Excerpt from Our Village Homes: Present Conditions Suggested Remedies

Tvhe Housing question is one of those with which the general public has become familiar in the cry for reform, but that demand has generally been associated with the slums of our towns and cities. In fact the Housing problem in the villages is no whit less serious; but the village hovel does not, from its very charm and quaintness, shock the sense of humanity as does the urban slum. Thus, whilst the ever apparent danger has frightened the Legislature to effective action in the towns, the hidden but no less serious evil has been allowed to grow apace in the villages.

The better housing of the rural labourers has been already too long delayed. The evil condi tions that exist, together with the dearth of cottages throughout the countryside, are sapping the very life-blood of the nation. The young people are driven away from'the villages of their birth, for they cannot marry and make for themselves a home. They go to the great cities and to the towns, or to the Colonies beyond the seas; year by year, the countryside has been denuded of those it can least afford to spare; the land is mourning her best sons and daughters; the whole nation is suffering from the drain. At last men are beginning to realize that these conditions are a national danger, and a menace to the future of the State. The man in the street is making up his mind that they must not be permitted to endure.

At such a time - when every drop in the ocean of thought which makes for conviction, and every grain in the balance of opinion which makes for action, will be of worth in the search for a solution - any little knowledge possessed, or experience gained, must be thrown into the ocean or placed upon the balance. Many years spent in the life of a village, sights there seen, experience there gained, have enabled me to realize conditions and to estimate results, which are not apparent to others who have not lived the life. To those who have not enjoyed such opportunities to see behind the veil, I specially appeal.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.