Was preparing supper at the
sink. She was dressed in plaid
‘slacks, white blouse and old
dancing pumps. Dark haired,
_like her husband, she, too,
| seemed weighted down with
personal cares.

Jim, the husband, looked up
from his paper. “You know,

By JACK PHILIPS

HE man who sat at the

khitechen table, reading the
morning paper, was still a
youngs Man. He was short, dark
and sturdy, and looked to be in
his early thirties. He still wore
the overalls he worked in at
the sawmill, end he drooped
ever his paper as if he were
tired afrer his day’s work. Hang-
ing mear the stoye was his
windbreaker, with three badges
on it. Q@ne was @ discharge but-
ton, another a Legion button
and a third an IWA button for
July-August-September. This was
evidently a solid citizen, one
who “belonged.”

Mary, his-dark, thin-faced wife

Mary, Pll be glad when we get
a house of our own. I’ve been

' back from overseas six months
| now, and it’s about time we got

our own place.”

Mary turned and smiled, but
rather bitterly. “Are you kid-
ding? I’ve been here four years
now . - . ever since you went
away. I’m so sick of not having

*™my own place, I’m ready to
-seream!”
“Er know it’s pretty tough,

‘ Mary, but we'll get a place even-

tually.”

“Eventually yes. But I want
one before we have to apply
for the old age pension. Dad
gives me bread hints every day
and mother is acting the way

-Sshe used to when I was a kid

- . + treating me like a Cinderella
and leaving all the housework

‘for me to do.”

a

“Well, I’m going to see Smith
}and Jones about a house under
“the Wational Housing Act, to-
“morrow morning. Want to come
along?”

“Yes, Till go. How much did

(they say it would cost for our
/ four room house?”
| “33,800, with a down payment
lof $1,600.”
3 Mary looked rather
~Can we raise $1,600?”
| “We have about $400 cash, a
let worth $450 and a re-estab-
Ushment eredit of $800. That's
'$1,650.”

dubious.

Se

| Mary's father entered. He was

(2 tall, heavy set man who
phardiy looked his s eventy-trwo
(years, He was dressed in rag-

iged, old trousers, a heavy work
‘shirt, boots and painter’s cap.
His hands, his clothes, his face
and even his glasses were
SPrinkled with white paint.

Jim greeted him. “Elow’s
everything going, Dad? How
are you getting along with

Painting the house?”

“Not bad, but do you know
what your two boys did today?”

“No can’t Say that I do.”

“They had a bunch -of boys in
here and they were playing cops
and robbers in the garden, and
they broke two panes of glass
Sver my cold frame.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 11

No homes for veterans-
_ but plenty of ‘plans’

“--- when Canada’s fighting men return, everything must be done to
facilitate their return to a normal life.” «xy ELAG-WAVING POLITICIAN).
“the law has been taken into private hands—-we saw a group of men
take possession of the old Hotel Vancouver.” om. susticn a.m. mansom).

“I'm sorry, dad, and Ili re-
place them for you?

“That part is okay, but I
wish you’d tell them to keep
their gang out of here. This is
no playground - and don’t
forget that mother is working
nights at the cannery now, and
needs her sleep.”

Jim gazed at his father-inlaw
fer a moment, his face impas-
Sive. In the background, Mary
Shook her head and put a
warning finger to her lips. Okay,
Gad,” replied the young man,
“Tl speak to them.”

The old man spoke again. “If
I were you I’d spend more time
trying to get a place of your
own. I think it would be betrer
if you got a place before school
opens again. Your boys are six
and eight, and just a little too
boisterous.” With that he pick-
ed up a towel and left the room.

Se
With this, we leave the happy
home of Jim and Mary, to pick

them up next morning at the
office of Smith and Jones, local

estate agents. They are
their Sunday best
in front of a glass
littered with blue-

real
dressed in
and seated
topped desk

prints and pamphlets. Opposite
them, and behind the desk, is
Smith junior, a pleasant faced
young man with a discharge
button in his lapel, just like
Jim.

The real estate man pointed to
a blueprint on the table. “Here
is the plan of the house you
wanted, with the modifications

you asked for- All we have to
do now is get a contractor who
Can guarantee delivery.”

“Do you think you can do
that?” asked Mary.

“Maybe in three or six months.

All our contractors have more
than they can really handle.
Now if you could finance a

larger house, ,it would be easier
to guarantee delivery. You un-
derstand, of course, that -with
the scarcity’ of materials and
the huge demand for building,
large jobs are More profitable?

Jim spoke this time. “You
Say that it would cost about
$3,800 to build this house under
the N-HLA., with four rooms and
a basement. Couldn’t we try
somewhere else?”

