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THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2011 with funding from

Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

http://www.archive.org/details/menoftomorrowOOonia

Miss Edith C. Onians.

THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Massachusetts School fcr Feeble Minded,

TH C. ONIANS

fltv^Uw tC^

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN

MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY

PRINTED IN ENGLAND

BefcicateD

TO

THE NEWSBOYS OF MELBOURNE

WHO MORE THAN I HAVE HELPED THEM

HAVE HELPED ME.

FOREWORD

SIXTEEN years' work among the newsboys of Melbourne made me realize intensely the necessity of under- standing the great problem of Child Rescue Work. I was anxious to know what others were doing to help in its battle of life the child handicapped from birth.

Although my work had chiefly been among boys, I felt that in order to grapple with the boy problem I must study children — boys and girls — and learn the best ways of helping them to realize and make the best of themselves. I believed that One—

Who builds in boys builds lastingly in Truth, And "vanished hands " are multiplied in power, And sounds of living voices, hour by hour, Speak forth His message with the lips of Youth.

And so for a while I laid down my work here in order to better equip myself for it in the future.

Two years' study and inquiry in England, America and on the Continent, and many valuable and varied experiences have taught me that although one may take hold of the fringes of this great problem — many lifetimes must be spent unravel- ling these fringes before the problem will be solved — yet every serious effort in the right direction must help towards this great result.

viii FOREWORD

It is in order that my inquiries and experiences in different parts of the world may help and interest other social workers in Australia that they now appear in book form.

Newsboys Hall, Melbourne, Easter Day, 1914.

PORTIONS of various notes used in these papers have already appeared in the Melbourne Herald and the Argus. For permission to reprint them, I express my gratitude and thanks to the Editors of those widely-read papers.

I should also like to thank especially the following for the photographs used : —

Judge Ben. B. Lindsey, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

Mr. Newton Baker, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.

Mr. John E. Gunckel, Newsboys' Association, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.

Mr. M. L. Waller, Prison Committee, Home Office, Whitehall, London.

Mr. W. Pett Ridge, Oakley Square, London.

Mr. Housden, Barnes Industrial School, Manchester.

Mr. J. G. Legge, Director of Education, Liverpool.

Sears' Studios, Melbourne, Australia.

CONTENTS

PART I

CHAP. PAGE

3

I Introduction .....

II Judge Pinckney ....

III St. Charles' School for Boys

IV The Juvenile Protective Association V Court of Domestic Relations

VI The Settlement Movement in Chicago

VII Hull House Boys' Club

VIII The Chicago Hebrew Institute

IX Impressions of Judge Ben. B. Lindsey

X Chicago Boys' Clubs

XI The Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy 57

XII Other Activities of Chicago .

XIII Toledo

XIV Cleveland ......

XV Boston

XVI Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded 100

XVII New York . . . . . . . 107

10

15 24 29 34

4i 47 50

55

63

7i 84 93

PART II

I London Settlements . . . . .116

II The Borstal Institutions for Lads. . . 124

III Three Interesting Personalities . . . 137

IV The National Conference on the Prevention

of Destitution . . . . .155

xi

xii CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

V The London County Council .... 173

VI Special Schools in London, Liverpool and

Manchester 188

VII Industrial Schools, Training Ships, Reforma- tories, and Borstal Institutions under the Jurisdiction of the Home Office

VIII Hospitals

IX Homes for Boys

X First International Eugenics Congress

XI Other Institutions ....

XII The Child on the Continent .

Index

202 222

233

246

2 59 269

277

ILLUSTRATIONS T0 face

PAGE

Miss Edith C. Onians . . . . Frontispiece Melbourne Newsboys' Carpenters' Shop .... 2 Judge Ben. B. Lindsey 50

Mr. Gunckel and the Original Members of the Toledo

Newboys' Association ...... 72

Service Quadrangle of the House of Correction at Colony

Farm, Cleveland ....... 86

Getting Out Foundations at the Borstal Institution,

Feltham 128

George the First ........ 146

Ambulance for Conveying Physically Defective Children

to and from School . . . . .192

Bakers' Shop, Barnes Industrial School, Heaton-Mersey . 204

PART I

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

ON March 14, 1912, towards the end of one of England's coldest winters, I set sail for America, plunged right into the midst of the equinoctial gales, and, in consequence, landed at New York on March 24, just two days later than we had anticipated. From there I took the first train I could get to Chicago, and journeyed 1,000 miles through the centre of this wonderful country.

Everything was very new and very strange. We had left England in the early spring and had suddenly been pre- cipitated into the depth of a winter with the most severe frost America had known for many years. For mile after mile we ran close along the Hudson River, which presented a picture of frozen desolation. In some places the river was one solid mass of ice, in others the ice was gradually breaking up into huge blocks, which were piled up against the banks.

It was a Sunday and the snow was falling heavily, laying a whiter mantle on the already white country. As I passed through some of the towns I heard bells ringing and made this note in my diary. " The snow was falling heavily and the church bells ringing as I left Albany/' To my astonishment the bells went on ringing long after church hours, and at last I asked a conductor if these were the church bells we heard. " Well," he said, " I guess they are, as

3

4 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

it's Sunday." In the middle of the night I still heard bells, and when I said to my friend the conductor, " Those bells are ringing now ; they can't be church bells, surely ? " he remarked that : he " didn't hear no bells." It was only when the daylight came that I found each engine- was equipped with a huge bell, which rang incessantly to warn people of the train's approach ; for in America the distances travelled are so great that the railway lines are often in the open country, and the level crossings in many towns are not fenced. At Chicago, (after twenty-six hours of continuous travel) I was met by Mr. Thomas Chambers and stayed with him and his wife for a few days. Mr. Chambers had been a social worker, and before I arrived made arrangements for me to visit twenty-three settlements and other institutions. I did not here need the letters of introduction which were so kindly given to me by Mr. Watt, the Victorian Premier, Captain St. John, of the Penal Reform League, Sir George Reid, G.C.M.G., High Commissioner for the Commonwealth, and the Victoria League, but they subsequently made friends for me wherever I went and opened many doors that otherwise might have been closed to any one conducting purely personal and unofficial investigations.

Almost the first institution for protecting and safeguarding the interests of children to claim my attention in Chicago was the Juvenile Court.

To Australians, who know the Juvenile Court system and for what it stands, a minute description of the Juvenile Court laws of America will not be necessary. They differ from those of Australia in several respects, and vary, too, in the different states, as with us.

The following extracts from the report of the Juvenile Court of Chicago indicate the ideals by which it is animated. To quote from the report of the Juvenile Court

INTRODUCTION 5

law in relation to the family and to earlier legislation : — " Specific provisions of the Juvenile Court law indicate clearly that its purpose is to reduce to a minimum state interference with normal relations of children in natural homes. The theory upon which the whole Juvenile Court movement rests requires that every effort be made to keep children with their parents, and in the case of removal, to restore their normal relationship at the earliest moment consistent with proper care.

" If after a child has been committed to an institution, facts are presented to the Court indicating that advantages of the institution over the child's natural home have been magnified, or, in the case of unfit parents, that they have reformed, or that the parents have moved from a bad environment — in short, if the situation offers expectation of proper control and care — the child should be restored." Under the Parents Act of 191 1, a fund was instituted which provides that parents who are " otherwise proper guardians," but too poor to care for their child properly, shall be financially helped by order of the Court. Next to a natural home the Juvenile Court law of Illinois regards a suitable foster-home as the most effective instrument for realizing its aim or purpose.

An amendment of the Juvenile Court law recommended that any person under the age of twenty-one years, regard- less of previous contact with the Court, should be brought into the Juvenile, rather than into the Police Court. The report in regard to Court procedure says, " The object of the Juvenile Court law is to make procedure for Juvenile cases as dissimilar as possible to cases in the Criminal Court." With regard to probation the report says : — '■' Parental care is the one ideal by which the Juvenile Court movement is inspired. The function of a probation

6 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

department is not to place the children in institutions, but to leave them at home ; not to bring them to Court, but to keep them away ; and to help them enjoy the most whole- some family life which environment permits. The more successful a probation department, the larger is the pro- portion of cases handled out of Court.' '

The Illinois Juvenile Court law became effective on July i, 1899. The law provided for the organization of the Court and for the establishment of a probation system ; but failed to make provision for salaried probation officers.

At the first session of the Court two ladies appeared. One (Mrs. Lucy L. Flower) offered to raise a fund from which the salaries of probation officers might be paid ; the other (Mrs. Alzina P. Stevens) offered her services as the first probation officer. So the Juvenile Court Committee was formed.

The law forbade the detention of young children in gaols and at police stations, but provided no other place of detention. For six years the Juvenile Court Committee maintained a Detention Home, assisted by appropriations from the city and country. Through the home about 2,600 children passed yearly.

As time went on the Committee felt that the work of directing and paying probation officers was properly a public function, and on its own initiative secured a law placing the probation officers on the country's pay roll. When I visited Chicago there were thirty-eight probation officers, paid for by the country, and forty police probation officers, paid for by the city. The very responsible task of conducting a place of detention for various classes of dependent and delinquent children, the Committee considered should be done by the public for the public ; and, as a result of the efforts of the Juvenile Court Committee, the city and

INTRODUCTION 7

country joined in erecting the Juvenile Court and Detention Home, in Ewing Street, which was opened in October, 1907. The officers of this Detention Home are appointed under the County Civil Service law, and the home is maintained entirely by public funds.

The Chicago Juvenile Court and Detention Home is situated in a central position, in the midst of a very poor quarter. It is an unpretentious-looking building in which the court is held. Inside are the rooms in which children from a distance await " trial." These rooms are down- stairs ; while upstairs are the detention rooms, consisting of school-rooms and dormitories, which accommodate sixty children who are on probation.

The Court was held in a long room. At one end of it were seats for any who cared to come and hear the cases tried ; but they heard little of the actual cases. The Judge sat in an ordinary easy chair. Near him were the clerks and those officers of the Court concerned. The children were in turn brought in, with their parents and the pro- bation officer, and the policeman in charge of the case. A low railing partitioned the part of the room in which the Judge and his clerks sat from the rear of the Court. There was a little gate in the railing, so that if the child were tiny or frightened, or did not seem to understand what he was asked, the Judge might open this little gate, bring the child near to him and talk gently and quietly to the little one to give him confidence. If it were necessary, in order to get at the truth of a matter, to question the child privately, or to make arrangements between the child and his parents, the Judge sent him into one of the rooms which opened off the Court, with his probation officer and friends. These plans were afterwards reported to the Judge, who gave advice on, and suggestions concerning them, although

8 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

during the consultation he had been busy with another case.

The Court sits every day except Saturday, and about fifty cases are dealt with daily. At first it was only held twice a week, but its sphere of influence has become so much greater that the extended time is fully occupied. The Judge can now send a boy home on parole for a week, at the end of which time he is required to come before the Court again. If he is trying to do better he is not detained ; or, if it is thought desirable, he is sent to the Detention Home upstairs and again brought before the Court in a week's time or more.

If a boy persists in stealing in the same line — from a railway car, from persons, or from houses — the Judge deals more severely with him than if he committed an entirely new offence. The welfare of the child, nevertheless, not the vengeance of the law, remains the controlling thought.

For boys who play truant there are what are called Parental Schools. To these truant players are sent ; and they are detained till they assume regular habits and can be trusted to return and attend ordinary, outdoor school regularly, thenceforward.

For orphan, or neglected children there are Dependent Homes, the Glenwood Home for Dependent Boys being a splendid institution.

For delinquent boys and girls — boys and girls with criminal instincts — there are special schools excellently arranged and equipped. In each of these different homes the nature of a boy's or girl's wrongdoing is studied and the forces which lie beneath are considered. A cure is prescribed on scientific lines. Different homes have charge of different cures and study the special causes of the moral infirmity of their proteges.

INTRODUCTION 9

William Byron Forbush truly says, " The mischief in a boy is the entire basis of his education. The boy could be made into a man out of the parts of him that his parents and teachers are trying to throw away."

In connexion with the Juvenile Court of Chicago a mother's pension has lately been granted. By means of it children, until they are fourteen, or wage earners, may be boarded out to their own mothers. Poor mothers are thus enabled to keep their children about them, as in Victoria, and in other Australian states, where this beneficent provision, in the shape of regulated payments, has long been in force.

Girls under eighteen years of age and boys under seventeen come under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Juvenile Court.

The difficulties of this Court are manifold. There are forty-three nationalities in Chicago, and, in all cases of erring or delinquent foreign children, interpreters are necessary. Negroes alone have a probation officer of their own race.

In connexion with the Juvenile Court are the Juvenile Protective Association and the Court of Domestic Relations, of which I will speak later.

CHAPTER II JUDGE PINCKNEY

SOON after my arrival in Chicago I met Judge Pinckney, Judge of that Juvenile Court. He very kindly in- vited me to go and see the Court whenever I had an hour to spare. He said, " I will give you the chair next to me and then you can hear everything."

Talking of methods, he said, "The difficulty in Chicago is that our law wants amending so that we will have power to punish the man who sells the beer as well as the boy who gets drunk."

I took advantage of the Judge's kindly offer and spent three most interesting afternoons at the Court, being much impressed with all I saw.

The Judge is a great man, so broad, human, and sympathe- tic. He talked to and advised each child in turn ; but when firmness and severity were needed, he used them too.

I wish I had time and space to give accounts of all the cases that I heard, but the following will be illustrative of his ways of dealing with them.

A Hungarian girl of fourteen, who had only been in Chicago five months, and who it was discovered had come with a friend under a false passport as his daughter, was tried for stealing. She had no relations and could not speak a word of English. Through a boy of fifteen, who acted as intrepreter, she said

10

rALTER E. FERNALD STATE SCHOOL

JUDGE PINCKNEY n

she had stolen a parcel of spoons from the place in which she was working, because a girl friend told her they would be so useful to her when she got married. She sobbed bitterly when the Judge asked her through the interpreter if she did not know she was doing wrong. He decided to place her with a respectable Bohemian family to be trained and taught. If a suitable home could not be found she was to be sent back to Hungary.

A boy of Polish parents told a strange story. He said that he had been drugged and taken out by some young men who threatened to shoot him if he would not go with them. He remembered nothing of what happened, he said, but, when he came to himself, found a revolver and watch in his pocket. He and two young men were arrested in connexion with a robbery. The officer gave the boy and his parents an excellent character.

The Judge spoke to him about being made to do what he knew was wrong. When I was your age, he said, " no one could make me do a thing I did not want to do." The boy was let off on condition that he reported himself every month and helped the police as a witness in their evidence against the men, who were awaiting trial. He was very grateful. The Judge shook hands with him. The old father was so overcome that he tried to kiss the Judge's hand. This case was passed in for sixty days.

Three boys who, with older boys, had stolen seventeen pairs of boots, gloves, and other articles from a car were brought up together. Some of the things had been worn ; some they had thrown away. Each boy told his story, saying that some elder boys who had a gun, and with whom they had been hunting, had made them steal and had threatened to shoot them.

The Judge said no one could make a boy steal if he didn't

12 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

want to. The police officer said that two horses, which had been grazing on the prairies all through the winter, had been looked after by a faithful sheepdog, which was deliberately shot by one of the boys. The Judge spoke very earnestly to each boy about the wanton cruelty of this act.

The eldest boy was let off on probation, as it was his first offence. The youngest, a black-eyed sharp little nut of a foreigner who had not been to school for twenty-four and a half days, was sent to the Parental Schools. The other boy's case was held over for a week to make inquiries about his home. He went to the Detention Rooms in connexion with the Court.

An amusing case was that of a black boy about twelve, whose parents were both dead. A black aunt befriended him. She was dressed in great style and spoke very volubly, rolling her eyes and showing her white teeth. A small white girl, as fair as a lily, testified against him. She was very shy, and the Judge brought her close beside him, and when she said another boy was going to give the one before the Court a black eye, the Judge said that it was a funny thing to do, to give a black boy a black eye. The boy was sent away from Chicago to an aunt in the country who had offered to keep him.

An interesting case was that of a girl of seventeen who had stolen a coat worth twenty-five dollars and several other goods. Her brother, a well-dressed man, pleaded for her. They both cried and seemed to feel their situation acutely. The constables who had investigated the case gave their version. The goods stolen were produced, among them the chief cause of the trouble — a long blue coat. Judge Pinckney said : " The girl has been untruthful all through." But after some discussion and much pleading, she, her brother, and the man from whom the articles had been stolen, were

JUDGE PINCKNEY 13

sent into an adjoining room and when they returned a little later it was announced that the brother had agreed to pay the full value of the things stolen.

The Judge spoke very kindly to the girl about the love of dress which had led her to steal, and earnestly asked her to try and direct her thoughts to things that would be helpful to her, and to others. He finally decided to send her back to her home in Illinois, on condition that she did not return to Chicago for two years. But before leaving, I smiled to hear her ask, if she "might keep the blue coat."

Two or three cases of young girls who had been away from home, some for weeks, living with different men, were heard. One girl, only fifteen, had no mother and did not seem intelligent. She could neither read nor write and was sent to one of the Parental Schools.

Another girl of seventeen, who had a step-mother, said she would go anywhere rather than live with her step-mother. She was sent to the Delinquent School for girls, where she was to stay till she was twenty-one.

I was particularly sorry for another girl of seventeen, whose father and step-mother had the hardest and most unrelenting faces I have ever seen. She cried bitterly, and said she would not go home. The pathos of the word " home " ! She was sent for a month's trial to a lady who said she was willing to take her.

There were many other interesting cases, but I will just tell of one more. It was that of a black girl of seventeen who had no parents and who had been before the Court at different times since she was fourteen. Her name was Susie, and she was a really nice-looking girl.

Susie had said she was married to a man with whom she went to a dancing saloon in a very low quarter. She had been living with a black aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs.

14 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Diggs by name. They stated the case and said Susie was always a good girl and that they had no children and loved her. The probation officer, a coloured woman, said she had decided not to give Susie another chance. But Susie cried bitterly and threw her arms round the probation officer, who visibly relented. Susie sobbed and pleaded, the poor old aunt and uncle cried too, and I noticed the Judge get up for a minute and turn away to hide a smile, for Susie was hugging the officer, who at last asked the Judge to give her another chance. He gave the girl a fortnight's probation, telling her that she must report herself at the end of that time. And she, and her aunt and uncle, left the Court smiling through their tears.

Another most amusing case was that of some boys who had been tormenting the children at a school. One little fellow, to evade the police, ran into an old woman's arms and said she was his grandmother. She had said she was in order to protect him, although she was not at all.

The Judge was sympathetic, and kindly in his hearing and advice to all the young offenders who had come before him, and severe only in one case — that of a boy of fifteen who had shot at a man with a revolver.

CHAPTER III ST. CHARLES' SCHOOL FOR BOYS

THE day after my first visit to the Juvenile Court 1 went out to St. Charles' School for Boys, where delinquent boys from ten to seventeen years of age are sent from the Court.

At 9 a.m. I met at the station a police officer and two boys whom I had seen in Court the day before. After an hour's ride by express train we started for a four miles' drive to the Home. A typical American carriage, like a phaeton, with a flat, cloth-covered top, edged with fringe, and a pair of piebald ponies were waiting for us. The roads were the worst I have ever seen. The ponies were sometimes knee-deep in mud ; the ground, which had been frozen three or four feet deep all the winter, was beginning to thaw.

The boys were very interested in all they saw, and had quite forgotten their tears and fears of the day before.

One of them, a fair-haired bright-faced little chap only ten years old, had eight charges of burglary against him, and when arrested had all sorts of burglarious tools in his possession. He sat in the back of the trap with me and showed the keenest enjoyment and interest in everything. Here I felt instinctively was no criminal, only a little child whose intelligence wanted wise directing and understanding.

He told me his history, or as much as he knew of it. His

15

16 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

father was an unknown quantity to him, his mother was in California, and so he lived with his sister — a really beautiful girl by whom I had been much impressed the day before in the Court. I said, " Your sister is a very pretty girl, isn't she ? " " Gee, yes ! " he said; " two or three young men wanted her to like them, but she wouldn't. She was seventeen last month, and has been married a year. I stayed with her, but I didn't like the school, so I just didn't go." He broke off to say, " Gee, there's a blackbird ; isn't he pretty and cute ? I know all about birds and I just love them, and dogs and horses too ! " (He said " Gee " almost every time he opened his mouth.) When I talked to him about stealing, he said, " Gee, it's not worth while. You can do a little thing all right, but that's not much good to you ; and if you do a big thing, sure you get caught." "\ |

It was a cold drive, for although the sun was shining, deep drifts of frozen snow were lying all along the road. I was not sorry when at last the building of the Home loomed up in the distance, and we entered the road through the six farms, consisting of just 1,000 acres, that have been acquired by the St. Charles' School authorities as reforming grounds for delinquent boys.

Mr. Peckham, the officer in charge of the boys, who had taken the first two boys to St. Charles seven years ago, pointed out to me the different farmhouses as we passed. Each farm is presided over by a " Mother " and " Father" and takes as many boys as the house will accom- modate. One we passed had twelve boys, another six, and so on. It took some little time to come to the central group of buildings, which comprises twelve cottages, a gymnasium, hospital, schoolhouse, laundry, trades shops' or industrial building, bakery, cold storage, and administration building.

ST. CHARLES' SCHOOL FOR BOYS 17

All these are separate buildings some distance apart, and with the stables, dairies, and other outbuildings form quite a little town. The fine macadamized drives and wide cemented pavements are all the work of the boys.

We drove right through the street to the administration building where boys in uniform came and took the horses. Then we passed on to the office. Here the two boys we had brought went through a minute examination, all of which was entered up on a history sheet. The officers in charge told me many interesting particulars of the work. There is, for instance, a large increase in the number of boys of foreign parentage who go to the School, a slight decrease in boys of American parentage, and the percentage of Afro- American boys is small. He mentioned individual cases of boys that had done splendidly when they left the School ; and told me, too, of two little chaps, eight and nine years of age, theyoungest boys in the school, who had been sent out for attempting to wreck a train. When questioned, they said that they had " wanted to see the trains run into each other and smash up like they do in moving pictures.' '

Before we commenced our tour of inspection, we had dinner. I met then all the teachers and officers in charge. Some of the boys, dressed in white, waited on us, and waited well.

The officers are all resident. Their rooms are in the administrative building, and there are five lady teachers, whose quarters I went over. I was much impressed by the excellent arrangements and by the fine airy rooms each teacher occupied. The lady who showed me around had been at St. Charles three years and was very keenly in- terested in her work among the boys.

The twelve " cottages " which I have already mentioned are in reality quitejarge buildings, handsomely and sub-

18 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

stantially built of red brick with red-tiled roofs. Each of these cottages cost about $25,000 (£5,000) and is presided over by a house Father and a house Mother, a married couple who try to be father and mother to the boys while they are at the school. Those I saw seemed particularly adapted to their work. The boys called them Mother and Father, and the foster-parents take a keen interest in each of their boys.

On the first floor of each cottage were the officers' sitting- room, the kitchen, and dining-room. On the second floor were the house Father's and Mother's rooms and a large dormi- tory for the boys. One long room adjoining the dormitory was lined with cupboards. Each boy had a number on his cupboard and the arrangements for keeping the clothes in order were excellent. The boys dressed in this room and slept in separate white enamelled beds. These are made at the Penitentiary and could not be nicer.

There were three boys, aged fifteen, in the house I visited, who had never slept in a bed before they came to the school.

In the basement of each cottage is a large toilet room with plunge and shower baths, and a large play room well lighted and sanitary. The whole of the building was particularly bright and airy. The windows were gay with flowers and beautiful pot plants.

It was dinner hour when I went around, and the cottages seemed swarming with boys, some playing games, some reading, all very orderly and happy-looking. Fifty boys are grouped to each cottage and are classified according to age and to the crimes which they committed. The cottages are known by letter, A, B, C, D, and so on. Each cottage forms a company and a bright lad with executive ability is in charge of the boys under the guidance of the house Father and Mother. He assembles his men for drill, and has charge over them at all times.

ST. CHARLES' SCHOOL FOR BOYS 19

At 5.30 each morning the boys are wakened by a military call, and all are at breakfast at 6 o'clock. From then until 6.50 they do their housework, make the beds, wash the dishes, sweep the floors, etc., and at seven all are assembled.

Half of the boys are then sent to school, and the other half to various work. Each boy is placed at the trade to which he is most suited. At 11 a.m. the morning work is done, to start again at 12.30 o'clock, when the boys who went to school in the morning go to work at the trades, and vice versa. All time between is spent in sports. The work is through at 4.30 in the afternoon.

Leaving the cottages we went into a large hall, where all the boys were assembled. Each house Father was at the head of his squad.

There were large placards, upon which was written in plain letters Garden, Dairy, Stable, School, Blacksmithing, Tailoring, Printing, Bakery, and so on. When all the ofhcers had finished their reports the boys, at a given word, took their stand under the placard to which they were allotted, and all filed out to their respective duties.

I was amused to hear how accurately the boys kept count of the time they had been in the Home. The Superintendent asked several boys how long they had been in. Each said the exact time, such as two months three days, eleven months and four days, and so on.

Colonel Adams, the head of the school, believes in the play spirit and the spirit of playing fair, and says that before you can build up a boy morally or mentally you must build him up physically. For this reason the gymnasium is the finest gymnasium in the state. It was the gift of the Commercial Club of Chicago, which gave $50,000 for its erection. The floor space is 175 by 125 feet and provides for basket ball courts, indoor base ball, and running, as well as indoor drill

20 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

in bad weather. A large swimming bath and shower baths are a feature.

Every officer and every boy is required to take physical instruction. The manual training building was complete in every detail, and I saw the boys at work at tailoring, boot- making, carpentry, blacksmithing, printing and many other trades. In the mending-room boys were mending, by machine, shirts, overalls, etc. They used up every scrap of old material and mended 700 pieces a week.

An interesting department was the tool department. Here the tools are kept together, sharpened, and always ready for use, so that every officer may hand in an order saying how many, and which tools he wants for his workers.

Then as each boy files past he gets his tools. The list is given to the officer, who has to account for every one. In this way 200 boys can be equipped in half an hour.

The laundry was very up to date. It had washing machines, wringers and electric irons ; no tables, but shirt, bodice and sleeve boards fixed by hinges to the wall. All the work was done by the boys under a woman superin- tendent.

In the printing department the monthly paper called the Boy Agriculturist is set up. Here also all the printing of the school is done.

The blacksmith's shop is well equipped with eight forges, the blacksmith and his boys keep forty horses and mules shod, repair all wagons, ploughs, etc., and all iron imple- ments used on the farms. The painting class is always busy painting the barns and other buildings and decorating the walls of the cottages. Most valuable work is done in the agricultural department. Farms are cleaned, fences built, land redrained, and crops sown. In fact, practically all the work of the school is done by the boys in order that they may

ST. CHARLES' SCHOOL FOR BOYS 21

acquire habits of industry, and learn trades which they can follow after leaving school. They have a fine band. It was practising vigorously " Onward, Christian Soldiers " when I heard it.

Athletic sports are encouraged, and the boys of each cottage compete against each other. At the end of each six months the boys in the cottage that gets the highest marks have a chicken dinner, and a whole day's holiday. I was greatly impressed with the school and the quickness and the brightness of the boys. A fine hospital at a cost of $15,000 was recently built, and a doctor from St. Charles visits daily when necessary. The matron in charge showed me the wards, and operating theatre, isolation rooms, surgery, store rooms, etc. There were thirty-three inmates when I visited the hospital, an unusually large number ; for it is a significant fact that only the new boys are in need of medical treatment. After a boy has become acclimatized, the healthy food, the open air and the excellent social and sanitary condition keep him in good health.

The whole system of the Home impressed me greatly. A boy enters this school with 6,000 marks against him and an indeterminate sentence. For each day of good behaviour ten bad marks are taken off the total ; for each three months of good behaviour an additional 300 is taken off. There are also other ways in which the number may be reduced. For instance, one of the officers just previous to my visit dropped a purse on the farm. This was found by one of the boys, who took it immediately to the officers, and for this honest act 300 marks were taken off his total. The boy who does well each day in school and at work is thus able to work out his salva- tion in sixteen months, and may then be put on parole. The head of the institution is then made his guardian, and has control over him until he is twenty-one years of age.

22 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

There is no high stone wall round the school, no locks, nor bars in it. All the boys are trusted.

Only occasionally a boy runs away. The last who did so tried to board a moving train and was cut to pieces.

The officer in charge of the school is responsible for the boys under him.

If one of them runs away the officer is punished, so if the officer and his boys are friends, the boy thinks before he gets his officer into trouble.

The whole method employed at St. Charles is that of per- sonal contact and sympathy between boys and officers. The wonderful part of the system is the fact that the boys have a great reverence for the school. It is " Home/' to them, and nearly all who are paroled come back at some time to visit their officers and "Father" and "Mother."

The religious education of the boys is well looked after. The Protestant ministers from towns near by conduct ser- vices for the Protestants. A Roman Catholic priest and Jewish rabbi take charge of those of their religion. Every Sunday afternoon all boys assemble and march to an unde- nominational service, where a good moral talk is given them.

The St. Charles School was first advocated by Judge R. S. Tuthill, the prominent Juvenile Judge of Chicago, who realized that the state of Illinois should have an institution for the management of incorrigible boys. St. Charles is built on the broadest and best foundations. Its watchwords are mutual help and kindness. It aims at reforming delinquent boys by giving them liberty, a home, a father and mother, and the chance to learn a trade in the best environments. Corporal punishment is not one of the weapons of its authorities.

One has only to look at the long list of boys who are now successful and useful members of society to realize how its

ST. CHARLES' SCHOOL FOR BOYS 23

aims have been fulfilled, and how by turning the misdirected energy of children in right channels, inculcating habits of truth, honour and industry, the St. Charles School has served its country in the most patriotic fashion by supplying it with good citizens every year.

CHAPTER IV THE JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

THE Juvenile Protective Association works in conjunc- tion with the Juvenile Court. The name of the organi- zation known as the Juvenile Court Committee was on June 4, 1909, changed to that of the Juvenile Protective Association. Its purpose is to take a step still further on behalf of the children, and to remove as far as possible the temptations and dangers which carelessness and greed place about them. It is estimated that each year between 3,000 and 4,000 children pass through the Juvenile Court, and that about another 7,000 young persons between sixteen and twenty years of age pass through the other Courts. Each year brings another 10,000 children to live in the same environment and to inherit the same tendencies. A large proportion are more sinned against than sinning.

The Juvenile Protective Association aims at securing the protection from evil influence that every child has a right to. To this noble end the city has been divided by the Committee of the Association into eleven districts, with a paid officer in each, whose duty it is in every way to protect and safeguard children. In addition to these officers Local Protective Leagues have been organized by interested citizens to assist the officers in their work at all points. In all parts of the city their workers found that the forces for good were far less organized and active than those that work injury and

24

THE JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION 25

destruction. What wonder is it that boys and girls, whose dreary home surroundings drive them into the streets for recreation, should be attracted to the bright lights and open doors of cheap theatres and dangerous pleasure resorts ! The officers said that they felt the need of places of the right sort in which young people might amuse themselves, and many social centres in the poor and squalid districts have been arranged. It is interesting and pathetic to find that in almost every neighbourhood where these wholesome attractive spots have been provided for children, the parents have come forward and asked for a club, or a similar place of rest and recreation for themselves.

I should like to give in detail an account of the great work this Association is doing ; but will only touch some phases of it.

The work of the Association is divided into three main sections : Investigation, Repressive Work and Constructive Work.

During 1911 the Association dealt with 5,821 cases in which the welfare of children was concerned. As I have already mentioned, eleven district officers, and, in addition to these, two special officers, are employed by the Associa- tion. During the year these thirteen officers paid 27,367 visits.

Their principal investigations were made to determine the physical and moral conditions which surrounded working girls. This study included the personal histories of 200 shop girls, 200 factory girls, 200 office girls, 200 immigrant girls and 100 girls who had become delinquent. They also studied the home surroundings of 100 Juvenile Court children to ascertain if there were anything in the home surroundings to contribute to their delinquency.

The Lake excursion boats, the soldiers' encampments,

26 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

parks, dance halls, cheap theatres, and disorderly hotels were investigated among other places, and many unhappy conditions in connexion with them were discovered.

The Repressive Work included a repressive campaign against selling liquor and tobacco to minors, selling obscene postal cards, using gambling slot machines, etc. It tried to awaken a sense of responsibility in the cases of 4,604 cases of parents who had contributed to the delinquency of their children.

The Association Constructive Work has resulted in the founding of the Chicago Girls' Club, open every night in the week ; and the opening of ten public school buildings as social and recreation centres. A boys' band has been formed, a bathing beach for boys has been arranged for, and several reading rooms have been opened. An employment bureau has been organized, and arrangements have been made for preventing boys and girls under seventeen from attending court rooms during the trial of criminal cases.

Other fine helpful movements have been started by the Association. Its noble work and high ideals one cannot sufficiently appreciate. It is generally declared that much of its success is due to the splendid personality of its Superin- tendent, Mrs. James A. Britton, and the officers associated with her.

The first note I had from her in answer to mine asking if I might call to see her gives some idea of the quality of this wonderful social worker. In it she said : "I shall be very glad indeed to see you and talk with you about our work. I have always felt that Australia was a leader in child rescue work, and I am sure I shall get more from our interview than I shall be able to give."

Mrs. Britton, herself, explained to me the work of the Asso- ciation in its various departments. One could not but feel

THE JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION 27

that it was indeed a privilege to meet and talk with her.

One case out of the 5,821 dealt with by the Juvenile Protective Association may be given — not because it is typical, but because it is interesting and encouraging. The following is an extract from the President's address : —

" A few years ago, a little boy of fourteen lived with his family in an Indiana town. His home was not a happy one, for his stepfather was cruel, and the lad determined to run away from home. He came to Chicago, found a job, and applied for admission to the Naval Militia, swearing he was sixteen years of age, and, as he was large and well grown for his years, this was not disputed. He had no money to cover his railroad fare and was obliged to walk several hundred miles. Late one night, as he was passing through a little Indiana village, tired, hungry and cold, he saw a light in a baker's shop. He opened the window, entered the shop and began to eat. He was seen by a policeman, and was shot in the shoulder, arrested, convicted of burglary, and sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary.

" When he was sent to prison he was put to work in the machine room. As he was still weak from his wound, he fell against some machinery, and had two of the fingers of his left hand taken off. After he had been at the penitentiary for a year and a half, his mother came to the office of the Associa- tion, and asked if something could not be done for him. She showed us his last letter, and it was one of the most pathetic letters I ever read. In it the boy spoke of his longing for home and mother, sent his love to all his brothers and sisters, inquired after the health of the old family dog, and ended the letter by saying, ' Cheer up, mother, I shall soon see you, for I have only eighteen and a half more years to serve.'

" One of the officers of the Association went to Indiana, verified the mother's story, wrote East and obtained (at the

28 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

boy's birthplace) affidavits of his real age, because, of course, it had been illegal to send a sixteen-year-old boy to the peni- tentiary. With her information the officer visited the Governor of Indiana, and obtained from him the boy's parole. She went to the prison with a suit of clothes, brought the boy to Chicago, put him to work in the office of this Association (in order that he might learn how to bear himself in the world) and then secured for him a position at seven dollars a week. He was soon promoted, and now has been at work for six months, and earns $11 .88 a week. He has started a banking account, and before the year is out he will probably receive a pardon. He is going to be a respectable, and, I feel sure, a useful citizen. Incidentally, it cost this Association $18.50 to save this boy from spending eighteen and a half of his best years behind prison bars/'

CHAPTER V COURT OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS

ANOTHER helpful agent in connexion with the Chil- dren's Court of Chicago is the Court of Domestic Relations. The Judges of the Municipal Court decided on October 31, 1910, to establish this branch Court, which was opened on April 3, 191 1. The first Judge appointed was Judge Charles N. Goodnow. The new Court aims at —

1. Uniformity in decisions and in treatment of offenders.

2. Removal of women and children from the evil influence of a police court environment.

3. A more intelligent understanding of conditions and environment surrounding each case, and consequently a more just and sympathetic treatment of each offender.

4. A vigorous searching out of the causes of delinquency and dependency in children, and, by promptly checking the cause, lessening the effect.

5. An effort to make the Court equally as good an agent for keeping husband and wife together as for separating them, and thus give the children the home influence which courts of law, in the past, have been instrumental in depriving them of.

6. To inaugurate a system whereby delinquent deserters may be promptly compelled to support their wives and children, thus forcing the one upon whom that obligation

29

30 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

rests to perform that duty, and so relieve the charitable public of another burden.

7. To exercise a watchful care over deserving and unfor- tunate women and children, by seeing that they are placed under the protection of some person or organization that should extend to them such help, advice and direction as will put them in the way of becoming self-supporting.

8. To keep a complete system of records regarding each case, so that in time, from the composite whole, some useful results may be obtained and some beneficial laws enacted.

9. To give prompt trials, especially when juries are de- manded, and thus give more speedy justice than heretofore.

There are many interesting features in connexion with this movement, one being the appointment of Mrs. Marie Leavitt as a Clerk in the Court to act as social secretary.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the officers in the office of the Juvenile Protective Association. The new Court of Domestic Relations has been established as a direct result of this organization and is worked from the same office.

The ideal that the Juvenile Protective Association and Court of Domestic Relations aim at, is the gradual uplifting of children's environments in the home, the street, and the playground, so that eventually there will be no need for a Juvenile Court.

The Court of Domestic Relations really acts as a buffer between the Home and the Court, and when the officers explain to the parents that they only wish to help them and to keep them beyond the reach of the arm of the law, they are always well received.

I was shown a most comprehensive map, which plainly illustrated the Destructive and Constructive Agencies of Chicago affecting the welfare of children, so that when

COURT OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS 31

there is a complaint regarding a family, it is only necessary to look at the map to see by what influence the child is surrounded.

At the time of my visit one of the lady officers whom I met was engaged in interviewing all boys in the prisons under twenty-one years of age, for the purpose of finding out their personal histories and the story of their crimes. In one case only was a boy detected in a lie and that was almost excusable, for he had murdered his father. In every other instance the story was verified at the boy's home and at the Courts.

On the invitation of Miss Alice Henry, who is well known in Melbourne, I prolonged my stay in Chicago for a few days in order to be present at the banquet held in honour of the work done during its first year by the Court of Domestic Relations.

More than 800 men and women, jurists, philanthropists, and members of many charitable associations, attended this banquet, which was held at the Auditorium Hotel, facing Lake Michigan.

The banquet was presided over by Mr. Homer E. Still well, a former President of the Chicago Association of Commerce, and there were present Judge Goodnow, Judge Pinckney, Stephen S. Gregory (President of the American Bar Associa- tion), Miss Jane Addams of Hull House, Dr. Emil G. Hersch (Pastor of Sinai Congregation), Dean W. T. Sumner of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, and Judge Harry Olson, Chief Justice of the Municipal Court, who were among the speakers. In reviewing the year's work, Judge Goodnow said : —

" The organization of the Court of Domestic Relations has marked an epoch in the advancement of jurisprudence in this country. Never before has a court been organized

32 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

and equipped not only to administer the law but to co- operate with all those forces that exist for the social better- ment of the city and the uplifting of humanity. Co-opera- tion has been the keystone of the success of this Court. We have builded it upon the idea that the family is the unit ; that all things that touch the home are for good, or for evil. We have sought more to cure the ills than punish the offenders."

Judge Pinckney (with whose fine work I was so impressed in the Children's Court) spoke with great feeling. He said : " When I look at all the faces before me, I feel there is still a God in Israel " ; and went on to explain how the Court of Domestic Relations and the Juvenile Court worked on parallel lines. He said the cause of juvenile delinquency was in the home and attributable to the adult. During his term of office, 12,000 dependent and delinquent boys and girls had come before him, and he considered the cause of delinquency in 75 per cent, of the cases to be parental neglect and incompetence.' '

It was a fine speech, and I wish I had the space to give all the notes I took of it. He finished up by saying: " The past is ours to learn from, the future to create. We want a Court in the future to deal with Juvenile and Domestic Relations." He gave an example of one family which had been before four separate Courts — the hus- band for neglecting his children, before one Court ; the husband and wife for domestic quarrels, before another Court ; the wife sued her husband for cruelty in the Divorce Court ; and the children were before the Juvenile Court. As a last resource, they were all referred to the Juvenile Court.

Mr. Stephen S. Gregory, in his speech, said : " Every- thing new is born in doubt and nourished in pessimism.

COURT OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS 33

If the Court of Domestic Relations prevents the breaking-up of families, a great good has been accomplished.' '

.Miss Jane Addams, in a fine speech which met with a magnificent reception, mentioned among other things that it had been proved that the intermittent husband — the husband who appears and disappears — can be made to contribute to the home. From April 3, 191 1, to March 31, 1912, at least $75,000, she said, had gone to the sup- port of deserted women and children that otherwise would have been spent elsewhere, while the families were living on charity.

> There were other fine speakers, and I met some splendid social workers during the evening, including Mr. Thurston, who is at the head of the movement for boarding out depen- dent children ; Mr. Millbanke, the acting Superintendent of United Charities, and the authority in America on the " homeless man " ; Dr. James Britton and others, all of whom were most interested in my quest.

CHAPTER VI

THE SETTLEMENT MOVEMENT IN CHICAGO

HULL House is one of the greatest powers for good in the city of Chicago. It is the largest settlement in the world, and through it I was introduced to the settle- ment movement in America. Toynbee Hall in London provided the germ of the American settlement idea, but the child has become the father to its English parent ; for, in America, settlements have extended in all direc- tions and are now a real, living and moving force for good.

In the poorest quarters of the great cities, public-spirited citizens have established these educational and recreation centres. Many of the settlements have residential quar- ters. There social workers and those interested in the settlement idea, live, and try, by their own busy, useful lives and kindly ways, to influence and uplift all those with whom they come in contact.

There are no less than forty -three different nationalities in Chicago. The aim of those interested in the work is to establish a settlement in each quarter, so that the Poles should have one, the Italians one, the coloured race another, and so on. Because of the difference in creed of the various nationalities among whom the settlements are

34

THE SETTLEMENT MOVEMENT IN CHICAGO 35

established, no religious instruction is as a rule given in any of them.

Hull House, where a great number of different nation- alities assemble, is open on Sunday, from November to May during the year, for special concerts. The Chicago Hebrew Institute on stated dates also gives a splendid high-class programme on Sundays. This concert hall is always crowded.

For many years the settlements united in a Federation called " The Federation of Chicago Settlements." Four years ago a more forward step was taken, each settlement giving up its separate organization and merging into what is known as " The Association of Neighbourhood Workers."

Whenever Hull House has initiated an activity, it is only too pleased to hand the management to public authority, its practicability having been demonstrated, and a new idea, as it were, set in working order. Among some of the activities which it has instituted and handed over to public administration are baths for the use of dwellers in certain neighbourhoods, playgrounds, a reading-room and public library, a lending collection of pictures, and summer classes in wood- work and metal.

Hull House organizers aim at being free from institu- tional burdens in order that they may experiment in new enterprises. Its investigations were largely responsible for enforcement of the laws concerning sweating and child- labour in factories. And many reforms in sanitary laws have been carried out owing to the searching housing in- vestigations it has organized.

This wonderful institution co-operates with the Health Department, the United Charities of Chicago, the Ju- venile Court, the League for the Protection of Immigrants, the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute, the City Gardens,

36 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

and many other forces for good scattered throughout the city.

I lunched twice at Hull House and dined there one even- ing. The first luncheon I had was in the public rooms, which are most artistically furnished in the prevailing brown and blue tones. The tables are all round ones, and the polished tops are left uncovered, except that white linen doyleys are placed under each dish. I lunched there again with Mr. Mills, the boys' director, who introduced me to some notable philanthropic workers of Chicago. Another evening I had dinner in the residents' dining room — a very beautiful room — and had the honour of meeting Miss Addams and of sitting next to her. She, as head resident, takes the head of the centre table. At the same table were seated Miss Mary MacDowell, Miss Breckenridge and Miss Abbott, all well known in Chicago as social workers. I had the privilege of meeting them, and learning much of their work and experience that was of great value.

