Andrew J. Thomas

“ As one drops down the economic scale the present failure to properly house the wage-earner becomes more striking. For the family of the semi-skilled worker, for the factory worker's family whose income is hardly larger than average factory wage, for the lower-paid ranks of the "white collar" worker and of the government employee, decent housing in new construction is scarcely to be had to-day anywhere. And as for the housing problem of the unskilled worker, married and with a normalsized family, it may be a long time indeed before he can be provided for. ”

“ All these practical needs and the human and social essentials in housing are made dramatic by architecture and gardening. After all, the finest feature of the garden apartment is its bigscale environment of beauty. What a contrast to the slum does the Bayonne setting present! Its influence in the lives of those who dwell in it, particularly on children, can not be exaggerated. ”

“ In these days when both sexes work, there are often more than one wage-earner in the family. Also, a family may enjoy additional income from savings, from investment in securities or real estate, from inheritance, or from the custom of taking boarders into the home. Clearly, the discrepancy between family income and the wages may be great, and may vary greatly as between families in the same wage group. For this reason it is family budget, not the wage, which is the true index in housing finance. ”

“ It was felt that capital, no less than labor, would deplore any reduction in the standard of living of the workers in industry, and the individuals interested in the Bayonne experiment were ready to lend a hand in placing the production of wage-earners' houses on a sounder business basis.
That the particular section of the real estate market which produces wage-earners' housing is careless of the social interest, and that it operates inefficiently, with heavy economic waste in many industrial centres of the country—this is a truth well known to housing experts. ”

“ The demonstration of ideal wage-earners' housing now stands completed. It proves successful in the three essentials—economic, social, architectural. The garden apartments of the Bayonne Housing Corporation give the average thrifty wageearner an ideal home at a price which he can afford.
The Bayonne apartments are now filled with tenants who are enjoying homes finer than anything they had ever hoped for. They are delighted with the garden setting, and when they see their children romping in the play space, in the sunshine, in safety, a heavy load drops off their shoulders. ”

“ But important as are these well-known factors of land, municipal and site improvements, building construction and house furnishings, it is a striking fact that they do not influence housing costs to nearly the same extent as does the cost of finance. What makes a workingman's home almost prohibitive to-day is the price paid for the capital employed in building the house. More capital is required to-day than formerly, and is paid for at a higher rate. Since the capital is usually employed in a small-scale speculative venture, the investor naturally requires a high return on his money. ”

“ The American worker enjoys his present high standard of living because modern business methods have been introduced into the manufacture of his food, his clothes, his household goods, his education, his recreation, even of his luxuries, and there is every reason why the same efficiency should apply in housing, which, next to food, is the largest item in the wage-earner's budget. ”

“ Housing has always been intimately related to the real estate exploitation of a continent. This exploitation has made housing a small-scale business, individualistic, very loosely organized and highly speculative. Its roots reach down to pioneer economics, back to the days when each householder built his home in a clearing, cutting down the trees of the forest for building materials. As towns and cities developed, the primitive method of the frontier soon gave place to a system of division of functions and of responsibilities. ”

“ But the cornerstone of housing policy is the social and civic responsibility. The home is more than an ordinary article of trade, to be bought and sold like a cake of soap or a box of cigars; on the contrary, it is a personal thing, in fact the most fundamental institution of civilization. ”

“ In deciding the housing policy for a specific locality or for a single housing enterprise in respect to rentals and to the number of rooms to be provided, there should be no great difficulty in steering between the variations in different wage groups and in individual families, which seem to conflict. The fact is, that for some time to come, it will be possible to care for the needs of only the more prosperous wage-earners. In almost any industrial district, new low-priced housing of the right kind will not go begging for occupants. ”