WOMEN'S VILLAGE COUNCILS

THE question of State aid for buildings for the poor as one of the steps towards Reconstruction after the war, was brought forward in July, 1917. It was tentatively suggested that two hundred thousand such dwellings would be required, and in a recent speech Mr. Hayes Fisher spoke of three hundred thousand.

Undoubtedly extra accommodation is wanted for the poor in towns, and quite as certainly it is urgently needed in country districts, both to relieve congestion and to attract settlers from the towns. It is a well-known fact that cottage-building in most country districts has not kept pace with the population. Various reasons account for this. The want of land to build upon is one foremost reason. Another is the fact that most of the cottages are "tied," being earmarked for the employees of the landowners or farmers, so that when the head of the family dies or leaves his situation the widow and children are compelled to move, and very often, from want of another cottage, to leave the district altogether and to migrate to the town. If any new industry, such as colliery work, suddenly springs up in the neighbourhood of a village, the difficulty of finding accommodation for the men is notorious, and is often solved by the putting up of the most abominable, jerry-built cottages, which not only deface a village, but undermine the health I of future generations. Never before has there been such a chance offered to country people of securing a good and an adequate number of cottages ; but the danger is lest they should be too apathetic to seize their opportunity and to make known their wants. The machinery is there. There are Parish Councils and Rural District Councils, but they are notoriously slow to act ; what is wanted is an impelling power behind them.

A small village in Sussex—Findon—has led the way by forming a Women's Village Council, with a view to bringing pressure to bear upon the Local Authorities, and to arousing the village to understand what opportunities are now before it. Findon is by no means revolutionary; it is just intelligent and quietly progressive. The women have come forward in this way for very natural reasons. (1) The men, their husbands, who should have been there to give their own opinions, are mostly away on service. (2) The woman has a very great interest in the question of adequate housing accommodation. It is her health that suffers from excessive toil caused by bad plan- ning--e.g., if the water has to be carried from a distance ; if the stairs are unduly steep ; or if the paths leading to the house are not bricked, thus bringing dirt into the house and necessitating endless scrubbing. (3) The health of the children, which is liable to be affected by bad conditions, is peculiarly her affair. (4) The women and children use the house and suffer from its drawbacks far more than the men, who, generally speaking, are away from it during the greater part of the day.

The first meeting of the Findon Village Women's Council was held on October 16th, 1917. A working woman, the wife of a soldier and the mother of five others, was elected president, and two honorary secretaries were appointed, one Mrs. Allen, the vicar's wife, who has an intimate knowledge of village conditions, and the other Mrs. Hamilton, who has had a good deal of experience in women's work. Twenty-four women gave in their names as members, and the number has now grown to nearly sixty. A reso- lutionlwas passed at the meeting, and sent up to the Local Government Board

We have pleitsure in reporting to the Local Government Board that the Findon. Village Women's Council (for the purpose of collect- ing evidence for the State-aided Housing Scheme) has been started, and we beg that we may be recognized and consulted in all reforms and schemes connected with State-aided cottages in our village.- There is a note in this resolution which Tacitus would have recog- nized, for in his Germania he described how the predecessors of these South Saxon women were consulted by the men of the tribe upon

all important matters, and how their advice was attended to with gravity.

In the eight months of its existence the Council has gone steadily forward. Monthly meetings are held at which reports are made and discussions follow. With respect to the Housing question, so far the most important practical bit of work has been a Survey made of

the cottages of women who offered their houses for inspection, with a view to finding out what were the chief drawbacks to be avoided

in cottages of the future. The headings of the Survey were drawn up by a professional surveyor, and dealt with such points as the materials of the roof (whether tiled, slated, or thatched), the water supply (whether laid on, brought from a distant well, or rain-water ; and if the last, whether it was filtered), the number of occupants (how many over, and how many under, the age of sixteen), the

sanitary arrangements, &c. An endeavour is being made to arrive at the number of new cottages which will be needed by the village,

based upon a masterly analysis drawn up by the vicar, who has known Findon for more than thirty years. The "Report of the Committee appointed by the President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries" to consider plans of rural houses and outbuildings has been studied to get ideas about the new cottages. These

cottages will have a minimum of three .bedrooms, so that families can be brought up healthily and decently. This forming of public

opinion beforehand ought effectually to prevent the jerry-builder from rushing up cottages which are both unsightly and unhealthy.

That the action of the women of Findon is not out of place or premature is proved by the fact that nearly twelve more such Councils have been started. These Councils, and all others that

may be formed, will be joined into a 'Federation of Women's Village

Councils, thereby giving the movement more weight. It is needless to add that the Councils are quite unsectarian and unpolitical.

They have been formed with the single-eyed purpose of bettering the conditions of our rural life, and of making country life attractive to those who at present . overcrowd the towns. Our picturesque

villages are the admiration of foreigners, but many of us know what whited sepulchres they really are. It is peculiarly fitting that the women of England, whose safety is now being bought at such a cruel cost, should lead the way in securing health and beauty for

their country :— '' Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land."

GEORGINA HOME.