“Certainly, but don’t forget
that $3,800 is only a rough figs-
ure, and that you would have
to meet any increase in the cost
of labor and materials.”

Mary looked disappointed.
“Tell me,” she asked, “why is
such a large deposit necessary ?
In the NHA pamphlet I read,

:

3 =

house of $6000 may have a2
lending yaiue of only $4,000. You
would have to pay a down de-
posit based on $4,000, plus the
extra $2,000, in order to finance
the deal. Some people call it in-
flation. You can call it what you
like.”

HE young couple remained si-

lent for a moment, exchanged
a look and got up to leave. As
Smith junior rolled up their
blueprints he gave them a word
of advice. “Why not try Van-
couver Coast Agencies, around
the corner? They have their
Own sawmill and they seem to
have no difficulty in getting
houses built. Here, look at their
ad.” Jim took the paper, and
here is what he and Mary read:

“Veterans! Here is the modern
way! Want a home? Of course
you do! Don’t we all? Well, tet
us tell you about our contract
—just ONE contract that cov-
ers you on every detail, from
the initial plan te the finished
precision-built home. We arrange

Lene —aF
j

EDS

NG

Se

71S Er Mort

it said we would have to put
up only five percent of the first
$2,000 and 15 percent of the ad-
ditional costs. According to that,
we should only have to put up
about $370 for a $3,800 house?’’

The agent smilled sympathet-
ically. “That is so, but these
figures are based on the lending
value of the house. The differ-
ence between the lending value
and the selling price has to be
put up in advance, as part of
the down payment. Thus, a

mort-

blue
gages, everything. You can build

financing, prints,
2a home today much more rea-
Sonably than you Can buy a
ready-built house, and with less
money down, too! You provide
the lot—or we will, whichever you
prefer—anywhere in Wancouver-
Our salesmen are in attendance
evenings as well as daytime.
Phone for an appointment to
talk about this scheme Prefer-
ence to ex-servicemen.”

Ten minutes later, the couple

tracts,

were in conference with a rep-
tesentative of Vancouver Goast
Agencies. “You Say you can
build this house, and fSuarantee
delivery for $5,800. Why that’s
$2,000 more than the figure
Smith and Jones quoted us,”

The salesman looked serious
for a moment before he answer-
€d Jim. “True, but we have only
one price, and we Suarantee de-
livery in six months. We have
uo escape clause in our con-
and you don’t pay 2a
cent more than you sign for.”

“And have we enough for a
down deposit ?” This

from
Mary.

“You say, you have $1,650? Ter
yeu could raise another $1,000
you could swing the deal.”

“But where’ll I get another

$1,000?” criea@ Jim, “I work in
a sawmill, but I don’t own the
place!”

“Couldn’t you borrow it?”

“And how would Tf Pay it
back and Pay for my house

at

the same time?”
“The agent smiled sSympath-
etically as he tolled up their
Plans. “I must admit the NEA

hardly meets the needs of the

average veteran who comes in
here.”

Se

{2 was Sunday Morning and
: Jim was talking to his mother-
in-law in the garden. “Have you
Siven up the idea of buying an
old house and fixing it up?” she
asked. Jim 8azed at the spright-
ly old lady, some ten years
younger than her husband, and.
shook his head in the negative.
“No, I haven’t Siven up the idea,
but they want such a2 larse down
deposit it almost seems hope-
less.”

. “How about War Time Hous-
ing?”

“I’ve had my name
two months, and the
tor has beer around
still waiting.” :

“Too bad Mary didn’t stay
where she was when you went
Overseas, but she didn’t want to
Stay alone.”

€ in for
investiga-
but Pm

Jim sat down on the bed an@
Put his arm around his wife.
“Now, now honey, I’m trying my
best and it’s no use getting down-
at-the-mouth, Lately, you've been
talking like those tadical guys in
my union. All about Class strug-
Sle, the need to put the old
out, the fight to win
and so on.”

Sang
the peace,

“And why not Jim? No homes
for veterans! Prices foing up fast
er than wages! Jobs becoming —
fewer! Mackenzie King workins
for the big shots! Is that what
you fought for.’

“Sounds like that LPP brother
of yours has been fiving
osme propadanda.”

“But isn’t it the truth, Jim?”

you

“Tt is, I guess, but the trouble
is that too many people have
different ideas about what has
te be done. If Wwe could get al}
the working people and all the
veterans together, we'q Make the
SoOvernment sit up and take~-no-

_ tice.”

“That’s what my brother Says:
We need unity.”

“T agree, but I need sleep . _.
so let's turn in.”
FRIDAY, JULY

26, 1946