Hull House owes a large proportion of its success to the striking personality of Miss Jane Addams, who Chicagoians say is the greatest woman in the world. She was practically the founder of Hull House, and for over twenty years has devoted her life to furthering the welfare of the people of Chicago.

Hull House was established in September, 1889. The original two residents had a firm belief that a house, easily accessible and open to all, planted in the midst of the large foreign colonies which are so apt to isolate themselves in American cities, would be of great service to Chicago. The object of Hull House, as stated in its charter, is : —

(1) To provide a centre for a higher civic and social life ; (2) to institute and maintain educational and philan-

THE SETTLEMENT MOVEMENT IN CHICAGO 37

thropic enterprises, and (3) to investigate and improve conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago.

The Trustees are a self-perpetuation body of seven mem- bers, each of whom is elected for a period of seven years.

Forty-four men and women (residents) live at Hull House, and defray their own expenses under the direction of a house committee on the plan of a co-operative club. These philanthropic men and women are engaged in self-support- ing outside occupations, and give their leisure time to the House. Salaries are paid only for technical services, and they are very few.

As well as those already mentioned, 150 people, each week, go to Hull House either as teachers, visitors, or directors of clubs. There are 250 volunteers and forty paid workers. Naturally, the attendance is largest during the winter months, and it is estimated then that 9,000 people go every week either as members of an organization, or as part of an audience.

Hull House is an immense pile of buildings, comprising private appartments, flats, lecture halls, concert rooms, a theatre, class rooms, workshops, reception rooms, labora- tories, game rooms, club rooms, kindergarten, a roof-school for consumptives, libraries, a labour museum, arts and crafts room, and shops, all most artistically and really beautifully furnished in schemes of brown and blue. The effect of these surroundings alone on the young mind must be most developing and educative.

I was taken all through, and saw the work of the whole great establishment, from that among tiny kindergarten children to the club work among grown men and women. There are clubs for men engaged in electrical occupations ; a Shakespeare Club ; the Jane Club, which is a co-operative club for young women ; the Culver Club, a residential

38 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

club for working boys, which is self-supporting and reserved for boys between the ages of fifteen and twenty ; a Men's Club, composed of young men over nineteen, which has an average membership of fifty ; a Boys' Club of 1,200 members ; a Women's Club, organized in 1891 with twelve members and now containing 350. This club is housed in a building of its own, and has its own library and sewing room, and a hall of its own to seat 800 people. It organizes many parties and entertainments, one being the Old Settlers' Party, which has been held at Hull House every New Year's Day for the last twenty-two years. It also organizes young people's dancing parties. These take place every two weeks under the chaperonage of the club members, and give the young people the real pleasure of dancing without the objectionable features with which it is associated in the low dancing saloons of the city.

The first Wednesday in May of each year is looked upon as the happiest day of the club, for on that day all the members and their children, to the number of about 700 or 800, meet and have a great entertainment.

A Greek Women's Social Club, an Italian Circle, a Russian Social Economics Club, and many other social clubs have also been organized in connexion with Hull House.

The wonderfully equipped gymnasium has a membership of from 600 to 800. It provides for women's and girls' classes and men's and boys' classes, each section having its special time for practice and instruction. A staff of skilled instructors is in charge. From its opening, the director has carefully guided its professional side and fostered its hygienic value for the many men and women workers who are engaged in sedentary occupations in factories and offices.

Dancing classes have been arranged for at Hull House

THE SETTLEMENT MOVEMENT IN CHICAGO] 39

from its earliest years, the residents being convinced that the love of amusement is stronger than the desire for vicious pleasure. They feel that vice in a great city is merely love of pleasure " gone wrong," and so they aim at giving healthy recreation to all these young people who naturally are hungry for it.

The Girls' Clubs are held every afternoon after school hours. They comprise Sewing Clubs for small and big girls ; a Play Club ; a Studio Club ; a Cooking Club ; a Dramatic Club, and others. There are twenty-three clubs under the heading of Girls' Clubs alone.

Then there are Day Nurseries, which include the Mary Crane Nursery, one of the most interesting undertakings in the city. Here a hundred children are housed in separate rooms, and provision is made for a laundry, a sewing-room, a domestic science room (where mothers receive rudimen- tary instruction in housekeeping), and a milk station, where mothers can obtain modified and pasteurized milk. The nurse who is associated with the milk station visits each home to which the milk is sent. There is also a Baby Dispensary, where the care of babies is taught, and where sick children are attended to throughout the year. The Baby Hospital is stationed during the summer on the roof. It is in charge of two trained nurses. There is also an open air roof school for tubercular children.

Children who are chronically ill or too crippled to attend school are visited in their own homes by competent teachers.

In addition to all these clubs, there are Trade Unions, Branches for research work in Midwifery and in Infant Mortality, for Study of the Greek Colony, and for Study of Children's Reading.

I have shortly mentioned the theatres, dramatic associa- tions, and different forms of entertainment and music schools,

40 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

because I want most to tell of the Boys' Club, where I spent a most interesting evening, the Director (Mr. Mills) sparing neither time nor pains in showing and explaining every phase of his work to me.

CHAPTER VII HULL HOUSE BOYS' CLUB

ONE keen frosty night I visited this Club, which is a great institution in itself, for it has 1,200 members and is located in a large special building. The building is splendidly equipped with class-rooms, a game-room, a study-room, a library, bowling-alleys, billiard tables, gymnastic appliances, and many shops for different trades. It is open every day from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on the boys themselves falls the responsibility of preserv- ing their various club possessions and maintaining order. Admittance to the Club is by ticket, which must be renewed on the first of each month. A membership card, has to be obtained, and on payment of 10 cents ($d.) in all game-rooms and library cards of different colours are given. When the boy joins, he is given a card showing the various classes and clubs, and he is supposed to mark by two crosses the two subjects he would like best to take advantage of, and to mark by one cross the two next best. Then from these cards the classes are organized.

I saw at work the Photography Class, which makes its own enlargements and moving pictures.

In the electrical room numbers of fine, alert boys were very busy, and, in the next room, boys were being trained to manipulate a perfect telephone switchboard apparatus. Typewriting and telegraphy are also taught, and in the

41

42 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

shops I watched classes at clay modelling, brass work, blacksmithing, printing, boot making and carpentry, which is taught by a woman.

This carpentry class impressed me very much. It was controlled entirely by Miss Uchtman, a German lady, and is held four afternoons and four evenings a week. There are twelve boys in the class at a time, and they learn all manner of woodwork. The number of useful articles they turn out is surprising. Miss Uchtman told me that there were two other women woodwork teachers in Chicago.

In different rooms all sorts of games were being played by boys of like ages, so that little boys were together, boys over fourteen were together, and likewise those of sixteen, and young men.

I stayed for a short time in the band room, where from thirty-five to forty boys were practising on every conceivable instrument. This room was separated from the others by thick walls, so that the noise, and the boys certainly made plenty, did not interfere with the other workers in the build- ing. When I admired their music, Mr. Mills said that he considered the Australian Boys' Band, which had just passed through Chicago, the " best in the world."

In connexion with the Club there is also a Savings Bank ; a periodical edited, printed and published by members ; a Boys' Club encampment ; and a Greek Educational Associa- tion with nearly 700 members.

In connexion with the night work are the following rules : — A member must attend the Club three times a week. He must join a class, and also attend the gymnasium. The night educational and technical classes are free.

On another occasion when I visited the Club, I was much impressed by a meeting of one of the boys' clubs. This

HULL HOUSE BOYS' CLUB 43

was presided over by a boy president, a fine, brown-eyed little chap of about fourteen. He had a mallet and hammered on the table for silence when he, or a member, wanted to speak; he got it, too. The meeting was in order, and admirably conducted by the boy office-bearer ; motions were put, and seconded, and all the business of the meeting disposed of in the correct way. A dis- cussion followed the formal business, the subject of which was : " If a lady lost a dog, and advertised a reward, should members of this club (if they found the dog) take the reward ? " One boy said : " It is only a courtesy to deliver up what we find, and members should do courtesies without thought of payment." There were one or two objectors, and after a spirited discussion the follow- ing resolution was put and carried unanimously : " That no boy belonging to the club should take a reward for courtesy, otherwise a tip."

I will not attempt to give in detail a description of the other Settlements I visited, but will only enumerate those with which I was most impressed.

Chicago Commons is a settlement which has been in existence eighteen years. The work here was begun under the direction of Dr. Graham Taylor, when three students rented rooms of a private family in the neighbourhood and spent the first summer in getting acquainted with the people. They then began work with a kindergarten ; and so, through the little ones, came into touch with the older brothers and sisters, then with the fathers and mothers, until ultimately, the confidence of the neighbourhood was gained. Now Chicago Commons is recognized as the second settlement in Chicago. Here individual initiative and independent development are encouraged in the life-work of each resi- dent. The residents meet for half an hour after the even-

44 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

ing meal, when a hymn, a reading from Scripture, a prayer, and a brief address are rendered.

The classes held are much the same as at Hull House, and it is estimated that over three thousand people go to Chicago Commons each week. The one aim of the residents is to be real neighbours and friends to as many families as possible.

Chicago Commons is in the most congested part of the city, and deals mostly with Italians and Sicilians. Mr. Frank Whitehead, the boys' leader, told me also that here there are seventy thousand people living in a mile's space, and that their mode of living and their homes were of the worst. They come to Chicago from small country villages, knowing and known by everybody, to find themselves shut up in their homes in a great city. They are afraid to speak to any one, knowing no one. If it were not for the Settle- ment, their lives would be unutterably lonely.

Two important movements owe their birth to the Chi- cago Commons : The Chicago School of Civics and Philan- thropy, and The Survey, a publication which keeps its reader informed of all interesting events of social work all over the world.

The North- Western University Settlement. This Club works principally among Jews and Poles, and has been in existence twenty years.

It is the centre of a densely crowded part of Chicago, and works among a population of over eighty thousand people. It claims to be in direct touch with about 2,500 a week, and through them to reach many thousands besides.

One of the features of the N.W.U. Settlement is a milk centre, from which are distributed to the babies of the district each year over 83,000 bottles of modified milk.

HULL HOUSE BOYS' CLUB 45

Another feature is that in all classes the pupils pay a small subscription, running from one cent to seventy-five cents, the great object being to help the people to help themselves. At Christmas time much joy is brought into desolate homes by gifts of baskets containing clothing, toys, etc., and sometimes coal. Two or three weeks before the baskets are sent, families are visited, so that special needs can be catered for and addresses verified. The lists are checked by the lists of surrounding Settlements and charities, to avoid overlapping. Christmas parties are also given to nearly 500 children, all ailing, who are brought by the visiting tuberculous and school nurses and probation officers. They are the little ones whom Santa Claus would certainly miss, if it were not for these great-hearted folk of the Settlement.

I had the pleasure of dining with the residents, and afterwards saw all over the establishment. The boys' director was a most enthusiastic man, and the work the boys turned out was excellent, the brass moulding being especially good.

The arrangements were all in good taste. In one fine lecture hall is a piano given by Paderewski. His portrait hangs over it. Here a party of Polish men are formed into a Paderewski Singing Society. I was interested in meeting here two ladies, workers, one hailing from Sydney and the other from New Zealand.

The Henry Booth House has had twenty-five years of settlement activity. It is conducted upon broadly humani- tarian and non-sectarian lines, works principally among the Jews, and is interested in all ethical movements. The office of the Secretary of the Chicago Ethical Society is at the Henry Booth House Settlement. This is a smaller settlement than the ones I have previously mentioned, and

46 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

there are few residents owing to lack of room. The classes and clubs do much the same work as is done in other settle- ments, but during the summer they mostly suspend their meetings.

I happened to visit the Settlement in passover week, so no classes were being held. But from the playground near by, which the Henry Booth House did much to establish, I saw many happy children with their teachers, making jubilant and joyous holiday.

CHAPTER VIII THE CHICAGO HEBREW INSTITUTE

THE Chicago Hebrew Institute, as its name implies, deals principally with Jews. Here are to be found members both of the highest and of lowest social rank of Chicago. A Judge is among its members, and many profes- sional men belong to and enjoy its advantages, paying on the same scale as other members.

Dr. J. Pedott, the superintendent, was exceedingly kind, showed me all over the Institution, which, in passing, claims to be the busiest in Chicago, and explained its activities.

The Settlement stands in its own grounds of six acres, wherein are basket-ball grounds, a bicycle track and other playgrounds, a lake, fountains containing goldfish, tennis courts, a bandstand, children's gardens and a bulb garden. A most up-to-date library is a great feature of the Settlement, and I spent some time there watching the various boys and girls getting out books. Here alone the attendance is reckoned at 1,800 a month.

Eight clubs for boys and fourteen clubs for boys and girls have been organized for members. There is also a Hebrew school, attended principally by boys, which meets every afternoon. Advanced electrical classes are provided. The Institution has been wired by the pupils.

In connexion with the Club is a Personal Service Bureau, which investigates and gives legal advice, deals with

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juvenile offenders, and, if necessary, sends them to the Juvenile Court, deals with neglected children, settles all disputes and procures situations for members.

I very much liked the chairs in their lecture halls, the right arms of which, about 10 inches in breadth, could be used as tables. Every advantage in this Club is paid for by those enjoying them, its organizers absolutely believ- ing in the system of making members pay something for what they receive. Even for games there is a small charge- If a boy, or young man or woman, comes along and wants to learn a trade and has not the money to pay for the lessons, the Superintendent says, " Very well, we will teach you the trade you want to learn, and then when you get work you must pay us back." Dr. Pedott, speaking of those so helped, said they had always paid, except in one or two special cases.

The Forward Movement greatly impressed me. It specializes in summer outing work at Sangatuck, Michigan, where the same movement has organized a series of summer schools. Their social settlement deals largely with the American boy, who, the Superintendent says, is the most difficult type of boy ; for while the foreigner feels his ignor- ance and wishes to learn, the American street boy thinks himself a ruling power and delights in breaking laws.

The Rev. Dr. George W. Gray, the Superintendent, has an impressive personality, and I was very interested in his ideals. He said the purpose of the Forward Movement was the good of others ; its inspiration, the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. He believes in a Social Club centre that is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., just leaving eight hours for sleep and quiet rest for the boys and young men of a great city. To the summer outing all are invited who are trying to

THE CHICAGO HEBREW INSTITUTE 49

leave the world richer in thought, more noble in purpose, better in morals, with higher aims, having less sorrow, less idleness, less selfishness, less meanness. Neither the idle rich nor the idle poor are invited.

Promoters of the Forward Movement feel that people, be they ever so poor, can and will, if trained, undertake the care of themselves. Help to self-support, is, they be- lieve, the only solution of the pauper problem ; to give money to the poor only pauperizes them. All assistance that does not tend to develop self-help is worse than no help.

The Doctor told me a typical story of one of his boys. He had lived among much squalor, in a building hemmed in on every side by other smoke-begrimed buildings. He was sent to a fine, healthy country home, but he ran away from it and was found again in his old haunts. On the Doctor remonstrating with him, he said : " Well, I was there three days, and I never once saw an engine ! "

The Frederick Douglas Centre. This is an interesting Settlement, because it is for coloured people only. Its principal object is the noble one of encouraging a just and amicable relation between the white and coloured people of Chicago, and of securing equal opportunity for the latter.

CHAPTER IX ! IMPRESSIONS OF JUDGE BEN B. LINDSEY

I HAD heard that Judge Ben B. Lindsey, celebrated for his wonderful Children's Courts, and the world- famous champion of children's causes, was expected in Chicago on April 4 ; so I wrote to him saying how anxious I was to meet him, and would wait on him at the Auditorium Hotel in the hope that he would be able to spare me a few minutes.

I was up early, all expectation, that morning, and reached the hotel a little while before 9 o'clock. The Judge had not arrived, though the clerk told me that they were expecting him at any moment. I found a seat in the lounge and waited, watching the streams of people that came and went, and studying the types of man America makes ; but took two or three trips to the clerk, to be sure that he had not forgotten to tell Judge Lindsey that I was waiting to see him.

At about ten o'clock, while I was reading, I heard a voice say : " Are you Miss Onians ? My name is Lindsey." I looked up to realize that one of the greatest desires of my life was granted : I had met Judge Lindsey. He is a spare, dark man, black-haired, slightly bald and black-eyed. He wore black clothes, a frock-coat, felt hat and bow tie. I was so pleased to meet him, and am afraid I said so many times. I told him too how surprised I was to find him such a young man. I had pictured to myself a benevolent, kindly-

r A* SCHOOL

£B E. FERNALD 5

Judge Ben. B. Lindsey.

IMPRESSIONS OF JUDGE BEN B. LINDSEY 51

looking old gentleman, with a flowing beard and silvery hair, and I should think Judge Lindsey is something be- tween forty and forty-five.

He laughed, and said he thought he bore his years well. We went into an adjoining room to talk. His outlook is broad and splendid. I found myself in perfect sympathy with his ideas.

He says there are no bad boys, but bad things attack good boys. He holds that the personal touch is wanted always, especially in the Court ; that the Judge must have a per- sonal touch ; for the Judge means the Court. A bad judge, an indifferent judge, means a lax Court. In Colorado, his State, the laws for the protection of children are very far- reaching. At the Juvenile Court in Denver a man can be tried for child murder, parents can be tried for any offence against children, so may saloon-keepers, and so on. He told me that in the case of a crime against a child, a man was arrested one day, tried the next, convicted the next, and on his way to the Penitentiary on the fourth day.

He had such a broad way of looking at every person, at everything.

He said Judge Pinckney of Chicago (whose splendid work in the Juvenile Courts I had seen) was a fine Judge ; he said too, " I must give you a letter to my friend Judge Baker of Boston, and you must see Mr. Gunckel of Toledo, and the George Junior Republic/ ' Talking later of that, he said, " Daddy George (I always call him Daddy) has a great institution, a great scheme, but it is not idealistic enough for me. Now at Allendale (Captain Bradley's institution) you will see things as they ought to be, and at the George Junior things as they are. For the boys have a Court and gaol and a judge and a jury, and they are great on punishment, but that is not the way to overcome evil by good."

52 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

He said, " I will send you one of my books ; unfortu- nately, the one you would like best, and which deals with child problems, is out of print, but I will try and dig you up a copy." In another, called The Beast and the Jungle, of which I heard him tell Miss Addams 14,000 copies had been sold, he said there were several chapters about children that would interest me.

Judge Lindsey does not believe in corporal punishment. He had some years' experience as a Criminal Court Judge before he was appointed to the Juvenile Courts, and has been at the Denver Juvenile Courts for twelve years. He spends three months lecturing, and the other nine in Court. While he is away an assistant judge takes his place. He has not had a holiday for ten years, but he proposes to take one soon and hopes to visit Australia by way of Honolulu.

After we had talked for some time, I asked if I were not taking up too much of his valuable time, for he had come straight to me without looking through his letters, although the clerk told me they " were holding a pile for him." The Judge said that he had several letters and telegrams to attend to, but if I would lunch with him at Hull House he would be very pleased. We lunched with Miss Jane Addams, who, Judge Lindsey says, is not only the greatest woman but the greatest man in Chicago. There were ten other distinguished people present, including Mrs. Bowen, Mrs. Briton, Captain Bradley and Judge Pinckney. It was most interesting to hear their conversation.

Talking of his methods, Judge Lindsey said that when first he sent boys to reformatory homes without an officer, every one was against him. " But," he declared, " I have sent 561 boys up from the Juvenile Court, and every one went straight to his destination, in many cases bought his own ticket, and took the train he was directed to. Only five

IMPRESSIONS OF JUDGE BEN B. LINDSEY 53

boys have not followed the instructions that were given to them. Three of those came back and apologized ; the other two got there eventually/' Judge Lindsey believes abso- lutely in trusting to a boy's honour. He mentioned that in the same period the police lost forty men.

After lunch the Judge told me more of his great method of overcoming evil with good. He said : " When a boy has done wrong, I talk to him about the wrong of what he has done and explain to him the good he may do. Then he comes to me every two weeks and tells me of the good he is trying to do, in the home, the school, the neighbourhood. So that I can now praise the boy for good, just as before I had to reprove him for evil. If a boy who is dishonest comes to me I teach him to be honest, to do the honest thing in the home, the school, the neighbourhood. I say to him, ' You have done the wrong thing, and have given your neighbour- hood a black eye ; now you must do the right thing and cure it.' ' He said any strong man, any prize-fighter can use brute force, can handcuff a man, push him into a cell and lock him up. He told me his idea of an ideal Court. It would have three rooms, one for the Judge (he said it does not want to be a great place, but just an informal court-room where the Judge can hear cases without being crowded), another room for parents and officers. He said, " When a mother says, ' Johnny didn't do it, I know Johnny didn't do it ! ' you have to take Johnny away and talk earnestly to him, in order to learn the truth ; so that a third room is needed."

When a boy or girl comes before Judge Lindsey, he takes him, or her, as a delinquent, not a criminal. A child is a ward of the State up to the age of sixteen in Colorado, and in Denver (Colorado) the Juvenile Court has jurisdiction up to the age of twenty-one.

Denver has a population of 250,000. It is divided into

54 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

150 districts, over which probation officers are appointed. Each officer is responsible for a district. The Judge believes absolutely in the system of paid probation officers, but thinks they should be prepared for their duties in a school of philanthropy.

Most children of neglected homes and bad environment, he declares, come to Court between thirteen and fourteen years of age. The period between thirteen and sixteen he said : " I call the period of storm and stress." He says some boys want great encouragement, and spoke of one boy with suicidal mania who had to be given courage.

He talked of the development of boys of different nations, and mentioned a Russian Jew of thirteen who was unusually brilliant in debate, and of whom he prophesied great things. At nineteen that boy stopped developing. Another, whom he spoke of as a " red-headed Gentile" and who was very slow at thirteen, the Judge took in hand at twelve, and he said : " This boy is now my secretary, and he can write a better letter than I can."

He believes that children have only to be taught, guided, and inspired to do great and good things for the benefit of humanity and their own kind, and that it is only when they have no incentive to do right that they follow the wrong.

In appearance Judge Lindsey is of medium height and alert ; his speech is typically American, but he has a full, sympathetic voice.

CHAPTER X CHICAGO BOYS' CLUBS

THE Chicago Boys' Club, which has the reputation of being a workshop rather than a play-house, is a street boys' club for the poorest of Chicago's poor boys. There is a Central General Office, and from this are worked four branches, which are planted in those parts where the neediest boys live. This Club is open and free to the type of boy whom the Social Settlement and the Y.M.C.A. do not easily reach. He is the freelance of the street, so to speak ; he does not readily amal- gamate with the other types of boy. He must be specially catered for.

The Superintendent argues that : " a boy has five million muscles and nerves, every one of which is calculated to keep him going and not one to keep him still," and the aim of the Chicago Boys' Clubs is to direct this superfluous energy in the best way. Above all, the Club aims at being his friend. The Superintendent contends that upon these poor, half-starved, neglected, kicked, and cuffed boys of the slums, even more than upon the young men of the " Upper Four Hundred," depends the future welfare of the nation.

In the majority of cases, the boys who frequent the Chicago Boys' Clubs have homes of their own, though, in one sense, they are homeless, for the home is often too dreary to be an evening shelter, or the boy is too restless to stay in it. The Club meets his need, for it is open every evening and every

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Sunday. There are educational, trade, and other classes and a gymnasium in connexion with it.

During the ten years of the Clubs' existence they have enrolled 1,112 boys.

I visited the Head Office in the heart of the city, and one Sunday a small boy came with me to one of the branches located in a part that is spoken of as " Little Hell/' The neighbourhood is largely peopled by Italians, and the week before my visit three men had been shot down in it by the Black Hand. Opposite the Club, in an ordinary-sized house of three storeys, I was told that no less than twenty-eight children under twenty-one years of age lived. There were parents and lodgers in the house as well.

I stayed through the service, which was well attended, and after it was over one of the Club teachers, a very earnest, enthusiastic young man, showed me over the Club building and explained the work carried on.

CHAPTER XI

THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF CIVICS AND PHILANTHROPY

IN the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy I spent one of my most interesting days. Miss Davis, a very bright girl in charge, made me most welcome. The School owes its initiation to the Chicago Commons, with the co- operation of Hull House. It was conducted by this Settle- ment for four years.

The demand for efficient philanthropic and social workers, and the knowledge that enthusiasm in social work, to be worth while, must be directed and reinforced by knowledge of the principles and economics of methods accepted in the most modern social practice, led to the creation of this new profession. In 1908 it was incorporated as an independent school, having on its Board of Trustees professors of econo- mics and sociology from ten of the principal University towns of the United States.

Since the beginning, Professor Taylor has served as Presi- dent of the School and as one of the teaching staff. A regular diploma course of nine months' training gives the students an understanding and a grasp of many subjects, the principal being : charitv organization and relief, public health, pro- bation and reformatory work, child helping and protection, neighbourhood work, public school centre and settlement work, playground supervision, factory inspection, social work

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of churches, and expert investigation on housing, civic and census work. Regular students who wish to qualify for the certificates of the school, must be persons having a general education equivalent to that of a good high school, and, in addition, (a) must have taken part or the whole of a college or university course, or (b) must have shown ability in practical experience.

I After some months' training, the student can then take up the branch he or she wishes to specialize in. Fifteen hours weekly are assigned to the study of leading social agencies where, under expert supervision, the student is put into intimate touch with social problems, and learns how best to handle them in practice.

The lecture courses are limited to ten or twelve each week, so as to give plenty of opportunity for reading and original inquiry into the outside practical work, which Americans speak of as " Field Work."

In connexion with this School is the Bureau for Finding Employment for Children who leave the Grade Schools to go to work. Every year thousands of children when fourteen years of age leave school to go to work, and, recognizing the fact that the " first job ", or the first year of work will often have a decisive influence on the child's whole working lkfe and may make, or mar his character, this institution seeks to assist and direct the child in finding the best and most suitable situation.

At this critical period of life there are so many important questions to be considered ; among them that of the kind of occupation to which the child is best adapted, though the present social system in requiring a child to work at all is to be deplored. Then the work which^contains the best promise for the future has to be found, and also the employer who will understand boys and girls, give them his sympathy and look

THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF CIVICS 59

to their promotion. One other consideration aimed at by the Bureau is to form a connecting link between the school and the employer.

In Chicago, each scholar on leaving school is given a work- ing certificate with his school certificate. It was recognized that if a boy in search of employment was expected to be- come a steady and honest working citizen, it was a mistake to let him walk about the streets till he saw a card in a win- dow : " Wanted a Boy/' or hang round newspaper offices with crowds of men and other boys looking through the advertisement columns. The boy who does this thinks himself lucky if he is chosen out of all comers, never considering if the work is suitable or unsuitable to him. Needless to say, nine times out of twelve it is not, and he leaves — to find another job in the same way. Little wonder that, under these circumstances, he cannot " settle down."

The condition of things is still more unsatisfactory for the young girl who goes out alone to look for work, as greater perils lie before her.

The work of finding suitable employment for children is only in its experimental stage/as the Bureau has only been established a year, but its investigations have already done much good, and the results obtained will doubtless be of far- reaching value when operations are carried on upon the scale that is contemplated.

It is found that to place a child leaving school in a suitable situation a thorough investigation into the opportunities of employment open to children under sixteen, and also a study of the particular child seeking employment, must be made. There must be interviews with the child and with his parents and teachers before he leaves school, interviews with em- ployers, interviews for special information as to what the

60 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

child wants to do and what his parents and teachers think is best for him mentally and physically. Even after the work has been selected, the Bureau desires to keep in touch with him, encouraging and advising him to stick to his billet unless there is a good reason for his leaving. The temptation to leave one situation and go in search of another is always a factor to be reckoned with, as this band of investigators has proved, its motive, perhaps, being a sheer boyish love of adventure.

Boys were found to give up work on the slightest excuse. One boy left a good situation and became a messenger be- cause he did not like the shape of the packages he was asked to carry. Another boy, who was being taught a trade, went into a large factory which offered nothing but unskilled work for men or boys, because he resented associating with an alien boy in the shop. In such cases the employer is seen and asked to give the boys another trial, and jf he be of the right, understanding sort, he will.

The chief result of the investigation has been that there is no work worth while for a child between fourteen and sixteen years of age. It has proved that boys and girls who are turned out to work then, are the children of poor parents, in urgent need of even the small wage a child is able to earn. At a tender age children are not competent to distinguish good from bad in employers, or employment, and do not stop to think if an occupation is, or is not a blind-alley one which will leave them, at seventeen or eighteen, often un- trained and weakened in health and initiative.

This Association for finding children employment has found, after studying the statistics of the Juvenile Court, that the great majority of delinquent boys brought before the Court were those who left school to go to work at four- teen. It therefore advocates the raising of the school age

THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF CIVICS 61

from fourteen to sixteen, or else the compulsory school attendance of boys of that age who are out of work. The former is preferable ; for principals of schools do not care for the intermittent attendance of the pupil past fourteen and find his influence a bad one on the younger boys, especially as regards truancy. The idea of the Bureau for finding employment for children is to form a Juvenile Employment Agency, so that those interested in the welfare and progress of children may keep in touch with them from the time they leave school until they go to work, and also play the part of friendly adviser to them while they are at work'.

A splendid work in connexion with the " Finding Em- ployment for Children" is the Big Brother and Big Sister movement, which is well advanced in Milwaukee. As the name implies, the idea of it is to get older men and women to take brotherly and sisterly interest in homeless and friendless children, when they go out into the world to earn their living. Big Brothers and Sisters wear a button of membership, and are called ' ' Big Brother ' ' or ' ' Big Sister. ' ' They work under a chief Brother or Sister, and besides helping the children try to give them pleasure and amusement. Many lonely men and women, who take up this work, find that they have a new and vivid interest in life.

The housing problem of Chicago is another important de- partment under the control of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. Here social investigators have made careful and minute inquiries throughout the different dis- tricts, and have published (through Miss Sophonista P. Breckenridge and Miss Edith Abbot) some exceedingly interesting and extensive reports relating to the housing problem in the different districts as regards overcrowding, insanitation, and so forth. House-to-house visits have been made among the houses of the respectable working poor, and,

62 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

while studying this phase, the worst streets where vice was known to exist, were avoided.

A study has also been made of families living in furnished rooms, without reference to the furnished room in so far as it provided cheap lodging for single men and women, or is associated with the city problems of vice and immorality. The purpose of the study is rather to discuss the problems growing out of the fact that, in all these districts, large num- bers of families with children make their homes in furnished rooms. And as these rooms are generally to be found in houses which in the first instance have been private resi- dences, they were found to be most unsuitable for several different families on account of the lack of sufficient accom- modation, inadequate, or filthy sanitary arrangements, and the fact that one room was used for living, eating, sleeping, washing, etc.

The most interesting questions arising from the furnished rooms study, to quote from the report, are : —

i. The sanitary condition of households readjusted from their original purpose.

2. The probable degradation of the family through the lack of privacy and dignity, and the general irresponsibility of its mode of life.

3. The inevitable familiarity with vice.

; CHAPTER XII

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF CHICAGO THE PLAYGROUNDS AND PUBLIC LIBRARY

TT was with an Australian, Miss Alice Henry, who is -*■ greatly interested in and has helped to further the Playground movement, as Editor of Life and Labour, that I visited the most important playground centre in Chicago.

Up to eleven years ago there were no proper playgrounds for Chicago children. Now there are sixteen playgrounds supported by the Park Boards, also sixteen municipal playgrounds or special parks in the more congested parts of the city, and five municipal bathing beaches. All along the east side of Chicago runs Lake Michigan, and this great inland sea is well adapted for beach bathing.

There are 640,000 children in Chicago under sixteen years of age. To many of them, especially to those mites living in the congested districts, these playgrounds are the only bright spot. A while ago their only playground was the street. So unused are some of the children to playing, that when left to themselves they are at a loss to know what to do. One little boy when brought to a sand-pit and given a bucket and spade, turned a puzzled little face to the conducter and asked : " What do I have to do wif 'em ? " Trained teachers look after and direct the play Qf all these Ijttle. ones.

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The ages of the children are considered, and everything is done to cater for each group's particular needs. The organizers know that a small child likes to have a plaything of its own ; then boys of ten differ from those of fourteen in their tastes. Up to ten years of age boys and girls play together ; after that, they are divided into groups according to age.

About one-third of the play space of the small parks and playgrounds is reserved for little children. For them there are wading pools ; for the older children swimming pools, which are the most popular amusement in summer, while skating in winter is a great attraction.

There are many other attractions in connexion with the playgrounds — halls, libraries, club-rooms, gymnasia, luncheon rooms, baths, etc. The baths are especially well equipped. Each bather receives a new piece of soap and two clean bath- towels.

The Assembly Halls may be used for any purpose except religious, or political meetings. Persons in the district wanting the use of the Hall apply, and get it in turn. For a dance the Club decorates the Hall. For a lecture it finds the lantern and operator — in fact, everything but the speaker.

The Public Library has branches in connexion with several of the playgrounds. Altogether, there are twenty- four library branches in different parts of the city.

Each branch makes a special provision for children. As soon as a child is five years old or can sign his name, he can become a member, but he must be recommended by a ratepayer. He is then given a card on which are entered his name, address and the number of the books taken out. A fine of a cent each day on all over-due books is charged. If a book is not returned, the librarian writes once to the

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF CHICAGO 65

borrower, gives him three days' grace, then writes to the guarantor twice. If the book is not restored after these three reminders, the borrower is struck off the books. I was interested to hear that at Buffalo the method is different- There they do not trouble so much about a book that is not returned, reckoning that the real value of one book is so small that they would rather lose it altogether than that the child should be cut off from the education he must gain from reading.

Library assistants are trained at Colleges, where they take what is called a library course in cataloguing, classification, etc. The course occupies sometimes more than a year. Six years are necessary to complete the training of a librarian for one of the public libraries. These assistants help the children to select suitable books. The attendants in charge of branches also visit the homes, and so know the sort of book that will be helpful to the child and suitable for the neighbourhood he lives in. The free reading-rooms in connexion with the libraries are thronged after school hours and on Saturdays.

At some of the libraries there are story hours for the children, and once a month, and on special occasions, gaily- coloured picture designs, and bulletins, painted and decor- ated by the assistants, explain what subject is being dealt with. I was shown some excellent designs illustrative of Easter, Gardening, New Year, Birds' Nests, Christmas, St. Valentine's Day, and so on. It happened to be the centenary of Dickens' birth, and at the libraries his greatest works were shown in their original parts, and all children were recommended to read his books and were told about his life. The Americans are great lovers of Dickens.

That these play centres are a force for good has been proved. Juvenile delinquency in districts having play-

66 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

grounds has decreased 39 per cent., while districts that have none have shown an increase. A striking fact which in itself should do much to convince citizens of Melbourne, and other capitals of the Commonwealth, that, although we have open spaces in our cities, we have a great deal to learn from Americans in their appreciation and organization of the forces of play ! There is no doubt that playgrounds on the American system, in co-operation with our Free Kindergartens, would go a long way towards ridding us of any juvenile delinquency problem at all.

Though playgrounds have done much to make the lives of children happier, healthier, and their hours of play less full of danger in the streets of Chicago, there are still large districts with congested populations in which — at present, at least — it is impossible to arrange for playgrounds. A movement which aims at creating play zones, where play- grounds cannot be provided, has been inaugurated. Child- ren are allowed to play on some of the boulevards. Baseball is permitted on Garfield Boulevard, and on parts of Michigan Avenue, and in some cases the streets are marked out for baseball and other games.

Needless to say, though, the poorer children — who really need these playing spaces — live far away from the wide avenues, and their play is in the dangerously thronged streets.

What the philanthropists of Chicago urge is the reser- vation of parts of those thoroughfares from which traffic can be diverted without loss or inconvenience, the exclusion of motor-cars (as well as heavy wheeled traffic) from these sections, and the gift of the space thus insured against danger, to the children of the streets. They urge that petty larceny in the streets would be almost done away with if children" had more legitimate playing spaces, and had not to play in the streets.

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF CHICAGO 67

Young Men's Christian Associations cater for respectable, well-brought-up boys, more than for boys of the streets. The Y.M.C.A. clubs all through the States are wonderfully managed and equipped. This fact struck me very forcibly when I visited one in Chicago in a well-to-do neighbourhood. The boys' clubs of the Y.M.C.A. have a fourfold aim. Their ideal is to develop the boy in physical, educational and spiritual directions. In Chicago 3,500 boys are under Y.M.C.A. control ; one-half of these are members of the Association, the others are not members, but are brought in touch with it through some form of the extension work. Most of the clubs have large swimming pools, and in- structors are doing much by their teaching to overcome what is almost a national deficiency, the knowledge of how to swim. It is estimated that the annual total of lives lost through drowning in Illinois is 4,000. In 1910 nearly 31,000 boys and young men were taught to swim in the Y.M.C.A. Clubs.

I will not further describe Y.M.C.A. methods and organizations, because, as branches of the Association have been established in Australia, these are pretty well-known and understood.

A picturesque movement I met with was that under the name of the Boy Scouts of America. Though the movement is not much more than two years old in the U.S.A., it has already a membership of nearly half a million boys. Its ideals and activities are bound to touch and influence more boys than any other movement. Chicago has 4,350 boy scouts, organized in one hundred and twenty-one companies. In charge are 115 Scoutmasters and nearly 450 older boys, who act as Patrol Leaders.

Street traders are quite untouched by child-labour legislation in the State of Illinois and city of Chicago.

68 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Some of the States regulate street trading by children, but in Illinois a boy or girl too young to be allowed to do any other work may stand round newspaper offices, the cheap shows, theatres and hotels, selling papers and chewing- gum, etc., until all hours of the night.

A movement is on foot to introduce a Bill prohibiting boys under ten years, and girls under sixteen, from selling anything at all in the streets. Children under fourteen are prohibited from working in all mercantile institutions, stores, offices, laundries, bowling alleys, passenger or freight lifts, theatres, concert halls, places of amusement, hotels, manufacturing establishments, factories, work- shops, or as messengers, in the State. Children under sixteen are prohibited from working, (i) more than eight hours per day, or forty-eight hours per week ; (2) between 7 p.m and 7 a.m. Two improvements in child labour laws urged by Chicago philanthropists are : (a) The regulation of street trading ; (b) To raise the age limit for occupations not classed as street trades.

Then there is home work, another form of labour which robs the city child of his chance of natural development. Cigars, flowers and clothing are manufactured in many homes without regulation, or inspection, and whole families work, eat, and sleep in one room.

New York has the problem of home work to face in a much greater degree than even Chicago, and during the Child Welfare Exhibition in 1910, the Committee made an exhaustive study of home industries, without being able to come to a satisfactory solution of this great problem.

American schools have only recently taken up this important work for children who are under weight, and below grade in their school work. Plenty of rest, plenty of food, and above all plenty of fresh air, are the means used

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF CHICAGO 69

in the open-air schools to build up body and mind alike.

Children arrive at school at 8 a.m., are seen by a nurse and given something to eat ; for generally they have not had a satisfying breakfast at home. After an hour and a quarter of school in the open air, they have fifteen minutes' rest. Then there is another lesson, then dinner. In cold weather they are put into blanket wraps, woollen trousers and woollen boots, and wear a hood and warm mittens.

A feature of the school is the time for rest. Every day after dinner, low canvas cots are placed in the open air, and the children, wrapped in warm blankets, sleep for an hour and a quarter. No home studying is allowed, and the time spent in school work is much less than the time spent by normal children. Cripple children are brought to school in wagons, and are taken home again in the wagons after the day's lessons are over.

The results of the first year's work have been most encour- aging. All the children who entered were very backward, and brought records of irregular attendance, slow progress, and trouble with teachers. They seemed all destined to become failures ; but under the open-air conditions their health improved, and they made rapid progress in their studies.

There are only two of these schools in Chicago at present. They were established by private philanthropy, and now have the support of the Board of Education.

The study of Eugenics is warmly advocated everywhere in America. I happened to be in Chicago when Dean Summer married the first couple under the regulation requiring health certificates from a prospective bride and bridegroom. Before the ceremony, the Dean had examined the certifi- cates signed by a physician, who pronounced both bride and bridgegroom to be sound, in mind and body.

7o THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

The public spirit of co-operation in Chicago is most marked.

As I have already mentioned, the Settlements all co-operate and help each other, which prevents much overlapping. Through the Registration Department of the United Charities, the work of the various agencies is simplified, and real co-operation is established. The neglected child thus profits ; its parents are spared much unnecessary irritation ; and there is a great saving of time and money.

CHAPTER XIII TOLEDO

FROM Chicago I went by train to Toledo (Ohio), a journey of about six hours. As soon as I arrived I rang up the Newsboys' Club, to find out the best time to visit it. The telephone was answered by the President, Mr. John E. Gunckel, who said he was leaving Toledo that night for Moline (Illinois), but very kindly offered to put off his trip till the following day in order to show me over the building, and explain his methods of work.

The Toledo Newsboys' Association owes its origin to Mr. John E. Gunckel, who, on December 25, 1892, gathered together 102 boys (known as newsboys) and gave them a Christmas dinner. On that occasion, notwithstanding the presence of six policemen to preserve order, there were four stand-up fights. A splendid tea was prepared, and when the tables were cleared the boys were asked to adjourn to another room for entertainment. They went with a rush, and forks, spoons, bananas and oranges fell from their waistcoats and pockets as they fought their way <over each other and into the chairs provided ! On the stage was a sleight-of-hand performer. When he asked two of the boys to come up and assist him, and unbuttoned their coats, all sorts of articles that they had taken from the

n

72 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

tables fell on the floor. At that time, swearing and smoking were considered necessary qualifications for becoming a newsboy.

Twenty years of Mr. Gunckel's splendid system of self- government has changed all that. When I visited the Club, I was struck by the order and discipline of all its arrange- ments, and of the boys themselves. All the boys are under the charge of other boys ; Mr. Gunckel told me that he simply sits in the office, registers each newcomer, and then passes him on to other boys, who all have their work allotted to them.

The first Boys' Committee elected after that memorable tea was rather, what boys call a " tough lot." The vice- president had a reputation for stealing and gambling, but he was a leader of the gang, so was elected unanimously. The secretary, so the other boys said, " swiped newspapers." The treasurer had several articles in his pocket which he was alleged to have stolen. These, with twelve other officers of a more or less lurid celebrity, constituted the first Committee. Mr. Gunckel was elected President for life.

He had only one object in view in organizing the Associa- tion ; it was to regenerate the so-called bad boy, to find the good he had in him and develop it. The central idea upon which he founded the Club was self-government. He wanted the boys to learn to govern themselves rather than rule or govern them ; to lead and help forward, rather than to drive.

^|The form of application for membership — which can be signed by any boy between eight and seventeen years of age — runs thus : —

" I desire to become an active member in the National Newsboys' Association. I do not approve of swearing, stealing, gambling, lying, drinking intoxicating liquors, or

Gunckel and the original members of the Toledo Newsboys Association.

TOLEDO 73

smoking cigarettes, and I will obey all the rules of the Association."

Mr. Gunckel does not make a boy swear he will give up a bad habit, because he says : " We know the boy is human, and so, though he is trying to overcome swearing, or any other bad habit, he may, in a fight, or in a moment of excitement, swear, and then he would feel that he had broken his word."

He showed me some typical letters from boys. One boy said : "I have some bad habits ; I swear, I smoke, and I want to try and quit them. Can I be a member, and I will try my best to improve ? "

I went all through the building, and saw the boys at their games and also at band practice. They played a selection for me, and played it well. There was no dis- orderly element anywhere. Over each group of boys were elder boys, and all seemed to work together and under- stand each other thoroughly.

i The Club has physical exercise classes, a band, a library, a dramatic club, a cadet corps, and a sports' union. All sorts of outings and entertainments are arranged for, the Sunday one being always crowded. The work has extended, so that now the club has an enrolment of over 8,035 boys-

I noticed one remarkable illustration of the success of its self-government plan, and the respect in which the boys hold the President and their building. There was not a single scrap of writing, or disfiguring drawing, on the walls of the clubrooms, inside or out.

Another forcible illustration was given on the occasion of a recent holiday, when 2,000 boys were taken to the Toledo beach. Some 1,500 boys were bathing at one time, there were 2,000 lunch packages, ice creams, etc.,

74 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

and not a fight was recorded, not a boy hurt, not an oath heard ; no one was seen smoking cigarettes, and there was not a policeman within seventeen miles. All the super- vision was done by the newsboy officers, and the boys governed themselves.

