Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-03-27

Two hundred thousand sites are
already owned.
Side by side comes the question OF
the employment of the building
trades. We don't want the splurge
to be followed by contraction.
have sympathy with the builders
and bricklayers. In peacetime they
know that when a job is finished,
they may have to look for another.
Our 12-year plan for the building
trades on which Bevin and Lord
Portal have spent so much time to
guarantee steady and long employ
ment must be carried out.
We are told by busy wiseacres-
how can you build houses without
land? We already said in 1941 that
all land shall be taken at prices
based on March 81, 1899, values.
Stocks and shares and many classes
OF real property have gone up.
Agricultural land has also risen in
value. The state has power-which
1t will on no account surrender-to
claim all land needed bona fide for
public purposes at values fixed be-
fore wartime conditions. There are
hard places which will be best ad-
justed by Parliament. In the main
you may be sure that land will be
forthcoming when and where needed
for all houses needed for the people.
Nobody needs to be deferred from
planning for the future by the fear
that they may not have land. Leg
islation to enable the authorities to
get any land will be presented at
this session.
Delay Is Assailed.
There are some people who want
to put off everything until a white
paper or blueprint is made for the
regeneration of the world before ask
ing electors how they feel. They
would rather postpone the building
of homes for returning troops till
they are sure the landscape is not
spoiled. In war we must face i'm
mediate needs and stern reality and
it is surely better to do that than
nothing while preparing to do every
thing.
This is my difficulty. I cannot
undertake anything that will hinder
the war and no one, except the very
clever ones, will tell when the war
will end or whether it will end sud-
denly or peter out. There must be
an emergency plan and that is what
the ministers have been working at
for some time past. In spite of this
I cannot guarantee that everything
will be perfect or that there would
not be an interval when things will
be rough. 1t will not be long and it
will be child's play compared to what
we have been through. The task
looks like small one compared to
some we have handled and are
handling. The value of land is be-
tween one-twentieth and one-thir-
tieth of houses. Our population is
unhappily about to enter a period
Of numerical decline which can be
checked only by the most robust
treatment of housing.
There is one other question on
which I should like to dwell, but
I shall utter only passing reassur-
ance. I mean rehabilitation. know
as much about this as most people
because I was once secretary of
state for war after the last war,
when in six months we brought
home and restored nearly 5000. 900
men. Great plans had been pre-
pared before the armistice by plan
ners to bring home all key men first
and any soldier who could get a
telegram saying he was wanted for
a key job had priority. The troops
did not consider this fair and a
CONFUSION of indiscipline shook the
whole army. persuaded the cab
met to reverse this foolish plan.
Discipline was Immediately restored