideration and study:
B The housing problem. is passing
from the stage Of being a source of
anxiety to manufacturers to that of
becoming a cause of concern for
statesmen, No one will deny that the
happiness of a family largely depends
upon the sort OF house in which that
family lives. A domestic group housed
in suitable surroundings is normally
contented, good -natured and rather
philosophical toward the minor acct
dents of life. and the individuals
accept the faulty philosophy as their
own.
Put the same group into unsatis-
factory quarters, and in due course
discomfort will breed irritation, and
irritation, In turn, will breed ineffi-
cheney.
Industrially, family discomfort s.
certain to work out in discomfort, with
its direct consequences of low pro-
duction and state of mind which
readily accepts the preaching of the
red radical.
Right here it should be emphasized
that the difficulty lies not so much
in an insufficient supply of houses as
In the uncomfortable. unsuitable and
overcrowded condition of those that
exist. The actual shortage as such
is provided for because the men are
needed in the factories. Beyond bare
provision, however, there is nothing
What has caused the crowded con-
ditions Who should remedy them
II the new factories had not sprung
up. B1ankford would be a comfortable
town in which to live. But once a
factory needs more people than there
are available, it upsets housing condi-
tons. This affects not only the fac
tory's own employees, but in the end
all workers in the city. In small
community the effect may be seen by
even the poorest and least ambitious
families leaving for less crowded
places. In larger cities there is only
a greater congestions with an added
individually not much more
intense but far more widely spread.
In competitive labor market, with
housing short. the employers are the
first real losers through the reduced
efficiency Of their men. In these con-
ditions the employer who can offer
good housing has a great advantage.
He can secure and retain help when
relying on the general
housing will fail to secure and main
tain needed forces. Today many of
the larger and better run manufacture
Ing institutions are recognizing the
gain in output that they secure
through providing adequate housing.
With an increasing demand for OUT
put, more and more manufacturers
will turn to housing as a relief to the
shortage of labor which is retarding
heir output. Thus strong competition
Tor help will undoubtedly lead to a
bettering of the housing conditions
n many localities, but the effort Of
he factories alone will not suffice sat
sfactorily to solve the whole. prob
EN-.
There remains the need of the great
numbers of people who flock to the
titles in response to the Incidental
leeds created by the increasing con-
,entration of manufacturing.
A community seems still to think
hat it gains when a new industry set
les in its midst. The opposite may
'e the fact. An undigested industry
s not an asset; it is a liability. Hence.
o secure permanent safety through
he content of it's people, that COM
nunity which welcomes new factories
must provide proper houses for the
lew workers. and must take definite
teps to protect it's present popula-
ion from overcrowding and from the
,rofiteering sure to arise from undue
for dwelling space
Today there is small chance of /
workers building their own homes.
=
builders whose efforts are not inten-
ionally to relieve the rent situation.
he housing problem is fundamentally
community problem to be solved by
he enlightened judgment of the COM
nunity.
And behind the local community is
he state. with its responsibility for
rider and for the protection of prop
rty. A city does not combat its fire
isk solely by increasing it's fire fight
ng apparatus. but by making and en-
orcing stringent building laws to pre-
ent the erection of firebreeding build
lgs. BY the same sign it is a short
lighted state that permits the con-
lnued existence of dangerous breed
lg places for social unrest and shifts
s reliance to its police and its militia
Or the responsibility for maintain
lg order.
The general responsibility and the !
roblems which 1t entails, then. seem
> rest first on the community in
hitch i n u trial expansion takes