The Washington herald., 1922-10-28
HOMES I'm ENGLAND
OF POSTWAR TYPE
CAREH and UGLY
Superior to Thatched
Roof Cottages of
Peasants.
ESTATES BROKEN UP
Taxes Force Abandonment
Or Disposal on Any
Terms.
ESTATES BROKEN UP

That American architecture is su-
perior to, that of England and
France Is the opinion Of Frederic
Culver, a prominent New York law
yer, who recently returned from an
extended trip through England
i Mr.. Culver, who Is taking an &C.
tive part In community housing In
the United States. made the trip
primarily to acquaint himself with
the type Of community houses-the
much heralded Lloyd George houses
being erected in England.
Many people will, no doubt. be
surprised to learn that there is no
housing shortage in England" Mr..
Culver declared. What there is Is
a shortage Of houses that the people
-snd by people l refer to the great
middle class, mechanics. artisans.
peasants. etc.-want to live in.
Before the war the English
peasanr was content to live in his
small cottage. with its matched roof
and country picturesqueness But
during the war so much had been
promised him that when he returned
he demanded new houses. He
wanted to enjoy modern improve
ments- and conveniences. such as
plumbing with hot and cold water.
electric light and others.
Built 100000 Homes.
The result was that the govern
ment had to satisfy the demands Of
the people and built from 10000 to
100000 houses Of this type. And l
would point to these houses to sub
stantiate my assertion that Ameri-
can architecture is superior in every
way to that of England and that the
latter Is on the down grade. The
houses are ugly. garish. blur on
the landscape and entirely inferior
in architectural appearance to those
of the old type. And the cause of
it all is that England is giving up
its tradition in this respect and
adopting what it is pleased to call
modern architecture
These new buildings are spread
ing rapidly to many districts. hav-
ing made their way TO Regent street.
which will soon he ruined by them.
i had. for example. an opportunity
to visit the London County Hospital.
recently erected. and I found II hor-
r!d-an architectural monstrosity.
The dislike Of the English peas
ants for their old dwellings and de-
sire for new ones Of the modern
type has been aggravated by the
economic plight the large landown-
ers End themselves in The taxes
that the government has placed on
the owners OF large tracts of land
and estates has made 1t impossible
for them to retain them and at the
same time meet these taxes. This
means that the large land owner Is
unable to make any improvements
on the land, and the farmer and
peasant are therefore forced to
meet this expense out of their own
pockets. All of which has added to
their discomfort and unhappiness.
And IN speaking Of large es-
tates, IL Is interesting to note how
the war and its aftermath have af-
fected even the owners of the larg-
est estates IN the country. ] travelled
$500 miles IN an automobile. and
when one remembers that England
is comparatively a small country 1t
will be evident that was able to
view the conditions existing in diff
fsrent parts and to compare them.
And what did 1 see?
Great Estates Abandoned.
I saw the most beautiful estates.
estates handed down from one gen.
--s,'1n to another in all their pic
tzIres1 . sss and permeated with all
tns o. glish traditions. completely
Fhsr l.. d. Their owners had found