FACTS AS FOUNDATIONS "
SIR,—Your correspondence under the above heading is giving a welcome opportunity to ordinary people like myself to contribute something to the common pool on post-war town-planning and housing.
It is in a way astonishing how few of our womenfolk make them- selves heard on the housing question, especially since they are so directly affected and have to spend the greater part of their lives in domestic drudgery. I cannot help thinking that if they developed a more enlightened sense of their responsibilities and asserted them- selves in a concerted mannet we should more speedily rid ourselves of many of the evils which beset us.
Town-planning is a very big subject, and cost, that is initial cost, should not be the first consideration, but any scheme should be comprehensive and not subject to veto by local councils and other small bodies who ought to be merged into much larger bodies if we are to rid ourselves of the pettifogging obstruction which is so prevalent. This merging of councils and townships may have to be considered at some time, for the multiplication of local government services is neither efficient nor necessary.
So far as housing is concerned, we are a long way behind coun- tries like Canada and the U.S.A. We still have our doors and skirt- ing boards with decorative ridges and beadings, which collect dust continually. Our coal-fires are expensive and cause rapid deteriora- tion. The kitchen side is still a primitive example of out-of-date equipment, and no one seems to realise that life in the home oilers little escape from a very dull routine.
When visiting Winnipeg a few years ago I looked over a small colony of ilex property. The rooms were airy, scientifically venti- lated, the cooking, even the "washing-up and drying," was done by electrical appliances. The central heating came from a depot which served the whole colony, and all one had to do was to adjust a wall-switch in each room to regulate the temperature.
The house had not been decorated inside for ten years, and it looked just as if it had been recently painted.
We have therefore a long way to go, but our womenfolk should bestir themselves (domestic service will become a bigger problem) and see to it that the powers in charge of house-building obliterate the obsolete and the servitude around the " sink."—Yours faithfully,
Trevone, Ogden Road, Etramhall, Cheshire. JAMES FISHWICK.
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