A record has been kept of all the articles found by the newsboys and returned to the Association, though there is no rule requiring the members to return them. The value of articles found by members and returned to owners during five years amounted to $52,000 which included cash, jewellery, valuable papers, merchandise of every description, and one motor-car.

Through the influence of the Association, an average of one hundred boys per year have secured good positions and fourteen members are paying their own expenses at different colleges in the United States.

So far-reaching has the work of the club become that Toledo, for the Club's own purposes, has been divided into five districts. The boundaries are defined, and over each of these districts are placed five auxiliaries and twelve officers, who report all boys resident in their district, Thus a total of sixty boys are working officers. These boys see that gambling, begging in the streets, swearing, and so on, are not indulged in by the younger members. They take the little boys home early at night, and if they persist in breaking the laws, have the power to bring them before the Juvenile Court.

I had an interesting experience of these boy officers' methods. Two of the elder lads were taking me to my hotel, when just passing outside a music-hall a policeman called one of them aside. When he rejoined me, I asked if anything were wr6ng. " Oh ! " said the lad, " he has just told me of two boys in my district who are playing

TOLEDO 75

truant and staying out late at night. I must look them up."

The boys do not pay any fees, not even a cent for their cards and badges. " It is enough," according to Mr. Gunckel, " if they cut out their bad habits."

At Toledo, too, I met Mr. Brand Whitlock, its several times elected Mayor. He is known to many Australians through his powerfully written novels. Mr. W. D. Howells, the noted novelist, in an article in the North American Review, of which the title is " A Political Novelist and More," says : " What we really needed for the creation of a good political novel was a good politician, able, from his conscience as well as his knowledge, to divine the shape of the things pretty constantly before the eyes of all. Such a politician brought fine literary skill, right literary method, and true literary ideal to the enterprise when Mr. Brand Whitlock wrote The Thirteenth District, and possessed us of a novel as yet unmatched by its English antitypes."

Mr. Howells goes on to say : —

" One thing that Mr. Whitlock's book distinctly teaches us is that a man's public life and private life are of a sole texture ; that there is no official personality ; that a man cannot be innerly true and outerly false ! "

The teaching of his books you recognize instinctively in Mr. Whitlock's wonderful personality. He is a great social worker and a great man. When I called on him, he asked me many questions about Australia, which he said " always seemed a most unreal place to him." He and his secretary were wonderfully well informed in our history, and asked me about some of our poets and writers, whose works they seemed to know intimately.

Mr. Whitlock introduced me to several men holding important offices in Toledo, among others Mr. Mooney, the

76 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Chief of Police, who is called the Director of Public Safety. He invited me to see the workings of the Toledo gaol, or workhouse, as the Americans call it.

It was a privilege and pleasure to meet Mr. Whitlock. He was kindness itself, and opened many doors to me, not only in Toledo, but in other States. I was very much struck with the love and respect with which he was spoken of all through the city. He is practically a young man yet, only about forty, and very boyish in appearance.

Mr. Whitlock's reply to a letter from representatives of " The Federation of Churches " on the " Enforcement of Law in Cities " should be read by every one interested in social work.

Among those Mr. Brand Whitlock introduced me to, no one impressed me more than did Mr. Mooney, the Chief of Police. I was introduced through him to the Superin- tendent of the gaol, the Minister for Public Works, and some other prominent men.

The Superintendent, Mr. Stevens, is a most unusual man, most human. He treats his prisoners like men, allows them freedom of intercourse, and even to sleep in the same dormitory. They work outside, do the carting for the prison brick-making industry, and are generally trusted.

There were only a few prisoners in the women's quarters ; I had a talk to them. They were playing cards, and I showed them how to play a game of patience !

The men wore no uniform, and had their meals together. Of course, there are penitentiaries for grave offenders, but most of the prisoners I saw had been drinking, or were vagrants, or had committed small thefts. None had com- mitted grave crimes.

It was Parole Day. Every other Friday this takes place. Mr. Mooney asked me to come and sit with him and hear

TOLEDO w

the cases. The kindly man-to-man way he spoke to each one was splendid, and the whole system is one of uplifting, of getting each person to try and govern himself, not simply a system of shut-up and punish. Mr. Stevens says to them sometimes, " Now, if you don't behave, we won't let you stop here, you know."

Prisoners are fed on the best of everything, and the store- room was stocked with many appetizing eatables.

When prisoners are paroled, they report once a week by letter or in person, and Mr. Stevens gave me several cards from men and women on parole. They must work and sign a paper promising several things.

The room Mr. Mooney saw them in was just an ordinary office. The Superintendent, who was very stout and pleasant-looking, walked in and out in his shirt sleeves, smoking a cigar. The assistant superintendent called in each prisoner in turn. Mr. Mooney addressed Mr. Stevens as " Charlie," and altogether it was a pleasant sort of gathering.

The first man to come in was John H , a man about

forty. He had been fifteen years in prison, ten years at Toledo. He had only one arm, and was the sort of man who, when he got drunk, was very dangerous. He came in wearing neither coat nor vest, and sat down in front of Mr. Mooney, just the table between them. Mr. Mooney had before him the history of the case.

" Well, John," he said, " so you want me to give you another chance, do you ? Well, you know we want to help you, but what I do for you and what Charlie (the superin- tendent) does for you doesn't matter. What does matter is what you do for yourself. Now what are you going to do for yourself ? You must think and decide ; if you go on like this, you have nothing ahead of you but old age

78 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

and infirmity. You must be a man and do something for yourself. Has your sister been to see you ? "

" No, and I don't blame her/' said John, looking down at his toes.

" Now," went on Mr. Mooney, " the last time I paroled you, what did you do but go straight to the saloon and get drunk ? You made a bee-line there. You were only away a day when you were brought back."

" I wasn't drunk," said John, " I own I had been drinking."

" All right," said Mr. Mooney, "I'll parole you, John."

As John went out I shook hands with him and wished him good luck.

The next to come in was a young coloured man called Albert. He had been guilty of a graver offence. Some one had wanted to pay his fine for him.

" We are not here to punish you," said Mr. Mooney, " but to help you. We don't feel that any amount of money paid into court does any good, but what we do feel is that if you will try to have more control of yourself, if you will try to do better, some good has been accomplished. Every time you misbehave you affect some one. Now you have served 112 out of your 223 days. As far as I am concerned, I don't care whether you are on the inside or the outside, but now it all depends on yourself, and I want you to get work and try and help some one."

The next was a taking well-set-up boy of twenty-three. He had five convictions against him. He told the judge, as they called Mr. Mooney, that he had been a teamster.

" How much did you earn ? "

" Two dollars a day."

" How much was the bicycle worth you stole ? " ■' Twelve dollars."

TOLEDO 79

" Do you know how much you've paid for that bicycle ? One hundred and twenty dollars, for that is the time you have spent in here, when you might have been earning good money. Now, taking things gets a habit, and you've got to quit it. You are either going to get a whole lot worse or better."

The boy seemed really sorry. He told me when I spoke to him afterwards that his mother had died when he was four years old.

Mr. Mooney said, " All right, Harry ; you get back to the country where you say you can live honest. I'll parole you."

The next to come in were two inebriates — men of forty years of age. To one Mr. Mooney said, " Now, Pat, did you ever know an Irishman that could drink ? Give it up, Pat." The other prisoner said he didn't always drink, but had been at it all the winter. They were paroled.

Then came a boy of nineteen, who had stolen a case of cider.

" What f or ? " asked Mr. Mooney.

" To drink," said the boy.

" Were you ever drunk before ? "

" Yes, once," said the boy.

" Well," said Mr. Mooney, " was there anything so nice about being drunk that you wanted to get drunk again ? Have you a mother ? Does she love you ? "

" Yes."

" A good mother ? "

" Yes."

" Do you love your mother ? "

" Yes ; " and tears were running down the boy's cheeks.

" Well, I'll tell you what your poor mother did this

80 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

morning. She brought some money to pay your fine, but we wouldn't take it. She works hard, and we wouldn't take her money. Now what I want to tell you to do is to love your mother and help her. Now while you've been here you've been pretty comfortable, eh ? Had a good bed, good meals, slept well ? Now, I'll tell you who has suffered, not you, but your mother. When you have slept, she has been awake thinking of you, troubling over you. By the time you are the age of those two men just gone out, what are you going to be ? Yes, I'll parole you. Go home and be good to your mother. Good-bye."

Then came a young fellow of highly-respectable, well- known parents. He had married at nineteen or twenty a wealthy girl of seventeen. Her people sent her money. She was never satisfied. He took to drink. He talked glibly enough to the judge.

" You know I never took to drink," he said, " until two years after I was married ! "

" Do you know, Bob," said Mr. Mooney, " if it wasn't

for your uncle, Dr. J , and the others coming to me, I

wouldn't parole you — you ought to know better. Now remember, if you do wrong, it's me they'll blame, not you.

Now you go and see Dr. J and talk it over with him.

If you can't get on with your wife, go home — mind, I'm not advocating divorce, but you can't do as you've been doing. Think of your two children."

There were two women and another man. To one woman, Mr. Mooney said, " What are you doing for humanity ? Nothing ! Do you see this lady ? She has come here from Australia to learn all she can to help others."

He said so much more that I felt ashamed of how little I have yet done. He said to the woman, "You are forty-four? "

TOLEDO 81

" No," she corrected him, " thirty-four ! "

He smiled and said : "lam glad you still have so much self-respect that you want to keep young."

Of all the cases this was the only one in which Mr. Stevens intervened. He had hitherto said nothing, but when the woman said she would try to keep her parole, he exclaimed : " I don't believe her ! "

" I can't trust her," he added. " She promises a thing, but does not keep her promise. I don't understand her at all, and I don't believe if you parole her she'll go straight."

Mr. Mooney talked to her for some time very earnestly, very helpfully. She had a son of eighteen, and so Mr. Mooney gave her the chance to go to her son, to start a new life.

I had seen something of the work in the Public Schools in Chicago, and in Toledo I spent an exceedingly interesting morning seeing all over a school of 800 children, from Kindergarteners to the eighth, or final grade. The Super- intendent was a fine, sympathetic, alert young man, who took a real interest in each child.

In America teachers are so alive, so enthusiastic about their work. What struck me in all the schools I saw was the teachers' love for their pupils, and this personal touch makes the dullest lesson of interest.

In the Kindergarten class we saw tiny tots folding paper squares. It had suddenly begun to rain, and so the teacher suggested they should make the purple squares into umbrellas, which they did as we watched. Every- thing in the room was suitable for the tiny child, the pic- tures on the walls, the low chairs and tables, etc. All the rooms were lofty and bright and well ventilated.

From the^Kindergarten room we went into the next

82 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

grade, where older children were cutting out animals in paper and colouring them.

In the next room they were reading; in another they recited for me ; in another they went through physical exercises to a march played by a gramophone. I was shown some excellent samples of mat making, and in one room the pupils were working from their own designs.

In a higher grade the teacher asked the scholars at random : " What he, or she, thought the most interesting thing in the United States." One said, " New York," and gave a very clear description of its sights. Another said : " Niagara Falls," which she described ; another declared for a newly-opened mountain railway. In the highest grade, a boy of fifteen gave a splendid account of a battle between the English and the French Indians.

American boys and girls, as well as their teachers, are able to stand up and give their impressions easily, without that self-consciousness which marks Australian and English children, and even some of their elders.

In every room the Superintendent introduced me to the class, saying I had come from Australia, and I was able to tell each class something about our country, its trees, birds, and animals. But the children had learned about Aus- tralia, and knew more of it than other children I met in my wandering.

After we had inspected all the classes, they assembled and marched out in perfect order, the Superintendent and I standing on the steps while they filed past.

I saw several of the Young Women's Christian Associa- tions in the States, but was specially taken with their building in Toledo, which was practically new, and furnished and equipped better than any I saw.

The furniture was most artistic; and there were many

TOLEDO 83

sitting-rooms specially furnished and decorated by different ladies of Toledo. There was a fine reading room and library, very good hot and cold baths, a gymnasium, concert hall, good comfortable bedrooms, and a fine staff of sym- pathetic workers. In one of the rooms a dear girl, whom I met at the Newsboys' Association, gave free instruction in physical exercises to the sisters of members of the Toledo Newsboys' Association.

CHAPTER XIV CLEVELAND

ARMED with a letter of introduction from Mr. Brand Whitlock to Mr. Newton Baker, the Mayor, I left Toledo about 8 p.m., arriving at Cleveland, the capital of Ohio, at ii p.m. It is a fine, well-built town with a popula- tion of just a million people. Much of its prosperity it owes to the work and personality of its Mayor, who, I found, was as young as, if not younger than, Mr. Whitlock. They are great friends, and Mr. Whitlock was very anxious that I should see Cleveland, their capital.

When I arrived at the Mayor's office early next day, I found he was presiding at a very important meeting ; but he left for a minute to send for the Secretary of the Director of Public Safety, who gave me letters to the heads of the Cooley Farms, which include —

The Colony Farm, for the aged and infirm.

The Overlook Farm, which is a Sanatorium for Tubercu- losis.

The Correction Farm, on which is the gaol or, as they call it, the Workhouse, or House of Correction.

The Highland Park Farm is also in this group, on which had been laid out a municipal cemetery ; but I only managed to visit the first three.

The farms are situated ten miles from the city, and each one of them is separate and consists of about 500 acres.

84

CLEVELAND 85

Together they cover more than three square miles, so the environment and varied opportunities for work are most favourable to the residents of the villages. These groups are kept quite distinct. ^1

The idea of the citizens of Cleveland in sending their aged and sick back to the land is, that the normal life and open air environment of the country have a strong tendency to restore men and women to normal mental and physical condition. They say : " This form of treatment will not always cure, but its efficiency is being recognized more and more in tuberculosis, insanity, and all forms of abnormal development/ '

I first visited the Colony Farm, which comprises four substantial buildings plastered in grey, with red tiled roofs. These buildings are built 600 feet above the city, and have a beautiful outlook. Mrs. Quinn, the matron, a very capable woman, showed me all over the buildings.

The service quadrangle (the centre of activity of the village) is two stories in height, and covers an acre of ground. Here are the bakery, pantry, laundry, refrigera- tor, kitchens, baths, and other service rooms. In the centre is a large open court, entirely surrounded by a covered archway. Grouped around this court are the quarters of the aged, helpless, crippled, and some of the mentally defi- cient of Cleveland ; on the left, the women, on the right, the men. On the first floor of the women's apartments are the old and crippled. Above are those who are better able to look after themselves. Sixteen private rooms are reserved for old couples. These rooms, on the ground floor, have outside porches which, in summer, give the effect of a small cottage. The old couples have a plot of garden to themselves, and over the entrance of their cottages is the motto : " To lose money is better than to lose love."

86 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

As long as the old people can look after each other they stay in these rooms. I looked into several and found the old inmates very bright and cheery, though often crippled and doubled-up with rheumatism. Sometimes the man is the stronger and sees to things, sometimes the woman. Their surroundings throughout were very cheerful and comfortable ; the old women were knitting, crocheting, and sewing in groups, and seemed quite contented with their lot. All the mentally afflicted women are in separate quarters. In the hospital were three very old women, one being ninety-two.

The men's quarters are on the same principle as the women's. They have a fine barber's shop, a large reading- room, and spacious dormitories.

The Colony Farm gives to these people, not only a good place to live in, but a place in which to live in some comfort for the declining years of their lives. Instead of being inmates of an almshouse, they have become residents of the Farm. They can work in the field and garden, or work at handicrafts, as they please. All the people who live on the Farm have excellent food, are well dressed (but not in uniforms), and have as many liberties and privileges as a considerate and wise provision for their interests will allow.

The permanent Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which is called the Overlook Farm, was not quite ready for patients. It is built on a high ridge, just half a mile from the Colony group, and is protected on the North and North- West by a forest of seventy acres. I saw over the temporary building, which has been in use for over six years and has accommodation for about eighty patients. There are three lean-tos, which are used as sleeping places for fifty patients — who thus spend their days and nights, practically speaking, in the open air. The windows are

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CLEVELAND 87

always open to the East. All the patients I saw were young men. In the first three years of the Sanatorium's existence, nine hundred cases were treated. One-third of these have shown marked improvement, and many have been sent to their homes, strong and well.

It was quite a long drive from the Colony Farm to the Correction Farm, for, owing to the dreadful state of the cross-country roads, we had to go up to the main road and then back to the Farm.

My Jehu, an inmate of the Colony Farm, was very lame with rheumatism, but had been, so he told me, in a travel- ling circus, and had been used to horses all his life. He was all right as soon as he got up in the buggy. Driving along, he told me his history, how he had travelled all through the States with the show ; how he had a wife and two little girls whom he lost by death in one year ; how he had come to the Farm Colony homeless and helpless ; how, by degrees, he had been able to help with the horses employed on the place, and how he was always chosen now to drive the Governor and any visitors about the different farms.

The House of Correction, standing about a mile from the main road in its own farm, is built on the same principle as the service quadrangle at the Colony Farm. When completed, the great court in the centre is to be used for a recreation ground for the prisoners. There are three divisions of the prisoners — the Trustees, the Semi-Trustees, and those under regular prison supervision.

The fundamental thing in this House of Correction's treatment of prisoners, so the organizers believe, is the attitude of friendship of those in charge of them, and the giving to prisoners the opportunity of coming back to the best in themselves, and to normal life.

This House of Correction (like the House of Correction in

88 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Toledo) is most fortunate in its Superintendent, Mr. Mack, who received me and showed me all over his huge establish- ment. He was one of the most humane of men. He pointed out, with great pride, the paved roads and the concrete work the men had done. They were at work paving the courtyard, and we stood for a long while and watched them, while Mr. Mack told me some of his ideas.

He said : " Not one of these men has done any of this work before ; they are butchers, bakers, and all sorts. You can't expect men to work — to work willingly and with interest in what they are doing — if you stand over them and order them about. The great thing is to say, ' Now, boys, we'll do this together ! ' " That the men respond to this method of treatment is seen by their whole-hearted work.

In the penitentiaries there are no separate cells. The men eat together in a big, pleasant hall, and sleep in a long dormitory like a hospital ward. No warders stand guard over them, only a night watchman sees that lights are put out. The men wear no uniforms, and are free to come and go about the farm and drive carts into the town ; but they must report themselves at night. This they all know well, and also know that if they are not in their place to answer to their name at roll-call, they will have a longer and a more severe term of detention. In the fine chapel on the estate, different religious services are held.

The only approach to dungeons are three isolated rooms in one of the towers, which is called " The Thinking Tower." They are not dungeons but strong white rooms, full of light and sunshine and fresh air. A pathetic touch in the centre of one room was an unfinished dolls' house on the table, which Mr. Mack explained to me was the work of an old man who had been an inmate of the room.

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Mr. Mack told me of several Tvery interesting instances in which men had responded to the humane treatment of the House of Correction. His whole wonderfully under- standing and compassionate attitude towards the men of whom he found himself the director was summed up, I think, when he said to me: " Why, I'm no better than these men, and it's just a chance that I am not in with them."

He had been in the prison service for years, and told me how once the officials were given guns and cartridges with orders to shoot if there were any disturbance among the prisoners. He tried one cartridge on a post, and said, " I couldn't blow a man to pieces like that, so I told my men if they saw a man running away they were not to shoot, but to throw down their guns and run too."

The surrounding farm gives the men employment. They rear sheep and fowls, and grow all sorts of vegetables and fruit. They make roads, do the grading, dig ditches, clear the dead timber, and do general farm work. The aim of the organization is in time to make the farm self-supporting.

When finished, the House of Correction will accommodate women as well as men ; the women then will do all the cleaning, making, mending, and attend to the dairies and fruit preserving.

At the end of a very long and interesting day, one of the prisoners drove me to catch my train back to the city.

In connexion with the House of Correction is the Brother- hood movement, which is under the leadership of the Parole Officer. Its object is to find employment for released prisoners, giving them a comfortable home until they can pay their own way. Those who have been helped, in their turn help others. In regard to this organization it is

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interesting to learn that in seventeen months those men who some people say are worthless, paid into the Home more than $i 0,000 that they had earned by honest work.

Buffalo is four or five hours' journey from Cleveland. I spent four days there, and had several talks to the boys in the streets.

There was no properly organized newsboys' " club," but one was being formed. While I was talking to a group of boys one evening, their President came along. He was an ex-newsboy, and about thirty-three. His ideas were very primitive. He threw out a boy that was " bad," and said he would not listen to any argument in his favour. While a boy did well it was all right ; if he lapsed, there was no room for him in his club. He pointed out a bright little chap of fourteen as his secretary, and told me that many of the old Buffalo newsboys were almost millionaires. All the Buffalo newsboys I spoke to were very bright and obliging, and told me everything I asked about their work, among other things that they make five cents (2\d.) on a dozen papers.

East Aurora, a most interesting village — whose head and founder is Elbert Hubbard — is 18 miles from Buffalo.

I had one long, delightful day there, and was shown all over the workshops, the inn, the cottages, the farm and the Boys' Home, by Elbert Hubbard, himself, to whom Mr. Brand Whitlock had given me a letter of introduc- tion.

We all know Elbert Hubbard by repute. He is famous both for his writings and for the original and artistic style of the books and furniture that he turns out of his work- shops, and that have such a ready sale all over the world. Elbert Hubbard's is a most interesting personality. He is helped in his ideals and his work by his wife, who

CLEVELAND 91

works equally with him. But I will talk only of his methods of dealing with the boys who come to the Roy- croft School for boys ; for these methods were chiefly interesting to me.

His idea is that each boy should go to school a part of the day, studying the usual book subjects, and that the other part should be devoted to outdoor work on the farm and garden, or employed in building houses and barns, laying out roadways, constructing bridges, taking care of live stock, and doing all the usual necessary work that intelli- gent and successful farmers do. He does not consider sending a boy to school is enough. He says : " He is educated in his spare moments away from the schoolroom quite as much as in the schoolroom/' From twelve to sixteen or eighteen years of age is the creative period, and if we do not allow the creative period to manifest itself naturally, the same tendencies will find vent in destructive ways.

Mr. Hubbard adds : " City boys take more kindly to the business of farming than country lads, for the reason that farmer boys have had a double dose of farm/' He believes : " Military schools will discipline all right, but they do not foster initiation and invention/'

Boys are taken at the Roycroft School, and, under Ray- mond Riordan, the Principal, spend one-half of the day among books and the other in the workshops and on the farm.

These boys' quarters are furnished and arranged with the same artistic sense as the other buildings. Their dining room is all in brown, with brown polished tables and quaint high-backed chairs. Their bedrooms are equipped with every modern comfort.

Scholars of the Roycroft School pay $500 a year and

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supply their own linen ; the Roycrofters find them in everything else. Mind, body, soul, head, hand and heart are given opportunities of expressing themselves under the Roycrofters' wholly admirable system of education.

CHAPTER XV

BOSTON

I LEFT Buffalo on April 17, at 7.30 a.m., for Boston, and travelled all day. We passed through some large towns, and of these, Albany, where I changed trains, Syracuse, Pittsburg and Springfield looked the most impor- tant. The latter part of the journey was through hilly country with pine ridges, and we ran along some large rivers rushing over rocky beds. In the distance we could see clearly the blue Andironachs. It was past 9 p.m. when I reached Boston. Rain was falling in torrents, and lasted all through the next day and night.

Boston is full of historical interests, being the oldest Ameri- can city. It prides itself on being more Conservative and English than any other town in America. The streets are narrow and very winding. It is said that they were the old cow-paths, and that the town grew up on each side of them. There are many monuments and tablets erected in commemoration of well-known events of the War of Inde- pendence. Bunker's Hill is on the outskirts of the town. All the soldiers' graves in the cemeteries are marked by little flags placed on them.

Miss Mabel Willard, who, it will be remembered, visited Victoria nearly two years ago with Mrs. Charles Park,

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showed me many of the sights of Boston, and was most kind in every way. She took me to dinner at the College Hall, at which the women graduates of Harvard University may meet and entertain their men friends. I went several times over the bridge on which Longfellow wrote his well- known poem, but I did not actually stand on it " at mid- night."

The first club I visited, you will not be surprised to hear, was the Newsboys' Club.

The Boston Newsboys' Club works on different lines from any other I have seen. Their headquarters is a fine building. A superintendent is in charge, and many volun- tary workers assist him, among whom are ex-newsboys. It is estimated that there are 4,000 newsboys in Boston. They are divided according to age into two ranks. Those of compulsory school age are licensed and supervised by the school committee, while boys of over fourteen and under twenty- one are under the care of the City Council. The beginners generally sell for other boys on a commission basis, and thus get the protection and advice of the elder boys for a start. They are called " strikers," and they receive one cent for every four they take. Many boys going to school sell papers between 4 and 6 o'clock, and in this way earn sufficient money to enable them to attend a High School. In the " English High School " there are over three hundred, newsboys, and all the other schools and even some of the Colleges have their share of newsboys.

Years ago, all boys congregated at the several offices for their papers. This system had its disadvantages, as. bullies and big boys could press to the front, get their papers first, and often have them sold before the smaller boy had a look-in. Then again, whilst waiting for papers, gambling, fighting and other bad habits were acquired

BOSTON 95

Now things are changed. Allied with the newsboys are the " Canada Points/' i.e. ex-newsboys employed by certain papers for a fixed salary to distribute papers whole- sale, at certain selected central points. At any of these twenty points papers can be obtained, and thus there need be no delay.

I called one morning at the Club and was asked to come again at night. I went. It was a pouring wet night, and I was shown all over the building by an ex-newsboy, a fine young man, and a graduate of Harvard University. The building is given up to games, clubs and athletics, princi- pally. There are also a reading room, and two study rooms for newsboys, who at home would have difficulty in finding a warm, quiet corner to study in, or an adult adviser compe- tent to guide them. In charge of the two latter rooms is the winner of the Newsboys' Harvard Scholarship, who devotes his evenings to coaching High School pupils.

But the most interesting feature of the Club is the Boston Newsboys' Trial Board. This court is held once a week at 7.30 p.m. Presiding over it are three judges, elected by the Grammar School newsboys (under fourteen) from among the captains — who are elected captains by the newsboys attending all the Grammar Schools. The Court is governed by three newsboy judges and two adult judges chosen by the Boston School Committee. A supervisor of licensed minors is also chosen by examination ; he is paid $ 1,400 per annum, and sees that the rules made by the School Committee are enforced. He brings to the Trial Court all those who break the rules, and acts as prosecuting attorney. The greatest power this Board has is to take away the badge provided by the School Committee. Other penalties are the suspension of badges for a few days,

It happened to be Court nightt oil the. occasion of my

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visit, so I sat with the judges and heard all the cases. About thirty boys were present. The parents and elder brothers of those on trial are always asked to attend, and some of these availed themselves of the invitation. The three boy- judges — Michael Belman, Abram Resnick, and Henry Brown — who, by the way, was a coloured boy — the Clerk and the Supervisor of Licensed Minors, Mr. Regan, were seated on a raised platform at one end of the room, with all the papers, etc., before them. Order was called, and the Clerk read: —

" All having business before Newsboys' Court give atten- tion. God save the city of Boston ! "

The truant officer then read the history of each case, and the boy who had received a summons came up to the front of the table, and the judges questioned and dealt with his case.

The first thing each boy was asked was whether he had written out a copy of the regulations of the Public Schools of the city of Boston. These refer to licensed minors, and include all laws and restrictions relating to licences, badges, etc. The principal ones are these : —

" All licences shall expire at the end of the year during which the minor reaches his fourteenth birthday. The licensee shall return his badge to the principal of the school at which he attends on or before the date on which his licence expires.

" He shall not sell or lend his badge to any one, nor fur- nish any unlicensed minor with newspapers. He shall not sell newspapers in or on a street car before 6 o'clock in the morning, nor after 8 o'clock in the evening.

" He shall not, at any time, fail to wear his badge con- spicuously in sight.

" Licences shall not be issued to girls nor to boys under eleven years jrf age.

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" A charge of twenty-five cents is made for each badge issued."

Among the cases I heard was one of a boy under fourteen years of age, who was before the court for selling on a street car. Another was summoned for selling after 8 p.m.

A coloured boy named Moses, who was accused of selling during school hours, pleaded that his father was ill in hospital, and that he was keeping the family. He was put on probation for two years, as he had been before the Court before.

If a boy does not respond to the first summons delivered, a second and a third are sent. If he still absents himself, his case is referred to the Juvenile Court.

The following is a copy of the summons issued by the Boston Newsboys Trial Court : —

To

You are complained of for ... , and you are hereby notified that the Newsboys' Trial Board will give you a hearing on this complaint at their rooms in the Newsboys' Club, 277 Tremont Street, Boston, on . . . at . . . o'clock. You are ordered to appear at this time and place, otherwise you may lose your licence or be sent to the Juvenile Court. Witness, Mitchell Freeman, Chief Justice. Clerk.

When I met Judge Lindsey in Chicago, he said, " If you go to Boston, you ought to meet my friend Judge Baker. I will give you a letter to him." I forgot to remind Judge Lindsey of the letter, but did have the pleasure of meeting Judge Baker, and of spending a morning with him in the Boston Juvenile Court. This is held every day, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the State House, a gorgeous building, on the

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topmost pinnacle of which is a large golden ball that can be seen from all parts of the city. It was a more formal court than in Chicago. Outside was a waiting-room, where a number of boys and girls were awaiting trial. Some were with their parents, some with officers in uniform. The judge was in an inner room on a raised platform seated before a desk, which ran along the whole front of the plat- form. He very kindly gave me a seat next to him.

Each case was taken separately. The Judge spoke to each child, got his version, then sent the child out, and had in the police officers or probation officer in charge. Different bells beside the Judge, or a speaking tube, called in the officer, who, as he came in, stood at the end of the platform close to the door. The Judge then wheeled his chair round, and spoke to each probation officer. There are three attached to this Court, two men and one woman; the latter, a Jewess, is paid by the Jewish women of Boston.

There were several groups of boys before the Court for playing ball in the street. They had broken windows. As each boy came in, separately, the Judge said : " Now, tell us all you know, without saying anything about any other boy. Were you playing ball in the street ? "

In one case, three boys denied being within twenty feet of the window, or even knowing it was broken. They said they had not even played ball. The fourth boy, when asked what he knew, said frankly, " Yes, I know who broke the window. I did."

The Judge thanked him for his frankness, and said he considered all who were playing should join in paying for the window. He told the boy to tell the boys playing with him at one time that they must all share. He said, "You say the Judge says you have not ' squealed ' on them, and he does not even know their names. But if they will not

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pay their share the Judge will ask for their names, and they will all be served with summonses."

As I went out of the Court I had a talk to the lady probation officer, who told me how they dealt with some of the cases, and directed me as to the best way to reach the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded, which I had heard a great deal of, and was very anxious to see.

CHAPTER XVI

MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FOR THE FEEBLE- MINDED

THIS is a most wonderful institution, situated about an hour's distance by tram from Boston, and close to Waltham, the great watch-making centre. The school com- prises many buildings devoted to different branches of the work, all the inmates, male and female, being graded accord- ing to age and mental capacity. It is really a haven for the mentally and morally deficient of Massachusetts, who are transferred here from the schools, reformatories, and often from private families, all over the State. The superintendent, Dr. E. Fernald, has made the feeble-minded his careful study for many years, and has written some most enlightening articles on their treatment, from the special public school classes onwards. He says that, " at least one per cent, of the children in public schools are defective/' and strongly advocates special public school classes for defectives, and also the training of teachers to understand the symptoms of mental deficiency at an early age, for he says : " The earlier these children are placed under proper training, the more can be accomplished by and for them." He says emphatically that, though the majority of trained defectives may become self-supporting, by far the greater number need oversight and

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MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL 101

supervision as long as they live, no really feeble-minded person having been entirely cured.

That an institution like this is necessary is exemplified every day. It is well known that numbers of boys and girls, in reform schools, the great army of police-court chronic drunkards, criminals, tramps, vagrants, and prostitutes, are recruited from the class of those slightly mentally deficient who were neglected in their youth.

Under the management of the Feeble-minded School of Massachusetts are 1,495 males and females. Of these, 1,255 were in the departments I went over, for it was quite impossible, in the one day which I was able to give to visit- ing, to see every department of this huge institution, which covers so much land, and is like a village in itself. The inmates are divided into eleven families, each having dis- tinctive and peculiar needs, and are all under the one general management.

In the girls' dormitory are the girls of school age ; in the boys' dormitory and boys' department are boys of the school grade also. Separated from these, in another building, are the adult males requiring much personal care and attention. In another building are young and feeble boys and females of the lower grade. At the girls' home are the adult females, many of whom have graduated at the school departments, and are employed in the domestic work of the institution. At the farmhouse are the higher grade adults, employed in farm work. In the hospital, which is always full, are the feeble and sickly children.

The school children are separated into eleven well-defined grades. I saw their work from the time they enter the school and are first taught by education of the senses ; and the progress they make in passing from the lower to the higher grades of mentality is marvellous. No pupil is in

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the schoolroom more than half a day. The rest of the time is spent in manual or industrial training, physical drill, and recreation. As a rule the pupils come to the institu- tion with poorly developed bodies, so nearly all receive systematic physical training every day.

Dr. Fernald's theory is that the feeble-minded do not talk because they have no ideas to express. He works on the Montessori system. The doctor, who showed me over the schools, and of whose kindness and courtesy I cannot speak in sufficiently high terms, explained to me some of these methods. A very important one consists in trying to raise the curiosity of the pupils. To this end, objects for lessons are contained in separate bags. In one bag are objects, by handling which the children are taught to observe the difference between light and heavy weights. In another bag are objects to teach the difference of shape; in another, coloured articles from which they learn difference of colour. So, by patient, loving teaching, and by a skilful playing on the five senses, light and understanding are introduced into the poor minds that otherwise would be doomed to grope in chaos and darkness.

Some boys are taught, and take great interest in farm and garden work. Others assist the baker, carpenter, engineer and painter. They do all the printing of the school, mend the shoes of all the inmates, and a number who wear distinctive red caps serve as errand boys.

The girls do all the laundry work, and make much of the children's clothing, and any girl at all bright is expected to keep her own clothing in repair. In the domestic science class-room, girls receive instruction in ordinary house- work, learn to wash dishes, make fires, clean stoves, prepare and boil, or bake potatoes ; and other vegetables, and lay a table and serve a meal properly. When I saw this room with

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its up-to-date equipment, and the clean, almost bright girls employed there, I could hardly believe that they had deve- loped from children of the low grades of intellect such as I had seen earlier in the day. I was particularly struck, too, with the work of these girls in the sewing room, where they make most artistic mats and really beautiful lace. Each ward has its distinct playground. At play or at work all are under the constant supervision of an attendant.

The boys were at tea when I visited them. They seemed very happy. Their dining, class and play room and their sitting-rooms were splendidly built, airy, and most artistically furnished, with pictures on the walls and pot plants on the tables. Some younger boys outside were having a noisy, rollicking game of football.

In the elder girls' sitting-room, which was very attrac- tively furnished, some of the girls, in the hour after tea, were grouped round a piano, while one of their number played the accompaniment to a new setting of " The Bridge." We stopped to listen to a fair-haired girl singing this exquisite song, and noticed the pleasure on the faces of the listening girls, many of whom were reclining in rocking-chairs and knitting. The whole institution was a demonstration of what can be done for feeble-minded and mentally defective children.

After I had seen all through the workshops, laundry, gym- nasium, game rooms, enjoyed the magnificent view and drunk in the beautiful pure air, I could not help wishing that every normal child had the advantages that 1,500 of the sub-normal children of Massachusetts have in this institution.

At Newton, near Boston, I spent a day with one of my old boys, a Melbourne newsboy named Sydney Chant;

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" Chantey " the boys used to call him. I had not met him for eleven years, and the change in him in those years was good to see. In Melbourne he sold Heralds at the Royal Mail corner. He is now an electrician, and earning £4 sl week. I had dinner with him and his mother and sisters at their home, one Sunday. Sydney asked after ever so many of his old friends. I was the first Australian whom he had known that he had seen since he came to America, nearly twelve years ago. He told me he was still an Australian, body and soul, and was saving up to come back to the " best country in the world.''

Both in Chicago and Boston I heard much of the Woman's Suffrage movement. In Chicago I had the pleasure one day of helping Miss Jane Addams to fold up some circulars about different meetings. The American women I met all want Woman Suffrage, but they did not agree with the methods of the militant suffragettes ; they said militancy might " go down " and help the cause in England, but it certainly would not do in America.

In Boston, I arrived on the eve of the Equal Suffrage mass meeting. Mrs. Charles Park and Miss Mabel Willard, whom many Victorians had the pleasure of meeting in Mel- bourne, were two of the prime workers. Strange as it may seem, a Chinese woman addressed the meeting. It was open to the public, and was called for the purpose of arousing interest in the suffrage work of five American States — Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, Oregon and Wisconsin — where consti- tutional amendments granting suffrage to women have passed the legislature, and were to be voted on. Mrs. Charles Park, secretary of the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for good Government, presided.

One Sunday during my visit to Boston, I went to the Charles Street Church, the congregation of which is composed

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of coloured people. Every one in the church was black, or some shade of black. Negroes at the door, with huge white cotton gloves and large white rosettes, ushered people to their seats. The women of the congregation were all very stylishly dressed in the latest fashion. Little girls of five and six were there in white frocks with blue or pink sashes, and there was one small baby in long clothes, all white, except for the tiny oval of its face. The organist and choir were coloured, and hymn after hymn was sung with deep pathos by many musical voices ; and, when the choir sang as an anthem, " Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus," the congregation joining in, sitting down, one was touched and carried away by the real and deep devotional feeling.

There were coloured paper decorations all over and above the pulpit, and yellow and lavender stars, crosses, suns, and other ornamentations were festooned about the chancel. Three or four dignitaries of the church spoke at different times. These all sat on the "raised platform near the pulpit. Before the sermon, one made an announcement of different services to be held, and referred to some members of the congregation who had absented themselves from the usual service. He said : " My eye is very quick to notice who is here and who is away." After several more remarks, some of a lengthy nature, he said : " Our usual penny col- lection will now be taken up." And it was a penny (cent) collection, pure and simple. A cent is equal to a halfpenny in English money. One man I noticed put down a dime (10 cents) and took nine cents change from the plate. It was the Sunday after the Titanic disaster, and in the sermon the pastor made frequent references to it.

Later on, in New York, when I mentioned, in the course of a conversation with W. D. Ho wells, the famous novelist,

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how much I had been impressed with the Charles Street services, he said, " So was I when I was in Boston, and one of my novels, called An Imperative Duty, I wrote as an outcome of its effect on me/'

CHAPTER XVII NEW YORK

FROM Boston I came to New York. This city is so well laid out, that a stranger has no difficulty in finding his way about. All the avenues run in numbers, so do the streets. The avenues cross the streets, so it is always easy to pick up your bearings.

The day after my arrival I went to Harper Bros., the home of Harper's Monthly, in Franklin Square, as Mr. Brand Whitlock had given me a letter of introduction to W. Dean Howells, the novelist, author of Their Wedding Journey, A Chance Acquaintance, and many other clever novels. Mr. Howells was not in his office, but a clerk rang him up at his private residence, and I was asked to come to E. 58th Street. Here, he and his daughter were living in a flat, and I went by the elevated railway to see them. Mr. Howells said he was glad to see me, and I had a long talk with him.

I was just as delighted with him as I had expected to be, and his mind was as beautiful as I had imagined it from his books. He told me he was seventy-five and that he had lost his wife two years before. His daughter Mildred lives with him. She is a charming woman, and devoted to her father. Both of them are so simple and great-hearted. Besides this daughter, Mr. Howells has a married son and a grandson,

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" Billy," whom he adores. On the eve of my visit they were all just off for a trip to the seaside together.

Mr. Howells said that when he is writing, his children always come along and read each day what he has written. They are devoted to him. He is an Oxford man, but has lived in Boston for many years. He often goes to England and to the Continent. He is of Welsh descent, and was interested to know that my father came from Shropshire, which he knows well.

When Miss Howells came in Mr. Howells introduced me, saying: " We have had such an interesting talk." He was anxious to hear all I could tell him about Australia. He has a quaint and delightful sense of humour, and was very quick at seeing a point and turning a joke. I remarked on the number of engravings in the room, and asked if he was particularly fond of engravings. He said : " You would think so, wouldn't you ? As a matter of fact, all these pictures belong to my landlady." Then he showed me the only two that were his. Both of them had been painted by his daughter and were dainty water-colours of fairies and mystical subjects.

During our talk Mr. Howells remarked how usage makes forms of speech that our school teachers condemned, cor- rect, citing, for instance, how one says quite commonly in England now, "It is me," not "It is I." We discussed the charm of natural people, and he said he had never known any people so natural as the Shakers. He had lived among them once, and said : " They always say what they mean, even if you do not like it."

I stayed on to luncheon, and we had soup, chops, Bermuda potatoes, and strawberry corncake — which was a cake with stewed strawberries between the layers of it. Mr. Howells was very disappointed when I declined to venture on it.

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The lunch was served in the American fashion, on a polished round table with doyleys under the plates.

Miss Alice Henry, now of Chicago (old friends will remem- ber her home was once in Melbourne), had given me a letter to Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Gillman, one of the greatest workers in movements for the benefit of women and children in the world. While I was with the Howells, I told Miss Howells that I thought of going to call on Mrs. Gillman, and she said that Mrs. Gillman was a friend, and she would ring up and find out if she could see me that afternoon. A- message came back that if I were to go right away, she would be pleased to see me, but that later in the day she had to go and see a sick friend. Her house was not far away. It is on Riverside Drive, and faces the river. It was very windy that afternoon, and I blew into two or three houses before I finally found hers.

She is a woman of good physique but not tall, and of most magnetic personality. Her face is pale, her eyes dark and flashing ; her black hair, touched with grey, is parted over her forehead. She received me in cordial, good-comradely fashion. She owns and writes entirely that remarkable paper, The Forerunner, of which she gave me several copies, and lectures throughout the States on feminine subjects ; her lectures are much sought after. The books by which she is best known are The Man-made World, Women and Economics, and What Diantha Did.

I shall never forget hearing her read her poem on " Child Labour " to me. Her face was tense with feeling, her dark eyes flashing. Here are some of the verses I remember : —

Only the human father —

A man, with power to think — Will take from little children

The price of food and drink.

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Only the human mother —

Degraded, helpless thing ! — Will make her little children work,

And live on what they bring.

No fledgeling feeds the father-bird,

No chicken feeds the hen ! No kitten mouses for the cat;

This glory is for men.

We are the wisest, strongest race,

Loud may our praise be sung ! The only animal alive

That feeds upon its young.

Mrs. Gillman loves children, and says, " The child is the most important citizen."

She said that she hoped to visit Australia some day. When going out to see her sick friend, she took me through the Central Park and round some of the principal streets of New York, pointing out to me places of interest. She is intensely observant and sympathetic. As we entered Central Park a child in a pram lost its ball, which came rolling down the bank towards us. Though we were talking earnestly at the time, Mrs. Gillman was not too absorbed to see it. She stopped, picked it up and gave it to the little one as we passed. When we got to Fifth Avenue, she showed me my car, and we waved to each other till we were out of sight.

Of course, another incident of my stay in New York was a visit to the New York Newsboys' Club. It had just been moved into a new building. A friend had presented the building, which cost £16,000. The Club only exercises itself in the direction of providing entertainments, games and a summer camp for the boys. In another part of the city was a Newsboys' Home, where boys slept at night.

NEW YORK in

From a study based on inquiries into the antecedents of boys at two of the New York juvenile asylums, Mr. J. C. Goldmark points out that : " The early ages of street workers, the irregularities of their lives and the lawlessness of their environment, are ruining a large number of those boys in New York who are engaged as newsboys, pedlars and messengers."

