17 DECEMBER 1927, Page 3

Mr. Runciman, Sir Kingsley Wood, Sir Josiah Stamp and Mr.

J. H. Thomas were among the speakers at a luncheon giVen on Monday by the Woolwich Equitable Building Society; to celebrate its eightieth anniversary. Men of all- parties can agree in recognizing the value of the building society movement in promoting thrift and, in the last few years, helping to mitigate the ill effects of the housing shortage. Thousands of people, who have been forced to buy, where they could not rent houses, have only been able to do so through the building societies. As one of the speakers pointed out, the average member of a building society does not merely save in order to buy a house and then revert to careless ways. More often than not he acquires the habit of saving, and that is an invaluable possession both for the individual and for the community.

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