138 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



(2) The development of land in a more gradual way, and the 

 improvement of the road system simultaneously with, or in advance 

 of settlement, will remove one of the chief causes of forest fires. 



(3) As land is put to more economic use under a proper sys- 

 tem of development, regulations may be imposed requiring a stan- 

 dard of building which could not be secured under present conditions. 



(4) With improved social conditions, better roads and build- 

 ings, more co-operation, and good systems of water supply, farmers 

 and householders will become settlers in a more permanent sense and 

 with a greater respect for their property, thus reducing the moral 

 hazard which accompanies the temporary nature of land-holding 

 and cheap construction. 



(5) In building sub-divisions there should be a requirement that 

 dwellings could not be inhabited until provided with a satisfactory 

 supply of water and with good access by road. The total cost of 

 a dwelling under these conditions need not be much greater than 

 the cost where no such regulation existed, since the outlay in better 

 construction and sanitation would be mostly saved in the cost of the 

 site. It is the speculator, and not the builder or user, who gets most 

 of the pecuniary benefit of the absence of proper building regula- 

 tions. In countries where land is less plentiful than in Canada, it 

 is cheaper, because the purchaser is not free to use it for unhealthy 

 dwellings or without making adequate protection against fire. 



(6) In new towns and suburbs, zones should be fixed for dif- 

 ferent purposes, one zone for manufacturing and business, another 

 for residences, with proper regulations regarding the character of 

 construction of the buildings and the distances between them, accord- 

 ing to the use to which they were to be put. 



Problem of High Cost of Living 



The inhabitants of rural districts are injured by the high cost 

 of living partly as consumers, but also — in so far as they do not enjoy 

 the benefit of the increased prices — as producers. It seems to be an 

 admitted fact that the profits of the farmer have not materially ad- 

 vanced, in spite of the largely increased cost of farm produce to the 

 ultimate consumers. If, as a result of this increased cost, the agri- 

 cultural industry had been made substantially prosperous, and more 

 people had been attracted to the land, the problem would soon have 

 righted itself, but there is no evidence that the high cost of living is 

 making farming sufficiently profitable to attract the residents of the 

 cities to go back to the country districts. 



