Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

(9U- "• ittsouo "Ca&UfiJibtp fa* tUe O^ice" Telephone 1650 119 Broad Street THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA Bank of Thomas County A Friendly Bank ... A Friendly Community THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA iYIKMBKR OF FEDERAL, DEPOSIT INSURANCE COKI’OltATION HThomasuilIc IDimcs Enterprise Serving Southwest Georgia AFTERNOONS EXCEPT SUNDAY Commercial Hank .1. TRUMAN HOLLAND, Chairman of the Board THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA Bank of Dependable Service Member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation W. Fcinberts X Soil. Inc. oath Cjcoriiia J furniture tore THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA R. 11. Neel, Sr.. President Mrs. Alice 1’. Joseph. Sec.-Treas. Thomas County Federal Savings & Loan Association 109 N. Broad St. PHONE 3109 THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA Homes for Maabarot NEW PLAN FOR HOUSING NEWCOMERS TO ISRAEL By NlRA LASKY JERUSALEM — Barring emergencies, must of the l-f.Ulili new immigrant families still living in temporary canvas huts should he properly housed by the end of 195(1, according to the build ing program of the Israel Ministry of Labor. True, time and time attain promises have been made* that the slummy maabarot would disappear - by the end of 1954, then by the summer of 1955. But to some extent the newcomers themselves arc to blame for the delay. For a large part of the people marking lime in these shacks re fuse to move to farming and devel opment areas, where housing is available. They want to live in the cities, or as close to the cities as possible, insisting that urban areas offer greater employment possibilities and better services. They are wrong on the former score, maybe right on the latter, since schooling, medical services and public utilities are more readi ly available in the central parts of the country. However, with con ditions continuously improving in thi' outlying areas, it will not be lung before sufficient teachers and physicians are drawn out there; and already, some of the frontier \ illages have electricity. With the exception of the Jeru salem area, those immigrants seek ing government sponsored housing in urban areas will now have tc pay for it like everybody else. La bor Minister Golda Mverson an nounced m the Knesset recently that from now on, people will be housed for nothing or very little only in the far north and the Ne gev where working hands are bad ly needed. This may indeed make many change their minds and help end the further cluttering up of al ready overcrowded Tel Aviv, Ra- mat Gan. Haifa and other urban centers. Not only maabarot dwellers used to trickle into the cities these past years, but also new farmers who couldn’t make a go of farming or' whose yearning for urban com forts got the better of them. To counter this trend, farm homes are now being improved and, where families have grown in num bers, enlarged. With pride the people of Kfar Azaria, just east of Ramale, recent ly showed visitors over their new three-roomed homes which include indoor plumbing and kitchens with sinks and faucets. "Let’s face : t,’’ said one of them who came from Turkey five years ago, "better homes have decided many of us to hang on. It’s tough, particularly in winter, to have to cross a muddy yard to get to the sanitary facilities, and to step out into the cold each time you need water." These improvements cost many millions of pounds, borne for the time being jointly by the Jewish Agency and the Labor Ministry. Later on, when the settlers have to repay the initial outlay, they will also have to pay for these addi tions. But for most of them that will be some years hence; and loan repayments will be spread over 33 years, so that won’t hurt so badly. Moreover, the old type of farm house is out for good. From now on, bigger and better cottages are to be built. Among those pressing for such improvements is Harold Robinson, the housing expert of the U. S. Operations Mission here who made quite a name for him self in New England where, as post-war director of the Massa chusetts State Housing Board he administered a state aid and cred it program involving $400,000,000 for the construction and operation of 15 rental housing projects. Private Dining Rooms Tourists A Trays Welcome Dodson's Grill & Restaurant "Your Best Choice For Better Food" Steaks — Chicken Sea Foods Regular Dinners AAA Phone 680 THOMASVILLE. GA. (14) The Southern Israelite