The Chronicle star the Moss Point advertiser., 1950-08-11
Report
From
Britain
Aberdeen, Scotland


visitor should be able to see
that nothing short of a revolu-
ton in housing has been taking
place in Britain in the last two
generations or so. The amazing
Transformation is probably less
evident to the Britisher than to
the stranger somewhat ac-
quainted with conditions as
they still exist in the United
States. Over here society has
definitely taken on the respon-
sibility of providing adequate
housing for all the people, re-
gardless of their income or stat
us in life.
Since the end of the war. il
has been next TO impossible for
a private individual 10 build a
house in Britain. New construc-
tion has been rationed more
severely than food and. obvious
ly. blackmarketing in this field
has been. out of the question.
The government has decided
that acute and desperate needs
must be met first. which means
that a local moneYed group with
plans drawn for a new athletic
clubhouse is not too happy
about the prospects of getting
beyond the blueprint stage.
Even if he could build or buy a
house, no one in his right mind
would think of investing in real
estate for rental purposes. For
the profit has long since been
taken out of such a business
venture. - r.
A friend of mine bought a
house in Stirling some years
ago for his mother to live in.
She died and he rented the
building. Though initiation has
come to Britain as everywhere,
he is still allowed rental of
only $l10 per year. Taxes and
minimum upkeep cost him that
and half again. He cannot sell
the house because there is no
market for it as long as the ten
ant remains. There is no way
to get the tenant out as long as
he pays his rent and does not
damage the structure. So the
owner continues to subsidize
the renter and / suppose he is
lucky to have an income which
allows him to do SO.
Everywhere it is evident that
large houses are drug on the
market. The upper middle
classes which used to inhabit
them can no longer afford such
luxury, and thousands of such
former homes have been turned
into small hotels and boarding
houses. For instance, we are
staying in an elaborate man.
sion, complete with towers and
turrets, set in a beautiful gar
den of several acres with love-
ly stream running through
them. 1t isn't too difficult, par
ticularly at night, to imagine
ourselves in the midst of Vic
torian splendor when the Em-
pire was at its height and moth
ing was wrong with the world
that couldn't be rectified by the
British navy.
There is still a tremendous
shortage of housing in Britain.
That is not to say that building
is not going on apsce. AS we
have travelled about the coun.
try we have been struck by the
immense amount of home con-
struction going on everywhere.
Private builders are doing the
job. doing ii on contract for
local governments which are
subsidized with parliamentary
grants. There is nothing new
about this socialistic program,
for ii has been developing for
more than half a century.
Council houses have been
constructed by local authorities
since the passage of the Hous-
ing of the Working Glasses of
1890. Parliament finally acted
in this case because of public
indignation aroused by the
overcrowding of millions of
humans into unsightly, unsani-
tary, disease-ridden tenements.
a by-product of the industrial
revolution. Conditions improved
only slowly before World War
l, but greatly enhanced powers
granted to local governments.
along with very substantial sub
sides, brought public housing