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29
In unoccupied houses on the London County Council's Estate
Cyanide gassing is performed. The operation is carried out by
experts and the tenants of the houses on either side of the infested
house are requested to open all their windows for the day.
During the year 100 rooms were fumigated with Sulphur, but
to eradicate bugs requires incessant warfare to be waged on these
pests.
Overcrowding.
With the erection of factories in the southern part of the
district, overcrowding, as mentioned in last year's Report, has
become more prevalent in certain parts of the district.
The London County Council and the Dagenham Urban
District Council both exercise strict supervision over their
properties. Overcrowding is therefore confined to those houses
built by private enterprise. Owing to the practice adopted in some
factories resulting in the instability of the occupation of the
employees, workmen with their families, who have migrated from all
parts of the country, are hardly in a position to contemplate
house purchase, and are therefore forced to take accommodation in
privately owned houses, with consequent overcrowding. The
situation, however, is not confined to families but includes the
case of single men who upon obtaining work in this district take
lodgings in various houses in the locality. Where several are
received in the same house, overcrowding frequently occurs.
What is the remedy ? In the case of the unmarried man,
it would seem that a hostel built and controlled by the local
authority would in all probability go a great way to solve the
difficulty. In the case of families, however, there seems to be
only the one solution, that is, that the local authorities with
houses in the district accept as tenants these locally employed
men.
With a view to abating, as far as possible, the overcrowding
the houses in this district which are privately owned, routine
housing inspections are carried out by the Sanitary Inspectors,