HOUSING AND THE TRADE UNIONS.
Its THE EDITOR OF TI1E SPECTATOR."]
Sie,—The disastrous shortage of houses, together with the difficulty of finding employment for discharged soldiers and others, is such a national danger that we feel no apology is needed for sending you a copy of the enclosed letter, dated November 25th, addressed to the Rt. Honourable Chrisopher Addison, Minister of Health. There are no bricklayers avail- able for building the very large number of workmen's how's.; that are so urgently needed. There are hundreds of thousands of men seeking work who can be trained in a short time to become bricklayers, and so support themselves and render important service to the whole of the country. Yet this train- ing is not being given, unless to a very trilling and insignifi- cant extent. It is impossible and absurd to accept such a claim as that an inadequate number of workmen should be allowed, like a Hindus caste or like the worst form of modern monopolistic trust, to claim an exclusive right to lay bricks for building houses and prevent others from doing so. When in addition some of the bricklayers are deliberately slacking, delaying, and spinning out their work, and enormously increasing the cost of the houses required, such a claim must be ruthlessly swept aside. There is no adequate or just reason why this should not be done.—We are, Sir, Se.,
For SWAN, HUNTER, AND WIGIIAM RICHARDSON, LTD., TVallsend Shipyard, litalisend-on-Tyne. G. B. liesrsa.
"November 25th, 1920.
The Rt. Hon. Christopher Addison, P.C., M.I'., Minister of Health, Whitehall, London, S.W. 1.
SIR,—May we urge the extreme undesirability of delaying th■ training of more bricklayers and other men who are now most urgently required for providing workmen's houses? There is no valid or reasonable objection of any kind to this being done, and there is no reason for delay. Trade Unions have no right or power to prevent the provision of the increased number of men now imperatively needed. No guarantees or inducements to those now working in the building trades need be or ought to he given. That discharged soldiers, unable to find other employment, should be debarred from working in the building trades is not only unreasonable but wicked. In the Borough of Wallsend about 3,000 workmen's houses are, and have long been, most urgently required. After the expiration of two years from the Armistice of 1918 the Town Council are endeavouring to build less than one hundred, but according to circular letters they have sent out appealing for man to build the houses they have only five bricklayers employed in building the houses at present.—We are, Sir, yours faithfully, Far SWAN, HUNTER, AND WICITAM RICHARDSON, LTD.,
(Signed) G. B. Hrxeze, Chairman."
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