A Child Welfare Exhibit was organized by New York philanthropists two years ago. This was a remarkable exhibition of the conditions of child-life in New York, and took three years to organize. It showed how often housing conditions were unhealthy, home life bad, education too ineffective, work too warping, and play too dangerous. The dangers of street play in New York, where the streets are often the child's only play-grounds, are illustrated by the following figures : sixty-seven children were killed in ten months, and 196 seriously injured in street play. Motors killed twenty-nine, wagons eighteen, trolleys twenty. The importance of the Exhibition was that it made clear to thoughtless people what were really the conditions under which thousands of little children were trying to live, and that it indicated the State's duty in regard to them. The New York enterprise was imitated by Chicago the following year, and a Child Welfare Exhibition was organized in England for 1912. It would perhaps be as well if pro- blems connected with the welfare of children were regularly ventilated in a similar fashion in Australia.

The Charity Organization Society of New York issues a splendid catalogue entitled The Bulletin of the New York School of Philanthropy. One department gives a list of books on the Causes and Treatment of Juvenile Delinquency, and these are most helpful to persons wishing to study that phase of child-life.

ii2 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

My varied, interesting and valuable experiences in the United States ended with my visit to New York. Every- where I was received with the most wonderful kindness. The people I had introductions to were goodness itself, and most sympathetic and helpful. I talked of Australia wherever I went, and found that as a rule Americans had a great opinion of our country.

PART II

INTRODUCTION

ENGLAND, with its huge population, its tremendous social problems, and its appalling poverty,, has per- haps more child-saving institutions than any other country in the world.

Her child-saving, rescue and reformatory work is carried on by nearly fourteen hundred institutions, many of which are under independent management. In these institutions there are about ninety thousand inmates.

In London alone there is no limit to the number of the various Government, County Council, and private charities, and just when you think you have grasped at least one side of the question and have seen all there is to see bear- ing on it, you hear of other organizations acquaintance with which is equally necessary to the thoroughness of your quest.

Accordingly, after months of search and study, I have selected only such schools as are typical of each phase of child-life, and have tried by describing those which most impressed me to give an idea of what England is doing to- wards the welfare of her great family of children.

U5

CHAPTER I LONDON SETTLEMENTS

AFTER the American settlements those of London seem small. Toynbee Hall was, as we know, the very first in the world, and from it all the others have originated. It was started by an Oxford man, and those who have followed its workings and results are convinced that it has been a power for good. Toynbee Hall is in the heart of the East End of London, and is worked mostly by students. When I visited it one bitterly cold night in the depths of winter, eighteen young men were in residence there. Many outside organizations also are worked from this settlement, therefore a visit to the Club House only, does not give one a comprehen- sive idea of what is really being done by it. I saw a men's night school at work, a Boy Scouts' singing class, and listened some time to speakers at a crowded meeting of the De- bating Society which was discussing the Government's Insurance Bill. This Debating Society is open to all comers.

The Passmore Edwards Settlement is in the opposite direction — in the West Central district, and not very far from the British Museum. I visited it twice. On the first occasion in the morning when, as there were no classes being held, I had an opportunity of going all over the buildings,

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and seeing the class rooms, club rooms, concert hall, library, etc., and learning something of the history and work of the organization. On the outside, the building impresses one by its solidity and general air of comfort and compactness. It is built of red brick and the front is flush with Tavistock Place, but from the dining-room, which is situated at the back, there is a charming view of garden and trees and lawns. The Duke of Bedford has allowed the Settlers the use of his large and beautifully kept garden, and it is one of the great charms for the Settlement workers and all those who live in that densely crowded corner of London.

The founder of the Settlement, Mr. Passmore Edwards, who gave it the splendid building wherein its work is housed, died on April 22, 1911, the day after I left Melbourne. He was a great man — the whole neighbourhood testifies to that — and gave all the working men, women and children in the district opportunities for evening education, and the interests of music and club life, which they would have had no chance of obtaining otherwise. The Settlement was founded in 1890, its principal aim being : "To pro- vide a centre of education, recreation and social work in the neighbourhood."

Mrs. Humphry Ward has filled the position of Hon. Secretary since its foundation, and it was mainly owing to her exertions that the Settlement, in conjunction with the late London School Board, opened the first public school in London for crippled and invalid children. This supplied a long-felt need, and, following the good example, there are now thirty-six such schools in London under the London County Council, attended by about 3,000 children.

Attached to the Settlement is a body of more than 500 Associates, drawn from the working men and women of St. Pancras. It has a Men's Club, non-alcoholic and self-support-

n8 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

ing ; two Boys' Clubs, one for boys of fourteen and one for boys between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one (the latter fills a much needed gap, existent till a year ago, between the Boys' and Men's Clubs) ; a Women's Club ; a Girls' Club ; and an evening recreation, or play centre. All children are free to come and go at the Settlement up to the age of four- teen. On an early winter's evening it is alive with happy children, dancing, playing all sorts of games, making toys, knitting, sewing, drilling, learning how to mend their own boots, looking at books and pictures, listening to fairy stories, in fact, doing everything that a child loves to do. The summer holds different attractions. For then, from May onwards, they play in the Duke of Bedford's beautiful gar- den, which the Settlement opens on to at the back. Here they have all sorts of games — skipping, dancing and digging in the sand-pit.

Other Clubs in connexion with the Settlement are an Athletic Club, Chess Club, Coal Club, Cycling Club, Cricket Club, Dramatic Club, Factory Girls' Club, Football Club, Minstrel Club, Penny Savings Bank, Scientific Society, Shakespeare Club, Swimming Club, Travellers' and Walking Clubs.

I spent a very pleasant Sunday evening at the Settlement. Arriving at 6.45 p.m., I went straight to the Library, where a lecture on " The World's Philosophy " was to be given by Sir John Hynde Cotton. The Library was a large comfortable room lined with book-cases, and for a few minutes before the lecture I had an opportunity of seeing what a splendid collec- tion of books the readers had to choose from. In a big open fireplace a bright coal fire sent a glow over the room, and by the time the lecturer had arrived there was a very good attendance.

It was the second lecture of the series, and Sir John, after

LONDON SETTLEMENTS 119

introducing the audience to a map and chart illustrating where the philosophers lived and the era they lived in, gave a brief resume of his former lecture, and carried the audience to 480 B.C., giving a short history of the Greek philosophers, and dwelling principally on Socrates and his teaching. It was a most interesting, instructive lecture, and held the audience enthralled till 8.15, when members were at liberty to ask questions, which liberty a few took advantage of. Sir John answered the questions, and the friendly gathering then dispersed.

At 8.30, in the concert room, a concert was being given, and I turned my steps there, passing on the way the long dining- room, where some of the Settlers were at dinner. One of them good-naturedly showed me the way to the hall, which was a large room with a suitable stage, on which were a piano and all needful accessories. There were on the walls copies of pictures by the great masters, and the hall was fairly well filled with men, women and children. Six boys, about fourteen years of age, were sitting at the back of the hall near me, and in between the items in the programme we became great friends. They were most interested in hearing of Australia. One wanted to know "if it was a dangerous country," and if "kangaroos attacked you in the street/' They all said they would like to come out. Two of the boys were messenger boys, one worked at a bakery, and another was learning to be an engineer. This last, thought he would some day be able to work his passage to Australia. I had with me some of the Australian postcards which are distributed by the Commonwealth Office Authorities, and hundreds of which I had given to boys in the schools and institutions I visited. I gave some to these six new friends, who escorted me to the railway station when the concert was over.

120 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

A very interesting woman I met at the Eugenics Confer- ence, detailed later on, was Miss Sarah Bennett. She was the Hon. Secretary of the Freedom League ; but had relin- quished that post just before my meeting her. She is an ardent Suffragette, giving all her time, attention and money to the movement. Formerly a member of the School Board, she takes a sincere interest in every movement for the up- lifting of humanity. It was Miss Bennett who told me of the Tolstoy Settlement, and of Honor Moreton, the organizer and founder of it.

Miss Honor Moreton is a broad-minded, great-souled woman, who has had a nurse's training, has been on the Board Schools' Committee, and has studied almost every phase of child-life in England. Some years ago, her health necessitated her giving up some of her more arduous town duties, and so she started, in a small way in the country, a holiday home for London's defective children. She was given £100 for the experiment, and rented a furnished cot- tage. This proved such a success that she instituted the Tolstoy Settlement in 1905, which is, in reality, a group of cottages, which offers a temporary retreat to women who wish to lead a simple, useful and healthy life, and also serves as a holiday home for defective children from the slums of London. Miss Bennett very kindly took me one day to see the Settlement. We left Victoria station in the early morn- ing, and had a beautiful ride through the loveliest country for an hour and a half, passing through Croydon and Eden- bridge, which is close to Tunbridge Wells, till we reached Rotherfield in Sussex, where the Tolstoy Settlement is.

At the station we found Miss Moreton waiting for us. She is of medium height, with brown eyes and brown hair, and1, was dressed all in brown. She wore a small round hat, long Inverness cape, and brown walking shoes, for though it was,

LONDON SETTLEMENTS izt

August and midsummer, it was raining steadily. Miss Moreton led the way up a winding path to her cottage, which is the nucleus of the other cottages. In these different cottages, two of which we visited, reside the Sisters, who pay a guinea a week and do their own work, and also wait on the children. Each cottage accommodates not more than five or six children. Miss Moreton explained that her idea is not to build on to a cottage, but to build another cottage. She has a great dislike of the institution idea, and thinks cottages are much more home-like than big, barrack-like -buildings. So whenever she sees a suitable piece of land for sale, she buys it and builds, provided, of course, that the necessary funds are forthcoming. The principal maintenance of the cottages comes from the sale of books which Miss Moreton writes. Her books on children are well known and widely read, The Cry of the Children being, perhaps, the best known.

The children in the cottages are all friendless, deaf, blind, and mentally defective — all of them unwanted by other holi- day homes. They go from the Board Schools, and are recom- mended by friends to Miss Moreton. Some go every year, and look forward all through the year to the lovely summer holiday. For in lovely Sussex they are supremely happy and well-cared for. We first met some of them on our way to the cottage. They ran to meet us with smiling bright faces. One fair-haired little girl, dressed all in blue, was Miss More- ton's special care. The child had no parents, and Miss More- ton had made herself responsible for her schooling and cloth- ing. She always came to the Tolstoy Settlement in holiday time. She was about eight years old, and was quite deaf ; but read what was said by watching lips. She recited a piece of poetry for us, very correctly, but in a high, unnatural voice. The children walked on with us to the cottage, which was very prettily situated in a garden of climbing roses and

122 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

lovely, old-fashioned flowers, with rustic seats set about it, Inside, the cottage was plainly but very artistically fur- nished ; the windows were arched, and had small square panes of glass. There was a bedroom for each of the three Sisters in charge, and two bedrooms for the five children who stayed there. There was a tiny rest room for the Sisters, and a dining-sitting room. The kitchen was big and bright. At the end of the dining-room a wide bay window overlooking the garden was the children's play corner.

While Miss Moreton helped to prepare lunch, we looked through her splendid collection of books. All one side of the sitting-room was lined with them, and some of the volumes were very rare. One was a first edition of Shakespeare, with his name in print as acting in two of the plays in 1594. Honor Moreton's mother was a sister of William Black, the novelist, and she has one of his MSS. beautifully bound. It is written in the neatest way, on unusually thick paper, pages about the size of an ordinary book page. There were other valuable books we might have seen, but lunch was announced, so we turned from the books to consideration of that. After luncheon we went to see the children in their rooms. Two girls, quite blind, were threading beads. It was very pathetic to see them ; and yet they seemed happy and interested. One girl had a glorious head of auburn hair. Miss Moreton told us that her mother and father had deserted her, and that she had not a relation or friend in the world. Many of the children who go to the Settle- ment surfer from chronic sores. Miss Moreton attends to all these, her training as a nurse enabling her to do just what is necessary.

After a rest, Miss Moreton, Miss Bennett, three little deaf girls and I, went for a lovely walk over the heather-clad hills,, for the rain had ceased and the sun was shining brightly-

LONDON SETTLEMENTS 123

We walked up steep lanes with high hedges on each side, passing some quaint thatched cottages and lovely old-world houses, till at last we came on to the moors, from where we had a glorious view of the surrounding country. The hills were purple with heather. We picked large bunches of it, with the children skipping about and running beside us all the time, and making, as deaf children are wont, funny little noises in their throats. We came back laden with heather and flowers ; had tea, visited a cottage near by, and then went back to London by the time the long twilight was waning.

CHAPTER II THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS

I HAD been much struck, as I went through the industrial and reformatory schools under the Home Office, with the men and women in charge, who all seemed to love their work and to be particularly adapted to it. I noticed the same personal interest, only with a keener sense of discipline, in the Borstal institution which Mr. Waller gave me the privilege of looking over.

Borstal institutions are provided by the State for the reformative treatment of those boys and girls, between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, who must be placed under forcible control during their development into men and women. At this age they are too old for admission into reformatories. The Borstal institutions, therefore, aim at supplying a place of detention different from a prison, which, while detaining these young people, will not check, but assist, their development. They are thus taught to control themselves, and to realize and develop their bodies and minds in the most healthy and most hopeful surroundings. The Borstal authorities are convinced that the present system of short sentences is by no means an effective treat- ment, and consider that the element of time is necessary to create a lasting reform. They experimented with the shorter sentences, and found that some boys took little interest in their work, and evinced no desire to improve, knowing they

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THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS 125

only had six months or a little longer to serve. Now magis- trates are sentencing the boys to a term of not less than two or three years, recognizing that such a period is necessary to wean a boy from his own methods of living, and also to teach him a trade, armed with which he may, on release, begin a new life.

The Borstal methods were started in a private way about ten years ago by a few gentlemen who met weekly and visited the prisons. They were instrumental in having boys kept apart from adults. If they saw in prison boys, whom they felt would respond to friendly help, they met them on their release and helped them to live a decent life. In 1902 a Borstal institution was acquired for young offenders, and from experiments conducted there by the Prison Commis- sioners, the Borstal institutions were in 1909 made part of the English penal system. In the Act they are defined as " places in which young offenders, whilst detained, may be given such industrial training and such instruction and be subject to such disciplinary and moral influence, as may conduce to their reformation and the prevention of crime.' '

There are four of these institutions now established in England. One is near the village of Borstal, from which they take their name, and where there are 400 lads. Another is at Feltham, where there are over 200 boys. At Aylesbury there is a third, for girls only, while at Canterbury a wing of the prison is set apart for unsatisfactory cases.

When a lad arrives at Borstal, he is seen in turn by the chaplain, the doctor, and the governor. The last, before sending him to the work for which he seems best suited, explains the objects of Borstal and advises the lad how to make the most of his time there.

Each boy wears a distinctive dress, according to the grade he is in. There are three grades — penal, ordinary, and special.

126 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

When a lad enters he is given an ordinary dress, which con- sists of brown corduroy pants, brown knitted sweater, and brown, narrow-shaped cap. He sleeps in a separate cubicle. A boy may be promoted to the " special grade " through in- dustry and good conduct. He then wears an all-blue uni- form, and is allowed many privileges. The well-conducted in this grade are placed by the Governor in posts of trust and confidence on the farm or about the building, and they may also be placed on parole.

The " penal grade " dress is grey, and boys must wear this dress by order of the Governor, if they are believed by him to be exercising a bad influence. At the same time, no inmate is kept in this grade any longer than necessary, both in his own interest and in that of others.

The day's work begins at 5.30 a.m., and ends at 8.30 p.m., and it is specially arranged to prepare lads for a full day's work when they leave the institution. It includes atten- dance at school for any lad who has not reached Standard V. In the evenings technical classes are held, which include geometry, experimental science, drawing and mathematics. Every minute of the day is employed in strenuous labour, and the authorities feel that through this stimulating and educative system, the unwholesome solitude and monotony of the boy's life in a prison is done away with. A lad sent to a Borstal institution can, by continuous good conduct, be released on licence at any time after the first six months, a girl after three months. This power of licensing is freely used, so that only the incorrigible, or those sent for short periods, serve their whole term of detention.

The mentally and physically defective are not admitted to Borstal, as the authorities know that while they can make an ordinary robust boy into an efficient labourer in eighteen months, it would take years of training to make a cripple self-

THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS 127

supporting. It is hoped that special institutions will be opened later on for these sub-normal lads. As it has been proved that the great majority of youths who lapse are mentally deficient, this gathering together of the unfit would in itself help to prevent the making of criminals.

In connexion with the Borstal institutions is the Borstal Association, whose headquarters are in Buckingham Street, Strand, London. I called here one afternoon, and learnt much of interest regarding the boy's care when he leaves the Borstal institution. The Association comes into contact with the lad after he is promoted to the " special grade." His home is then visited, and inquiries are made as to its character and his prospects if he returns. A member of the Committee visits the lad in his cell, and talks over his pros- pects. If the lad has a bad home, or it would not do for him to return to the neighbourhood of his old bad companions, work and lodgings are found for him in another quarter.

When all arrangements are made, the lad is visited again at the institution, provided with an outfit of clothes suitable for his work, and, on the day of his discharge, he is brought to the Borstal Association Office and handed over to its care. The care of the boy does not stop here, for frequent visits are paid to his home or lodgings and place of work by the Association visitors during the year following his discharge. The after-care of the boys is also seen to in the cases of lads at sea. The Mission to Seamen undertakes to give the lads a friendly hand, and to procure a welcome for them at the different ports. The Home Secretary has issued a circular to the police all through the country, asking them to receive any Borstal boy who comes to them without resources, and to communicate at once with the Association and keep him till his future is arranged for.

During a short period, it is difficult to gauge accurately the

128 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

permanent results, but from records kept between August, 1909, and June, 1910, 70 per cent, of the lads discharged are known to have done satisfactorily.

Armed with a letter of introduction from Mr. Waller of the Home Office, I visited the Feltham Borstal institution in Middlesex, one cold, misty day in early December. The building was originally the home of the oldest and largest industrial school in England, and was taken over by the Prison Commission in October, 1910. It was then a most unsuitable structure with many dark narrow passages, but since its opening as a Borstal Institution the lads have been busy making alterations, and now it is more suited for their requirements.

We were received at the entrance gate by an official who conducted us up a long, winding drive to the headquarters, standing in very extensive grounds, including a farm, gardens, and workshops, all of which are surrounded by a wall three miles in circumference.

At the time of my visit 285 boys were in residence, and we saw them at work in the bakery, where they are taught to bake all the bread used at the institution and also at the Brixton prison. They are given white bread one day and wholemeal another. The bread is made into rolls, so that each boy has the same amount of crust and crumb. The baker in charge was a fine type of man, and seemed to have a real understanding and love for the boys. He said that he had some splendid boys under him, and pointed out a parti- cularly nice-looking, brown-eyed boy who was leaving the next day to go to a situation at sea. I had a little talk to him, and he told me something of his history. He was an orphan, and had had no home and no proper care or advice till he came under the Borstal wing, which he was leaving with renewed hope and courage.

THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS 129

In the laundry many boys were busy washing and mangling. In the workshops they were learning carpentry, blacksmithing and other useful trades.

All boys going to sea are prepared, as much as they can be on land, for that calling, and they have a large model of a ship set up in the grounds. In the kitchen, boys are taught every branch of cooking. Many boys go to sea from here with all the knowledge of first-class sea cooks. The boys work in gangs with an officer in charge. I noticed in the workshops that, as well as the officer, there was a civilian, who acted as instructor.

The ordinary grade boys sleep in separate cubicles, with a wire netting covering the top of each. Each cubicle con- tains a bed, a table, on which was a Bible and several other articles which every boy has to keep clean. The handbasins are made of tin, and some of them were so highly polished that they could have easily been used as looking-glasses. The clothing of each bed was rolled into a tight, compact bundle.

When a boy gains 2,200 marks in the ordinary grade, he is placed in the special grade, where he wears a blue sweater, trousers and cap. These boys are known as " blue boys." They have a special dormitory with an iron bedstead, a strip of carpet, and a looking-glass each, and cards and photos adorned their particular bed space. We met many of these " blue boys " moving freely about the grounds, without any- one in charge. One fine boy was leading along a horse. Another was driving a cart.

In two schoolrooms we found numbers of boys at their lessons, and passed on to a large dining-hall, where the boys are entertained in the evenings by friends, who give lantern lectures, etc.

If medically fit, the boys have daily physical drill or gym-

K

130 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

nasties. A good cricket and football ground is provided for their recreation.

In the ground is built a beautiful little chapel where ser- vices are conducted by the chaplain. I noticed some striking, storied glass-windows in the chapel.

When a boy has to be punished, he is placed in the special punishment cell, and sentenced to bread and water for a certain time. It is not a bad cell on the whole, and the boy is allowed to read books while there. At the same time he is put into the penal grade, and wears a grey suit.

No corporal punishment is inflicted in a Borstal institu- tion. That boys are responding to this more humane treat- ment and to the trust placed in them is shown by the follow- ing interesting incident, which Mr. Waller himself told me. At the time of the Coronation, the authorities of the refor- matory school, three miles from Bristol, wished the boys to see the illuminations, but knew it would be impossible to take them round in companies. So the Superintendent called them together and said if they would give their /word of honour that they would be home by 10 p.m. they would be allowed to go alone.

They gave their word and all went to see the illumina- tions. Every boy was home by 10 o'clock, except two who missed their train. They sent a telegram and turned up by the next train.

The only day industrial school I visited was in Liverpool. These schools are, as I have mentioned before, principally for truant children, and the one I went over was under the Education Committee of the Liverpool Municipality.

There are four of these schools in Liverpool ; the first was built in 1884. The one I visited was built in 1900. The children attending this school are recruited from the very

THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS 131

poor, and from those homes where parental control is not sufficiently strong to compel the attendance of children at school. Most of them come from such poor homes that the parents have not the means to provide them with proper or sufficient food. The children admitted are over five years of age and under fourteen. They must be at school at 8.30 a.m., in time for breakfast. Some of them arrive as early as 6 a.m., being left by mothers on the way to work, who call for them at a quarter to six in the evening, when all the children are expected to leave. Three meals are provided, and I saw the dietary scale, which was a very appetising one.

Miss Clegg, the Superintendent, a very bright and en- thusiastic woman, said that the difference in the children after two months of a regular, proper diet, was marvellous. At this school are taught all the educational subjects of an ordinary Board School. Industrial trades, such as carpen- try, tailoring, and boot-making, are also taught.

I went all through the kitchens where the meals were pre- pared. The boys do all the roughest and hardest of the kitchen work, and the girls help with the preparation and cooking of the meals.

One boy was busy stoking the huge baker's oven in the kitchen. In another room some girls were having lessons in cooking. They gave very intelligent answers as to the pre- paration of certain dishes. One little girl told us that she made rice puddings at home ; several said they helped their mothers to cook the dinners. All the cooking in the school was done by steam.

From the kitchen we went to the dining-room, which was in beautiful order. The boys scrub the tables after each meal. Attached to the tables were forms, which shut into the sides after use,

132 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Each child has a bath on its arrival at school every day, so the establishment is well fitted with bath-rooms.

I saw a dressmaking class at work. The girls are taught to make all their own clothes, and through the kindness of different people, who supply some of the material a girl can make herself a whole rig-out — a dress, petticoat, and underclothing — of good and serviceable, though necessarily plain, material, for two and sixpence.

In the tailoring department the boys can get an outfit for two shillings. They all learn to tailor, and there was a fine class in this room. A splendid man was in charge of the carpentering class.

Most of the children in the rooms I had been in were very ragged and miserably clad. I shall never forget the pathetic object one boy was in the carpentering class ; he was practi- cally naked. Miss Clegg said that his people were terribly poor, but that he was saving up for a suit. I asked him how much he had towards it. He said " Threepence/ ' He had been saving up since Christmas, and it was May when I met him. A present of sixpence took his breath away. It seemed a fortune to him.

I have never seen so many ragged children as in this school ; some boys had only part of a shirt on, one only half. Miss Clegg said that the children were especially short of clothes because they were all saving up for their summer holiday, when as many boys and girls as could possibly scrape the money together bought new clothes for their summer camp.

I visited several class-rooms where lessons were going on. In one a little girl recited very well, Kingsley's poem, " I once had a sweet little doll, dears." From her appearance I should not think the dear little soul had ever possessed a doll of her own. A penny sent her into raptures.

THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS 133

When we were in one room, set apart for very tiny children and for those who had evaded all schooling, Miss Clegg said : " I call this my university class, because they know nothing."

In each of the classes I spoke to the children about Aus- tralia. In the carpentering class I was surprised to find how much they knew about it. One boy told me some of the names of our rivers, and mentioned among others the Mur- rumbidgee and the Darling. The former name seemed to hold a sort of fascination for him. They were very inter- ested to know I came from Australia. One boy had a boy friend who had just gone out.

There are 209 children on the roll of this school, and most of their parents live in the greatest poverty. If a father is working he has to pay sixpence a week towards the child's maintenance, but many of the children attending the school are the children of widows and deserted wives.

Miss Clegg does not consider this system of feeding and taking care of the children makes the parents less inclined to keep a home together.

The whole school had a fresh, alert and hopeful outlook.

Manchester Gaol is an immense pile of buildings. The governor in charge, Major Nelson, was exceedingly kind, and took me over the gaol himself. We went first to the men's quarters, which consist of three tiers of cells, all well kept and light and airy. There were several boys in their cells, some undergoing punishment, others awaiting trial. The Gover- nor asked me to speak to several of them, and I went in and did so, while he remained outside. They were all boys under twenty-one years of age, and would eventually go on to Borstal institutions.

The first boy I saw was picking cotton in his cell. He was a short, sturdily built, nice-looking young fellow of eighteen.

134 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

He told me that he had been stealing. Another boy said he was in for cruelty to a cow. " But/' he explained, " we wasn't cruel ; we was only trying to get her out of a ditch, when the police came along/'

A boy of seventeen confessed that he had been stealing. He had had three previous convictions, and said that he was the leader of the other boys with him. He answered every question clearly, and said that he never told lies. His code of honour seemed to be that it was a crime to tell a lie, but not to steal.

These boys under twenty-one work in association cellular labour. The first offenders have a red star on their caps and coats. All the boys and men wear a neat khaki uniform, and a three-cornered cap.

On each boy's door outside his cell was a card, showing how the occupant's time was employed. One ran : —

Monday Chapel Tuesday Half an hour.

Wednesday Drill (daily), one hour. School „

Working out, 4J hours. Cellular labour, 4 hours, „ task, 2 hours.

The cells were light and airy and well ventilated. When prisoners are first admitted, they sleep on a plank for fourteen days, that is, a wooden frame with a pillow on it. After fourteen days they have a mattress. As we passed through the corridors, men in neat khaki-coloured uniforms were seated on camp-stools outside their cells working busily. There is a splendid library of 1,000 books, with paid librarians,

THE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS FOR LADS 135

in connexion with the gaol. The prisoners are allowed one story book a week after they have been in a month. They can have educational books always. It was most interesting to know what books had solaced so many hours, and I was surprised to hear that the favourite writer of most prisoners was Mrs. Henry Wood. The librarian said that her books were in constant demand, and that he had just got a fresh edition of all her works. A short time ago, a list was taken of all the books read in English gaols to see which were the favourite authors of those who drift there. Mrs. Henry Wood was found to be first favourite ; Dickens and Thackeray came second on the list.

From the men's portion of the gaol we passed on to that of the women, where the Governor introduced me to the Matron, Miss Logan, a sweet-faced woman in a nurse's bon- net. We passed down lines of women and girls sewing and knitting. One girl, with an interesting face, showed me a beautiful jersey of brown wool which she was knitting for the Borstal boys. They were making all sorts of women's and men's clothing, and, saddest of all, tiny baby clothes and dresses of red twill. For there are always babies in the gaol \ some are born there. The matron told me that as many as fourteen babies are sometimes in at one time. The women make all the Borstal boys' suits, and we saw many samples of finished clothing. For men accustomed to flannel shirts and drawers special underwear is made. All the women wore white caps, something the shape of a Dutch cap, and dresses of a dark material. There were 289 women in the gaol, serving sentences up to two years. An excellent hos- pital, with trained nurses in attendance, is maintained in connexion with the gaol. In it is a ward specially set apart for the nurses when they are ill. There is also a modified Borstal for girls.

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We went over the well-equipped laundry and through the cells, which are arranged in three tiers like the men's, and I saw several tiny babies. One, born in the hospital and called John, was a great favourite with the matron and nurses. He was fourteen months old, and saluted the Governor, who was conducting us, with the air of an old man. Later on we found John crying bitterly. It was shutting-up time, and the poor little fellow was resenting strongly, being shut up in the narrow cell with his mother.

The matron had just been making up her returns, which dealt with 200 girls from sixteen to twenty-five years, and kindly allowed me to copy the following particulars : —

2 were married ;

55 went to friends ;

23 had situations found for them ;

21 were sent to homes and refuges ; 50 were reported doing well ;

27 " " " fairly well ;

22 " " " badly.

The aim of the gaol authorities is to keep in touch with girls up to twenty-five years of age. Mrs. Partington, the agent of the Discharged Prisoners Society, meets all girls from sixteen to twenty-five years old, and if they are willing, she takes them to homes, or finds them situations.

CHAPTER III THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES

CAPTAIN ARTHUR ST. JOHN, who, with his wife, devotes his life to the uplifting of humanity, is one of the most idealistic and spiritually minded of the social workers I met in London. He is still a young man, but has had great experience. He has a wide outlook and a very keen sense of humour. In appearance, he is of about middle height, spare, with a thin face lit up by expressive grey-blue eyes. His dark hair is just touched with grey, and he wears a moustache. He happened to read of an interview that one of the daily papers had with me, and wrote expressing a wish to see me. I called on him at his house in Harrington Square early in March. It was just before my visit to America, and as he had lately returned from a trip through Canada and the United States, studying social problems, he very kindly gave me letters of introduction to several of his friends and well-known people in America. He is best known, perhaps, through his great work as honorary secretary of the Penal Reform League, which, owing principally to his unremitting care and great effort, has done much to awaken the British Legislature to the inhumanity of its prison system.

Associated with Captain St. John as Vice-President of the Penal Reform League are the Earl of Lytton, the Ven. Archdeacon Wilberf orce, Earl Grey, Mr. Cecil Chapman (the Magistrate of the Children's Courts), Mrs. Annie Besant, and

137

138 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

twenty-eight other well-known and influential persons. The general object of the Penal Reform League is "to interest the public in the right treatment of criminals, and to promote effective measures for their care and rehabilitation, and for the prevention of crime/' In connexion with the move- ment a monthly record is printed. This gives an account of prison methods and reforms all the world over, and is exceed- ingly interesting, showing, as it does, the evolution of the idea of punishment from the old, narrow ideas of treating men and women as criminals and locking them up for small offences, to the new and more humane method of nourishing what is good in them, sifting out the mentally deficient, and teaching the brotherhood of man. The Record also treats of the feeble-minded and acquaints its readers, from time to time, with the progress of legislation on the subject. In an article for August-September, 1912, Mr. W. H. Dickinson mentions that : " The subject of the feeble-minded has been quietly permeating public opinion for several years, and has now burst into prominence in the shape of no less than three bills introduced in the House of Commons." Of these one is a Government measure, and two are promoted by private members. The titles are : (1) "The Mental Deficiency Bill" ; (2) "The Mental Defect Bill " ; (3) " The Feeble-Minded Control Bill." Of these the most complete Bill is No. 2. This Bill was prepared by a committee of persons interested in passing into law the recommendations of the Royal Commissioners on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded. " The main feature of these recommendations," Mr. Dickinson continues, "was the concentration, under one system of Government con- trol and local administration, of matters affecting all classes of persons suffering from mental ailments. The Com- missioners proposed that in future all lunatics, idiots,

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 139

imbeciles, and feeble-minded persons should be termed ' mentally defective/ and that in England and Wales there should be one ' Board of Control/ and in each country one Local Authority, responsible for seeing that all individuals in this class were properly looked after/'

This Bill, carrying with it other exhaustive proposals, was of so voluminous a character as to make it almost help- less for a private member to get it passed into law. No. 3 was drafted on much narrower limits, in order to render it possible to carry it through Parliament.

The Penal Reform League Monthly Record has more recently taken a practical interest in matters relating to " The White Slave Traffic."

I met Captain St. John many times, and I feel that it is to his interested and kindly help that I owe many valuable experiences and opportunities of acquiring information in con- nexion with the work and problems in which I am concerned.

Captain St. John invited me to the first general meeting of the League of Redemption, which has been founded to study the causes and cure of the social evil, with a view to suitable action. The social evil is that now so prominently before the British public, the White Slave Traffic. At this meeting, Captain St. John gave a very able and simple explanation of the work that the League of Redemption hoped to accomplish. All those present were asked to help by attending the police courts, meeting trains and liners, and thus extending their protection and sympathy to young and innocent girls. During his address, Captain St. John said that " as well as ' fallen women ' there were ' fallen men ' and a f fallen human society/ for/' he said, " only a ' fallen human society ' indulges in prostitution." Sixty thousand girls were decoyed and procured for immoral pur- poses during last year alone. Captain St. John said that

140 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

" the procurers must also be understood before they could be treated, for no normal man or woman who had had a happy, normal childhood could lend himself, or herself, to such a debasing life/' He urged : " that all children should be taught from the very first that the right ways of living were the best ways of living."

The following resolution was unanimously passed : " That this League utterly repudiates the idea that prostitution must be."

Captain St. John gave me a most enlightening paper which he read before the Sociological Society in January, 1912, entitled " The Community and its Children ; their Co-opera- tion in their own Training." I shall give just a few of his ideas : —

" The chief duty of a community is to afford to the next generation the best chance possible of a full life.

" It seems almost to be forgotten that a child wants some- thing more than a good home. Nearly as important is a good neighbourhood.

" The defects of present-day homes emphasize the need. Here economic, political, social, religious considerations come in. It were well if it were more generally recognized that the welfare, or ruin, of the child is involved in these matters, and that, while politicians and the churches wrangle over matters largely irrelevant to real politics or true religion, the child is left crying out for the bread of life.

" The longer the right guardianship is postponed, the more drastic may be the measures required to repair the results of neglect or injury. But to be successful, the measure, however late and however drastic, must always be on the same lines, viz., free and responsible self-expression under friendly guidance and inspiration, not repression, not arbitrary dictation from above."

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 141

Captain St. John illustrates how Dr. Montessori, in Italy, has shown that by giving children of about two and six or seven years of age, a free choice from amongst a number of carefully prepared forms of play, they may be grounded in the elements of good manners, self-direction and useful activity, and may be led to learn, without undue strain, many things which older children have been learning, hitherto, with difficulty. The games are ingeniously devised to exercise the powers of perception, comparison, and expression. Each child goes to whichever game it prefers, and may leave off when it likes. It is rare, under such circumstances, for a child to be naughty. If it is, Dr. Montessori has a very effective manner of dealing with a naughty child ; she places it apart to play by itself, where it can, however, see the other children playing. This child then becomes the object of special attention and care, as if he were sick or delicate. Coming into the room, the teacher will go first to this child and attend to its wants before turning to the others. Those measures have proved effective, and Captain St. John advocates these principles in dealing with refractory persons of all ages.

Coming to the elementary school ages, this paper illus- trates Miss Finlay- Johnson's methods of dealing with her scholars, and tells how she brought her school to a condition in which the inmates had really forgotten and lost the relationships of teacher and scholar, and replaced them by those of fellow- workers, friends, and playmates. " We are told/' Captain St. John goes on to say, " that the joy of heart of those children went with them when their school- days were over/' So the child is brought with loving, sympathetic guidance to the age of adolescence when he may, with some confidence, be launched on the world, and

142 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

so go on learning how to enjoy and make the best use of the life before him.

Captain St. John then takes the other view, and illustrates how the boy will develop when deprived of this fostering and guidance in his growth. He says such boys between the ages of ten and fifteen, if they have any chance, will form organizations of their own ; but lacking the inspiration or guidance of a wider outlook, their supposed enjoyment will be apt to be obtained at the expense of other people's comfort. They will probably be voted a nuisance, and this will add zest to their exploits, thus dividing them against their neighbours. So we have hooligans. And some of them become wastrels and even serious criminals.

" But," says Captain St. John in conclusion, after explain- ing the treatment of different Boys' Societies, " the real relationship between the adult and the child is not the autocratic, despotic, punishing one ; but the right relation- ship of the grown man or woman to the young is always that of a friend and comrade." And the moral he draws is this : " The earlier we begin to make friends of our children, to observe them reverently and to foster their growth, the better it will be for the future generation and the present community, and the less cause will there be for drastic and unnatural measures to put right that which has gone wrong."

He also adds that the great thing is "to secure for the growing people the guardian friendship of men and women of deep spirituality, and such men and women, being spiritually minded, will be careful not to trespass on the individuality of another person, however young."

Soon after I came to England I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Pett Ridge, who was exceedingly kind to me. He and his wife are two of the most earnest and sincere social workers I have met, and they told me of and introduced me

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 143

to many interesting centres, and invited me to their house several times.

Mr. Pett Ridge has a very kindly, humorous way of tell- ing all sorts of anecdotes. You almost feel, as you are talking to him, that you are reading some of his inte- resting child-life studies ; for he understands the child- life and boy-life of London, seeing all its possibilities better, perhaps, than any of his contemporaries. He is of short stature but squarely built, and has brown hair just tipped with grey, and parted in the middle. His eyes are brown. He has a singularly quiet, convincing way, and you feel instinctively that he is a man who understands life and sees its humour. He told me many quaint stories about boys, and gave me several of his books, including one called A Ward of the State. He says the most natural thing left in London is the street boy.

Among the institutions he is interested in is a " Home for Wasting Babies " at Hoxton (N.E. London), which he was instrumental in founding, and towards the upkeep of which he gives lectures all through England. He goes at stated times to the Borstal institutions and talks to the boys there, and he says they are the most appreciative audience he has. He is also interested in the " Happy Evenings," and in the St. Pancras School for Mothers. His is a very busy life. I asked him how and when he managed to write his books. He said that he always spends his mornings writing. He has a dear little girl, just two years old, whose name is Olga, but who is always called " Chippy."

I went, one dark, foggy, winter's afternoon, with Mr. and Mrs. Pett Ridge, to see how the Happy Evenings were spent. These " Evenings " are for very poor children, and are held from 5.30 to 6.30, when great-hearted men and women gather in from the streets all the poor little mites of the

144 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

neighbourhood and play games with them, teach them to dance and sing, and give them at least a taste of the love and happiness which every child should know.

Happy Evenings were started twenty-two years ago by Ada Heather Briggs and her sister, Lady Bland Sutton, and are held during the winter only, when the London County Council lends its schools free to the promoters. One even- ing is set apart for boys, another for girls. Wednesday, the night I went, was the boys' evening.

When we arrived at the large brick Board School, numbers of eager boys were waiting outside. They were admitted by ticket, and marched in a very orderly manner into separate rooms, which beforehand had been arranged for different pastimes by the workers. In one room, called The Quiet Game Room, the younger boys sat at the desks and played dominoes and race games, threaded beads, built up blocks of many varieties and colours, had fishing games, and tried their skill at draughts. Another room contained a shoot- ing gallery, which was a great attraction to the elder boys, who, under a fine, athletic-looking young man, spent the evening shooting for a prize which he was giving them. Boxing was in full swing in another room. In one of the large schoolrooms sixty earnest young hopefuls, equipped with a sheet of paper each and a box of colours were turning out some fearful and wonderful pictures. I took temporary charge of this room, and told the boys some stories of Australia in which they seemed most interested. Later on they showed me illustrations of their ideas of Australian snakes, blacks, gum-trees, and laughing jackasses. They had a very hazy idea of Australian geography. When I asked them where Australia was, one boy said it was in Europe ; another said in Asia. A bright little fellow held up his hand and said that it was eight hundred miles from

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 145

New Zealand. But he had no idea where New Zealand was.

An interesting outcome of the Happy Evenings are com- petitions by the different schools. The winning team gives a display at the Guildhall, and receives a valuable prize. In connexion with this, Mrs. Pett Ridge was training a number of little girls in a flower song and dance. For this she had composed the music, and Mr. Pett Ridge the words. The girls represented different flowers. There were groups of daisies, roses, forget-me-nots, etc., all dressed to represent these flowers. The flowers at the opening of the song were discovered asleep. Then a bevy of little girls, dressed as butterflies, flew near the sleepers and awakened them by singing ; then they all danced and sang gaily together.

I also went with Mr. and Mrs. Pett Ridge to The Babies' Home and Day Nursery, Hoxton, which I was told is the only place in London where a wrongly fed, or insufficiently fed infant, can be taken in hand, and given the close attention and careful treatment it could not receive in its own home. Even after convalescence the baby is still under the care of the Home ; for then it is passed over to the Day Nursery of the establishment, where it remains under observation. The movement was started as an experiment in a small way by Mr. Pett Ridge nearly four years ago, and is now housed in a very comfortable Home. During that time between three hundred and four hundred babies have been cared for, with wonderful results, considering that the accommodation is limited, and the Sister is only able to take in the most urgent cases that are brought.

We first visited the Dispensary. The medicine from this is, in most cases, given free, as the mothers are too poor to pay anything. The Out-patient Department is open on Thursday afternoon, and during last year 1,424 ailing babies

L

146 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

were attended to, there. A splendid supply of milk is pro- cured regularly for the Home. This branch of the work was started by some understanding sympathizers, and is provided for by what is called " The Compassionate Fund." Milk is supplied free in cases where payment is impossible, and the pure fresh milk is a great boon.

Upstairs we found the two wards, where the ailing wasting babies are specially cared for. The cots all had pink curtains, and on the tables and mantelpiece were bowls full of beautiful pink roses and carnations. The tiled walls of the wards were green. The babies were dressed in pretty pale pink gowns. We went to each cot, saw its little inmate and heard its pathetic story. All the stories were not pathetic, though, and now and again we came to a cot where the baby was learning to live. Ninety-five cases during the year had been admitted to these two wards, and a large number of these had been nursed, with much love and care, back to health.

The Sister, who told me she had been in charge of the Home from its inception, is a very capable and intensely sympathetic woman. She loves all her babies and says that, considering how very ill the babies always were when admitted, it was wonderful how many little lives were saved, though in the case of some of these wasting babies the cure entailed a considerable time, covering a period of months, Her face brightened as she told me of one little patient who a year ago, was a wasting baby, and who had recently secured first prize in a large baby show in Bethnal Green.

Another example of what the Home can do is a fine little fellow of four. He is the Sister's special care, and was one of her first babies. There were several more children in his home, and his mother had willingly handed him over for good to Sister's care. She said that she got tired of seeing his

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%

George the First.

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 147

" ugly face " in bed. Far from being ugly, the little chap has now grown into a splendid boy specimen, and he and Sister are pledged to each other for life. He has just commenced to go to school, and considers himself the champion of all babies, whom he adores.

Parents visit babies in the Home every Sunday afternoon, or, if these are very ill, they are allowed in each night. The Sister takes this opportunity of giving them advice, and also when she can spare an hour goes round the homes, and tells the mothers and fathers how best to take care of 'their little one's health.

The cost for each baby is from £10 to £15 per annum. For this the babies have the best of everything, and after they are well enough to be discharged mothers can have milk for them at half price, or free, if they are destitute.

In connexion with the Home, and in another part of the building, is the Day Nursery, which is open every day except Sundays and holidays. Here, no fewer than 3,496 babies were taken care of during last year, while their mothers were at work. The mothers bring the babies on their way to work, and call for them in the evening. The charge is 4^. a day for each baby, and they are taken in till they reach the age of three. At the back of the Home are gardens for the children to play in on fine days.

Another most interesting institution Mr. Pett Ridge introduced me to, was the St. Pancras' School for Mothers. The name that this institution is best known by is, " The Mothers' and Babies' Welcome," and that it is a veritable welcome every one who visits it can testify. I was much struck by the friendly personal sympathy extended to mothers, fathers and babies, by every person on the staff of this most excellent and needful institution. The School was first projected in 1907. The idea grew from papers

148 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

read on " Dinners for Nursing Mothers " in Chelsea, and the " School for Mothers/' in Ghent. It was decided to combine both of these features in a scheme for the benefit of mothers and babies in St. Pancras, North London, a poor, thickly populated district. It was decided also to encourage the natural feeding of babies by their mothers, and to dis- courage bottle feeding. With the help of lady health visitors, the projectors found that during the summer months infant mortality was greatly reduced. Now, after five years, over one hundred of these institutions, having for their object the reduction of infantile mortality and sickness, are being successfully carried on throughout the United Kingdom.

