OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 



121 



certainly not for the day laborer. And as to 

 the various Government War Housing enter- 

 prises, this admittedly emergency effort was 

 not only conducted under the most abnormal 

 conditions as to costs and speed but was right- 

 ly directed largely to the better housing of 

 the higher paid skilled mechanic and foreman 

 rather than for the really poor man. It is our 

 problem here and now to do better for this 

 enormous group. Must they always "continue 

 to occupy the cast-off houses of tlie better 

 paid?" 



How are they doing it? First, by mass pro- 

 duction, — projects of from 200 to 500 houses 

 are quite common and we have noted one or 

 more of 3,000, Then there are really very few 

 detached houses, many semi-detached and 

 many more in rows of groups of from four to 

 fen. As to details, an enorrpous amount of 

 money is saved in the aggregate by the almost 

 universal method of not building cellars. H 

 there is any substructure ("cave" they call it) 

 it is small — more often there is none, but a 

 convenient out-building serves for coal, wood 

 and supplies, at far less cost. Modern heat- 

 ing methods do not demand a cellar for genu- 

 ine comfort, in many parts of America, and 

 we would do well to adopt some of the in- 

 genius heating and cooking devices noted in 

 England and Germany — these are being intro- 

 duced in France, Holland and Belgium. Sim- 

 pler methods of plumbing must be devised and 

 our Plumbing and Building Ordinances amend- 

 ed to permit them, — they can still be safe, 

 sanitary and healthful. For example, it is to 

 be noted that in the homes of the real poor it 

 is not absolutely necessary to have a bath- 

 tub, — often, as we know, abused. With other 

 toilet and heating facilities, portable tubs, or 

 inexpensive shower-baths, are perfectly proper. 

 The comparatively small size of rooms has 

 been mentioned, also the fact that they are 

 often relatively low-studded. The "sallc-com- 

 mune" or common room doing away with the 

 extravagant parlor, shut up except for funerals 

 or weddings, is another item. Also the small 

 scullery, — what we would call a kitchenette, 

 saves money and steps. Standardized details, 

 window-frames, doors, sashes, shutters, or 

 blinds and these manufactured in large quanti- 

 ties, — all these things help. 



As to exterior architecture, our American 

 architects are by no means lacking in skill and 

 taste — certainly Germany and Holland can 

 teach them little. 



Then the policy of buying land ahead at or 

 near agricultural values and holding for hous- 



ing needs is of utmost importance and there 

 would seem to be no good reason why their 

 principles in such matters should not be 

 adapted to our conditions. The Society "Ons 

 Limbourg" mentioned, that buys the farm 

 lands in the Maestricht mining district is run 

 on principles that could be readily employed 

 in America. To be sure it demands foresight, 

 good judgment and a spirit of co-operation, but 

 no .American will admit that our people are 

 lacking in these qualifications. The problem 

 is to stir them up, set them to work. 



The writer holds no brief for many of their 

 financial methods, however, — certainly for 

 neither the private philanthropy of Port Sun- 

 light and Essen with their over-luxurious pro- 

 visions, nor the over-subsidization, the real 

 Government charity methods that have been 

 so common in England, France, Holland and 

 Belgium. He became fully convinced, in 1920, 

 when England's methods were at "full cry" 

 that they were "riding for a fall," and the 

 slump has now come with disastrous results 

 to housing and labor conditions, some of which 

 have been mentioned. Holland did not go to 

 quite such limits and is now proceeding more 

 conservatively to retrench. Belgium is follow- 

 ing closely Holland's footsteps. Germany's 

 methods of spend and make debts and "the 

 devil take the hindmost" certainly are to be 

 avoided. On the whole perhaps France is 

 turning out to be the most conservative. Fi- 

 nancial conditions have no doubt had much to 

 do with this and there today among the most 

 thoughtful "it is hoped that private initiative 

 will again get the upper hand when people 

 have been persuaded that the provision of 

 small dwellings is a business proposition like 

 any other and that the capital which is in- 

 volved therein ought to bring a net return at 

 least equal to the legal rate 5%. The philan- 

 thropic societies which rent dwellings at lower 

 than the market rent have killed private initia- 

 tive." 



In view of the fact that the Comite Neer- 

 lando-Belge d'Art Civique is now disbanded 

 and its members concentrating their efforts 

 principally upon the work of the International 

 Union of Cities and its Centres of Civic Docu- 

 mentation, your Chairman respectfully sug- 

 gests that the Special Committee of the A. S. 

 L. A.to Co-operate with the Comite Neerlando- 

 Belge d'Art Civique be discharged, but that 

 a new one be appointed to be called "The 

 Special Committee of the A. S. L. A. to Co- 

 operate with the International Union of Cities 

 and Its Centres of Civic Documentation." 



