Milford chronicle., 1957-08-09
HOUSES ARE TOO HIGH

HOUSES AXE IOO HIGH
The National Housing Conference says
that only about one-sixth Of the families in
the United States have high enough income
to justify the purchase of new home-at
today's prices.
This is both informative and discourag-
ing. 1t would seem in the richest country in
the world, more than one in each six famil-
les would be in position to buy their own
home. However, after careful study of
prices and the incomes of the average Am
erican family, that is the conclusion reached
by the MIC.
The results of the survey show that the
minimum price Of one-family home ranges
from about $500 in Philadelphia to about
$4,000 in Milwaukee. The average is about
S11, ,500-which is about the cost in Kansas
City.
Further, it is estimated that family
should have an annual income of over $1,000
to meet the cost of an $11, 800 house-the av-
erage. This finding is based on estimated
monthly expenses of $119 for amortization,
taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities and
heat.
The MIC believes that housing costs
should not exceed one-fifth of family's in
come and we are inclined to agree, although
the rule cannot apply generally to all famil-
les Imitation, of course has increased the
price of new home. So have higher and
higher labor costs.
AS a result, in our country, the richest
in the world, only one in six families can
afford to purchase a home of their own
While this is high percentage, when COM
pared with that prevailing in other coun-
tries, we think it should be higher. That the
cost of homes should somehow be reduced
even if it is done by wider usage of, and bet
ter designed, prefabricated houses is eyi.
dent.
PART-TINIE PETS
1t is commonly supposed that children
and pets go together like apple pie and
cheese The fact is that children, unless
there is proper adult supervision, are often
poor custodians of pets. When their first en-
thusiasm has waned, they tend increasingly
to forget about such vital things as food and
water. They may ever neglect pet to such
an extent that il suffers for time and then
dies.
This is an unpleasant truth, but it is one
that should be faced. Such neglect generally
does not arise from cruelty. 1t is simply that
children often have low continuity of in
terest they go Or to new things and forget
about the things tEat interested them few
days before
The most unlikely pets are acquired in
the summer. Children come trooping home
from camp, for example, with such things
DIS ilSlu uLIlS SIdhSSy DdDy ldOOlIoj SlLP-
munks or other wild life. These often are
great center of attraction for a while, and
then interest fades. The poor wild creatures,
confined to a box or cage, leads an unhappy
existence for time and then dies of neglect
or is, perhaps, released in unfamiliar sur
roundings.
1t is good that children should develop
feelings of affection for wild creatures. 1t is
even better to temper this affection with
what Albert Schweitzer calls respect for
life" Generally speaking, wild creatures are
happiest in their natural surroundings, and
they can best be studied and enjoyed there.
NSG@&G
STUDY THE STARS
On these warm summer nights we sug-
gest that readers take time, once in while,
to observe the heavens at night and study the
consultations and movements of the stars
and planets.
Our modern life goes at such fast pace
that we seldom sit around and talk at night
on the porches, as we once did, and the plea
e L - At4~