The following are some of the activities of the St. Pan- cras School for Mothers : —

i. The notification of births.

2. Sending cards of " Advice to Mothers " to the addresses furnished by the notification of births.

3. Selecting from the births the most suitable cases to visit, commencing with the poorest houses in the poorest quarters.

When these particulars are gathered together, the lady visitors go from house to house, inquire into the hygienic, sanitary, and domestic circumstances of the mother and infant, give the mother general information, and, in case of desire for further knowledge — perhaps of how to wean babies — cards of introduction to the School for Mothers are given and, in the more serious cases, cards to doctors, hos- pitals, etc.

When a mother, or prospective mother, is introduced to the " Welcome," she can take advantage of : —

j. Consultations and weighings of babies and mothers,

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 149

2. Dinners for mothers nursing their babies.

3. Lessons on food, and food values and prices.

4. Classes on simple cookery.

5. Lessons in making babies' clothes.

6. Provident Maternity Club.

In addition to these classes for mothers, there are fathers' evening conferences on the duties of a father to the mother, the babe, the children and the home. At these fathers' conferences smoking is allowed, and coffee is handed round after the end of the debate.

The Committee find the after- visiting of homes a necessity ; for the generality of mothers do not observe the advice given them. Babies fare badly after they are weaned, and they are often given most unsuitable food. " The Pudding Lady," as the children call her, is a visitor who goes from home to home, and teaches practical economical cooking, uses the mothers' own ingredients and utensils and teaches them the art of buying food wisely.

I happened to visit " The Welcome " on baby- weigh- ing day. This comes twice a week. In the first airy, cheerful room I entered, were a number of mothers with their babies in different stages of undress. There were all sorts of babies — fat and strong, prize-fighting babies and delicate, peevish, ailing mites. Each child was undressed and slipped into a warm red flannel dressing-gown before being weighed. Mothers waited their turn to be called into the next room, to consult with the doctor about the little one. I went on into this room and sat by the doctor — a lady — who gives her time and talents freely to the work. As we sat and listened, baby after baby was brought in. It was first weighed and the weight entered on a card, which was given to each mother, who brings the card again, for reference, with the baby

150 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

when she comes again. The lady doctor questioned the mothers and gave them simple, kindly advice. If a child's condition was serious, a letter was given to the mother for a hospital. Some of the babies objected very much to the weighing and cried lustily ; others only smiled, as though vastly amused at the whole business.

After the weighing and consultations were over, we went into the nursery, in which were cots and playthings. Here babies were sleeping, playing, and being generally looked after by the lady helpers whilst the mothers were attending a lecture upstairs. In the lecture room, a nurse was giving a First Aid lecture on bandaging. The lesson was very simply expressed and illustrated, and everybody seemed to take a great interest in trying their hand at bandaging. In the lecture room were some long tables used for cutting- out. Here women learned to make baby clothes and were especially interested in a knitting class. Prizes are given to those mothers who attend the lectures and classes regularly.

The dinners for mothers are an excellent institution. Expectant mothers, or women nursing their babies, pay i \&. each for these dinners. Before they were instituted many expectant mothers were almost starving. The Committee feel that this branch of the work is one of the most cheering ; the gratitude of the women and the good results are so evident. A mother may come for these dinners for two or three months before the birth of her child, and often she comes for nine months afterwards. A pleasant part of the afternoon's programme was a tea, to which all comers were invited.

The aim of the whole movement is to help mothers to help themselves, and so the Committee strongly object to par- ticular help being given to individual mothers. If a case is known to be very distressing it is handed over to a relief

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society. This humane institution, so appropriately named the " Mothers and Babies Welcome/' is uplifting to all who come into contact with it and must have a beneficial influence on the future generation.

As Mr. John Galsworthy is one of the ablest writers and deepest thinkers on social problems in London, I considered it an honour when he invited me to come and see him at his home in Kensington. I went one afternoon in July, and had the great privilege of talking to him and hearing his views for more than an hour. He lives in Addison Road when he is in London, but he spends much of his time in Manaton in Devonshire. His London house is in a very quiet street, and stands back from the road ; it is all ivy- grown and very picturesque from the outside. But I was too occupied with the prospect of meeting the master of the house to notice much of its exterior.

It was just the hour between tea and dinner, and the room, as I see it now and shall always see it in my mind, was parti- cularly cool and restful. Two long French windows, with dainty white curtains, opened on to a velvety lawn of the greenest grass. Ivy climbed in at the windows, and the soft curtains shivered ever so gently in the breeze. On one side of the windows was a table covered with books, and many book-stands were scattered about the room. Seated in an easy chair, with his back to the light, was Mr. John Galsworthy. He is a slightly built man, and rather tall, with a refined and intellectual face. His slightly thinning hair is just touched with grey ; he has blue eyes and wears an eye-glass, which somehow does not seem to suit his serious and intensely interesting, clean-shaven face. I was surprised to hear that he had visited Australia some years ago. He had heard that The Silver Box had been pro- duced in Adelaide, and was pleased to hear that the Mel-

152 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

bourne University Students had also produced it in Mel- bourne.

Mr. Galsworthy is in favour of technical colleges, and asked how we dealt in Melbourne with our boys when they left school. He laughed heartily at some of the stories I told him about Australian boys, and was pleased when I said he had many readers in Australia.

We discussed social questions. He had been in America just before I had. I heard of him particularly in Chicago, where he had dined with Jane Addams at Hull House. I was able to ask him what he thought of many of the American institutions that had interested me. He was intensely interested in the American Children's Courts and had visited one in New York. He regretted very much that he had not had the opportunity of meeting Judge Lindsey. He asked me if I had ever seen worse, or more hopeless, poverty than in England. He seemed deeply concerned about it all. He said, " We drop boys at fourteen, and don't pick them up again till they are nineteen or twenty-one. Messengers, paper sellers, drivers, work in blind-alley occupations."

He referred to the Borstal methods in dealing with refractory boys, and said that he had visited the institution at Borstal. He added, " It is a great improvement on prison, only I would like to see the boys dealt with individually, and not in batches."

Speaking of the drink evil, he said that he had studied that too. When I said that the intemperate use of alcohol seemed to me to be itself one of the most appalling evils and at the same time the cause of most of the other evils of our day, he said : " You will find there is not the same craving for drink in southern countries as^ there is in the northern countries that have dark, damp climates like England and

THREE INTERESTING PERSONALITIES 153

Scotland/' In the south of France, he explained, drunken- ness is rarer than it is in the north of the same country. He said too : " A moist climate seems to create the craving for drink/ '

We talked of class antagonism in England, and the problem of the strikes. Mr. Galsworthy said that he thought that while the rich and the poor keep aloof things would never be better. " The rich must hold out a hand to the poor ; the poor cannot do that to the rich," he said : " The strong must help the weak." He stressed this point in some splendid articles written for the Daily News and Morning Leader at the time of the railway strike. In one of these he declared that the great public schools of England act as " caste factories/' He said, " In life, where a fortunate person is brought into contact with one less fortunate, it is obvious that the first step towards cordial relationship must come from the fortunate. For human nature is happily so constructed that the less fortunate feels ashamed to make advances which, liable to misconstruction, are not com- patible with self-respect. Every man of any worth can test, indeed is testing, this truth continually in his own life ; it cannot indeed be doubted. Again, where advances are made by the fortunate from sheer friendliness and without ulterior motive, it is common knowledge that they evoke response in the same spirit from all save exceptional churls."

In these articles Mr. Galsworthy speaks of the class feeling as first fostered in the homes, and then in the great " caste factory " of the public schools, where the feeling becomes intensified. He said : " Boys are high-spirited, generous, and malleable creatures ; but how few teachers in school and college days turn that high spirit, generosity, and malleability of the boy into a state of mind that regards his good fortune as a thing to be held in trust to share to the full with the less

154 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

fortunate ? " Mr. Galsworthy says, " No national improve- ment can come from outside. It must come from within, from gradually improved feeling in the body politic. But improved feeling has no chance of spreading through the body politic without that machinery of infection which we know by the name of education. Therefore education is the more sacred concern — indeed, the only hope of a nation."

Critics say that in Strife, Justice, and the Silver Box, Mr. Galsworthy has produced three of the most remarkable social dramas of this era. I could not help recalling these great social dramas as he talked to me on social questions. He was, I remember too, very interested in the Australian system of universal military service for boys, and asked me many questions about it. I was ignorant of most of them, but later was able to get the Defence Act and forward it him.

The long English twilight was almost ended when I reluctantly rose to go. Mr. Galsworthy came to the outer door with me. My talk with him is one of my most delight- ful memories.

CHAPTER IV

THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE PREVENTION OF DESTITUTION

CAPTAIN ARTHUR ST. JOHN (the Hon. Secretary of the Penal Reform League) introduced me as an honorary member of this Conference, which lasted from June n to 14, 1912. I attended the sessions at which papers on Crime and Inebriety were read and discussed, and was especially impressed with one paper by C. E. B. Russell, M. A., the Hon Secretary of the Heyrod Street Lads' Club, Manchester, about whose work I had heard a great deal, and some of whose books on boys I had read with much interest. The title of his paper was " The Juvenile Delinquent, and How to make a Useful Citizen of Him." I shall quote a few thoughts taken from his paper.

Mr. Russell believes that the early environment of the child is far more responsible for its delinquency in later years than is any inherited criminal taint, and thinks that the real cause of many a boy's and girl's appearance in the police courts is to be found in the total lack of any sense of parental responsibility, or any conception of decent living on the part of the adult members among whom the children grow up. He dealt principally with the anti-social acts of youths between sixteen and eighteen years of age, their delin- quency having been his careful and almost daily atten-

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tion for many years. He summarized delinquency on the part of such youths under three headings : —

1. Purely venial offences against local by-laws, such as loafing, street obstruction, and the like ;

2. Acts of vagrancy, principally sleeping out and begging.

3. Petty theft.

" It must never be forgotten," he said, " that very fre- quently the more serious acts of juvenile delinquency are the illegitimate expression of perfectly natural impulses/' He is convinced " that the want of adequate playing fields and opportunities for healthy recreation has much to do with many cases of petty theft, which are really the outcome of a certain spirit of adventure and daring/' and that " there is great hope for this type of offender, if he is sensibly dealt with when first brought face to face with authorities."

Mr. Russell considers the cases of the vagrant and offender against local by-laws are a far greater problem, for while the petty thief often has a respectable home, the vagrant and street-loafing lad has frequently never known a real home at all, and further, he has often, from one cause or another, lost the training and discipline resulting from regu- lar attendance at an elementary school. Mr. Russell's opinion is that the most undisciplined, flabby, feckless, and difficult to raise of all delinquent youths are those who habi- tually live in common lodging-houses. The improvement that he would suggest in the present mode of treatment of these youths is that the age for sending such youths to gaol should be raised to eighteen years instead of sixteen as it is at present, for, as he truly says : " How can a boy be a man and treated as a man at sixteen ? "

Another senseless system Mr. Russell deplores is the send- ing of boys and girls to gaol for a week or a fortnight, for offences which are in no sense criminal, in lieu of payment of

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paltry fines. He spoke very highly of the Borstal institu- tions, whose aim, he said, is not punitive, but reformative and educative, the whole scheme being designed to turn the lads out reformed in character and able to earn their own living.

He considers that probation officers, being as a rule men and women engaged in other works, have not the time, and are often not the right men or women for the work, " Probation, used unwisely," he said, "is as unkind and really as cruel a method of dealing with an erring child as could be devised, for a child is often sent back home on probation when his home is usually the cause of his having fallen into evil ways." No child, he thinks, should be sent home on probation until proper inquiry has been made into his home, circumstances and surroundings. He de- clared that probation officers should be keen, able and sym- pathetic men and women, who, to properly fulfil the task allotted to them, should devote the full time of their service to the work, and that they should receive good pay.

He urged the setting up of a central " After-care Agency," which would have for its object the after-care of poor law, industrial and reformatory school, and Borstal institution children. Another reform Mr. Russell suggested was the closing of the lowest common lodging-houses to young people, apparently under twenty-one years of age, and the selection of certain houses in every locality, as houses suitable for young persons to live in. In the case of youths, he advo- cated the appointment of an ex-policeman, who would record all that he could elicit regarding the history of new-comers, with a view to restoring them to their relations or friends if they have run away from home. He said that it is a well- known fact that industrial school, reformatory, and Borstal institution cases which fail are those who find their way back to their old environment. The question, therefore, is not so

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much what is to be done with the juvenile delinquent, as how to remove the causes which go to make him a physical and moral failure, a parasite, or a criminal.

" The Relation between Crime and Destitution and the Effects of Imprisonment " was a paper I heard read by Dr. James Devon, Medical Officer to H.M. Prison, Glasgow. He said that the great majority of people in prison are there because they cannot pay fines, and he considers that poverty and destitution play much greater parts in the causation of crime than any criminal intent. If the destitute person begs he breaks the law. If he steals, he commits a crime for which a greater penalty is exacted, but the chances of detec- tion may be less. Dr. Devon quoted one of his patients' philosophy on the point. The man said : " If you beg, only one in ten may give you anything, and you have in each case a chance of being caught. If you steal, you always get something, and you are not always caught." He preferred to steal and was caught occasionally. On libera- tion he continued a thief, for he was known. His oppor- tunities were lessened, and so were his chances of honest work. He continued a thief, but he had simply drifted into crime through destitution. The starting-point of the careers of many habitual criminals is their destitution, Dr. Devon declared. His paper also referred to the drink evil as the cause of many crimes.

He mentioned the housing of the poor, and said how the inability to pay rent forced people to live in over-crowded dwellings. Many women who had been convicted of cruelty to their children, and had been sent to gaol had, Dr. Devon said, been found, on examination, to have broken down mentally as a result of the strain imposed upon them by the conditions of their life. In some cases they had behaved well for years, and then slowly they had sunk into a condition

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in which, far from their being able to care for their children, they became unfit even to care for themselves. They had taken to drink as a result of their breakdown, and their wrongdoing was wholly attributable to that fact. Sober and in prison, the true state of affairs became apparent. Dr. Devon concluded that " imprisonment does not cure men of their vices." He also said that, " our treatment of criminals tends to produce insanity in them. Imprisonment leaves a man or a woman in the end more helpless than he or she was before it was suffered."

A paper on " Unnecessary Imprisonment and its Effects " was read by Mr. Thomas Holmes, Secretary of the Howard Association.

Mr. Holmes was convinced that prison begets prisoners, and quoted the Prison Commissioners who say that, out of every hundred fresh offenders who are committed to prison, forty return to prison more or less frequently. He mentioned that nearly a million people were imprisoned in ten years in England and Wales because they could not at once pay their fines. Speaking later of the offences committed, he said, in one year 3,000 young people were imprisoned for non- criminal offences. Mr. Holmes contended that prison should be reserved for really serious offences, that are worthy the name of crime, and that detention should be a serious and solemn matter. He was absolutely against short terms of imprisonment for the young, and thought that probation should be extended to adults of every age.

"Modifications in Prison Regime and Conditional Re- lease " was the theme of my friend, Captain Arthur St. John's paper, which was eminently progressive and was listened to with great interest. He began by assuming that imprisonment had already been found to make the prisoner less fit to live a useful, self-supporting life, and thought that

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the easiest and perhaps the wisest course would be to : " Pull down the prisons." He granted that prison is not the place for the insane, epileptic, feeble-minded, inebriates, vagrants, prostitutes, or debtors ; and that caution, release on own recognizances, opportunities of work, change of surroundings, well-organized probation, fines to be paid in instalments, temporary or prolonged detention in various kinds of hospitals, homes, industrial farms, etc., would probably meet all the above cases. After all these were removed from the prison, Captain St. John said many alterations would be possible in prison administration. In the meantime, he advocated : " Shorter hours with much more leave of absence, higher pay, and abolition of punish- ment, for warders, much more responsibility placed on, and confidence shown in, every officer. The addition to the staff of all prisons of carefully selected gentlewomen as trained nurses, and as supervisors of catering, cooking, and serving departments ; also that the governors, doctors, and other high officials of women' 's prisons should be women."

Captain St. John suggests that every endeavour should be made to secure the co-operation of the desirable relations and friends of prisoners, and that visits at convenient times should be arranged. He also thought that prisoners should not be cut off from all news of the outside world. Another point he urged was that prisoners should be trusted more. In confirmation of this, he quoted what many prisons in the Unites States and Canada were already doing with their short-sentence prisoners, and how they were put " on their honour."

In Ontario a new prison is arranged in this way : " Some cells are retained for refractory prisoners, but the majority will go into small dormitories with a big bay window in each, which serves as a kind of sitting-room. The opposite

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wall is of glass, so that the officer patrolling the corridor can see through ; for the trusted prisoners there are private rooms with doors they can open and shut themselves." He considers dietary punishment more insidious in its mischief than corporal punishment, and would discontinue both. If a prisoner is refractory, he should be temporarily or permanently segregated. Captain St. John believes that all able-bodied prisoners, at least after a period of probation or apprenticeship, should receive wages, should be charged for their keep, and should be required at least to make some semblance of paying their way. Another matter he urges is conditional release, so that before a prisoner is finally released there may be some assurance that he can be returned with advantage, or at least safety, to the community. For this purpose, before being finally discharged the prisoner should be released conditionally, that is, he should be sent out on probation under effective supervision, and be liable to recall.

" Inebriety and Crime " ; " The Minor Courts in their Relation to Public Health " ; " Inebriety and Feeble- Mindedness " ; " Education and Crime," were the subjects dealt with by other readers of papers under the Crime and Inebriety Section. I will, however, confine myself to one written by Harriet Findlay Johnson (Mrs. Weller), whose methods I have already referred to in Captain St. John's paper on " The Community and its Children, their Co- operation in their own Training," which was read before the Sociological Society in January, 1912.

The title of Harriet Findlay Johnson's paper was : " Beginning and Causes of Juvenile Delinquency."

She began by saying that the proper, natural environ- ment of children is that which is provided for in Nature's

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own scheme of things, viz. freedom to grow and develop on all sides under the guardianship and guidance of parents. But she feels that civilization and the growth of the com- munal way of living have broken up Nature's home plan, and substituted another. So long as children are protected in good homes, says Miss Johnson, the only place where they can come in contact with wrongdoing is outside. It is when the child leaves home to attend schools, clubs and other places, that trouble commences. Miss Johnson would first insist on a properly trained teacher, specially gifted with an understanding of children, earnest, kind, sympathetic, long-suffering, bright. She thinks that schools should be more homelike, with smaller classes, allowing each child to learn without too insistent teaching.

As well as reorganizing the day schools, the Sunday schools, and boys' brigade, and other movements should be organized and supervised. Miss Johnson quotes one case she knew of a boy becoming profane through attending a Sunday school and hearing other boys, in his class, jesting on holy subjects in the presence of a weak-minded teacher.

Her whole ideas summarized are :

(i) Organize and attune schools to present-day needs on the " home plan."

(2) Provide properly organized institutions for the " after- school time," if they are needed.

(3) Educate the parents of all classes by all means to work with the schools.

(4) Discourage the irresponsible and wrong-headed amateur in all things that pertain to childhood.

All these papers after being read were liberally discussed by large and interested audiences.

I had heard much, before I went to America, of the George Junior Republic, and had gone there armed with two letters of

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introduction to the heads of that self-governing community. I felt before I went that the George Junior was certainly one of the places that I should visit. Accordingly, I mapped out a scheme whereby I should take in the George Junior at Freeville on my way from Buffalo to Boston. But in America I changed my plans and this for various reasons, the principal perhaps being that three of the finest people I met in the States led me to think I would be disappointed in the scheme, seeing that it was not conducted on the idealistic lines I felt to be the most progressive. Even after hearing arguments against it, I hoped to visit the community and to meet the remarkable founder, so as to see him and the work he was doing, and thus form my own opinion ; but I could not get a train connexion. As my time was limited, I had reluctantly to give up all hope of meeting " Daddy George," and of seeing his wonderful organization, where boys and . girls who infringe the State laws are taught to govern themselves.

When I returned to England, I found that there was a movement on foot to establish a George Junior Republic on English lines in Dorset. Mr. George Montague is Chair- man of the Committee and with him is associated Mr. Harold Large, who is intimately acquainted with the machinery of all the American George Junior Republics. He is to be in charge of the organization in England. I had heard both Mr. Montague and Mr. Large give brief outlines of their proposal during the discussion of Mr. Russell's paper on " The Juvenile Delinquent, and how to make a useful Citizen of him," and while the Conference was in progress, a huge reception was held at the Duchess of Marlborough's town house, in order to bring the scheme before the public. All members of the Conference were invited.

At the door of the beautiful house in Curzon Street on the

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day of the reception we were met by powdered footmen in red plush liveries, and wearing silk stockings and shoes with large bright buckles. Passing through a wonderful hall and up a broad marble staircase, carpeted with a soft grey- blue velvet pile, we were directed by other footmen to the handsome marble ball-room, which was rilled to overflowing with a well-dressed assemblage of women and a goodly sprinkling of men.

Earl Grey, late Governor-General of Canada, presided over the meeting. The Duchess of Marlborough was present, and so was Lord Sandwich, who has presented Flower's Farm in Dorset as a home for the new George Junior Republic. The guests included the Dowager Countess of Dunmore, Admiral the Hon. Victor Montagu, the Countess of Cromer, and other influential people.

Mr. Montagu explained the working of the Freeville Republic, and told how its motto was : " Nothing without labour." He explained that the Committee of the English scheme were going to try a farm on the same fundamental principles, only adapting their methods to English life and traditions. Commencing with a handful of boys, they would educate them to the duties of self-government. He said that it was to be the aim of the community to take difficult cases of boys and girls who could not be controlled at home. It was suggested that the farmhouse on the estate should become the nucleus of a small village ; around it cottages would be built as numbers increased and funds allowed, each cottage housing ten children. Thus the ideal of home life would be sought after, more than the institutional. Besides farm work and the teaching of trades, a good school education is to be provided for the boys and girls who come into the Republic. Mr. Montagu is confident of the success of his plan, and gave two instances of what the

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Freeville community had evolved by its system of self- government. Solely on their own initiative, the children had passed two laws : One that the school age should be increased from fourteen to twenty-one ; and another pro- hibiting smoking in the Republic. These laws were passed by the boys and girls without any help or suggestion from the authorities.

Mr. Harold Large said in his speech that the more responsibility you put on an individual the more he rises to it. He gave an instance of a truancy officer in one of the States, who, before an illness, captured truant boys to the average of fifty-three per week. When it was announced that he was too ill to go after truants, a remarkable thing happened. Other boys volunteered to hunt up their truant mates. No one knew so well as they where to look for boys, and they unearthed them from all their hiding-places. The first week of the truant officer's illness, the number of truant boys went down to fifteen ; the next week to thirteen, and from that day truancy ceased. But no sooner was the officer able to take on his work again, than back went the numbers to fifty for the first week, showing, said Mr. Large, how boys can look after other boys.

The ideal of the organizers is this : " First and foremost the training of individual character, to direct into good channels the natural energy, which through bad environ- ment, or love of adventure, has hitherto been misdirected ; and, by means of the advantages of self-government, coupled with a wage system, to create not only a sense of personal responsibility, but an appreciation of the value of membership in the community."

The Duchess of Marlborough, in a charming little speech, suggested that a good name for the farm would be " From Service to Freedom," and asked all her friends to help the

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enterprise with funds. She promised £450 for building a girls' cottage. Incidentally it was mentioned that a capital sum of £6,000 was necessary for the inauguration of that scheme, and that when established the annual cost of maintenance would amount to from £3,000 to £4,000 a year.

An overflow meeting was held on the stairs and in the entrance hall, and at the conclusion the house was thrown open to the guests. At the entrance to the ball-room, a beautiful model of the English George Junior Republic, in which trees, cottages, buildings were all represented, was on view.

Other sections of the National Conference were the Public Health Section, the Education Section, Housing Section, and the Unemployment and Industrial Regulation Section.

I attended the Housing Section and heard papers read on Town Planning and Housing from the Imperial standpoint, and on Town Planning in Australasia. This latter paper was read by Mr. C. C. Reade, late editor of the New Zealand Graphic.

Mr. Henry Vivian (Chairman of the Co-Partnership Tenants, Ltd.) pointed out that the great prosperity of Canada would be its own undoing. That 40,000 people were going there annually, the great majority to towns, which were being built rapidly, with no forethought for the future. He considered that the Empire, as a whole, should set its face "against the tenement, and said public bodies do not represent public interests in housing.

Mr. Reade gave a brief outline of New Zealand and Aus- tralian town planning, criticizing the want of artistic planning and the lack of open spaces in most of the cities.

Co-partnership in housing is exercising a good deal of thought throughout England. It certainly is time. The

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interminable rows of drab-coloured houses in most of the English and Welsh cities, under leaden skies, must have a most depressing and demoralizing effect on the dwellers, and especially on the little children.

A most interesting enterprise of co-partnership in housing is practically and beautifully illustrated at the Hampstead Garden Suburb. This is the outcome of a syndicate under Mr. Barnett, who purchased open fields on the fringes of Hampstead Heath and built this suburb, which is now one of the Meccas of visitors to England, from all parts of the world, with an interest in beautifying the dwellings of the people. The King and Queen have visited the Garden Suburb. Earl Grey is one of its sincerest admirers. Last summer, under the auspices of the University of London Board to promote the extension of University teaching — the summer school of town planning was held at the Hampstead Garden Suburb. The Marquis of Crewe delivered the inaugural address, and mentioned that he had assisted at the birth of the Suburb. He recalled the strides Continental cities have made in town planning for many years, and concluded with the words : " All the great national problems come back to the question of the homes in which the people live."

Letchworth and Hull are two towns which are taking up town planning enthusiastically. At the Hull Garden Village, rents vary from 4s. 6d. to 18s. weekly, inclusive of rates, rents being fixed to provide a return of 3 per cent. In this way, the Directors are able to build good houses and provide gardens at practically the same rent as was once paid in other parts of the city for slum dwellings.

Delegates of the National Conference reserved an after- noon to visit the Hampstead Garden Suburb. We went by the Hampstead Tube to Golder's Green, London, N.W., and then by tram to the Garden Suburb, where we were met

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and shown round the town. We were walking for nearly two hours, and then had not seen all of this delightful suburb. The streets were wide, and planted with trees ; the houses detached, and built with artistic exteriors. Their gardens were glorious with flowers, the back gardens, as well as the front, being made the most of. It was more like one of our best suburbs than any English town I have visited. One part of this beautiful village has been set apart for the aged poor. We went over their model homes, which form a picturesque building, divided into several small flats, containing a large bed-sitting-room, a kitchen, etc., for each couple. There was a common bakehouse where all their cakes, meats, etc., were cooked, if desired, at a most moderate charge. There were separate bath-rooms, a huge laundry, all beauti- fully kept and open to all the dwellers at a nominal charge. Surrounding these old folks' dwellings were beautiful gardens, each inmate having his own strip of land. The old people seemed to vie with each other in producing the finest flowers and vegetables.

In the village is a Church of England and also a large Free Church. There are also spacious buildings and an up-to- date school. As we passed the school, a dramatic enter- tainment was going on, and we stepped inside to listen for a few minutes.

Many advantages are offered to Co-Partnership Tenants, Ltd. The various estates working in connexion with the Company employ 1,000 to 1,500 building operatives. Twice a week there is an evening class for the workmen on the estate, held at the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute, at which the employees may study geometry and building construction. At nineteen different institutes in London the employees study technical subjects and subjects of a general character, such as carpentry, builders' quantities, brick-

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work, building construction, architectural design, sanitary engineering, plumbing, surveying, electrical wiring, cabinet- making, and many other subjects bearing on the building industries ; scholarships are offered as an incentive to the men attending these classes.

Through the winter months the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute publishes a most attractive Entertainment Programme which includes debates, picture talks, and con- ferences. The speakers at these conferences include such distinguished men as Lord Courtney and Mr. Sydney Webb. During this winter also the School of Music is organizing a Foreign Study Society, a Shakespeare Society, a Child Society and a Natural History Scoiety.

Among the entertainments the delegates to the National Conference on the Prevention of Destitution were invited to, was an evening reception at Mr. and Mrs. Waldorf Astor's. It was held at their town house in St. James' Square, an immense, gorgeously furnished mansion with a ball-room and many sitting, drawing, and music-rooms, all most beautifully decorated with a rich profusion of the choicest hothouse flowers. Footmen in brown-and-gold livery, with powdered hair, gold-coloured stockings and shoes with big, broad buckles, directed the guests to the top of a wide, beautifully decorated staircase, where Mr. and Mrs. Astor received.

The Right Hon. Sir John Brunner, M.P., also invited the delegates to a garden-party held in Kensington Gardens, and on another occasion a number of Members of Parliament entertained small parties of delegates at tea on the terrace of the House of Commons.

Miss Margaret McMillan, one of the greatest women authorities on child labour in England, is the founder of The Deptford Clinic, which is planted in one of the dreariest and poorest of London's many poor and dreary quarters.

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This Clinic is right in the heart of dockland. When I visited Deptford it was, perhaps, at its very worst, for it was the week after the great strike had ended, and the gaunt, ragged men and women of the district bore the traces of the great struggle with starvation that they were just emerging from.

It was Miss Sarah Bennett who told me of Miss McMillan and her great work. She told me of her influence for good in the north of England, where she had done much by her writings and her own deep devotion to the cause of little children. Miss Bennett wrote asking Miss McMillan if we might visit the Deptford Clinic, and I had a letter from Miss McMillan saying that she was ill and regretted not being able to show us round herself. However, she made arrangements with one of the workers, who received us and took us round the Clinic and explained its different activities.

As we walked, on a raw, cold and misty morning from the station to the Clinic, we saw tribes of ragged boys and girls and many squalid men and women. The streets were swarming with little children, clinging like bees to passing carts and running along the edge of the pavements. The little girls were some of them nursing diminutive babies that I thought at first were dolls. One small girl, about six years old, was nursing what looked so like a doll that it was not till I went up and spoke to her that I saw what she was really holding was a baby. In sordid public-house bars, which are only dram shops, men and women were drinking together, while little children, mere babies, crawled on the pavement outside the doors. A recent Act of Parliament prohibits the children from Jbeing taken inside the doors. Further on we met groups of poorly dressed factory girls with their hair in curling-pins, coming home for their midday meal.

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Amid these surroundings Miss McMillan has founded a clinic. Here two doctors attend one afternoon each week. Each sees from thirty to forty patients per week, and in two months they have treated between four and five hundred children. In addition to the doctors, a nurse attends every day for three hours, and physical culture is taught by a com- petent teacher for five or six hours weekly. Miss McMillan is greatly encouraged by the results, and we were told of one spinal case which was cured in five weeks by exercises. Many other encouraging cures have been effected. ' This Clinic treats over 2,000 children each year, and the cost per child per annum works out at 3s.

From the Clinic we went to the open-air school, which is held in the only available open-air space, an old churchyard, thickly strewn with graves and head-stones. There have been no burials in it for a hundred years. Miss McMillan had loads of rubbish cleared out of it before she could make a start. Now, in one corner are workshops where boys are busy carpentering, in another, on the graves of the forgotten dead, children plant seeds and make gardens. Some of these gardens were bright with flowers. It was a strange sight, this association of the dead and the living.

At the " Home," which is in another street, we saw where the physical exercises were given, also an open-air sleeping- place for girls. Very few things were required for this. Two long iron rods were fixed into grooves in the side of the building, their other ends fitting into a box which contained the bedding for each girl. This bedding consisted of canvas sewn together at one side and through it the poles were thrust, making a mattress, a blanket made into a sleeping- bag for the child to get into, a blanket to put over her and a pillow. The boys' sleeping-out quarters were behind the Clinic, and were much larger and better equipped than the

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girls'. Their sleeping-ground was also provided with shower baths.

Miss Margaret McMillan has written a very helpful book on " The Child and the State," in which she voices the wants of the child. In an article, from Virginia, which she was visiting when I left England, that appeared in the Daily News, Miss McMillan draws attention to the child labour in cotton-land and says, speaking of the " awakening " of people to the horror of child labour, and the passing of laws to regulate the employment of children : "In the course of this new movement England is cited as a warning. ' Her awakening ' says a member of the Child Labour Com- mittee, ' has come too late.' She has paid for her prosperity with her capital — that is to say, with her own children."

CHAPTER V THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL

MR. WATTS' letter of introduction was an Open Sesame to the heads of the council schools, formerly board schools, which in England occupy the same place as our state schools, and I was given opportunities of seeing at representative schools some of the principal branches of the London County Council's educational work. In past years the great weakness of all school training has been its failure to give due consideration to individuality. The authorities once thought that a standard in book learning was all that was necessary, and only looked at two aspects in the life of the individual child — the growth of character and the growth of the mind. Now they understand that to give a child this information, without teaching him to understand its meaning, and without being able to apply the facts learnt, is sheer waste. Modern thought now recognizes that each child must be treated as a distinct individual ; that it is the teacher's task to see that the child is assimilat- ing the knowledge he gains ; and that the child's environ- ment is of a kind that will not entirely undo the effect of school training. And so the Council has also taken on the following duties : —

I. The provision of meals.

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2. Medical inspection, medical treatment, and cleansing of children.

3. General welfare of children, including provision of play centres and vacation schools.

A Sub-Committee, consisting entirely of members of the Council and the Education Committee, undertakes the greater part of remedial and ameliorative work which is being carried on in the London schools, and is known as the Children's Care (Central) Committee. There is also, acting in conjunction with this Central Committee, a Children's Care (School) Committee, formed in connexion with each public elementary school, the local managers providing not less than two and not more than three of their number to serve on the Children's Care (School) Committee. This nucleus co-operates an equal number of voluntary workers. This scheme was formulated in 1909, and the appeal for voluntary workers has met with a most gratifying response.

Since 1906 meals have been provided for necessitous children ; but careful inquiry is first made into the home circumstances of the children before they are permanently placed on the free list for meals. These free meals to ill- fed children have had in many cases an ill effect on their mothers, relieving them of their natural responsibilities and allowing them extra money and time to spend in the public house.

Much attention is given to medical inspection in all schools. If children are found requiring special medical attention, the parents are told, and the Council passes the children on to certain of the London hospitals and to special doctors and dentists.

A further forward step is the establishment of Central Schools for pupils wishing to specialize in a particular indus- trial or commercial training.

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Owing to the diminution in the number of cases of truancy, it is now only necessary to provide accommodation in one day industrial school for about a hundred boys of this class. I had heard at the Home Office also that truancy was dying out in England, and I asked one of the officers at the Educa- tion Office what he considered the reason of there being comparatively few truants these days. He said emphati- cally, " Children do not play truant now, because school work is made more interesting and attractive than it used to be."

For advanced pupils there are many polytechnic and technical institutes receiving grants from the Council. A large number of evening schools too are conducted in the buildings of the Council's elementary schools. The total number of these schools is 280.

There are eight industrial schools under the care of the Council, and in addition it has entered into contracts with about fifty-five industrial schools throughout the country for the reception of London children.

In addition to the usual elementary and central schools, there are schools for the mentally and physically defective, and also two open-air schools. These last are necessarily limited in London, partly owing to the difficulty of securing suitable sites, and partly owing to the expense of their main- tenance. The Council has devoted considerable attention to the organization of play-ground classes in ordinary schools.

The teaching staff for all kinds of schools and institutions under the Council's jurisdiction numbers about 20,000. About 8,400 of these are men, and about 11,530 are women.

The London County Council spends annually about six millions sterling in education — about five millions on ele- mentary, and one million on higher education,

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From a pamphlet which is issued for the guidance of teachers, parents, and employers (containing the by- laws made by the London County Council under the Employ- ment of Children Act, 1903), I excerpt the following : —

" The expression ' child ' means a person under the age of fourteen years."

" A child under the age of eleven years shall not be em- ployed/'

" No boy or girl under the age of fourteen years, and liable to attend school full time, shall be employed :

A. On days when the school is open —

1. For more than 3 J hours in any one day.

2. Between 8 in the morning and 5 in the evening.

3. Before 6.30 in the morning and after 8.30 in the evening.

B. On days when the school is not open :

1. For more than 8 hours in any one day.

2. Before 6.30 in the morning and after 9 in the evening. " A child shall not be employed on Sundays except

between the hours of 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a period not exceeding 3 hours."

The following are some of the by-laws as to street trading of persons under the age of sixteen years : —

" No girls under the age of sixteen years shall be employed in or carry on street trading.

" No boy under the age of fourteen years shall be em- ployed in, or carry on street trading.

" No boy under sixteen shall be employed in street trad- ing before 6 in the morning or after 9 in the evening.

" No boy under the age of sixteen shall be employed in or carry on street trading unless :

1. He is exempt from school attendance ;

2. And he first procures a badge from the London County

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 177

Council, which he shall wear, whilst engaged in trading, on the upper part of the right arm in a conspicuous place.

" A boy under the age of sixteen years, whilst engaged in street trading, shall not enter any premises used for public entertainment or licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor."

In Manchester, street trading by children is organized in the following manner : —

Once a year the boys and girls of Manchester receive licences for street trading. No such licence is granted to any child under twelve years of age. Children up to the age of sixteen can obtain a licence, providing : —

1. That they intend to trade in the streets of the city.

2. That they are not unfit to trade through being sickly, blind, deaf, dumb, deformed, or mentally deficient.

3. That they have the consent of their parents or guardians. If it is found that the parent or person having the charge of

the child is not a fit person, that person's consent is not con- sidered. Every child that is licensed receives a badge. These are of two sorts, one for children attending school, and one for those who have left school. The badge is not charged for, but the child must leave a deposit of 6d. when it is received. The money is refunded when the badge is returned. No licensed child is allowed to sell after 8 p.m. in the winter, and after 9 p.m. in the summer. The child who has a licence must be decently clothed, must not sell in hotels, nor allow any unlicensed child to help him with his sales. He must always wear his badge in a conspicuous place, and is not allowed to alter, deface, lend, or sell it. He must never trade in the street without this badge. These regulations came into effect in March, 1902, and are strictly observed. I spoke to several boys with badges who were

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178 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

selling papers in Manchester. They were very bright, very eager, and very obliging little fellows.

The London County Council also interests itself in the after-care of children leaving school to go to work. Several years ago, one of the London Settlements wished to help crippled or handicapped children to find suitable work, and out of this movement grew what was called a " Skilled Employment Committee," which undertook to find work for normal children too. The idea proved so successful that the Charity Organization Society began to form ap- prenticeship and skilled labour committees for its various branches. Now, these committees have been organized into an independent Society called " The Apprenticeship and Skilled Employment Association." This organization has led the public to realize the need of protecting and advising children who have to earn their own living after they leave school. There are now more than twenty of these Committees which work, in conjunction with juvenile departments, in different parts of London, advising and finding suitable vacancies for children desiring work. In November, 1910, Parliament passed the Education (Choice of Employment) Act, and since then the local education authorities have had power to make arrangements for assist- ing boys and girls under seventeen years of age to find suitable employment when leaving school.

At the beginning of 191 1, the President of the Board of Trade and the President of the Board of Education, after conferring with the societies then formed, issued a joint Mem- orandum of a scheme of co-operation between them. Later on, a Report issued by the Education Committee showed the purposes of the Juvenile Advisory Committees which are under the joint direction of the London County Council and the Board of Trade. The following are some of them : —

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 179

1. "To see that the children on leaving school enter, as far as possible, the trades for which they are best suited. This necessarily involves a knowledge of the child's mental and physical qualification and his own and his parents' wishes as to employment.

2. "To see that children who enter ' blind-alley ' employ- ment qualify themselves, when possible, to undertake other work by attending at evening continuation schools and classes.

3. "To provide for each child in need of advice and guidance, a friend who will endeavour to keep the child in touch with healthy ideals and pursuits and watch over his industrial progress."

The London County Council, acting through its educa- tional committee, has arranged a system of reaching all children on the eve of leaving school with the object of assisting their future. I will only quote a few of the princi- pal plans of the procedure in connexion with the after-care of children leaving public elementary schools : —

1. Before a child is expected to leave school, the head teacher sends to the Secretary of the Children's Care (School) Committee a school-leaving form which gives in- formation regarding the child's record in school and fitness for work. Care is taken not to disturb the child by in- quiries which may suggest to him the possibility of leaving school before it is absolutely necessary.

2. The parents of the child are either visited at home or seen at the school by the Children's Care (School) Committee, to discover if there is any need for outside advice.

3. If the parents wish the child to be advised as to finding employment, the school-leaving form is sent to the Appren- ticeship and Skilled Employment Association, the Metro- politan Association for befriending young Servants, etc..

180 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

as long as possible before the child leaves school, two weeks at least.

4. The rota of the Juvenile Advisory Committee en- deavours to place the child in the most suitable employ- ment, and to obtain periodical reports from the employer as to its progress.

5. A supervisor appointed by the Children's Care (School) Committee reports on the child's progress every May and November till he is eighteen years of age.

In connexion with this method of finding employment for boys, the Daily News and Leader pointed out in a leading article a few months ago the vastness of the juvenile labour problem and drew attention to the extent of the organization which has been created in London for the avoidance of " blind alley " employments. This article mentions the co-operation of the Mansion-House Advisory Committee for Boys, which consists of representatives of organizations comprising a total membership of over 40,000 boys, with the Board of Trade Labour Exchanges. Employers of labour have been sent circulars, and the Committee hope to send to parents monthly reports of employments open to boys. " Get the boy, train him, and find him suitable work," are the three main points of the Committee's pro- gramme. They hope for a systematic linking-up of schools, clubs and brigades, with a sympathetic understanding between the school teachers and club managers. The article ends by saying, " To ensure that every boy shall be intro- duced to and prepared for a progressive employment and shall be brought, if possible, within the ranks of associations which exist for the physical and moral improvement of the rising generation, is an excellent way of conserving and developing one of the most important elements of the national wealth."

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL igi

I was very interested in the Central Schools, as they are quite a new departure ; for the report of the Education Committee was only approved of by the Council as recently as March i, 1910. These Central Schools are taking the places of the higher elementary, or certain higher grade schools, and are, so I was told at the Education Office, only to be found in London. There was a widespread feeling throughout the community that more attention should be given to the development of " practical " education in the elementary schools. Both educationalists and men of affairs agreed that education can be made more effective if the pupils can be taught more by " doing " and less by listen- ing. Thus, after a special all-round training of the faculties, the boy or girl should have acquired a readiness and adapta- bility which will enable him or her to turn readily to work in factory or workshop. The Committee therefore recom- mend the establishment, as part of the elementary school system in London, of a series of higher schools to be called " Central Schools." These schools would, it was said, take the place of the existing higher elementary and higher grade schools, and they would be fed by contributions from the surrounding schools. The curriculum should provide in all cases for manual and practical work, and, in the case of girls for instruction in domestic subjects.

In many cases the original school buildings have been added to and adapted for the uses of these central schools, and ten new schools have also been built. It is proposed that there should be about sixty such departments set apart for Central Schools, and that they should, as far as practic- able, be distributed uniformly throughout London. The pupils are selected from the ordinary schools at about eleven years of age, and they are chosen partly on the results of the competition for Junior County Scholarships, and partly

182 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

on their previous progress and conduct. These selected pupils are then supposed to go through a complete four years' course at the Central Schools with a special curricu- lum. The total number of Central Schools that had been organized, up to the time I visited the Education Office, was forty-four. Of these sixteen have an industrial bias, nineteen a commercial bias, and nine both an industrial and commercial bias.

The Central School I visited was situated at West Kensing- ton. Mr. Cox, the head master, had been a teacher under the Department for twenty-eight years, and was very interested in his boys and his work. In the same building, but in a separate part, were girls under a head mistress and a special staff of women teachers. I visited both schools. The scheme of work in each was to prepare the pupils for com- mercial pursuits. Mr. Cox, during my interview with him, lamented that though it was deemed necessary for all pupils to stay for the four years' course, in many instances they were withdrawn as soon as they reached fourteen years of age. He was of opinion that attendance should be com- pulsory for boys and girls till they are fifteen or sixteen years of age. He told me he had 353 boys in his division, and that the course included Scripture, English language and literature, commercial arithmetic, algebra, commercial geography and history, drawing, practical science, French, music, shorthand, bookkeeping, office routine, type- writing, handicraft, swimming, and general physical training. In the first, second, and third years French is taken during four hours per week, and in the fourth year five hours per week. In the third and fourth years, book- keeping, office routine, shorthand and typewriting are taken. The boys themselves publish a Chronicle every three months, which was very well got up and very original.

