THE COST OF HOUSING THE POOR.
(To TEE EDITOR OT THE " SPECTATOR...1 Sig,—In noticing the -Contemporary Review for February on the cost of housing the poor, you ask a very pertinent question, which ought not to be left unanswered,—" Has the salary of the manager and collector been added in giving cost of maintenance ?" I reply that the usual commission charged by agents for this kind of work has been added, and that no expectation is enter- tained of having it done for less than the market price. Un- suitable and flimsy buildings necessitate the enormous outlay on repairs to which you refer. Stone steps and iron balusters are not available for fire-wood, and are, therefore, not torn up, while strong and incombustible materials are found to need little more than decorative repair. The sum allowed for repairs is founded on actual experience under efficient management, and is, like the other figures, the result of years of observation and working, and not a mere surmise or assumption. Though I do not regard the financial difficulty as insurmountable, I am cer- tainly not sanguine as to success in any undertaking to house the lowest class of our poor, unless it be under the guidance of those who have had a long and practical acquaintance with the subject, and who look at its other aspects as well as the financial one.—I am, Sir, &c., 104 Great Russell Street, W.O. ELIJAH HOOLE.
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