Later the law of April 11, 1919, was passed “on colonization.” This law obliges the State to create interior colonies and small undertakings. To this end territory belonging to the State must be put on sale to “collective colonization enterprises”; these enterprises may be subsidized by means of expropriations of swamps and uncultivated tracts. They have the right of pre-emption in the sale of tracts of land of less than twenty-five hectares. On the other hand, to develop colonization tracts, there must be organized “associations for the furnishing of tracts” in all districts where more than ten per cent of the cultivatable soil is in the hands of big holders, that is, of more than one hundred hectares per holder. These associations, formed by a union of big landholders, must, on the demand of collective colonization enterprises, put at the disposal of the latter at reasonable prices tracts of land taken from the big properties. Their obligations in this respect cease when they have thus given over to colonization a third of the utilizable surface of the large properties, or when the total area of these properties is not more than ten per cent of the area of the district. The right of pre-emption by the colonization enterprises in respect to large properties is exercised through the associations for the furnishing of tracts. In urgent cases these associations may proceed by means of expropriation. The Reich, finally, in order to assure a habitation to individuals, must take a whole series of measures in the case of housing crises. Already before the Revolution a decree of September 23, 1918, gave to municipalities the right to make regulations for the prevention of the demolition of buildings or their use for other purposes than dwelling. The municipalities had the right to draw up leases, even against the wish of the owners, through the intermediacy of “offices for the distribution of lodgings,” and to appropriate all unused buildings for the purpose of converting them to dwellings. A later decree of November 7, 1918, provided that associations of municipalities and groups of municipalities could be created to fight against housing crises. After the Revolution, a new decree of January 15, 1919, contained more important provisions for meeting the most urgent needs created by such crises. The State Cabinets were obliged to appoint “housing commissioners,” charged with the care of homeless families and the creation of small and average appropriate lodgings. To this end, they received considerable powers. They could expropriate by a summary procedure unoccupied buildings they deemed necessary, or have such buildings erected on grounds which they had authority to lease for terms as long as thirty years. They could dispense with the requirements of legislative provisions, expropriate tile and other building materials necessary for the rapid construction of buildings; they could seize building lumber and forbid unnecessary construction.