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 183

A very interesting feature of this school is the Old Boys' night, held during the first week in December. Mr. Cox showed me a paper that he had passed round on the occasion of the last meeting. On this paper every boy present had written his name, and what occupation he was engaged at. As I glanced over it I saw that many were in the Civil Service, some in the Admiralty, some studying for doctors and lawyers, one a bricklayer, many in offices as clerks, and so on.

I went through several class-rooms, and saw the boys at their works. In one class they were all busy at algebra; in another having a lesson from Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe ; in another, a French teacher discoursed in French ; the boys spoke French well, and some quite fluently. The science room was very interesting, and off this opened the laboratory.

The manual training room was particularly interesting. Here forty boys, under two instructors, were making all sorts of woodwork ; some were inlaying, some making boxes, some boats, some shelves. Every boy was thoroughly alert, and very keen about his work. The head instructor said that though it was called manual training, he called it motor (or mind) training. The prominent idea was to develop the mind. He said : " We are here more as advisers than instructors. We give the boy the wood, and he evolves the working of it very soon."

From the boys' I went to the girls' school, and saw them at work in their art class. They were designing a pattern for a Peter Pan collar. Violets were used for the design. The girls each had a collar, and the design had to fit that collar ; several were very good, and one drawing in particular was most uncommon and effective. So interested were the girls in their work that though it

1 84 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

was play-lime one or two sat on finishing their designs. The art teacher showed me a large portfolio of the girls' sketches ; some, done in holiday time, showed much in- dividual talent.

From the art class I went to the cookery class, where the lesson for the afternoon had been " The Care of the Meat Safe." Several girls were making little apple-pies, while others were writing up the subject of the lecture. A decidedly appetizing smell of cooking pervaded the air. One girl told me how she tried the oven, to find when it was hot enough for cooking. At the conclusion of the lesson, they all showed their aprons to the teacher to see how clean they had kept them.

From the cooking I went on to the laundry, where the girls learn to wash, iron and starch any articles they care to bring. A very capable young woman was in charge of this room. She showed me all over it, and explained all her lessons.

Across the road was a house which the Council had specially purchased for girls to learn housework in. Here they scrubbed and swept and dusted, cleaned windows, and learnt everything necessary for good practical housekeeping.

I told several of the boys and girls about Australia, and gave Mr. Cox and them, some of the High Commissioner's postcards. Mr. Cox was most enthusiastic about these and said he could do with hundreds ; so the next day Mr. Frank Savage of the Commonwealth Office kindly sent him a goodly packet, and also some books and pamphlets adver- tising the resources and virtues of Australia.

The Cookery Technical School for boys has been estab- lished by the London County Council with the object of providing a course of scientific and technical instruction for boys in all branches of cookery and the making of pastry and confectionery. The full course of instruction

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 185

covers a period of three years and includes technical or professional training for the pupils under a skilled chef and instructors. The improvement of their general education is also aimed at. Admission to the school is restricted to boys between fourteen and sixteen years of age who must also have passed Standard VI. Each pupil pays £9 gs. a year, and is entitled to the 'free use of cooking appli- ances, textbooks, materials for cooking, etc.

I went over the school (which is at Westminster) about two years after its inception. Even then it was well ad- vanced, and the boys were all as busy and interested in their work as if they had been cooking all their lives. Fifteen new boys are admitted each year. The maximum number that there is room for in the school at one time is forty-five. The school is fully equipped with the latest culinary appliances — including a central cooking range, gas stoves, grillers, steamers, etc. etc., also a modern pastry, confectionery and ice-making department, together with the necessary larder and store for food accommodation.

I went first to the kitchen, which is arranged exactly on the lines of an hotel kitchen. The idea of this arrangement is that the boys may get accustomed to the position of every article, and so not feel strange in new surroundings. An experienced Dutch chef was in command. He and all the boys wore at their sides a sheath in which were stuck the various knives, skewers, etc., used at work. The chef and boys wore white coats, white aprons and white caps. When

1 entered they were busy making soups, and preparing vegetables and meat.

The menu was written in French, and that language has to be learned by the boys. They have practical work till

2 p.m. and then, for the remainder of the afternoon, take theoretical work. They learn how to " draw " a side of

186 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

beef, and then how to cut it up. As well as being taught cooking, they are given some general education.

From the kitchen I went on to the pastry, confectionery, and ice-making department. This is in charge of a French chef. Here boys were making many varieties of pastry and confectionery, and I saw them converting orange peel into candied peel.

Another interesting room was the larder where the meat and stores were kept. One of the boys was in charge of this. A boy from each of the other departments brought him in every day a list of the things wanted, and the boy in charge who was most business-like, saw to the ordering of the supplies.

At the Cooking and Food Exhibition, held in the Horti- cultural Hall, October, 1912, boys from fourteen to sixteen, who had been trained by the L.C.C., cooked and served entirely the luncheon provided on a certain day.

Connected with the institution were several other techni- cal classes, and I was specially interested in the one for book- binding, where several women were busy binding books and working designs in leather.

It costs the London County Council £6,000 a year to run the Westminster Technical Institute ; £1,500 was spent in equipping the kitchen, etc., and in making the necessary alterations for holding cooking classes. Strangely enough, there is no institution of the kind for girls ; they learn ordinary domestic cookery in various other schools, but instruction in the art or science of cookery is reserved for boys.

The London County Council's Education Committee pro- vides play centres, etc., which afford recreation facilities after school hours for children ; and also Vacation Schools which are under voluntary management.

THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 187

The Council is now considering the advisability of promot- ing the training of London boys for the Mercantile Marine service. The desirability of training boys for the Merchant Service was recommended by Lord Mersey in his report on the Titanic disaster. It was proposed to give the boys a two years' course, but when I left London no special arrangements had been decided on.

CHAPTER VI

SPECIAL SCHOOLS IN LONDON, LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER

THESE schools are also under Municipal Control, but as they are conducted on much the same lines in the above cities I will not describe them all in detail. The Special, or, as they are sometimes called, Sub-normal, schools minister, as the latter name implies, to those children who are mentally or physically defective and their standard is therefore below the normal school grade. These sub- normal children are taught in special schools centrally situated, where they may have all the extra care and patience and comfort that are necessary to develop their dormant faculties.

The London County Council makes special arrangements for the education of afflicted children who are taught in special schools. These schools are divided into three classes : those for the blind and deaf, those for the mentally defective, and those for the physically defective. There are 415 blind and 701 deaf children between the ages of five and sixteen in the London elementary schools. In a few instances these are sent to institutions not under the Coun- cil's control. This course is usually taken in the case of Jewish or Roman Catholic pupils. The Council provides six day schools for the blind, seven day schools for the deaf, two residential and day blind schools, and eight residential

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SPECIAL SCHOOLS 189

and day deaf schools. A few blind or deaf children, who live too far away from the schools to attend as day pupils, are boarded out by the Council with foster parents living near the schools. In the blind schools instruction is given by means of Braille writing and reading, and the instruction in the deaf schools is on the oral system. The Superintendent of the London Special Schools is Mrs. Burgwin, who is much beloved by all the teachers.

The Education Committee gave me cards to visit one of each of their special schools, and I went first to Beaufort House, which is for elder mentally afflicted boys between the ages of twelve and sixteen. This age has been lowered in recent years, and many boys of eleven are now admitted to this special school, if they are recommended for admission by Mrs. Burgwin, the Superintendent. It is estimated that there are under instruction in London 7,071 mentally defective children. These are provided for in ninety special day schools. The number of children taught by each teacher averages about twenty.

The classes had just reassembled for the afternoon work when I reached Beaufort House. They assemble at 1.30 p.m., for, as many of the pupils come from a long distance, dinner is provided for all at the school. As soon as I sent in my card, the head master, Mr. Cooper, came to me. He spared neither time nor pains in explaining the workings of the system, showed me his time-tables, explained the division of classes and, before we went round the classes, showed me much of the pupils' work. This was exhibited in show- cases in the outer hall, where he received me. The hall really was in the centre of the building, the class rooms leading off it on both sides.

The school had accommodation for 115 pupils, but there were 128 present. Mr, Cooper divides this number into

190 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

three divisions, so that each division may have the advan- tage of being taught by a certificated teacher through the day. These three divisions are again divided into eight classes. Six of these are engaged each lesson in some manual occupation, so that facilities are afforded for every boy to have a fair amount of instruction in some practical work, such as boot-making, tailoring, carpentry, metal- work, etc. A third of the time is given to education, and the remaining two-thirds to manual training. In this way every boy gets constant change of occupation. If the boys can master reading, writing, and arithmetic, the authorities feel that something has been accomplished, and they all agree that the different trades develop the mind more than book learning. All the pupils, Mr. Cooper said, are trans- ferred to him from the elementary schools, after they have been medically examined by the L.C.C. doctor. Mr. Cooper keeps them at this special school till they are sixteen years old. If a boy lives too far away to walk to school, the L.C.C. provides him with a free railway ticket. Seated at a table in the hall where we were talking were four boys of thirteen years of age, laboriously copying out of a simple school book words of one syllable. " They were," Mr. Cooper said, " boys who literally lived on the streets."

In the tailoring room one boy was machining aprons in a most professional manner. They were for the use of the boys employed in the kitchen. Others were learning to backstitch — the first lesson. One fair-headed, smiling boy was sitting on the floor with his coat off, attempting to mend it ; but it was very ragged. Except this boy's, which had a certain amount of intelligence, most of the faces wore a very vacant expression.

In another room, boys were making and mending boots, and I was surprised to hear that they had made 130 pairs

SPECIAL SCHOOLS 191

of new boots and repaired 1,030 boots in this class during the year. The new boots were all an order from one of the L.C.C. Girls' Industrial Schools. The scholars bring their boots to mend, and pay cost price for repairs. The clothing made in the tailoring department, and all the wooden articles made, are also sold to the boys at cost price.

In a large class-room about twenty boys were having a drawing-lesson, a lesson they are very fond of, though Mr. Cooper thinks boot-making is the favourite lesson. " It certainly is," he says, " the best paying one." These class- rooms, with the kitchen and one other class-room, were in the main building.

We crossed the playground to the wood-working class, which was divided into three sections, held in three different rooms. Some of the work the boys were doing was really good, though the instructor said that they had to supervise carefully the whole time. I saw a very well-made piano stool and a medicine cabinet that had just been completed.

The wonderful part of this class was that the boys had learnt to draw the design, according to standard measures, of the article they were to make later. Some of the drawings were firmly and correctly drawn, though naturally in other cases they were weak and faulty. All the pupils showed a surprising grasp of their work, owing to continuous teaching and patience, and the fact that each boy has a drawing lesson every day.

From the Mentally Defective School I took a 'bus , and after a quarter of an hour's ride came to a school for physically defective boys and girls. According to the Act, " Children to be admitted to the Mentally and Physically Defective Schools must, by reason of mental or physical defect, be incapable of receiving proper benefit from the instruction in the ordinary public elementary schools, but not incapable,

192 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

by reason of such defect, of receiving benefit from the in- struction in special schools." There are 3,100 physically defective and invalid children treated in thirty-five day schools and three special hospital schools in London. In this particular school, as in the Mentally Defective School I had just visited, a great deal of the time is given to manual occupations. Though the children were very bright in com- parison with the one I had just left, it was an infinitely sadder sight, for every boy and girl had some physical defect. A great many were on crutches, others wore irons, while others, who could not use their limbs at all, were wheeled about in specially made chairs.

The classes were held in one long room, with class-rooms off one side. In this large room was served the midday meal, for all the children have their dinner at school, many of them being brought in the morning and taken home at night by ambulances. The walls in this large hall were decorated with many designs done by the pupils. The boys often draw and originate the designs, which the girls copy in needlework. One design in particular of bluebells, which had been embroidered by a girl on a dress, was parti- cularly effective, as also was some hand-made lace which had been designed and copied by two of the pupils. It is a well-known fact that the children attending this school are specially clever at designing and all kinds of fancy work. I saw some big boys and girls painting flowers with great taste, and they were all very intent and interested in their work.

In one class-room some of the children lay on cane couches with rests fixed on them for their books. One tiny girl, whom the head teacher said was their " baby," and who had come to them a month previously very, very ill, was lying back on a chair on wheels. This dear child had never walked,

SPECIAL SCHOOLS 193

and never would, though her teacher said she was a little better and a little heavier than when she arrived. All the other boy and girl occupants of this room were small, and all had specially made comfortable cane chairs. The school might have been a little hospital, for every child was maimed. Each pupil seemed to be doing what he or she liked best. Some" were at sums, some at painting, some at needlework. They were waiting for the ambulances to come and take them home. I waited too, and saw two ambulances come and go off loaded with their child freights.

The ambulances were like 'buses, only of a dark colour, with " L.C.C." painted on the sides. They had seats along each side, and one had a bed for a child who could not sit up. The sides of the ambulance were of glass, and the children seemed to enjoy looking out of the windows during their drive home, one little crippled boy having a special seat near the door, so that he could have a good view as they drove along. An attendant always goes with them, or the nurse in charge ; for, beside the head teacher and assistants in the school, there are two attendants and a nurse on the school staff. The nurse caters, and the attendants do the cooking and waiting on the children at meal time. It was a strange family, and though they were so sadly crippled, the children seemed happy ! School was evidently the one bright spot in their lonely lives.

The head teacher, Mrs. Turner, walked part of the way home with me. She was born in Western Australia, though she had spent much of her life in England. She said that the school tried to equip the children for some occupation after they left school, but so far it had failed to pass them on to any remunerative employment.

Mr. Legge, the Director of Education in Liverpool, was

194 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

extremely kind in giving me all the information I wanted, and in introducing me to the heads of the special schools under his care. Mr. Lucas, in whose department these schools are, saved me much time and trouble by giving me some most interesting photographs.

Mr. Legge has had great and varied experience with child life in England. He was at one time Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, and is quoted as an authority on many phases of the education and uplifting of children. He thinks that if a trade school were instituted, it ought to take the place of the practically dead apprenticeship system.

Mr. John Ray, of Liverpool, in his presidential address on the problem of education in slum districts at the Confer- ence of the National Association of Head Teachers at Stoke- on-Trent, in May, 1912, advocated compulsory continuous education for minors until the age of eighteen. I have quoted these men to show that the Liverpool Education Committee have progressive thinkers on their board of management.

There are four special or sub-normal schools in Liverpool. They owe their existence practically to the wonderful per- sistence of Miss James, who, in spite of many diverse opinions, saw that much could be done for the betterment of physically and mentally defective children. She has been at the head of the special schools for sixteen years. She received me most kindly, and showed and explained to me all her methods of dealing with these unfortunate little ones. I found her at the head schools in Chetham Place, where there are 283 children under the charge of thirteen teachers, specially adapted to teach the backward pupils that come under their care. One side of the building is used for the mentally, the other side for the physically defective children.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS 195

It was dinner-time, and I saw first the physically defective little ones having their meal, and then the mentally defective children have theirs. There were a few bright faces among them, but very few. They all brightened up when Miss James came in, were well behaved, ate their food well, and did not spill much on the table cloth. Some children were mentally as well as physically defective ; it was very sad to see them in their prams and high chairs. The cripples are brought to school and taken home each day in ambu- lances.

After dinner, we went into the playgrounds, where the

children were playing under supervision, cripples together,

boys and girls playing separately. Many, of course, were

in prams or on crutches, so could only look on. I met three

boys all of one family, in the playground, and spoke to

many a sad-faced child. Considering the subnormal state

of these mites, it was astonishing how readily they responded

to discipline. At the first bell, there was silence and attention,

and each little face was turned towards the teacher, who

gathered her class together and marched them in separately

to their respective class-rooms. While they were settling

down to the afternoon's work, Miss James took me round the

garden, which is on the opposite side from the playground,

and of which she is very proud. The children love it.

Alongside is a sand-pit, a vast source of delight to

the smaller children. The little ones are taught to dig,

plant or sow seeds in their gardens. They are taught to

name the different parts of each plant, and they watch its

development with great eagerness from the time the seed

germinates. They sow oats, wheat, and other grains, and

have vegetable and flower gardens. In one corner of the

garden was an apple-tree, quite a young one. When it

blossomed last year there was great excitement, for it was

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the first time the children had seen apple blossom. Later on, when two baby apples made their appearance, their joy knew no bounds. Miss James arranges for as many open- air lessons as possible, some of which I saw. I have drawn attention to the garden, because in London the need of attractive playgrounds and a garden was most evident in the special schools I visited there. In the class-rooms, educational and manual training classes were carried on under the tuition of patient, sympathetic men and women. A novel idea was that the attendance card was placed on the door outside each class-room, so that the teacher whose duty it was to superintend the marking of all those present could record the attendance without entering the room and disturbing the class.

Another feature of this school is the fact that the different denominations are in charge of teachers of their own religion. The Jews have a Jewish teacher ; the Church of England children, a teacher of their own church; the Roman Catholic, a Roman Catholic teacher ; the Nonconformists, a Nonconformist, and so on.

The children in this school were much younger than I had seen in the London Special Schools. A twenty minutes' lesson is only given for each subject, so that the little minds can have many changes and interests.

We went all through the educational class-room, and saw the children at work, from those in the kindergarten school upwards.

The industrial classes are in another part of the building. Men are in charge of these, and the boys are taught tailoring, carpentry, and boot-making up to the age of sixteen.

In connexion with the school is a surgery, with a nurse in charge. The nurse dresses the sores, and looks after all

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ailments of the sick children. I saw in the surgery a little white-faced cripple lying in his chair, fast asleep; He had been desperately ill, owing to having been given improper food at home.

The cost of special school treatment per child in Liverpool is from £20 to £21 per annum.

Miss James thinks a subnormal child placed in a class with normal children will learn much more quickly than in a class with others mentally afflicted, and gave me an in- stance of a little boy mentally afflicted who was taught in the cripples' school, where he made great progress. Con- sidering, as she says, that in many cases all the teacher's love, energy and patience are waste labour, it is a wonderful demonstration of what patient, noble men and women can do.

In connexion with these special schools is a beautiful country home, where each summer the medical officer sends about 200 of the physically defective boys and girls whom he thinks will be most benefited by the change.

I found that though the special and truant schools of Manchester were in some respects on the same lines as those of Liverpool, the special schools of Manchester for afflicted children were especially well equipped.

There are four schools for the mentally afflicted in this chief city of Northern England. The special schools deal with : —

Blind and deaf children.

Mentally defective children.

Epileptic children.

Crippled children.

Stammering children.

Blind and deaf children are instructed by the local educa-

198 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

tion authorities up to the age of sixteen years. They are taught, as far as possible, in the residential schools in which, according to their affliction, they are placed. As there was no suitable accommodation for classes for blind children in the ordinary institutions, it was found necessary to estab- lish a day-school for blind, or partially blind, children. They go home from this school at nights, and when necessary are taken by guides. A simple midday meal is provided at a charge of one penny, which covers the cost of providing and preparation.

The mentally defective children are educated in specially built schools. These are small one-storey schools to accom- modate eighty children, and contain class-rooms (each for fifteen or twenty children), bath-rooms, kitchen, cloak rooms, teachers' rooms and a central hall. These are not residential but only day-schools, caring for the child from the age of seven to sixteen, and the Committee feel grave anxiety as to the future of these children, who are set free and left practically under no supervision at that most critical period of a boy's or girl's life. In the more serious cases they are sent on to residential schools for the feeble-minded, but the Committee feel strongly that the residential school, with provision for permanent cure, is the most perfect form of institution for the feeble-minded. Such schools provide means for the continuous study of the children, whose lives are ordered on healthy home lines, of which the constituent characteristics are cleanliness, plain food, regular hours, and country life, which cannot be secured in the special town day-schools. It has been proved that the improvement in the physical condition of the children is most marked after their admission to these residential homes, and their conduct is very satisfactory. The Committee say : " The only real difficulty is the cost,

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which is quite three times that of the day-school ; but, considering all things, even those cases where there is an after-care Committee to supervise the day-school children when they leave school at sixteen, it is felt that there is nothing to equal the results obtained by the permanent care of the residential school/' The ultimate cost to the State, which later on has to resume the care of these deficient and their offspring, proves the economy as well as the wisdom of the residential school.

Epileptic children are received at the Manchester " David Lewis Epileptic Colony," Sandlebridge, and the Education Committee has made provision for the day-school instruction of the children there. It is interesting here to note the report of Dr. McDougall, the medical superinten- dent : —

" Our experience seems to show that the policy of sending children, even at public expense, to a special residential school on the first appearance of epileptic symptoms, is a policy of true economy. Quite a number of the children sent from Manchester to this colony have become quite free from fits, and are now earning their living. It seems certain that, but for their removal to the special school, they would have developed chronic epilepsy, and have become a lifelong burden on the rates. At holiday time we get many visits from children who have passed through the school and are free from fits. We find that they have become self-supporting, and have not relapsed."

Owing to the need for more extensive accommodation, there has lately been built a new residential school for epileptic children consisting of four houses, each house to accommodate twenty-five children. In these homes all the accommodation for the children is on the ground floor, thus

200 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

doing away with the danger of stairs, which are a cause for anxiety in the case of epileptics. There are day and night women attendants.

The annual cost, including capital charges, works out at £35 per head per annum. The Education Committee feel that with the effective carrying out of the system of medical inspection, all afflicted children will be in time sent to these schools, which should receive generous assistance from the Government.

As far back as 1903, the Manchester Education Com- mittee took up the question of crippled children suffering from paralysis, and from spinal or hip trouble. It particularly exerted itself on behalf of those children who, after hospital treatment, have to spend long periods in bed. Children suffering from hip diseases at an early age are operated on and cured. During the time the children are confined to bed, if they are able to learn they are taught by special teachers. There are now two residential schools with beds for 120 crippled children. The results achieved by these schools are most satisfactory. A number of children have been discharged cured, and marked improvement is noticeable in the great majority of the other children. The Manchester Children's Hospital speaks in the highest terms of the schools. Its Committee recognizes, however, that very often, after leaving the hospital, children do not receive proper treatment in their homes because of the thoughtlessness or ignorance of parents.

Stammering children have since 1905 been also specially treated, and classes for them have been held with excellent results.

The annual cost of dealing with defective children is as follows :

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Mentally defective child in day school Mentally defective child in residential school Crippled child in residential school Epileptic in residential school

£	s.	d.
12	0	0
25	0	0
32	0	0
37	0	0

CHAPTER VII

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, REFORMATORIES, AND BORSTAL INSTITU- TIONS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE HOME OFFICE

R. WALLER, one of the Commissioners for Prisons, and Mr. Pearson, Inspector of Industrial Schools and Reformatories, both of the Home Office, were exceed- ingly kind in granting me letters of introduction, and opportunities for visiting the industrial and reformatory schools, training ships and Borstal institutions under their care.

In the industrial schools are the smaller and neglected boys, and boys who are placed there for petty offences, such as sleeping out, wandering about the streets, pilfering off barrows, or the hundred and one things that boys who have no proper care will alv/ays do. Some of the industrial schools take only quite young boys, some take those from eight to eighteen years of age. In the day industrial schools the larger percentage of the boys are truants from other schools. These day industrial schools take boys up to the age of sixteen. In all industrial schools they are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and all the ordinary school subjects up to a recognized standard, certificated teachers under the Education Committee being employed. They are

2C2

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 203

also taught trades — such as carpentering, boot-making, seamanship, printing, tailoring, engineering, plumbing, cooking, or are trained for the army bands. When the time comes for the boy to leave, a suitable situation is found for him at the trade which he has been taught at the school, and to which the superintendent thinks he is best adapted.

I visited five of these industrial schools, two in London, two in Liverpool and one in Manchester, but will only fully describe the work done at one of these, as all are worked on the same broad lines, though they differ in some slight respects.

Barnes Industrial School for Boys is a splendidly con- ducted school for boys from four to sixteen years of age. It is situated at Heaton-Mersey, near Manchester, and I visited it in May, on my return journey to London from America. Outside, the building is most home-like, for there is not the markedly institutional character about it that I had noticed in other industrial schools I had seen. The building is approached by a winding drive through a well- kept garden of beautiful shrubs and flowers. In the centre of the institution is a high clock tower. The Governor, Mr. Housden, is a man keenly interested in his work, and is a real friend to the boys. He seemed genuinely glad to see me, and we went all over the building and grounds and saw everything there was to be seen, lingering quite a long time in some rooms. I noticed particularly how each boy brightened up when Mr. Housden spoke to him. He had a kind word for them all.

There are 275 boys in the school, or home as it is generally called, and they are taught all the usual trades and also receive instruction at educational classes that I had seen in other industrial schools under the Home Office.

The tailor's shop was one of the rooms I stayed longest in.

204 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

Here a particularly intelligent, interesting lot of boys were at work. They owed much of their brightness, no doubt, to their instructor, a fine-looking intellectual man, who had worked with Mr. Housden for many years. He showed me with great pride many samples of the boys' work, and newspaper cuttings relating to their exhibits and progress. The boys go through a three years' course, and by that time are well qualified to enter a tailors' shop.

I soon made friends with the boys, and had a long talk to them about Australia and America. They told me about their work, and I was introduced to the crack shot of the school, who was busy sewing the seams of a coat. He was a bullet-headed, sandy-haired, freckle-faced boy called Notts, who rejoiced in the nickname of " Notty." They used some words I had not heard used by any boys before. They told me several of their nicknames, and their special names for different things. Instead of a boy speaking of his mate as a " chum," or " pal," or " cobber," as the Australian and English boys do, these boys, who were gathered at this home from all parts of England, spoke of their mates as " whackers." I made one friend in this class who gave me his photo, and has written to me many times since.

In the carpenters' shops the boys were doing good work.

From there we went to the boot-making class, where a very good idea was made use of. Instead of the stands being placed in a row, they were in a circle, with the instructor in the centre, so that he had every boy practically under his eye at once. These young boot-makers wore aprons with leather bibs, and made all the boots used in the Girls' Industrial School near Manchester, as well as their own.

As we passed through the playground to the gymnasium, we saw groups of little chaps playing at games. Some

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 205

looked quite babies, though they must have been four or five. One boy, who ran up in response to a call, had the remains of an old ugly scar across his cheek and forehead. I noticed this, and Mr. Housden asked the boy to tell me how he got it. " My father hit me there with a poker," said the child. As we passed on, Mr. Housden said : " The little fellow has never really recovered from the effects of that awful blow."

I liked the arrangement of the gymnasium. It was a huge separate building, kept exclusively for physical exer- cises and drill and gymnastics. Quite a new, and to me splendid, idea were the mats under the rings. These were large cocoa-nut mats two yards by one and a half yards. They were made with handles underneath, so tnat they could be moved about easily. They had been six years in constant use, and cost £2 2s. each.

The baker's shop was another interesting department. Here, instead of the usual long-handled shovel for bringing the loaves of bread out of the oven, the baker used what he called a steel blade " peel." He explained that this bent more easily than the shovel which is customarily used.

In the band-room, the boys played us two first-class selections. One of these they read at sight. There were thirty-five boys in the band, who are drafted on, as they are ready, into the Royal Navy Band.

In the schoolrooms different lessons were being taught.

We went all through the dormitories. For beds, felt is used instead of mattresses. It can easily be washed, and is swung like a hammock.

There were several boys ill in the hospital, which the matron told me was very unusual, as Heaton-Mersey is famous for its healthy air.

A novel idea in connexion with this home was a toffee

206 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

shop, which was on one side of the playground. This shop is opened twice a week, and on holidays. The school authorities buy the sweets wholesale, and sell them at retail prices. All the profits go to the boys ; for with the money made, Christmas presents are bought and given all round.

A staff of twenty-four men and women are employed for the administration work of the whole institution.

As this school is in the country there is plenty of land about, and all along one side of the huge building ran a well cultivated vegetable and fruit garden, worked entirely by the boys.

While we were at tea in a pleasant dining-room over- looking the front garden, Mr. Housden told me different experiences he had had in his sixteen years of work at the Barnes Home. One boy had been sent to him from a lunatic asylum. With care and love by mixing with the other boys he became quite sane, and was now earning his own living. The home he came from was responsible for the child's state, Mr. Housden said. " He was treated as mad, and the boy responded to that treatment/ '

Mr. Housden believes in corporal punishment in extreme cases. He told me a story of two of his senior boys who were discovered giving out stores, etc., to other lads, and permitting them to go out at prohibited hours. When they were found out they ran away. They were caught and brought back. Mr. Housden spoke privately to them and gave them a cane to hold, saying, " Boys, that's all the stick I'm going to give you." " How did they take that treat- ment ? " continued Mr. Housden. " Well, I'll tell you. One said, ' The Gov's too soft,' and ran away again. The other improved from that day, and responded to the trust placed in him,"

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 207

Mr. Housden has control of the boys till they are sixteen years old. As they leave school they are placed in situa- tions. Some go to the country, where they are visited by Mr. Housden's confidential clerk. He pays these country homes " surprise visits," so that he can see just how the boy is treated. He sees the boy and his employer separately. In this way, if there is any complaint to be made he hears both sides of the question.

At the Holy Trinity Industrial School, Liverpool, were 200 little boys from four to thirteen years of age. They were recruited principally from neglected children.

Mr. Tom Robinson, the Governor, and the matron, his wife, are particularly fitted for their work. Mr. Robinson struck the keynote of all his work for the boys in a few words. " I like them," he said, " to feel this is their home — for all the boys I get have never known what the word ' home ' really means."

The schools have been established forty-two years. Educa- tional and trade classes are held as in the other industrial schools I visited.

All through this establishment there was a distinct effort, with good results, to ally the schoolroom work, v/here possible, with the technical training of the trade shops. Swimming, rifle shooting, football and cricket are enjoyed, and the boys go away every year to a summer camp.

When a boy is admitted, Mr. Robinson asks him what he would like to be. If he says a carpenter he is put in the carpenters' shop. If he likes it and shapes well, he specia- lizes in carpentry. As a rule, after a trial, the boy says he would like to try another trade. So Mr. Robinson lets him go on till he finds one that he likes and is adapted for.

There was a splendid swimming bath on the premises. I liked Mr. Robinson's method of organized bathing. Officers

208 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

see that the boys are properly washed ; one sees to the face, another to the feet and so on. These officers report if they see any marks or bruises on the boys. After all are well soaped, they pass on in turn to the shower which washes the soap off, and they may then have a final plunge and swim in the huge swimming bath.

A splendid feature of this school is the way the old boys cling to the home. It was Saturday afternoon when I happened to call, and in the playground numbers of big boys were playing games. Mr. Robinson said every Satur- day and Sunday twenty or thirty old boys come along and join in the games and visit the school. They have the whole of Liverpool before them, but prefer to come back to their old home.

Every year there is an annual reunion of old boys on December 30, when about 130 men and boys assemble from all parts of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and even from London. Some of these " old boys " are fifty-two years old. Mr. Robinson says they have a great influence for good on the boys in the school, whom they talk to and encourage.

Mr. Robinson believes in trusting the boys. Every Saturday and Sunday 180 of them are at liberty to go to the parks, and visit the town alone ; but they are not allowed to go to their homes. All these boys come back at a stated time, and never get into any trouble.

The cost of administration, food, clothing, etc., works out under £20 per annum for each boy. A savings bank is another interesting feature of this institution.

A splendid continuation of this work is the home for old boys next door. This house was given by a member of the Committee in memory of his son, who lost his life in the Boer War. It is for boys who have left school and gone to work, but whose wages are not yet sufficient to keep them. They

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 209

are usually boys with no homes, or bad homes. There were twelve boys in residence when I was at the Home. Each has his own most comfortable room, and is cared for by a homely, motherly woman.

At the London County Council Industrial School (High- bury Grove, London, N.), boys from eight to eighteen years are admitted. A superintendent is in charge, and there are twenty-one assistants. There is accommodation for 200 boys. The system of training is very thorough, and the work rooms are all well equipped. There was a special room devoted to the instruction of those boys who would later on be sent to sea. In this room was a splendid model of a ship. There was a wheel and compass too, and all the gear used for steering a ship. The boys were busy here learning as much as possible of a seafaring life as they could be taught on land. They were making sails, matting, and wire ropes (hemp is little used now, I was told). Two boys, who were leaving the following week, were making their kit-bags.

The carpenter's shop was excellently equipped. There was provision for two boys at each bench. Two rows of benches ran down the entire length of the room, and between each set of two was a stand, each side of which was fitted with all necessary tools. This stand had sufficient tools for the pupils working at the two benches. At one end of the room were the grindstones used by the class.

There are twenty boys in this class, and before they make an article they are required to draw a design. The article must be made to coincide with all measurements given in the design. It cost £yo to equip this room. A qualified instructor, who receives a salary of £60 a year and lives at the school, is in charge.

In the bakery the bread is made in seven oz. rolls, an

p

210 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

excellent idea, as each boy gets his own little loaf and plenty of crust.

The institution has a beautiful swimming-bath, forty feet long and graduated to six feet in depth. All the boys are taught to swim and the water is changed once a week.

In one room we found a number of boys mending shirts and darning socks under the tuition of a woman. They darned and mended very well.

There were two large schoolrooms full of boys. Many were very backward ; some quite big boys were unable to read or write. The rooms were well arranged with small desks ; each desk seated two boys. In the second room a drawing lesson was in progress. I asked the boys if they knew where Melbourne was. No one knew. Next I tried Sydney, with the same result. I further asked, " Does any boy know where Australia is, then ? " Up went one boy's hand. " Well," I said. " Where is Australia ? " " Please, miss, south of England," was the answer.

Each boy over twelve years of age, or who is in the fourth standard, has half time in school, and spends the other half in one of the different workshops.

In the big laundry, which is well equipped with all con- veniences, drying cupboards, etc., boys wash and iron every day.

The bath-rooms present novel features. Each bath holds six boys at a time. It is thought more hygienic for the boys to wash under a tap than in a basin, so there are no washing basins. The taps are fitted with sprays, and the water runs away into an inverted drain. Each boy has his own tap and towel, so that there is no danger of any con- tagious disease being passed on. Each boy has his own toothbrush. His clothes, towel, and all articles belonging to him are marked with a number^regarded as specially his.

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 211

A splendid system of encouragement is employed at this institution. When a boy is admitted to the school he is rele- gated to the fourth class. Here he receives no money for three months. If he improves at the end of the three months, he is moved into the third class, where he receives 2d. a month. In the second class he is given 4^., and, in the first class, 6d. Also in the first class he can earn a star, which entitles him to 2d. extra for the month. Or, he may, if his behaviour is ex- ceptionally good, receive two stars. If a boy misbehaves, marks are taken off. So if he loses twelve marks, he only receives a penny.

Corporal punishment is only used for very bad behaviour, and the boy who receives it is set back to class four, which is the lowest grade in the school. Half of the money the boy earns he is allowed to spend ; the other half is banked and given to him, with interest, when he leaves.

Parents are allowed to visit their boys once a quarter. But in almost every case, the authorities do all they can to prevent the boy going back to his home, as the consequences of his doing so are nearly always disastrous.

The reformatories take charge of boys up to the age of nineteen years. I visited two of these institutions, the Cornwall, which is a training ship in Essex, and the Heswall Nautical School in Cheshire, near Liverpool.

The Cornwall is the only reformatory training ship now under the Home Office Department, though they have six others for training industrial school boys. The Cornwall is moored in the Thames at Purfleet, in Essex. After about five minutes' walk from the station, I arrived at some high gates which were shut but not locked, and passed on to the water's edge to a small jetty, from where a man signalled for a boat, which was put off from the ship, and manned by the boys. I was soon on board, and was

212 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

met by the chief officer and taken to the captain's quarters, where he and his family live.

Captain Steel, who has been in command for nine years, gave me the history of the ship and explained the work among the boys.

The Cornwall is a wooden ship, was built at Bombay in 1 8 15, and was in the China War in 1841. Now her seventy- two guns have been taken out of her, and she is moored on the spot where the original training ship of the same name was first moored, fifty-one years ago. In these fifty years 4,420 boys have been trained on the reformatory ship.

Boys from twelve to sixteen years of age are received here from the courts, and are wards of the State till nineteen years of age. This does not necessarily mean that a boy must stay on the ship all these years. If his behaviour is good, he is drafted on to a merchant ship in some capacity, or into the army, or to other situations, but he is kept under supervision and has to report himself every three months.

There is accommodation for 275 boys on board, and the ship is always full. As one boy is placed in a situation another is waiting to take his place. In 1910, ninety-eight boys were sent to sea and these mostly in small vessels, such as brigantines, schooners, and ketches, the advantage of this being that these smaller vessels retain their " hands " when they are being repaired. At these times, and while on shore, the captains keep an eye on the boys.

Some boys are naturally not fitted for the sea, so they are placed in other suitable employment.

There are three schoolmasters on board, the lads' educa- tion being very carefully and systematically considered. It is estimated that 6 per cent, of the boys coming on board can neither read nor write.

A practical navigation class is taken by the captain.

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 213

Ship's carpentry and tailoring are learnt, and all the boys are taught to mend their own clothes. A suit costs about ten shillings.

The physical training includes signalling, gunnery in- struction, and free and applied gymnastics. Rifle shooting and swimming are also taught.

The boys have the use of a large strip of land along the banks of the Thames, where they indulge in athletic sports and games. Twice a week they are landed here for games and on Sundays may go for walks.

The boys sleep in hammocks on the orlop and main decks. They have a blanket over them, and their clothes for a pillow. The daily fare is plain and good ; the boys on the whole look healthy.

I noticed one boy with a very pale face, and asked him how long he had been on board ; he said, " Two days." " Ah," said the captain, S( we'll soon make you fat and strong here."

If a boy's conduct is good and the home influence good, he is allowed home on leave for a week at a time. It is felt that these home visits are often an influence for good on the parents, some of whom try to improve their homes, so that they may have their boys home on leave.

The letters from old boys abroad are very interesting and encouraging. In one I read from Wycliffe College, Toronto, the boy spoke of having successfully passed his second year.

The comparative cost per boy, including all expenses, both of maintenance and management on the Cornwall, for the year ending June 30, 191 1, was £29 8s. <\d.

A careful list of the boys visited or heard of during the year is kept. Many former inmates revisit their old home.

On leaving the ship, I visited the hospital on the river

214 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

bank. Here I saw nine beds ; three of these were occupied. But the sister in charge told me that there were very few serious cases of illness among the Cornwall boys.

Ten years ago, when I was in Liverpool, I went several times on board the Akbar, which then lay anchored in the Mersey. It was a reformatory training ship that had once been a wooden battleship. In May, 1912, as I returned from America, I spent an intensely interesting day at the Heswall Nautical School. This school now takes the place of the Akbar, which has been disbanded. The improvement in all the methods used for the boys' training in these ten years was most noticeable. Here, the most difficult boys to manage are sent from the courts and from other reformatories.

Heswall is in Cheshire, and some distance from Liverpool. At this quiet out-of-the-world station I was met one Sunday by two petty officers from the school, in uniform. One was in the Marines, and the other in the Nautical School. A carriage was in waiting, and we drove through a very picturesque village to the school, which is over the brow of a hill, facing, and close to the broad stream of the River Dee. The school is quite new, and is a large, square, grey, cement building. The land for it was donated, and the building alone cost £17,500. There are no other houses near, except two or three detached cottages in which the officers live.

Arrived at the school we were met by Captain Beutler, the Superintendent, who, though quite a young man, has a most distinctive personality. He is a strict disciplinarian. He took me through his office, which commands a view of the quadrangle and is in direct communication by telephone with every room and department, and introduced me to Mrs. Beutler. It was interesting to hear that they had

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 215

both been in Melbourne, and that they had first met each other on the steamer coming to England.

Every Sunday morning Captain Beutler holds an inspec- tion, and Mrs. Beutler and I went round with him. We were preceded by a bugler, who announced our arrival at each quarter. Everything was just splendid.

The school is especially famous for its magnificently equipped Marconi wireless room. Adjoining this is the room where the boys are instructed in this branch. They become so efficient and are so well trained that' they are in great demand. When I mentioned this department par- ticularly at the Home Office in London, Mr. Waller, one of the Prison Commissioners, smiled and said : " Yes, and their kit is quite an item/' For, of course, on board ship they rank almost as officers and have to be suitably dressed. The boys sent several messages as we watched them.

An up-to-date signalling room was another important feature of the school ; the boys signalled with flags and with different coloured lights. In this room are most complete models of cardboard ships. At the mast-heads of these are all the different coloured lights used at sea. As the boys signalled, an electric current connected with the mast-heads showed the varying colours of the lights.

Across the lawn, in front of the school, was a perfect mast of a ship with all the ropes and gear, This also has its head- light, and so the boys learn to read the language of lights.

From the Marconi and signalling rooms we went to the dining-hall, or mess room. Each boy in charge of a mess sees to the laying of the table, and also sees that his mess, which consists of twelve boys, get their meals properly- At the end of the table, fixed on to the wall, was a circular wooden frame. On this were hanging up, in order, the mugs, knives, forks and spoons for each table. Holes were

216 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

bored in the handles of the cutlery, which hung on hooks. The mugs were of aluminium. Captain Beutler does not believe in enamelled ware, says it chips and is liable to cause appendicitis, so all the articles used in cooking at the school are of china, or tin. China plates are used, and each boy has to pay for his own breakages.

Off the long dining-hall was the kitchen, where some of the boys, dressed in white and with white caps on their heads, were preparing the dinners under a chef. Later on these boys go to sea as cooks, and are thoroughly qualified.

From the kitchen we passed on to the storerooms, and then upstairs to one set of dormitories. At the end of each dormitory there is an officer's room, and there are always officers on sentry duty.

There are 210 boys in the school, and four dormitories with fifty-two boys in each. They sleep in hammocks, swung in groups of threes. There is less chance of conspiracy, says Captain Beutler, with three than two boys. The boys roll in a rug when they turn in, and then have another rug to throw over themselves. I noticed that they had no sleeping suits and inquired why. Captain Beutler said : " I'm glad you asked ; we don't have them because we can't afford them."

We next went to the bath-rooms, which were in splendid order, with plenty of shower-baths and basins of yellow ware.

Then we crossed the huge quadrangle to the other side of the building, and went over other dormitories. They were arranged on the same principle, the only distinguishing feature being the different coloured rugs and decorations. The boys and officers vie with each other in the arrangement, and colour of their different dormitories.

Our next visit of inspection was to the shooting range. It

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 217

was in a long special room, and was cleverly designed. At one end, hills and valleys and semaphores and different signalling points were introduced. All these ideas are Captain Beutler 's own, and make the instruction much more interesting.

The boys learn seamanship on the hull of a ship. They learn wire, not rope splicing. Captain Beulter pointed out that ropes are being discarded at sea now. No pains or opportunities are spared to make a boy ready for sea when he leaves the school.

While we had been inspecting the different rooms, the boys were being massed below in the quadrangle, ready for the march past. This was magnificent.

Preceded by the band the boys marched by in squads. They moved as one man, and all wheeled round in companies and saluted. It was a sight I shall never forget, for I have never seen more perfect uniformity. The boys belonging to the Marines wore red bands on their caps, to distinguish them from the others. All were in nautical uniform, and all carried themselves splendidly. They are drilled on the Swedish system, and Captain Beutler believes in keeping the boys so busy all the while that they have no time for mischief.

Captain Beutler says brass bands are of no ultimate good, so he has formed a bugle band, as boy buglers are always in demand. While the march past was in progress, some boys for a punishment had to stand apart with their faces to the wall.

An ideal little chapel is attached to the school, and there is a resident chaplain in charge of it. After the march past the boys marched into chapel. Mrs. Beutler, one of the Board of Committee and I sat on seats in the front, near the choir, which consisted entirely of the boys. There

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was a surpliced choir of twenty boys, who sang extremely well. One of the officers acted as organist, and the boys listened and behaved very reverently all through the service.

After the service we saw the boys march to their dinner, and waited till they were all served. They had a very substantial appetising dinner, and we left them at it while we went to our own.

