Septembek. 1912. 



History of the Month. 



liii. 



hundred millions of iH-op\t^ ol a lower oiik-r. ihing 

 like Chinese <xx)lies. and China liad four millions 

 under industri.il conditions such as we have, then 

 China would l>e efjually justified in adopting a 

 " Yellow China," policy. But we must not confuse 

 the issue \)\ slurring over essential differences. Our 

 policy presses hard on a few, but it represents a 

 great ideal — ihe vision of a continent to l>e kept for 

 a great race under economic and social conditions 

 that make lor a lofty type of hiimanitv. We fear 

 that Lieiiind much of the opjiosition to it is a mere 

 desire for cheap labour in the interests of a class. 



The agitation with reference to pro- 

 Houslnj; the per housing accommodation for the 

 eople. p<x)rer i)eople continues with un- 



abated force. The CliurcJi people 

 have t.iken tlie matter up. and the most illuminating 

 speeclies and pa|)ers have (X>me from their ranks. 

 It is not a thing to lie tolerated that in a new coun- 

 try, with lx>undless spaces around us, we should be 

 cramped up after the custom of old countries. Un- 

 fortunate'ly the mischief was allowed to begin, .uid 

 it is hard to mend it. In some suburbs oi oui 

 great cities we have streets llfteen feet wiile. In 

 the.se thoroughfares are erected cottages with ;i 

 front. ige of ihirtt-en feet, .some of them resting tl.it 

 on the ground, and being without ventilation, be- 

 sides iKuiiig .small rooms. .Attached to these nn- 

 yards a few leet .square. Large numbers of these 

 buildings consist of but three rooms, and in the.se 

 whole families live, everv room being used as .i 

 sleeping apartment. Sometimes four per.sons sleep in 

 one Small room. The children have no |>lace to plav 

 excejit the street, with all its as.sociations. It is 

 true that something has l)een done to allevi.itr the 

 [)osition during the ])ast lew years bv citv councils. 

 Houses m.inile.stly unfit to dwell in have fieen con- 

 demned, and in s<7me ca.ses destroved bv fire. In 

 many c;ises. however, the buildings ha\e .'Amply liee'n 

 closed (or re|)airs, when a little paint and paper. 

 and not much els«-, have condoned matters, and the 

 same old tr.igfdy U-gins over again. All this is bad 

 for he.dth, b>r comfort, for happhiess of any kind. 

 The blame for some of the sordid conditions rests 

 U|K)n tenants who are dirty and destructive in their 

 habits, ami who are the despair of agents and land- 

 lords. 'I'he original cau.se is that owners have 

 been anxious to swe.it every |x-nny out of their land 

 by way of rent, am! have crowded these small 

 tenements upon th<- ground witlumt regard for the 

 welll)eing of tho.se who wouh! h.i\e to occupy them. 



A .Moral 

 Uuestloii. 



'I'he efT<-<-t of b,td housing ii|xiii 

 physical health is not the worst 

 aspect of the question. There is a 

 mor.il side to it. Women who.v 

 daily life ol drudgery is spent in llic.se narrow domi- 

 cil.-i ill il,:, !,|,I .,],■ .,,,;. I ,1,..-,. ,i,-,;, Mirroimding*!. 



are api to becoaie miX)dy and despondent. Fre- 

 quently they become disheartened with the frtfitless- 

 ness of their efforts to make home in such places. 

 Then the position becomes more trying for the man, 

 and he finds home a good place to keep out of, 

 while round the corner is the ever attractive public- 

 house. And so the dreary chain of causes works, link 

 bv link, that draws people into vice and misery. 

 Emironment has its weight of influence and tell* 

 mightily against righteousness. There are indeed 

 cases where poor people li\e in such localities, keep- 

 ing their homes bright, and bringing up their chil- 

 dren well and respectably ; but too many lack the 

 religious principle or moral backbone to do so, and 

 so thev and their families go down. Such being the 

 case, it is well that the Churches are concerned in 

 the matter, and are helping, not only to sway people 

 by the sanctions of religion to improve their char- 

 acters, but are also seeking to influence publio 

 opinion, first of all, against any further extension 

 of the evil in new localities, and, secondly, to seek 

 some means of redressing the e\il where it already 

 exists. 



The question is more easily stated 



What is the than answered. The e\ il no one ca» 



C"fe-'' dispute. What is the remedy ? The 



rights of owners who have erected 

 these places by jjermission of the State have to be 

 considered. "Their property cannot l)e confiscated. 

 To compensate them for loss would \>e a huge task. 

 Again, were they to pull down their shanties and' 

 erect better places the rents, proportionate to the 

 cost, would lie raised to meet the interest. This 

 would put them out of reach of the working classe* 

 who live in these localities fiecause they are con- 

 tiguous to so many pl.ices of employment. There is 

 a tendency in some districts to u.se up the land for 

 more and more factories, thus displacing numlicrs of 

 small <'ottages. This, however, is only a slow way 

 of altering affairs. Large firms might do as Cadbury 

 has in Hoiunville — get a suitable site at a distance, 

 ere<-t their factories, and around them build dwell- 

 ings for employees at a small rental, leaving suffi- 

 cient air and light aiiout each allotment, and pro- 

 vi<ling playgrounds and gardens. Why can nolx>dy 

 do th.it here? It would be better than leaving a 

 ipiarter of a million to charities that largely relieve- 

 [)eople whose sufferings are due to the evil condition.s 

 in which thev are compelled to live, without donig 

 anything to guard against the evil Inking continued 

 for ever. Then, .stage b\ stage, too, the .State should' 

 see, either that the liuildings now used are dis- 

 placed by better ones, wh.iti-vi'r the cost, or else see 

 th.it workers can live in healthier localites at fair 

 rents and get cheap ai-cess to their work. Ve-sted" 

 interests are to Iv reganled. but the li.ili'i .ind" 

 moral vv«'Ilare of the [leoplc .ire s.nr. ill 



propnrti'"' I. > .-'M.l.l.-r !■ : I t'-'i -..'■, 



