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116
HOUSING.
In my introductory remarks I drew attention to the fact that the
term "overcrowding," used as a measure of the need for more houses,
was misleading. The correct way to assess the need is to study the
number of cases in which there are two or more families living in one
house. People do not live two families, or more, in a house because
they want to; they do so because stark necessity forces them to do so.
The letters we receive praying for accommodation—a house, a flat,
anything decent anywhere—is a proof of the above statement and
bears witness to the crying need.
The following table, comprising 28 streets, gives an illustration of
the existing state of affairs. It should be borne in mind that these
streets were examined as a routine in the course of house-to-house
inspection and not on complaint. A total of some 88 streets were so
inspected during the year 1927.