I was interested to hear that the boys are arranged in detachments by size, not ages. So all the little boys are on one side of the quadrangle, and the big boys on the other. Over the 210 boys, are twelve paid officers, and some of the elder dependable boys are made into petty officers.

The boys at this school, being recruited from the most difficult of reformatory boys, many of the faces were of a low type. Captain Beutler believes firmly in corporal punishment, and says he would not undertake an institution of this kind without it. He says he likes the ugly boys best ; they turn out the best men. They are encouraged by a system of marks, and as they improve they receive money for good conduct. It is compulsory for each boy to have a bath every day. They also attend school.

After dinner Mrs. Beutler took me through the two small wards set apart for a hospital. Each bed was occupied, and a nurse was in charge. A boy attendant in a white uniform helped her.

Both Captain and Mrs. Beutler are keenly interested in their boys, and the whole alert, up-to-date, orderly air of the institution impressed me very strongly.

Mr. Sedgwick, a worker among boys in London, gave me much valuable information about boys' homes in Lon- don, and introduced me to the Reformatory and Refuge Union or Children's Aid Society, which has its central offices in Victoria Street, Westminster.

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, TRAINING SHIPS, ETC. 219

This Union is a central organization, through which the various institutions of England for child-rescue work co- operate for purposes of common interest. Here, rescue and reformatory workers can procure any kind of information they require. The Union issues a classified list of child- saving institutions, which has already gone through twenty editions, and which I found extremely helpful in my re- searches.

The Union is also in touch with a large staff of probation officers who work through this centre. It has six mission houses in different parts of London, a Provident and Benevo- lent Fund, and an Emigration Agency in Canada. It is also more or less responsible for " The Anchorage" (a home for young women), the ''Grotto Home " (a home for poor working boys), " The Girls' Protective Home," which gives girls domes- tic training, and many other institutions for men and women.

I was received most kindly at the central offices by Mr. Arthur Maddison, the Secretary, who gave me much interest- ing information, and explained to me that the chief aim of the Union is to reclaim the neglected and criminal by educat- ing them in the fear of God and in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Mr. Maddison was an elderly man who had seen many years of service, and so he was well qualified to give information and advice as to the best managed children's aid societies.

One of the homes he advised me to visit was the " Grotto Home for Working Boys " at Paddington. " If you want to see the boys, you had better goat about 8 p.m.," he said, " for they are home by then."

I went one evening, arriving just at 8 o'clock. The Super- intendent took me straight through to the large room, where all the boys were assembled after their day's work.

Mr. Herbert, the Superintendent, was just splendid with

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the boys, who all treated him, as he did them, as a friend. There were forty-five boys in the Home, that being all it could accommodate ; but applications are always being received from boys who want to go to this Home.

The boys are all very poor lads, between thirteen and six- teen years of age who go out to daily work, but whose earn- ings are too small for them to lodge at any boarding house. They are boys who have for the most part been trained in industrial homes, and are drafted into the working homes as soon as suitable situations can be found for them.

At the Grotto Home, after work is over, the boys receive evening instruction in school work, on certain nights. All sorts of games are provided for them, and their life is made as homelike as is possible in an institution.

The boys contribute to their support according to their earnings, so that if a boy gets 5s. a week, he gives 4s. ; if his wage is 6s., he gives 5s. The wages of the boys average Ss. 6d. per week.

After Mr. Herbert had told me this, we stood and talked in the midst of a group of boys, who now and again joined in the conversation. I said : " And so each boy has is. a week pocket money ? " " Oh, no," said Mr. Herbert. " We di- vide that up again ; 2d. goes for the holiday fund, 2d. to- wards clothes, and 2d. goes into the bank ; and then the boy has 6d., which he can spend or save." The boys are en- couraged to save. Mr. Herbert gives them in turn different work about the Home to do, for which he pays them. He has a monitor, whom he trains to help him. He says the boys never give him any trouble at all. They always come straight home from work, and on Saturday and Sunday, when they may go where they please, are always in on the tick of the clock, if not before closing time.

Mr. Herbert aims at getting every boy he can into a

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trade, or into some situation that he can progress in. He does not care to let them be employed temporarily as errand boys. The boys all listened eagerly as we talked, and, at Mr. Herbert's request, those around told me in turn what they worked at. One boy said that he worked at an um- brella-maker's, another at a watchmaker's, and so on.

The boys have their breakfast in the Home before going to work, at times to suit them, and dinner is on from 12 till 2 p.m. Mr. Herbert makes a point of always being in to dinner, and carves himself. He says he gets the best meat and the best food for his charges, and it always pays in the long run.

We went upstairs and saw the three dormitories where the boys sleep. They all make their own beds.

Friday night is called laundry night. Every boy has to be in at 9 p.m. that day, to hand over his washing.

Mr. Herbert told me while we were looking over the dormi- tories that one Friday night he was out, and, before he was aware of the time, found it was 10 p.m. He felt annoyed, and said to his wife : " There's a bother ! Laundry night ! We won't get the boys to bed till all hours ! " But when he arrived home everything was as still as the grave, and all lights out. What happened was this. When 9 o'clock had passed, and he was not in, the monitor and his children's nurse (a girl of eighteen) gathered the boys together, took the laundry list, and then the nurse read prayers to the boys, who all went to bed as usual !

CHAPTER VIII HOSPITALS

THE principal London hospital I visited was the London Hospital at Whitechapel for men, women, and chil- dren. It is a wonderful institution, and intensely interesting — an immense place ; we were more than two hours walking through its different departments. There are 1,000 patients, and the number of outpatients seeking relief amounts on some days to 1,500. They wait their turn to see the doctors in a spacious hall, like a lecture hall. The old patients are seated in one part, the new in another. Each portion is described by a huge placard. Adjoining the hall are refresh- ment rooms, where those who have a long time to wait can have meals at reasonable rates. Special diseases are at- tended to on different days. A day is set apart for ophthal- mic diseases, another for affections of the throat and ears, and other days for other ailments. We saw rows and rows of women and children in this room. In another room were a number of men, all patiently awaiting their turn.

We went through the huge store-rooms which house the supplies of the institution, and on to the X-ray room, where we saw some children being treated for ringworm. In the radium room every chair was occupied by young and old men and women. All were being treated for cancerous growths, and others were waiting their turn.

There is a special room for the treatment of ophthalmic

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patients. In another room post-nasal growths are removed. There are numerous operating theatres.

An interesting portion of the Hospital is that for Jews only, the money for which was donated by a rich Jew. It has two wards, all beautifully tiled, airy and light. Each bed is fitted with a pair of curtains which can be drawn at pleasure, and has a red flannel coverlet, reaching half-way up the bed, which gives a warm cheery look to the whole ward. Half- way across the bed is a brass rod ; on this are hung the patient's name, dietary scale, etc. In addition, a very in- genious table can be placed when required, and can be pushed to the foot of the bed when not in use. In conjunc- tion with these wards is a special kitchen, where all the food for Jewish patients is prepared.

We went through the men's and boys' wards. In one there were a number of boys, one only seven. The children's ward is beautiful. Here were babies and little ones up to three years of age. Some were such white-faced, shrunken children. All sorts of toys are provided for them. One little girl of three was proudly carrying a beautiful doll up and down the ward. Another little sufferer in bed was crying to have that doll.

Last of all, we visited the nurses' quarters, which are very comfortable and most artistically furnished, with big com- fortable chairs and couches for resting. There are 700 nurses on the Hospital staff ; 250 of these are called private staff nurses, and are sent out to nurse private cases. All the sisters and nurses off duty were busy preparing for Christmas, when they vie with each other in making their wards beautiful with all sorts of devices and pretty decorations.

The Hospital is built round a huge square. In the centre of this is a garden, in which the convalescent patients sit in the summer.

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The Infants' Hospital at Vincent Square, Westminster, was founded in 1903, for the scientific treatment of young babies suffering from the diseases and disorders of nutrition. The Committee aim at making it a centre for the treatment of infantile diseases, and for the study of all the factors con- nected with the rearing of a strong people. I had heard of this Hospital at the Conference for the Prevention of Destitu- tion. At the Eugenics Conference it was brought again to my mind, for Mr. Robert Mond, who entertained the members of the Conference at a garden-party, is the Treasurer of the Hospital. I visited it just before I left London, and was much impressed by its methods and up-to-date arrange- ments. There are fifty cots in the Hospital ; an outpatient department ; a lecture theatre ; a milk laboratory ; a re- search laboratory ; a board-room and office ; and accommo- dation for the nursing and domestic staff. Mr. Robert Mond built and equipped the present building in 1907 as a memorial to his wife, who took a deep interest in the work from its establishment.

The matron, Miss Grasett, who showed me over, took me first to the lecture room, where lectures on all matters con- nected with infant feeding and management are delivered to nurses, lady visitors, and others interested in the study of infant life. She told me that the lectures were much appreciated and largely attended. The training of nurses for the care of infants is an important part of the work of the Hospital.

We next went upstairs to the wards ; there are two of these, one above the other. Each ward holds twenty-five cots. The wards are beautifully bright and airy, and the babies looked very comfortable in their tiny cots, all except two little sufferers from bronchial pneumonia, who were inhaling steam from kettles. The rooms were gay with

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flowers which, the matron said, were brought principally by the parents of the babies. She told me that the Hospital is entirely free. No payments of any kind, nor letters of ad- mission are required. But only infants of the very poor, suffering from disorders, or diseases of nutrition, are eligible for admission. Patients are seen by the house-doctor, with a view to admission, every week-day at 1.30 p.m.

The milk laboratory is most interesting. It is fitted with all requisite appliances, including sterilizing apparatus for the bottles and other utensils, and refrigerating machinery with specially adapted contrivances for keeping the milk at a low temperature. I saw all the bottles here which had been prepared according to the percentage of milk prescribed for each infant. Since November, 1909, all the milk used in the Hospital has been received from a farm at Sevenoaks in Kent established by Mr. Robert Mond. At this farm the strictest requirements as to the quality and purity of the milk are en- forced. Even the diet of the cows is highly specialized and the Committee claim that " the arrangements connected with the production and handling of the milk before it comes into the wards are the nearest approach to perfection yet attained in England or any other country/'

The up-keep of the Hospital amounts to £3,000 per annum, and the Committee in their report for 1911 were able to say that the income of the Hospital was sufficient to meet the expenditure. It is entirely supported by voluntary contribu- tions.

I also went over the Victoria Hospital for children at Chel- sea. It is for boys and girls, and has accommodation for no patients. It was nearly bedtime when I arrived, and I saw all the children being bathed and prepared for the night. The wards were very cheerful looking, and were tiled in

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green ; the floors were highly polished, and so were the brass plates on each cot, which gave the name of the cot and by whom it was given. I noticed the charts were all at the foot of the bed, and the matron explained that they were kept there because the children sometimes tore them when they were over their heads. Some of the small patients were sleeping on the balconies. This Hospital recruits the chil- dren from the poorest parts of Chelsea.

Naturally, my first inquiry when I came to London was, " What work is being done among the newsboys ? " And so, just four weeks after my arrival, I was introduced to the Lon- don Newsboys' Club, and from that time till I left, I had the great pleasure of working among and of knowing the London newsboys almost as well as I do my own boys in Melbourne.

In 1 91 1 the selling of papers in the streets was restricted to boys over fourteen years of age. So the majority of the London newsboys are, perhaps, a little older than those of Melbourne. But in all their best characteristics they are very much alike. They have the same battle, the same work, the same bright intelligence, the same grateful hearts, and the same loyalty to each other. Only in London the fight is so much more severe, the daily battle against actual starva- tion, a much grimmer thing. That was explained in a few words by a boy in my night-school class. I was reading to it a letter I had from one of Melbourne's fortunate news- boys. He mentioned that he made 25s. a week. Every boy looked quickly up, amazed at the idea of such a princely income. A bright little boy said, " Twenty-five shillings ! Why, we're lucky if we can take 3d. a night to take home to our mothers ! "

The Newsboys' Club was opened in October, 1910, it being made possible by the generosity of Mr. Hamilton Edwards, who has always been greatly interested in the

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welfare of newsboys and was anxious to help them in the strenuous life they live. It will illustrate the great need, and the wonderful appreciation of the Newsboys' Club by London street boys, to mention that though there were only 200 members enrolled at its inception, the membership had rapidly increased to 1,000 boys at the end of 1911.

The club was started, in the first instance, to provide a place of refuge for the hundreds of little boys and older lads employed upon the streets selling the evening papers, and for those employed in similar occupations. The club aims at giving them recreation, instruction and above all, a shelter which they can turn to in all weathers and at all times, and where they will always find a helping hand and sympathetic helpful advice. The home of the Newsboys' Club is in Far- ringdon Street, E.C., and is a four-storied building, with a large basement. The basement is fitted with three shower baths. Hot and cold water is laid on, and there are three large baths and several washbasins. Forty boys can bathe in one hour if necessary, and the management encourage every member to have a bath at least once a week. The basement also contains a miniature rifle-range, wash rooms, a boiler-house, and drying room for boys' clothes on wet days, and the building is heated throughout from this point.

On the ground floor is the gymnasium. This room is also used for a game room and concert room, and can accommo- date 300 boys.

The dining-room is on the first floor ; 200 boys can be seated in it at a time. Meals are served over the counter by a woman in charge, from 11 a.m. till 10 p.m., so that boys can get good wholesome food all day at a very small cost. The second floor is used for drilling scouts and cadets, and for the evening classes. The third floor is occupied by a

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billiard room for the elder lads. There is a well equipped dispensary and also a carpenter's shop.

The kitchen is on the fourth floor and is fitted up with gas cookers, soup boilers, ovens, larder, etc. On the occasion of a Christmas dinner given to the lads, over 500 dinners were cooked here, consisting of goose, roast beef, two vegetables, Christmas pudding, and mince pies. A lift connects the kitchen with the dining-room, so that everything cooked can be served hot.

The principal activities of the club are technical classes in boot mending, metalwork and woodwork ; other educa- tional classes are also arranged for. A scout troop has been formed and there is a Cadet Company for the senior lads. Concerts, gymnastic displays, and lectures are given during the week, while on Sunday afternoon there is now a bright, interesting Bible class, taken by a lady. A good library is another feature.

The organization and its work are in charge of Mr. Godfrey Halsey, a splendid man, who loves the boys and the work, and is in every way adapted to the training and influencing of these little fellows who look to him in all their troubles and difficulties. The working of the club, situated, as all news- boys' clubs must necessarily be, in the heart of the city, requires a large income, and the expenditure is about £1,500 per annum. Each boy on joining the Newsboys' Club, if under sixteen, pays id. a week until his annual subscription of 2s. is paid ; if over sixteen, he pays 2d. a week, his yearly subscription being 4s.

Old clothes sent in are sold to the members very cheaply, not given away. In connexion with the boys' own clothing, which is generally very ragged, Miss Grierson, a warm- hearted young lady who is deeply interested in the boys, especially in the scouts, attends voluntarily on certain even-

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ings during the week, and while she is busy patching and darning dilapidated garments, she teaches the boys how to mend their own clothes.

All through my stay in London I spent every Wednesday evening with the boys, and had Sunday-school with them. We had all sorts of lessons, and many interesting talks. They were particularly interested in hearing of Australia, and after a time acquired a fair knowledge of Australia's geography and productions. I encouraged them to write to the Melbourne newsboys, who promptly responded, and before I left several of them had begun regular correspondences with Melbourne boys. They naturally, after being interested in Australia, wished to get there, and Miss May Parker, who has always been a generous friend of the Melbourne newsboys, very kindly offered to pay the passages of three of the brightest boys, whom she saw in school one evening, to Victoria, where their wish is to go on the land. We hope, as opportunities open, that many of the boys will find their way to the wide expanses of the Sunny South, where life holds brighter pros- pects for them than ever it could in overcrowded London.

During my stay I was able to visit many of the boys' homes. They were in the poorest quarters, and after thread- ing my way under guidance out of the maze of courts and lanes and alleys to where was the only place the boys could call " home," I marvelled that, in spite of such surroundings, so many fine young characters had lived and thrived. Some of the mothers told me that they themselves had never been out of London in their lives, and yet they willingly gave their consent to their sons going to Australia, when they thought it would mean more chances and a better future for them.

One of the brightest and happiest days the London news- boys and I spent together was in the summer, when some

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Australian friends helped me to take forty-five of them for a happy day in the country.

We took those who had attended my Sunday and night- school classes to Epping Forest, and there, on a gloriously bright summer day, they revelled to their heart's con- tent, playing games, riding donkeys, and running races. We finished up with a real Australian tea. The boys' height of happiness was reached when they found that, amongst other good things, we had provided real meat sandwiches for the tea. It was a happy day, and yet it had its pathos to those of us for whom picnics were no rare and new joy. When the boys took off their coats for the races, several had only parts of shirts underneath, and their boots and stockings, when they had any, were in a pitiable condi- tion. I was deeply touched the next night we had school, when the boys, of their own wish, wrote to thank the friends who had helped to give them such a happy day. One little fellow finished up his letter by saying : " Dear Sir, it is the first and very best picnic I have ever been to."

Although during my stay in London I visited many news- boys' homes, I remember especially some I went to just be- fore Christmas-time.

I was escorted by two of the boys, for I could never have found my way through the labyrinth of lanes and alleys and courts without them. Outside squalid public-houses I noted many women with babies in their arms. Beer was handed out to the women who could not find any one to hold their children. For since the passing of the Act pro- hibiting children under fourteen years of age from entering bars, a mother cannot now take her child in with her. Inside other public-houses mothers sat drinking, while tiny children crawled about on the dirty pavements outside, or were looked after in groups by some of the " little mothers " of

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London. These little girls, as soon as they can nurse a baby, have entire charge of all the younger members of the family.

In the first house I entered there were ten children, six boys and four girls. The mother and father both worked and made £1. ys. a week between them. Mrs. G. told me that her husband was once a cab driver, but that he had lost his work because taxis were supplanting cabs. She was of the virago type, and smelt strongly of drink. In the small crowded kitchen that I was asked to go into, there were lines of clothes suspended from the ceiling. All were dripping wet. Another woman, who lived up three flights of narrow winding and filthy stairs, had quite a clean room, with another leading off it. There was a bed in each and a table, but no proper kitchen or scullery, and not a sign of a bath- room anywhere in these houses. One knocked four times for the fourth floor, three times for the third, twice for the second.

In one of the poorest rooms I visited, a tiny girl lay dan- gerously ill with congestion of the lungs, contracted after measles. She was in a high state of fever, and had only a little petticoat on. Her hands were black with dirt, and her mother, a kind-hearted creature, seemed beside herself with anxiety. The room was in darkness, with the exception of a fire. I found out afterwards that they had not a penny in the house to put in the gas slot. Two little half-starved boys from this family were very regular attendants at my school class. They were nearly always half naked. I asked these little boys one night however they managed at home, while their father was ill in hospital for six weeks. They shook their little heads, and there was a world of meaning in their answer : " Rough, miss, rough ! "

These are only two or three cases, but they are typical of

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hundreds of others. All hopeless, it seemed to me ! Drink was a cause of misery in almost every house, but it was drunkenness induced by poverty. The misery and squalor of the surroundings and insufficient nourishment were only too evident. The women did not resent my going to see them at all. They all told me of their troubles and all wished me a happy Christmas over and over again. It seemed mockery to say to them in return: " The same to you, and many of them."

CHAPTER IX

HOMES FOR BOYS

DR. BARNARDO'S homes for boys are so' well known and have been so often described that I will not devote much space to them, as they have no specially modern feature, and I am only dealing with experiments likely to be helpful to Australian reformers. I twice visited the huge institution at Stepney, which is specially for boys, and which is also the head office and centre from which are worked the country homes and other branches for boys and girls in England and Canada. At the Central Agency in Liverpool and other large cities, the late Dr. Barnardo insti- tuted what are known as " Ever-open Doors/' and all orphan and neglected children who apply to these are sent to the homes specially adapted for them. The Girls' Village Home at Ilford is particularly progressive, and is built on the cottage principle. I was told a good deal about its methods by one of the workers, but had not an opportunity of seeing it myself.

At Stepney, which is in the very heart of the East End, besides the Boys' Homes and offices, there are a creche and a very fine hospital. The creche, which was established by Mrs. Hilton, was the first to be opened in London. On the death of Mrs. Hilton, Dr. Barnardo took over the work, which is still carried on in the building adjoining the Boys' Home. To the creche are brought every day between twenty and

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thirty babies and tiny tots up to three years old, who are cared for while their mothers are at work. In the first room I saw the smallest babies. Some were sound asleep in a square enclosed bed-cot on the floor. Others were making merry, or sleeping, in small cradles all round the room. The nurses seemed very fond of their charges, and told me that as soon as the babies were brought to them in the morning, they took off their clothes and bathed them, then dressed them in the Barnardo Home clothes, putting their own cloth- ing into specially disinfected cupboards. Then, when the children were called for at night they were dressed again in their own clothes. There were four or five rooms in the creche, and children of different ages were in separate rooms. The charge to the mothers is 2d. for each child, per day.

From the creche I was shown all through the Boys' Home by the Chief of the Staff. In the bootmaking class the boys make and repair all the boots for the 9,400 children who are at present under the Society's care. There are three benches in this class-room. New boys are placed at the one at the back of the room, and as they improve gradually work their way to the front bench.

The tailoring department is a very hive of industry, for from it are turned out all the boys' uniforms which are made at the Home. This uniform is of navy blue cloth, piped with red, the band boys' uniform being distinguished by broad red stripes down the seam of the trousers. This class also makes the outfit of all boys going abroad.

In the bakery, bread is made for all the boys — for all the homes, indeed, under the care of the management. Here 800 4-lb. loaves (ij tons) are turned out every day.

The blacksmiths make and mend carts, do all iron work connected with the institution, and also take in outside work.

HOMES FOR BOYS 235

The mat-making work is most interesting ; boys in this department make mats by hand, or loom, and were busy on the mats for the White Star Line when I saw them.

In the brush-making class are made all sorts of brooms and brushes for the use of the different homes, and also for sale.

The tinsmiths' shop makes kettles and kitchen utensils. The carpenters were turning out boxes for boys who were soon going to emigrate.

In a large class-room, a history lesson was in progress, and questions put were answered correctly and brightly. There are 390 boys in residence in this Home alone.

In each class the instructor in charge seemed specially adapted for his position, and I was particularly struck with the sympathetic way instructors treated the boys. Most of them had been associated with the Home for many years.

Across the narrow street is the Hospital where babies, boys and a few girls, are treated ; for the Girls' Village Home has its own hospital, which is quite an institution in itself.

I was interested to learn from the matron that " Babies Castle," in Kent, had been abandoned. The Committee found that babies did not thrive under institutional manage- ment. Babies that come under the institution's care now are boarded out in homes, with the result that they thrive.

The Foundling Hospital, a private foundation, was founded in 1759 by Charter of King George II, so it is now over 150 years old. The statue of its philanthropic founder is placed before the iron gateway at the entrance. Only illegitimate children under twelve months old are admitted, and over these children the authorities have full and sole legal control up to the age of twenty-one. When the infant first comes to the institution, it is boarded out in a supervised home till it is five years old. After that age it takes its place in the Hospital, which is really a Home. The children are given the usual Board

236 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

School education. For the boys the principal training seems to be a musical one, so that when they leave they can join the army bands. The girls are placed in situations at sixteen, and the boys at fifteen years of age, the girls having been first trained for domestic service. There are over 600 inmates in the Home at a time. The maintenance and upkeep for 1910 cost £27,233 8s. lod. ; but no appeal is made to the public, as the Hospital was so handsomely endowed by its founder.

On my second visit to the Hospital, I attended morning service in the chapel. It is a plain building ; the visitors sit in enclosed seats facing the aisle. All the boys and girls resident at the Hospital who are old enough to attend church were seated in the gallery — the boys on the right side of the organ, the girls on the left. They formed the choir, with the assistance of six professional singers, and the music was of a high order. The girls all wore white starched Dutch caps, white aprons, and brown homespun dresses with short sleeves, finished with a white band. On their hands they wore long brown mittens, and round their necks red collars. The boys were all dressed in brown homespun suits, with turndown collars and red ties. During prayers, the girls put their aprons before their eyes. It was a pretty and touching sight.

After the service we went through to the dining-rooms, and saw the children at dinner. The girls and the tiny boys were in one room, the bigger boys in another. Before they commenced their meal the children stood up. They all shut their eyes, put their hands together, and said a simple grace. The food was good ; but I was struck with the lack of warmth and sympathy on the part of the Matron and attendants. I had noticed the same absence of personal interest when I visited the institution the week before.

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There was no enthusiasm ; the staff seemed to work like a huge, emotionless machine.

The day I visited the " Homes for Little Boys," I could almost have imagined myself transported back to the Roy- crofters' village at East Aurora ; for here is an ideal village, ideally situated, with a most competent and progressive secretary, whu with his wife controls this organization which gives a " Home," in the fullest sense of the word, to over three hundred little boys. These boys, who are admitted as young as two and a half years, are either orphans or the younger sons of widows. I first met Mr. Percy Roberts, the Secretary, through our Government emigration office. He was sending some of his older trained boys to Victoria, and wanted to know whether there was any one in Melbourne who would take a personal interest in them, with whom he might communicate on the boys' behalf. Mr. Roberts asked me to go and see " his boys " ; so I went on the first opportunity.

Farningham is about an hour by rail from Victoria, through Dulwich, Bromley and Beckenham. It was autumn, and the woods we passed through were all in the glory of their red, brown and gold leafage. At the station, I found a brougham waiting for me, and after a quarter of an hour's drive through the narrowest winding lanes, and up and down steep hills, we arrived at the gateway of the Home. It is built on a rise, and surrounding it are stretches of hill and dale, on two or three sides, without buildings of any sort, as far as the eye can see. The air was bracing and clear after a week of London fogs, and as we drove up the avenue of chestnuts to the Secretary's house, I was full of admiration for all I saw.

The Home is on the cottage principle, and was the first institution in England to adopt that plan; in fact, I think

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Mr. Roberts told me it was the first cottage home in Europe. There are eleven cottages with accommodation for thirty boys in each. In this Home, which is really a village, imagine these cottages as gabled, two-storied, detached houses in gardens. Scattered among them are the school house ; workshops, hospital, gymnasium, dining hall, which is the original old schoolhouse, central offices, greenhouses, and a beautifully designed little church. On the outskirts are the farm buildings. All this I took in as we drove through the principal street up to the Secretary's creeper-clad house, which stood in the midst of a many-hued flower garden. Needless to say there are no fences ; no dividing hedges round the gardens of the different cottages, and this gives them a friendly attitude towards each other.

We drew up at what is known as " Central." Here Mrs. Roberts received me, and explained that Mr. Roberts had been unexpectedly called away, but that she herself would be glad to show me over the Homes. We had an hour before luncheon, so went round one of the pathways to the green- houses, and on to the cowsheds, stables and poultry yards, where the boys who are being trained for farmers get their practical experience. In our walk we met several groups of little boys, dressed in ordinary clothes, not in uniforms, and wearing white collars. They were bareheaded, and all looked very happy and well cared for. As we turned home, Mrs. Roberts told me something of the methods and of the history of the Homes.

The organization was founded in 1861. At first the work was carried on in Tottenham, London, but after two years of city life, the present site was bought, and the boys were taken to this beautiful, health-giving spot in the country. At the head of each cottage is a matron, as the Committee believe that better results are obtained when a woman only

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is in charge. Each cottage is known by a number, and the boys have their breakfast and tea in their own cottage ; their dinner, or midday meal, they all, except the babies, take together, in the large central dining-hall. The children are admitted from the age of two and a half years, and kept and cared for till they are trained in some work by which they can earn their own livelihood. Thus they have every chance to grow into good and useful citizens. Those chosen are taken from the poorest homes.

When a widow is left with a large family to 'provide for, the " Homes Committee " help her by taking her youngest boys. It is in this way made easier for her to provide for herself and her other children.

One of the mottoes of the Home is : " Not to make money, but to make men is the noblest purpose in life." Accord- ingly, the work of the Homes is for the most part preventive. Up to the time of admission many of the little lads have received all the care and love that a good mother can give them. The Committee aim at continuing this care, and encourage the mothers to visit the boys and to keep in touch with them all the time they are being trained. At holiday time those who have homes spend a month with their mothers. Those not so fortunate are taken by Mr. and Mrs. Roberts to a summer camp.

When the boy leaves school, he is either apprenticed to one of the many trades taught in the Homes, or a situation is found for him either near the Homes, or close to his mother's home. In the latter case he has his mother's guidance through the most critical years of his life. A feature of this work is the great interest taken by the old boys, who show their attachment to their old home by spending their holidays in the grounds, where they have an encamp- ment each year,

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As we were talking the dinner bell rang, and we followed the stream of boys from all parts of the village to the large dining-hall, where an excellent dinner was served. At the head of each table of thirty boys was their House Mother, who, with an attendant, waited on them. It was a great sight to see over three hundred little boys eating their dinner in perfect silence. Lentil soup in basins was the first course, and very good it smelt. The vegetables are, of course, grown on the estate, and Mrs. Roberts told me that the cost for food for each boy and nearly ioo teachers, including matrons and other members of the staff, was $d. per head each day.

After lunch we went systematically round the workshops, and saw the boys shoemaking, carpentering, tailoring, baking, and printing. This last trade is a great favourite ; all the printing for the Homes is carried out here at Farning- ham. An Old Boys' Monthly Journal is printed, and orders are taken for outside work. Out of doors the boys learn to do quickly and well all sorts of farm work, gardening and poultry keeping, and all that a farmer has to do and is the better for knowing how to do.

For the boys' indoor education, the school, a fine new building, was opened by the Duchess of Albany last year. The class-rooms are admirably designed with all the latest furnishings in desks, etc., and are for tiny kindergarteners as well as boys of the seventh standard. The rooms are built round a central court, which is used for a playground, and on the right of the building are the boys' school gardens. Just below is the cricket ground, and in a large field a little further on we stopped for a minute to watch the boys playing football. The different cottages compete for a cup ; after dinner, in the interval before the afternoon lessons and the trade classes begin, is the time for playing off the heats.

We next passed on to the cottages, pausing to look in at

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the large gymnasium, that is also used for the band to prac- tise in. There the boys were busy changing from football kit into their working gear ; for they are never allowed to play in their ordinary clothes. The cottages are all built in the same style. We went over two of them. Downstairs are the dining-room, kitchen, play-room, and matron's room. Upstairs are the dormitories, containing three large airy rooms, with beds for ten boys in each. Instead of mattresses, canvas, laced underneath, such as I had seen in many other homes, was used for the beds. In the cottage home for the youngest boys we found all the little boys singing. A rosy-cheeked baby of two and a half years old was stood on the table to sing to us. But shyness overcame him, and so the other boys sang an action song instead with much spirit.

It was a most interesting day, made especially so by the great kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts, whose whole heart is in their work. They follow the fortunes of their boys all through their after-life, and are very proud of the excellent positions many of them now hold. One boy, after being an assistant in Kew Gardens, went out as botanist with a rubber expedition to Uganda. Another is managing a large estate in West Africa ; and another a property of 27,000 acres in the Argentine. During the last year, two have gone north to be apprenticed to an engineering firm ; six have been apprenticed to silversmiths and jewellers ; many others have gone into the Royal Navy ; while numbers have been sent to Canada, the three I saw off being the first to go to Australia. The Home is an excellent institution, excellently managed. Its organizers are convinced that a religious train- ing is necesssary to teach boys how to become good and great men. That conviction is the foundation of their successful work.

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In connexion with the Farningham Homes are the Swan- ley Homes, a few miles nearer London, where boys who are going to sea receive a nautical training, and where gar- dening is also specially taught. The number of boys cared for and trained in both schools is nearly 500 ; of whom 350 have mothers living.

It is not my intention to describe at length those institu- tions from which, after inspection, I feel that we in Australia have little to learn, and for that reason I will only deal briefly with the Shaftesbury Ragged Schools, of which Sir John Kirk is the director. I went over their headquarters at John Street, Theobald's Road. From this centre are con- trolled other branches of work devoted to the welfare of children, one of the most important works being among cripples.

Lady Kirk kindly took me to Bognor, to see one of their seaside homes known as " Arthur's Home." It is a girls' holiday home, very beautifully situated and overlooking the sea. It was built by a lady in memory of her only boy, after whom it is called. Here thirty-five little London girls were enjoying a happy seaside holiday ; each had a separate bedroom, and all were spotlessly clean. Downstairs was a big game room for evenings and wet days, and outside was a large playground fitted with swings.

The first free meal I saw was a tea given to 1,500 of Lon- don's poorest children, under the auspices of the Alexandra Mission. One of the Shaftesbury School workers took me, with various other visitors, to see this tea, which is given free every night during the winter. The sight was a most pathetic one. Every child was scantily clad ; many liter- ally in rags. Small wizened-faced girls carried babies with preternaturally old faces, or dragged along younger brothers

HOMES FOR BOYS 243

and sisters. The " tea " consisted of cold meat and potatoes, and boiled currant pudding.

Another evening I was asked to a New Year's tea given by the Shaftesbury Ragged Schools to 1,100 poor children at South Kensington. All the guests were very little children, and they were given cold beef, potatoes, plum pudding and lemonade. The children could hardly cut the meat, per- haps because the knives were so blunt. Naturally I was not impressed with the wisdom of that sort of meal for young and almost starving children.

The Shoeblacks' Home is in connexion with the Shaftesbury Ragged Schools and is in Stepney, East London. It is a very comfortable homely place, being in reality several small houses grouped round a tiny square. This square has been converted into a bright flower garden, and comes as a plea- sant surprise after emerging from the grimy streets in the vicinity. The houses are two-storied and are all connected, some of the shoeblacks having their own rooms, and others sleeping in dormitories. They each have a separate bed, and every sheet and towel, etc., has the number of the bed worked on it, so that every man keeps to his own linen.

There are thirty-eight inmates, and the majority are lame or hump-backed. They pay, if possible, 8s. a week towards their board. They breakfast early and start off to their respective stands, where they spend the day, sometimes earn- ing a good sum ; sometimes but little. In the evening they come home for their tea, and spend the time before bed in reading, playing draughts, or in otherwise amusing them- selves.

Field Lane Institute is an old-established institution that cares for little children, boys and girls, mothers and fathers. It is affiliated to the Shaftesbury Ragged Schools. There is a day creche in connexion with it, and several halls where classes and

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meetings are held. Destitute people are fed and lodged, and free meals are given. The one bright and hopeful spot in con- nexion with this institution is the Boys' Industrial Home at West Hampstead. It has the appearance of a true home. The outside walls are covered with ivy and Virginia-creeper. It is not at all like a barracks, as so many institutions are. The superintendent and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, have been in charge for seventeen years and are admirably fitted for their position.

The Home has been established twenty-four years. When I visited it there were 120 boys in residence. It can accommodate 132, and when full is self-supporting. It is a certified Industrial School, and is thus under the jurisdiction of the Home Office. Little boys are sent here, under the age of ten years for preference, and Mr. Taylor has control of them till they are eighteen years old. They learn to make their own stockings, shirts, suits, and to bake their own bread, and do their own washing and ironing. They also learn carpentry, drill, boot-making, tailoring and gardening. They do all the housework, and have formed a splendid military band among themselves.

I went all through the Home, and saw the different classes at work. In the carpentering class the boys draw a design of each article before they make it.

In the schoolrooms we saw samples of the boys' drawings and lesson work, and the teacher asked each boy his favour- ite subject. As his name was called the boy stood up, saluted, and answered promptly and without hesitation.

When boys leave the Home, Mr. Taylor finds situations for them ; for he says that if they go to their homes, or back to their old surroundings when their time is up in the Home, all the work and time that have been spent on them are lost, and they relapse into their old evil ways.

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There was an alert and happy air and an absence of cant all through this living institution. The whole building was a model of cleanliness, and Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were with good reason proud of their boys and their Home.

CHAPTER X FIRST INTERNATIONAL EUGENICS CONGRESS

I HAD the honour of being a delegate to this Conference, which was held at the University of London Buildings during the last week in July, 191 2.

It was considered an honour to England that the first International Eugenics Congress should be held in London. Men and women came as delegates from America, France, Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain, Greece, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, to discuss methods that would raise the health and moral standard of the world.

Sir Francis Galton says : " Eugenics is the study of the agencies under social control that may improve or impair the racial qualities of future generations, either physically or mentally/ '

It is recognized that as long as our degenerate population increases, poverty will increase ; and though the study of Eugenics is regarded by some with suspicion, it is felt among the greatest scientists and thinkers of the day that the time is coming when parenthood for the biologically unfit will be discouraged. Many children are now born of unhealthy and often undeveloped parents. These children are im- properly fed, and have no chance from the beginning of leading decent lives. As babies, they are kept quiet or sent to sleep with spirits, stay up till all hours of the night, and have no regular attention in their young lives. They, in turn, grow up to be parents and add to the degeneracy of the

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race. Some schools in America and England are already teaching Eugenics by means of lectures, and demonstrations with flowers as to the effects of careless growth. In the elementary schools boys and girls are taught the marvels of birth and life, and the grave responsibilities involved on them when they in their turn reach the age of parenthood.

The knowledge that the progeny of the feeble-minded are usually habitual drunkards, epileptics, or criminals, will, it is hoped, pave the way to removing habitual inebriates, criminals, and epileptics to shelters where they will be guarded and cared for ; and where they will be taught trades and occupations which will train their minds, their eyes, and their hands, and give them interests in life. But it is re- cognized that they should be restrained from casting their shadow over future generations by becoming parents.

The Congress opened officially on July 24, 1912, with a banquet at the Grand Hall of the Hotel Cecil to between four hundred and five hundred guests. Mr. A. J. Balfour spoke for twenty minutes on many interesting points in the study of Eugenics. He said that Eugenists must convince the ordinary man that : " Eugenics is one of the greatest and most pressing questions of our day, and also one of the most complex which science has ever under- taken to solve." Speaking of the survival of the fittest, he said, survival was not everything ; that a feeble-minded man who survives is not so good as a good professional man, even if the professional man does not keep up his numbers by an adequate birth-rate.

Major Leonard Darwin, the President of the Congress, urged that the aims of the Eugenists were as practical as those of politicians.

The Daily News, in a leading article on July 25, said : " We do not reject the teachings of science in any other

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sphere of culture. To reject them in the sphere of human life is not to fulfil a divine law, but to outrage it. The Eugenics movement has a great and valuable task to perform. We can trust the instinct of individual liberty in man to prevent it from ever exceeding its task."

At the London University the following day, we all gathered early to receive our badges as delegates, or associate members, and the scene was a very busy one for some time before Major Leonard Darwin began his address. He is the son of the great Darwin, and although prematurely grey, has a striking military presence. In his address he sur- veyed the whole field of discussion before the Congress. He wondered if, after all, civilization stopped the progress of a nation ; for, as he pointed out, among the early races the unfit were killed off by hunger and disease, while in recent times our social methods have been doing their best to cherish the unfit, thus enabling them to produce their kind, however bad that kind may be. He said : " We must not be blind ourselves to the danger of interfering with Nature's ways."

After the presidential address, a very interesting paper was read by Professor V. Guiffrida Ruggeri (Naples), on, "The so-called Laws of Inheritance in Man." He pointed out that it was now certain that the races of man acted exactly as the races of animals. Two grey mice produced grey mice, and it had been shown that two albino parents had only albino children. Blonde parents had only blonde children. Other interesting facts were those verified by the colour of the eyes and the smoothness of the hair. The children of parents with blue and dark eyes might themselves have dark eyes, with the blue latent ; and if they married amongst themselves, one child in four, it was found, had the blue eyes of the grandfather.

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The paper on " The Inheritance of Epilepsy," by David R Weeks, M.D. (Medical Superintendent and Executive Officer of the New Jersey State Village for Epileptics, U.S.A.), was full of interest. To arrive at the data he quoted, it was stated that field workers had interviewed in their homes, the parents, relatives, and all others interested in the epileptic patient. The study was based on the data derived from 397 histories, covering 440 matings. The following conclusions were drawn from the study : —

The ordinary types of epileptics lack some element neces- sary for complete mental development, said the lecturer, and this is also true of the feeble-minded. Two epileptics produce only defectives. When both parents are either epileptic or feeble-minded, their offspring are also mentally defective.

Epileptics tend, in successive generations, to form a larger proportion of the population. Alcohol may be a cause of defect, because more children of alcoholic parents are defective than those of parents who are not intemperate drinkers. Neurotic and other physical and nervous condi- tions of the unfit are closely allied to epilepsy.

Professor Ruggeri strongly advocated in the case of the feeble-minded and epileptic the segregation of either sexes.

Another very interesting paper was that of Professor Antonio Marro, Director of the Lunatic Asylum, Turin. It was entitled, " The Influence of the Age of Parents on the Psycho-Physical Character of the Off spring/ ' He explained that to demonstrate the pernicious consequences to the psycho-physical character of the children of parents too young or too advanced in age, was not difficult. At the younger period, the organism is still in process of formation ; the incomplete development of the skeleton, as of all the other organs, continually absorbs a mass of plastic materials

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necessary for the formation of offspring. He said that the faults of children born of too young parents are due to an incomplete development, because of the insufficiency of plastic material. Old age, he declared, has a disastrous influence on the germinal elements of the parents, and pre- disposes the descendants to various forms of physical and moral degeneracy. Some of the results of unions between the too young prove that among criminals the children of too young parents are found, in large numbers, guilty of offences against property. This is natural, as the first im- pulse to that may not be due to wickedness which impels them to inflict harm on others, but to a love of pleasure, of revel, or idleness, all characteristics of youth, during which period the inborn instincts are very active. They have not, apparently, the necessary restraint with which to repress and subjugate these instincts.

Children of aged parents, the lecturer said, swell the ranks of assassins, swindlers, and those who show the com- pletest absence of sentiments of affection and often suffer from delusions of persecution. The children of aged parents, the lecturer stated, furnish more cases of serious crime than are furnished by all other classes of delinquents. The proportions are as high when the fathers as when the mothers are of advanced age. Among the insane, moral idiocy in particular and the degenerate forms in general, appear more frequently in children of aged parents. Professor Marro said he had noticed that the minimum of good conduct and the maximum of better developed intelligence coincides as a rule with the possession of youth by both parents. The age of complete development of parenthood corresponds to a maximum of good conduct and a minimum of bad conduct in their offspring. In the age of decline of both parents, good conduct in children is observed in a smaller proportion than

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in the preceding period, and high intelligence in a very small proportion.

The following day, the two most interesting papers I heard were one on " Marriage and Eugenics," and another on " The Preliminary Report of the Eugenics Section American Breeders' Association to study and report as to the best practical means for cutting off the defective Germ Plasm in the Human Population." This latter paper was read by Mr. Bleecker Van Wagenen, Chairman of Committee. He gave the history of the movement for sterilizing defective males and females in the U.S.A. Already eight States had passed laws making this operation a legal one. Indiana was the first to undertake this reform, and New York the latest. He said that no real results could yet be arrived at, but gave some examples of men and women who had im- proved physically after operation.

A very interesting discussion for and against sterilizing the unfit then took place. Dr. Saleeby, a prominent Eugenist, suggested that segregation would meet the case. Sir John Macdonald thought that confirmed criminals were manufactured in slums, and protested against sterilization.

The other paper that was interesting to all present was that on " Marriage and Eugenics," read by Dr. C. P. Daven- port, Director Eugenics Record Office, U.S.A.

In Norway, a marriage-permit system has almost reached the stage of practical politics.

One suggestion made to the meeting was that the pros- pective bride and bridegroom should each produce a declar- ation signed by a doctor, and dated not more than six years before the wedding, to the effect that he or she does not suffer from disease or weakness that would constitute a danger to partner or offspring.

Dr. Saleeby said that Eugenics should work through love.

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Another speaker said it was useless passing laws to prevent the feeble-minded from marrying. " So long as a feeble- minded person is at large," he said, " he will find another feeble-minded person to live with him."

A paper of most vital interest was that on " Practical Eugenics in Education," read by Dr. F. C. S. Schiller, of the Oxford University. In the discussion following, several well-known men and women educationalists took part.

Dr. Schiller said that we should educate public opinion to look favourably on all scientific researches. That the real cause why so many youths of the upper classes go in for over-indulgence is because we have not provided them with high motives. He spoke of the British athletic system, and recognized the ideal of " fitness," which, he said, had great eugenic value. That ideal merely needed to be intellectualized and spiritualized, by including in the notion of fitness all exercise of human faculty, even of brain.

All the speakers agreed that the silence which had for so many years been practised between parents and their children with regard to the mysteries of life should be broken down. The speakers said : " Because we have not told our children what they should know, this black cloud of disease and prostitution is over the country." All agreed that children should be well born and well educated. That so many of the greatest men in the world have weak bodies was recognized as a proof that future generations of great men need not in every case have physical strength to match intellectual capacity. Sir Isaac Newton was given as an instance. One may inherit a strong brain from a father and a weak body from a mother, and so a strong brain may have to struggle throughout life with a weak body. The speaker went on to condemn the absurd and criminal belief that ignorance and innocence are good preparation for a

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child's life. He said the best, the most imaginative children, are liable to be the ones who suffer most fatally from ignor- ance.

Mrs. Housley (President of the New York Mothers' Club) said that she lectured to mothers on their duty of telling their children the mystery of their lives as soon as they showed any curiosity on the subject. The obvious time to answer a question was when it was made. It is dangerous to put aside a question, for the child will still be curious, and will get his or her information from the wrong quarters. She affirmed that the proper teaching of sex problems to chil- dren is right, and very desirable. She gave us an instance of a New York mother who said she would not tell her dear little innocent girl of nine such things, and how it was found, a little later, that this same child had developed the lowest tendencies.

Another interesting speaker, the Rev. Mrs. MacCoy Irwin, who has been lecturing through England, both to men and women, on Eugenics and the desirability of teaching children the mysteries of life, dealt with the delicately important subject in an intensely sympathetic manner. She made every one present feel that his or her duty to the race was a holy thing. She said maternity conferred a dignity, and that the problem of parenthood should be determined by physical control, not by the use of preventives. She con- cluded by saying that every child should not only be well born, it should be " manger-born." However a child is born, it should be conceived in love, carried in joy, and born in love, and unless it is born in this way it is not well born. If the child is carried under the mother's heart with joy it is indeed a manger babe, and the mother may understand the song of Mary of old, " My soul doth magnify the Lord."

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One speaker informed the meeting that the subject of Eugenics was already taught in a Manchester school.

Mr. Crooke said that he considered " Education is evolution, not revolution."

Another speaker remarked that it is now recognized that education is not merely book learning. Education should be individual, and what is good for the average individual is not good for the whole class.

Dr. Devine, in referring to the relation between Eugenics and education, said, " From this point, the men in the wreck of the Titanic made a mistake in giving way to the women. For the primary need of society is to get men who are strong enough to conduct affairs. The primary need of society is the protection of the weak from the exploitation of the strong. What is wrong with those youths who make shipwreck of their lives is, that they have not had a fair and decent opportunity."

Mr. Gladstone (master of a well-known preparatory school) gave his personal interesting experience of how he taught boys the mystery of their lives. He strongly advocated the telling of children when they are quite young. He said it was quite easy to talk to boys between ten and fourteen. Their curiosity was easily allayed, and they looked at the sex problem in an abstract way. Another important point in teaching the young was the fact that, later on in life, at about eighteen or nineteen, they came back to the teaching of their early life. He said his experience of teaching boys on these subjects, from fifteen to nineteen years of age, was most unpleasant. Then a boy had found his individual-

ity-

All the speakers but one were in favour of having children told the essential facts of life in a proper way, all agreeing that the period of adolescence should not be left to chance.

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Mr. H. G. Wells was quoted as saying, " Our schools and colleges exist to give our youth high ideals/'

It was also suggested that the Eugenic Education Society should, as soon as may be, draw up a book for teachers, and send a free copy to every headmaster in the Kingdom. It was suggested that this book should contain a clear, sober statement of how children may be slowly led to the eugenic point of view. Such a book, which is now being prepared in America, is needed all through Europe and America.

As an outcome of the meeting, two special meetings were held by all those interested in the " Desirability of the Instruction of Children.' ' At these, the following resolu- tions were passed : —

1. " That this meeting expresses its opinion that boys and girls should be prepared for the responsibility of parenthood.

2. " That matters pertaining to the transmission of human life be told at as early an age as questions are asked.

3. " That such instruction be blended with high moral and spiritual teaching, having due regard to both individual and race responsibility.

4. " That the elements of sex hygiene sufficient for the maintenance of health, without undue emphasis on the pathological aspect, be taught.

5. " That girls have instruction on the rearing and care of children, and boys some instruction on requirements of child- life."

After some discussion it was decided that instruction ought to be given before the age of puberty, and that this instruc- tion ought to be given by parents. Where it was found that parents were not suitable to give that instruction, specially selected teachers of elementary schools should be instructed to impart this knowledge to the children.

One American woman spoke on what she called " this

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awful ignorance with regard to questions of sex/' and said that in New York, a Mothers' Society met once a month, at which a doctor spoke on the way to impart sex knowledge to children. It was stated that in Glasgow four lady doctors had already given their time to imparting this necessary knowledge to the children in schools. Ten lessons are given in each term.

Another paper of great interest was that read by Samuel G. Smith, Professor of Sociology, Minnesota University, U.S.A. He declared that the teaching of sex hygiene to young persons of suitable age was very important, but per- haps even more important was a more elemental view of the proper terms of human marriage. He said society, on the whole, suffered more from the vices of the rich than the vices of the poor. And then he made this remarkable statement : " If I were to choose my own father, I would rather have a robust burglar than a consumptive bishop/' He said what the world owed to its invalids would provide material for one of the most remarkable histories ever written and gave as one example, Sir Isaac Newton. He said, " Inheritance is either strength or weakness."

Continuing, Professor Smith stated : " The Englishman's home is no longer his castle. Owing to the parents' ignor- ance and the defects of children, the State has invaded the home, and has set standards, both moral and physical, for the family. It is the duty of the State to secure the proper physical environment for the home. It is a municipal prob- lem. It is a problem of public health.

" The question of maternity among the poor must be con- sidered. Hard work must be forbidden to the expectant mother ; she must have nourishing food, her surroundings must be wholesome. The economic problem is solved in

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the increased vitality, and consequent earning power, of the coming generation. The problem of the parenthood of the better classes is just as important, but much more difficult."

Papers on Environment and Heredity were read and widely discussed. Interesting views on both sides were put forward.

In a paper on " Alcohol and Eugenics," Dr. Alfred Mjoen (Christiania) gave some striking effects of drink on subsequent generations, and strongly advocated the division' of alcoholic liquors into classes according to their injuriousness. He declared that alcohol over a certain percentage is injurious to the quality of the offspring, not only where the mother alone drinks, but also where the father alone is a drinker. He had found by his researches that only ten out of fifty- seven children of drunkards were normal.

" Alcoholism and Degeneracy " (Statistics from the Central Bureau for the Management of the Insane, Paris) showed that numbers were driven to insanity by alcohol. Many of these owe their insanity entirely to excessive drinking ; the others are, for the most part, descendants of alcoholics.

M. Magnan and Dr. Fillassier, the compilers of the statis- tics, urge the necessity of an implacable war against alco- holism, which crowds the asylums, the hospitals, and the homes for insane persons, and sends a constant stream of men, women, and children to prisons and reformatories.

In connexion with the Congress, an Exhibition was held in two of the large halls. This Exhibition included charts, pedigrees, photographs and specimens of heredity, especially in man. Relics of Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton, and Gregor Mendel, as well as portraits of notable workers were shown. Many of these exhibits were received from America, France and Germany, and all parts of the United Kingdom.

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It was interesting to note from the charts that New Zea- land was the only country in which the fall of the birth-rate has not produced a fall in the death-rate. In New Zealand infantile mortality was the lowest in the world, less than ten per 1,000, which gives an ideal we can reach in all coun- tries by lowering the birth-rate sufficiently.

During the Congress, interesting entertainments and receptions were given to members by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mansion House, by the Duchess of Marlborough, Major Leonard Darwin, Mr. and Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, and the Co-Partnership Tenants of the Hampstead Garden Suburb. Mr. Robert Mond gave a luncheon and garden-party in the beautiful grounds of Combe Park, Sevenoaks, providing special trains for the guests, and conveying them to and from the station by motors and carriages.

CHAPTER XI OTHER INSTITUTIONS -

SOON after I arrived in London, I called on Miss Talbot, the secretary of the Victoria League, who was exceed- ingly kind in giving me letters to various institutions in Lon- don and America and enabling me to visit some of the beautiful country homes of England. She was anxious for me to co-operate with her in sending young men to Mel- bourne, and, in common with representatives of several societies for boys, spoke of the great need of a personal touch at the end of their journey for boys emigrating to Australia. That young people coming from England should be met and have some person or persons to apply to as friends if they are in trouble, is the opinion of people in England interested in the welfare of boys and girls who emigrate to Australia. These officials feel very strongly that there should be some one who would communicate with the boys' friends in England. They complain that many of their charges come to us, and, after their arrival, are lost sight of altogether in our vast continent.

An interesting institution I visited was the House-Boys' Brigade in Chelsea. There are several of these House-Boys' Brigades in different parts of London. Boys are trained here to be waiters and house-boys. Any one ringing up the

259

36o THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

institution can get a boy for 8d. an hour to do odd jobs, carry coal, light fires, clean boots, etc. They are trained for, and allowed to do all sorts of house work, except clean windows. Window-cleaning is a special profession in London , in the hands of different private syndicates. It is a splen- didly paying business, as businesses of this sort go in Eng- land. Men, who must be honest and have good references, are engaged. They are generally discharged army men of good character. The charge for each window cleaned is 2d., and one young man who was cleaning my windows told me that he received 5s. a day for wages, but that he always earned for the Company at least a pound a day. Owing to the height of the buildings and the numbers of people who live in flats, it is impossible for maids to clean the windows in the great cities of the United Kingdom; so window- cleaning agencies and window cleaners are a necessity of e very-day life.

The Children's Courts of London have only been in force for about three years, and they are in their infancy com- pared with those of America. I visited the one at Tower Bridge, which I was told by experts was the most advanced, and found it conducted much on the principles of an ordinary Court. Children are, of course, separated from adult criminals and have their own magistrate and officers. But the Court, which was built for the trial of children only, has much the appearance of a police court. The magistrate sits in a gown on a raised seat, around which are grouped the witness-box, the railing for the child to stand behind, and a few seats for visitors. The police about the court are in uniform, except those directly in charge of the children. Each witness enters the box, kisses the Bible, and takes the usual oath. The child before the Court, on the occasion I visited it, was always referred to as " the prisoner," The

OTHER INSTITUTIONS 261

magistrate, Mr. Cecil Chapman, a very fine man, dealt very sympathetically with each case, but there was no doubt in the child's mind, I am sure, that the attitude of the Bench was not friendly.

I sat in the Court throughout the afternoon and heard all the cases, and there were many. It was the Board Schools' holiday- time, and all the culprits before the Court were boys, who had been pilfering from carts in the streets, or were guilty of other petty offences. The boys' mothers, and in some cases their fathers, gave evidence. Among them all I only saw one mother whose influence one could imagine would be helpful to her boy. Most of these children had been launched upon the turgid streams of London and Tower Bridge life, and had to look after themselves and take care of themselves as best they could.

One finely-grown boy of fourteen, who had been stealing from a shop, had given himself up to the police. Two little chaps were arrested for begging ; two tiny youngsters for stealing from a barrow. A peculiar case was that of a boy of twelve years old, who had stolen 21s. from his mother. She had given it to him to pay the rent, and he had yielded to temptation and stolen it. He asked his mother before the Court to let him go to a Home, as he could not keep straight on the streets.

Two neglected children, whose parents had simply de- serted them, were bright little chaps of three and four, and seemed quite happy with the kind-hearted people who had taken charge of them. They appeared in the Court when their case was called, with a bag of biscuits which they enjoyed throughout the proceedings.

The case that interested me most was that of a boy who had been pilfering from the railway cars. He had a nice face, but was very pale, half-starved looking, and stood

262 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

before the Court, quivering with fright. His mother, a poor miserable under-fed creature, pleaded for him and said that he had always had a good character in school. He was remanded for a week, so that inquiries could be made into his home and surroundings.

Hearing the cases and the revelations of poverty they brought, was very depressing, and, as a grand woman who works among these poor people and their children, said : " It is all so hopeless, for though you may help one or two, there are so very many more in just the same misery and poverty whom you cannot reach." I learnt later that the Children's Court at Birmingham is considered the finest exemplar of the idea in England.

The Girls' Church School at Islington was a very interest- ing school. It is in connexion with the Church of England, and its pupils come from very poor homes. I was shown all over it by the head-mistress, and in each room the girls sang, recited, and showed me their needle-work, painting, etc. It was just before Christmas, and the little girls in one class were dressing penny dolls for a Christmas tree. They were very short of material, and some of the little dresses had four and five pieces of print joined together to make a tiny skirt. Their paintings of flowers and objects were from life studies, and showed much originality.

In the kindergarten class tiny boys and girls were busy with a piece of chalk and a square of brown paper. These little ones had just been told a story about some sheep, and each was trying to draw his conception of a sheep on a piece of paper. Some had gone right away from the subject and drew just as they felt inclined. One was drawing a wonder- ful Father Christmas. All were expressing some thought on the paper before them. I was chiefly struck by the desks

OTHER INSTITUTIONS 263

in this class, which were small and specially adapted and fitted for little children. In between the class-rooms were sliding-doors, which moved back so as to give the appearance of one long room. The doors were slid back at the opening of school every day for morning prayers.

A Girls' Physical Exercise Club, for little girls under four- teen, was started by Miss Daisy Lester, a young school teacher who had a drill-hall lent her in a very poor part of Chelsea. Here, every Wednesday night, she gathers in all the poorest little girls of the neighbourhood, and in this bright cheerful room she drills them and teaches them all manner of breathing and physical exer- cises.

It was on a cold wintry evening that I visited this club, and I shall never forget the apologies for boots these poor children were wearing. As they tripped hither and thither, pointed their toes and pirouetted about, the shameful cover- ings, called by courtesy, boots, on their feet were too, too evident. Not one child in the class had a pair of water- tight boots. Their clothing too was pitifully poor and scanty. I happened to be wearing a bunch of violets, and when I gave them to a little pale-faced girl who was sitting by the fire too ill to join in the exercises, her face flushed with pleasure. She held them and looked at them as though they were sentient things.

It was a fine voluntary work this young teacher was doing. She told me that when they were fourteen years of age all these girl- women had to earn their living in factories or elsewhere. By physical exercises, breathing lessons and talks to them, she hoped to be able to make them more happy in the hard lives they would have to lead. For the girls over fourteen she and her sister conducted a class at

264 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

their own home, where they taught them sewing and tried to influence them in wtu 3some ways.

Besides its other features of interest, Chelsea has a Royal Hospital for old soldiers, which I thrice visited. Its Governor, who died in 1912, and whose funeral procession I witnessed, was Field-Marshal Sir George White of Ladysmith fame.

The British Institute of Social Service is a most useful institution. It provides full information on every side of social life. No matter what a person's creed, colour, or convictions, he or she, is cordially welcomed at the institu- tion's home in Tavistock Square, near the Passmore Ed- wards Settlement. A splendid library of books on social questions is maintained, and books are lent free to any one who comes into the library. The library contains books on every subject, just as many on Socialism as against it.

People from all parts of the world write to the British Institute of Social Service for information. Last year about 2,000 inquiries were received. The largest number referred to public health ; but all sorts of inquiries as to settlements, labour colonies, child life and education, were also received.

I called one evening on my way to the Newsboys' Club at the office of the Federation of London Working Boys' Clubs. Mr. Charles Wrench, the Hon. Secretary, acquainted me with the objects and work of the Federation.

They are : —

(a) To consolidate and extend the important work of Boys' Clubs in London.

(b) To promote competitions and friendly intercourse between the members of the affiliated clubs.

(c) To provide opportunities whereby those interested in the management of London Working Boys' Clubs may inter- change opinions as to the best way of conducting them.

Membership is open to members who have left schools of

OTHER INSTITUTIONS 265

any Working Boys' Club in London. Each club affiliated to the Federation pays 2d. per head per member half-yearly. The Committee of the Federation say that they want the members of the Working Boys' Clubs to acquire that esprit de corps which is the chief characteristic of the English public schools. So they are invited to compete in f.jotbaii, cricket, gymnastics, physical training, chess, draughts, map-drawing, freehand drawing, essays, reading, recitations, first aid, boxing, field sports, rifle shooting, swimming and life-saving. A challenge cup is played for in each division, the winning team having the honour of holding it. In addition, every winning member is presented with a medal.

I also visited the Y.M.C.A. headquarters at Tottenham Court Road, a very fine new institution which was only opened last year.

In my many visits to the Home Office I had several con- versations with men in charge of the boys' departments, who had much of interest to tell me. They consider that truancy is dying out in England, and are all very much opposed to short term sentences for lads.

In the People's Palace, Whitechapel, I expected to find a recreation centre for the very poor ; but found that it is given over to the respectable poor, and what is now known as the East London University, where students may take a course for £10 10s. per quarter. As far as I could ascertain the only activities for the people remaining at the People's Palace are a children's playground and night entertain- ments, which are poorly attended.

One of the most depressing places I saw was the Padding- ton Workhouse. In bed, there were the saddest-looking women I have ever seen. The whole atmosphere of the place was drab and depressing.

266 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

In Newport, Monmouthshire, I went to a Christmas dinner given to 2,500 poor children in a large drill-hall. Boys and girls of seven to fourteen were the guests, and among them I found a number of newspaper boys, to whom I naturally gravitated. They had canvas bags with a canvas strap, which they wore over their shoulders to hold their papers. The boys said they always used these bags, and that they kept the papers clean and dry.

I spent a week in the South of Ireland, and was greatly struck by the backwardness of the educational system in two of the National Schools in Cork subsidized by the Parlia- ment of the United Kingdom.

In one, in an upstairs room of an old building, about 100 boys and girls were gathered together under a head mis- tress and an assistant teacher. The boys and girls here paid a small fee for their schooling, but the school and system were ancient history. They certainly did freehand drawing, which I was shown, and some specimens of writing, but there was no enthusiasm and no quick intelli- gence in the teaching and learning such as one saw in America. The head teacher was a modern edition of the " school marm " in a dame's school long ago.

From this school I went to a school for boys only, in the poorest part of the town. The approach was through a number of dirty, ill-paved, narrow streets, and the school was so small that a class of elder boys was having a reading lesson in the playground. It was certainly infinitely better than the inside of the school, which was primitive, dirty, badly ventilated, and overcrowded. The head master spoke bitterly of the English indifference towards education in Ireland. He said that his boys were the children of the poorest and most irresponsible of parents, and that they attended very irregularly. I had a long talk with this

OTHER INSTITUTIONS 267

class. The boys told me how they smoked cigarettes and played pitch-and-toss. They were truthful and very bright, and were keenly interested in all I had to say of our far-away Australia, but they all seemed to me dreadfully backward.

Inside the schoolhouse a nice girl teacher was trying to cope with a very large class, full of the youngest and dirtiest schoolboys I have ever seen. Some were only babies. They were sitting in a row with match-boxes of beads, which they were threading " to keep them quiet," their teacher said. Another class crowded into a small room was having a geography lesson. Not one boy in the three classes of the school had on a pair of boots.

I met in Killarney a gentleman who had had long experi- ence with boys in Dublin and Cork ; he told me that at an industrial school of which he was a committeeman, each boy's maintenance cost £18 10s. a year.

I spoke to several policemen in Cork. One told me there was no end to philanthropic institutions in Cork, but there was nothing for newsboys. Crowds of newsboys and ragged boys and girls wandered about the streets and wharves. I spoke to numbers of them. What impressed me was the few papers each boy had for sale, and the way in which he begged one to buy. The selling really only seemed a cloak for begging. Any boy who likes sells papers. They mostly sell evening papers, which are a half-penny each ; they get 2d. a dozen on the sales. These children are supposed to go to school till they are fourteen, and they may sell papers under that age or at any age out of school hours. In March, 1911, an Act was' passed that children trading in the streets must wear a badge, but from articles I read in the papers, and from my own observations, the new regulations did not seem to be taken seriously.

268 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

The Juvenile Courts of Ireland had only been in existence for eighteen months at the time of my visit.

Cigarettes are prohibited for boys under sixteen years of age, but one schoolmaster told me the law prohibiting the smoking of cigarettes for boys under sixteen was not enforced.

The Shops' Act for compulsory closing for half a day in the week had just come into force. The shopkeepers closed just which day suited them best. One shop closed on Mon- day, another on Tuesday. I noticed that Monday and Wednesday were the favourite closing days

CHAPTER XII THE CHILD ON THE CONTINENT

IN September, 191 1, I travelled through Belgium, Holland, Germany and France, and whenever I could find the opportunity inquired into the various countries' methods of educating, reforming, and caring for children. I had letters of introduction from Sir George Reid to the British Consuls in the different Continental cities.

In Brussels I called at the Consulate. Mr. Jeffes was away, but I saw his wife who made inquiries for me. She wrote to me, saying she could hear nothing of street boys' clubs or reformatories, and sent me a list of guardian schools, but as they were principally for tiny children, and as my time in Brussels was limited, I did not see over them. I learnt that the schools in Brussels, as in Bruges and Ant- werp, were principally under Roman Catholic control.

In Antwerp the Vice-Consul gave me a great deal of information. He said, " There are no workhouses in Antwerp, no old-age pensions. The Municipality looks after all its employees when they become too old to work. The peasantry are very ignorant. The only beggars are a few children sent out by worthless parents, who trade on their children. There should be no beggars," he continued, " as there is work for all, and though poverty is seen in some streets it is generally caused by drink. The Municipality runs nearly all the charities, but there are also some private

270 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

enterprises." The feeble-minded are boarded out with working families, at an isolated place called Gheel (pronounced Gale). These feeble-minded persons are practically segre- gated. They are under constant medical supervision, and must not leave Gheel. They have their own hobbies, and as a rule seem quite content.

Lady Hertslet, the Consul's wife, was exceedingly kind. She was the best type of Englishwoman, broad-minded, and very womanly and sympathetic. She took me to see the Lady Bountiful of Antwerp, Madame Osterrieth, who, Lady Hertslet said, would give me information about all social reform movements in Belgium. As we went along to to this lady's residence, Lady Hertslet told me that Madame Osterrieth was very rich, and spent all her time and her money for the poor of Antwerp. She had an office, and there, from all parts, came to her the poor and the suffering. Madame Osterrieth listened to all their stories of poverty and sadness, and never sent any one empty away. Unfor- tunately, when we reached the Lady Bountiful's residence, we were told by her confidential servant that she was out of town. However, Lady Hertslet introduced me to another social worker of the city, who told me something of the work and the problems that the people of Antwerp have to deal with.

I was interested in the messenger boys, dressed in suits of maroon corduroy, who were stationed at the markets and principal shopping centres, some having bicycles. These boys carry home parcels, flowers, etc., for ladies, and receive two or three cents for each parcel.

In Cologne, the Consul could give me no information of any special work among boys or children, as most of this is under Roman Catholic supervision. But it was interesting to learn that dental clinics are established in Berlin, Cologne,

THE CHILD ON THE CONTINENT 271

and Strasburg. These clinics here and in other German towns have generally been established by the Municipal authorities, and free treatment is given to all elementary school children. In most instances extractions are free, but a small charge is made for stopping teeth, unless the parents are known to be unable to make any payment. The general opinion appears to be held that the care of children's teeth can best be effected by the organization of town clinics, as greater interest is shown by teachers, parents, and officials when the school organization is linked with the municipality's clinic organization.

Continuation schools and Juvenile Labour Exchanges in Germany are receiving attention, so says a recent report, not only for the sake of the individual prosperity of the town concerned, but as part of the national policy of securing the future greatness and prosperity of the Empire.

In most of the large German cities, a close system of co-operation is carried on between the schools, the Labour Exchanges, and the " Handwerkershammer." The most important feature in the German educational scheme are the Continuation Schools. Compulsory attendance at these is insisted on in many parts of Germany ; thus the schools retain control over the children after they go to work. They know whether the children are working, and what kind of employment they are working at. Germany seems to have grasped the same fact as England — i.e. that the care and supervision of juvenile labour is a national respon- sibility, and whether that care be divided between school authorities, private philanthropists, or industrial organiza- tions, it is universally recognized that the supervision of the working child must be undertaken by the State.

In regard to juvenile delinquency in Germany, there is an institution for the Protection of Minors, This organization

272 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

is presided over by a specially selected magistrate, and has on its staff ladies and gentlemen who are voluntary workers. When a child is arrested, the magistrate informs this Institu- tion. One of the volunteers then visits the child's parents or guardians, and inquires into his environment. The interesting feature of this Court is that inquiries are made, and a report presented, before the child is tried.

In Munich, till recently, attendance in the elementary schools was compulsory for boys up to fourteen years of age, but not for girls. Now, by a unanimous vote, the school authority has made attendance compulsory for girls also up to the end of the fourteenth year. When the children are in their fourteenth year, the boys are specially trained in the use of tools and the girls in household work. It is in- teresting to note that one of the reasons for making the longer attendance of girls compulsory was because working men complained that, since so many women have now to work in mills, they cannot get wives who can manage their homes, unless they have been taught household work at school.

When I was in Antwerp, Lady Hertslet introduced me to a German lady who told me of the interesting work among children in Elberfeld. So from Cologne I went by train there, a little more than an hour's journey distant. The train ride was most interesting, but unfortunately I could not speak German, and it took some little time before I could find any one who could speak English. Eventually I was directed to a Home for girls, where I found a lady who spoke French and a few words of English. She very kindly took me through some of the poor quarters of Elberfeld, of which there seemed to be many, for, as my friend told me on our way, there are many poor in Elberfeld, and many charitable institutions.

THE CHILD ON THE CONTINENT 273

We went to a very interesting kindergarten school. Two capable women were at the head of this, and we spent quite a long while watching the children at their lessons and at play. They sang us action songs, and also recited for us. Outside was a large heap of sand for them to play in, while inside the rooms were specially designed for little tots, some for schoolrooms, others for play, with any number of dolls for the girls and blocks and trains for the boys.

I learnt from a doctor I met on my travels that in Berlin the newsboys are drawn from those who have more home advantages than the ordinary newsboy as we know him. They are dressed in a special uniform and are hired by the newspaper companies. These boys each wear a badge on their caps, and have a permit which allows them to ride on the trams from block to block to sell their papers.

In Switzerland, the Government exercises special care over children during what Judge Lindsey so aptly calls, " the storm and stress period." In most of the Swiss cities the Government has appointed guardians, who hold what are called " Guardians' Classes." In Basle one hundred of these Guardians are appointed by the Municipality. Their object is to take care of children, and to keep them off the streets out of school hours. The classes conducted by these Guardians begin at six o'clock in the morning, and last till school time ; after school they begin again, and last until bed time. The children are taken in groups into the schools on wet and cold days, and are put into classes where they are told stories or allowed to dance and sing. At other times they are taken to the parks and playgrounds, where they are taught games and compete in athletic sports.

From the British Embassy in Paris I obtained a letter

274 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

of introduction to " Monsieur le Directeur " of all the hospitals, maternity homes, and child-rescue institutions in the city. They are all under the jurisdiction of the " Ad- ministration publique." The Director gave me a special order to visit the homes for children. Armed with this, I went straight there by taxi, and was shown the French system of dealing with children, from the tiniest of babies till they reach the age of twenty-one years. Every aban- doned child, every illegitimate child, or any child whose parents cannot keep it, is sent straight to the Homes I visited, which are the headquarters. From there the little ones are sent to special homes in the country, or, if applied for by a private institution, are transferred there. If any private person wishes to adopt a child, she applies to the " Administration publique," and is referred to this Home. Each child when it is admitted has all its (known) history written up, and is identified with a number. It is then, if under seven years, given a blue, red, or white neck- lace. Naturally, not all the children sent to this Home are what we should call " abandoned." If a woman is arrested, and her husband cannot look after the child, it is sent to the Home during the mother's detention in prison ; if a woman is ill in a hospital, or in the Maternity Home, the children are sent to the Children's Department of this great institution.

All these babies wear coloured necklaces with their number on a small coin attached to it. The baby boys of the mothers who are only away for a short period wear blue necklaces, the baby girls red necklaces. Those children who have been abandoned, or given over to the State, or who are foundlings or orphans, wear white necklaces. They wear these until they are six or seven years old, according to their intelligence. In this huge establishment there is

THE CHILD ON THE CONTINENT 275

accommodation for 865 children. Some are housed there, others are transferred to the various homes of the Adminis- tration. From twelve to twenty children are received every day ; among these are also juvenile delinquents. These young offenders against the law are treated as first offenders, and after a period of probation are allowed to go free. But if they lapse again and come up for trial, the first conviction is added to the subsequent one, and they are sent to the " Maison de Correction/'

In the babies' hospital I saw the saddest sights. Many of the mites were terribly puny, disfigured, ill nourished and malformed. A seven-months baby was being reared in an incubator. A great many babies were in the hospital, and the faces of these suffering and unhappy children formed one of the most pathetic sights I had ever seen.

From the hospital we went to a room full of children under two years old. They were playing and crawling about the floor, or sitting patiently on little chairs. They were all dressed alike, and their hair was cut short. The only distinguishing mark between the boys and girls was the red or blue necklace.

It was sad to see among these mites so many who wore white necklaces. They were the ones who would never know a mother's love or care — the abandoned babies who had been given up to the State. As I smiled at these little atoms of humanity and touched their sweet little faces, they came closer to me, and some, playing in a little group, came and stood near me, their baby souls seeming to be crying out for love.

When possible and practicable, the boys and girls are sent to foster homes, where they are nursed till they are old enough to go to school. They remain in the foster homes if advisable during school age, and when they leave school

276 THE MEN OF TO-MORROW

employment is found for them. The State has control over them till they are twenty-one.

The elder boys and girls in the institution were in different divisions. Good and bad boys, and good and bad girls, were, so the official told me, dealt with separately.

I saw over the good boys' quarters. They receive educa- tion if under school age and work about the house and garden, but receive no money. They all sleep together in one dormitory.

What the official called the bad boys were treated very much as we treat criminals. They slept in separate cubicles, and an officer slept in each dormitory to keep order. Close to these cubicles were cells where boys who misbehaved were locked up all day, or for a number of days, according to the term of punishment allowed. They were released at night to sleep in their cubicles. If they continued incor- rigible, they were sent to prison. I saw these boys at dinner, and noticed several of them at work.

I only saw what were called the " good " girls. Some were in school, and later on I saw them at dinner. Some of them had very sweet faces. My attendant told me that " when girls are bad, they are worse than the boys."

The children were of all religions ; there were Jews and Mohammedans among them. They are received into whatever faith the parents wish, if they have parents. I did not ask what happened to those babies who could claim relationship with nobody.

The French system, embracing all child-rescue work as it does, is an admirable one. It is the only thorough system of State care for children.

conclusion

INDEX

Abbot, Edith, 61

Addams, Jane, 31, 33, 36, 52, 104, 152

Administration publique, 274

Afro- American boys, 17

After-Care agency, 157, 272, 273 and juvenile employment, 61, 178, 271

Akbar, 214

Alcohol and eugenics, 257

Alexandra Mission, 242

Allendale, 51

" Anchorage, The," 219

Apprenticeship and skilled em- ployment, 178, 180

Arthur's Home, 242

Association of neighbourhood workers, 35

Association, Juvenile Protective, 24-28, 30

Baby dispensary, 39

Hospital, 39 Babies' Castle, 235

Home and Day Nursery, 145 Baker, Judge, 51, 52 Baker, Newton, 84 Balfour, A. J., 247 Barnes Industrial School, 203 Beast and the Jungle, 52 Beaufort House, 189 Bennett, Sarah, 120 Big Brother movement, 61 Big Sister movement, 61 Bland Sutton, Lady, 144 Board Schools, 131, 144, 173 Booth, Henry, House, 44

Borstal Association, 127, 130- 134, 152 Institutions, 123', 143 Boston, 93-99 Boy scouts, 67 Boys' club, 38, 55, 264 Homes, 233-245 Industrial Home, 244 Boys' societies, 142 Bradley, Captain, 51, 52 Breckenbridge, Sophonista, P., 61 Brotherhood movement, 89 Buffalo, 65-90 Bulletin of New York School of

Philanthropy, in Bureau for Finding Employ- ment, 58 Burgwin, Mrs., for Children, etc., 189

Canada, 233, 241 " Canada Points," 95 Central Schools, 181, 184 Centre, Frederick Douglas, 48

Social club, 48 Chapman, Cecil, 261 Charity Organization, 111-178 Charles Street church for

coloured people, 194 Chicago, 3-63

Boys' club, 55

Children's Courts of, 4-33

Commercial club, 19

Commons, 43, 44, 57

Ethical Society, 45

Girls' club, 26

Hebrew Institute, 46

277

278

INDEX

Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy, 44, 57, 62

Child labour and legislation, 68, 109, 172

Child on the Continent 269-276

Child Welfare Exhibition, 11 1

Children's Aid Society, 218

Children's Care Committee, 174, 179

Children's Courts, 50, 138, 152, 260, 262, 268 (see also Juve- nile Court)

City Gardens, 35

Cleveland, 84-92

Clinics, 170-172, 271, 271

Colony Farms, 84

Colorado, 51, 52

" Community and its children," 140

Continuation schools, 271

Cookery school, 185

Cooley Farms, 84

Co-operation of public and pri- vate philanthropy, 70

Co-operative Club, 37

Cornwall, The, 211

Corporal punishment, 52, 130, 206, 211, 218

Correction Farm, 87

Correction, House of, 89

Correction, maison de, 274

Court of Domestic Relations,

9, 29-33 Creches, 233, 244 Crime and Destitution, 158 Cripple and invalid schools, 117,

188-201 Culver Club, 37-38

Davis, Miss, $y Day industrial school, 39, 130 Day nurseries, 39, 144, 147 Delinquency child, 8, 15, 25, 26,

29, 32, 59, 65, 66, 112, 155,

271, 275 Delinquent child, 8, 15, 25, 26,

29. 32,s59, 65, 66, 112, 155,

271, 275

Delinquent schools, 13 Dental clinics (see Clinics) Denver, 51-53 Dependent Homes, 8 Deptford Clinic, 170-172 Destitution, National Conference,

I55-I70 Detention Home, 6-8

rooms, 12 Director of Public Safety, 76 Discharged prisoners, 136 Dispensary, baby, 39

East Aurora, 90-92 Elberfeld, 273 Epilepsy, 249 Epileptic children, 199 Equal Suffrage, 104 Ethical Society, 45 Eugenics, 70, 246-258

Farningham Homes, 242 Federation of Chicago settle- ments, 38 of Churches, 76

of London working boys' clubs,

264

Feeble-minded, 100-106, 138,

189, 194, 197, 198, 252, 269

Feeding of school children, 69,

174, 189, 194, 198 Fernald, Dr. E., 100-103 Finding Employment for Chil- dren, 61 Finlay- Johnson, Miss, 141, 162 Forward Movement, 46 Foundling Hospital, 235-237 Frederick Douglas Centre, 48*

Galsworthy, 151-154 Garden suburb, 167-169 George Junior Republic, 51, 163-

166 Germany, 271 Gilman, Charlotte P., 109 Girls' Church School, 262 Clubs, 39, 118

INDEX

279

Girls' Physical exercise club, 263

Protective Home, 219

Village Home, 233 Gladstone, Mr., 254 Goodnow, Judge Charles N., 29,

3i Gray, Dr. George W., 48 Greek Education Association, 42

Women's club, 38 Grotto Home, 219 Guardians' classes, 273 Gunckel, John E., 51, 72-75

Hampstead Garden suburb, 167 Happy Evenings, 143 Harvard, 94-95 Health department, 35 Heaton-Mersey, 205-207 Hebrew Institute, 46 Henry Booth House, 45 Henry, Miss Alice, 31, 63, 109 Herbert, Mr., 220 Hersch, Dr. Emil G., 31 Hertslet, Lady, 270 Heswell Nautical School, 214-217 Heyrod Street Lads' Club, 155 Holy Trinity Industrial School,

207-211 Home for wasting babies, 143 Home industry, 68-69 Homes Committee, 239 Homes for boys, 233-245 Hospitals, 200, 222-232, 235-237,

Housden, Mr., 203-207 Houseboys' Brigade, 259 House of Correction, 87-89 Housing problem, 61-62, 158, 166 Howells, W. D., 105-107 Hubbard, Elbert, 90-92 Hull House, 34, 35, 43, 52, 57

Illinois, 4, 36, 68 Industrial schools, 202-211 Infants' Hospital, 224 Italian circle, 38

Jews, 44, 45, 46, 196, 122

Juvenile Advisory Committee,

179-180 Juvenile Court, 4, 33, 35, 48, 51, 52, 59, 74, 97-99, 268, 261- 262 Juvenile Court Committee, 6 Employment Agency, 61 Labour Exchanges, 271 Labour organization, 178-179,

180 Protective Association, 9, 24-

28 Psychopathic Institute, 35

Kindergarten, 37, 81

League for the Protection of

Immigrants, 35 League of Redemption, 139 Leavitt, Mrs. Marie, 30 Legge, Mr., 193 Life and Labour, 63 Lindsey, Judge Ben. B., 50-54 Liverpool Education Committee,

193 London County Council, 173-187

MacCoy Irwin, Rev. Mrs., 253

Mack, Mr., 88

McMillan, Margaret, 170

Maison de correction, 275

Manchester gaol, 133

Mansion House Advisory Com- mittee, 180

Marriage and Eugenics, 250-251

Marriage permit system, 251

Marro, Antonio, 249

Mary Crane Nursery, 39

Massachusetts school, 100-103

Maternity Home, 274

Medical inspection, 174-179

Men's clubs, 38, 117

Mentally defective schools, 189- 201 (see also Feeble-minded)

Metropolitan Association for be- friending young Servants, 180

280

INDEX

Milk centre, 44 Mills, Mr., 36 Milwaukee, 61 Montagu, George, 163 Montessori, 102 Mooney, Mr., 76 Moreton, Honor, 120 Mother clubs, 253 Mothers' and Babies' Welcome, 1 48-15 1

National newsboys' association,

7*-75 New York, 10 7-1 11 Newsboys, 71, 90, 103, 273 clubs, 71, 72, j 5, 90, iio-iii,

226 Harvard Scholarship, 95 homes, 231 Trial Board, 95 North-Western Settlement, 44

Ohio, 73, 92 Olson, Judge Harry, 31 Open-air schools, 39, 69, 175 Organization of juvenile labour,

180 Osterrieth, Madame, 270

Paddington workhouse, 265 Paderewski singing society, 45 Parental schools, 8, 13 Parents' Act, 5 Park, Mrs. Charles, 93, 104 Parole, 8, 21, 28, 77, 90, 126 Passmore Edwards settlement,

116 Pedott, Dr., 46

Penal Reform League, 137, 155 Penitentiary, 18, 51, 76, 88 People's Palace, 265 Personal Service bureau, 46 Pett-Ridge, W., 143 Pinckney, Judge, 10, 31-32, 51-

52

Play centre, 118, 174

Grounds, 63-66, 175, 195, 242

Zones, 66-67

Prison commissioner, 125, 128,

159, 202, 215

Regime and conditions relating

to, 75-81, 84-90, 124-136,

159

Probation, 5, 6, 7, 54, 98, 215,

219 Protection of minors, 271 Psycho-Physical character, 249 Public library, 63 Public schools, 81-82

Quinn, Mrs., 85

Reformatories, 202-221 Ridge, W. Pett, 143 Riordan, Raymond, 90 Robinson, Tom, 207 Roycrofters, 90-92 Ruggeri, Professor V. Guiffrida, 248

St. Charles' school, 15-23

St. John, Captain Arthur, 137-

139, 154, 159 St. Pancras school for mothers,

143, 147-159 Saleeby, Dr., 251 Savings bank, 42 Scouts, 67

Settlements, 34-49, 55, 1 16-123 Sex instruction, 254-256 Shaftesbury Ragged schools, 242 Shakers, 108 Shoeblacks' home, 243 Skilled employment committee,

178 Smith, Samuel G., 256 Social club centre, 48 Social economics club, 48 Sociological society, 140 Special schools, 188-201 Stevens, Mr., 77 Street traders, 68, 176-177

INDEX

281

Subnormal schools, 188-201 Survey, The, 44 Swanley Homes, 242 Switzerland, 273

Talbot, Miss, 259 Taylor, Graham, 43 Thinking Tower, 89 Thurston, 33 Toledo, 51-72

Tolstoy settlement, 120-123 Toynbee Hall, 34, 116 Trade union branches, 39 Training ships, 202-211 Truancy, 165, 175, 263 Tuthill, Judge R. S., 22

Uchtman, Miss, 42 United Charities, 33, 35

Victoria Hospital, 225 Victoria League, 59

Waller, Mr., 124, 202 Ward, Mrs. Humphry, 117 Weller, Mrs. {see Miss Finlay-

Johnson) Whithead, Frank, 44 Whitlock, Brand, y$ White slave traffic, 139 Willard, Mabel, 93, 104 Women's club, 38, 118 Women suffrage, 104

Y.M.C.A., 55, 67, 265 Y.W.C.A., 83

Zones, play, 66

The St. Abbs Press, London.

A FEW LETTERS

Mr. Frank Tate, M.A., I.S.O., Director of Education, Education Office, Melbourne.

" I am returning the typed notes of your observations of special schools and institutions in England and America.

" I have to thank you very much for allowing us the full use of the varied and valuable information the notes contain. Mr. Gates and Mr. Porteous have read them through completely and have made notes for future use.

" I am sure your experience will help you to carry out your self- imposed labours among the newsboys with greater effect than before, and I hope we shall be allowed to call upon your energy and special knowledge again in related fields of work."

Judge B. B. Lindsey, Judges Chambers, Juvenile Court, Denver, Colo., U.S.A.

" Your very welcome letter and the newspaper came to me some time ago. The activities of a busy Court, public life, and a whirl of work has delayed my correspondence very much. But I do want to thank you a thousand times for your thoughtfulness in remembering me. I enjoyed your letter very much, and the write-up in the paper was most generous and kind.

" I do want to congratulate you and the City Newsboys' Society of Melbourne upon the splendid work you are doing. It is pre- ventative work like that which counts more than Juvenile Courts — however important they are becoming in our modern city life."

Mr. M. L. Waller, Prison Commission, Home Office, Whitehall, S.W.

" Thank you for your letter of June 13, with its enclosures, which I was most glad to receive. I am much interested in your paper, which gives an excellent description of our Borstal system. Con- gratulations to you once more on being engaged in one of the happiest occupations that anybody can have, and upon the success you have attained in it."

Mr. Brand Whitlock, The Mayor, The City of Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A., writes : —

" It was very pleasant to have your letter and the copy of the newspaper with your very nattering sketch, and I thank you with all my heart. Australia does not seem so far away now, since I may feel that I have friends there too. Mr. Mooney was as much interested as I in your article and in your letter, and he begs me to send to you his compliments and best wishes. It was a very great pleasure to us both to meet you and to have contributed, even in the smallest degree, to your pleasure on what has, I hope, proved to be a most profitable and interesting journey."

Alexander McKinley, Chairman Children's Court, Melbourne and President of the Special Magistrates' Association, Melbourne.

" I have read several of your papers on work done by the Children's Courts in America, and have found them very interesting and also, helpful to the child-saving work in Melbourne and Australia.

" I trust your book will be successful."

A SELECTION FROM THE

CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

PUBLISHED BY

Thomas C. Lothian,

100, FLINDERS STREET,

MELBOURNE.

INDEX OF TITLES.

Australians Yet.

Blue Sky Philosophy

Bush, The.

Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes

Dark Tower, The

Dawnward.

Dominions of the Boundary

Eating for Health

Ginger Talks on Business .

Guide to the Study of Australian Butterfh

House of Broken Dreams, The

Keeyuga Cookery Book, The

Later Litanies .

Litanies of Life.

Mateship ....

Mosquitoes : Their Habits and Distribution

No Breakfast ; or, the Secret of Life

Peradventure ....

Platform Monologues

Poems by Jennings Carmichael .

Poems by Hubert Church .

Poems by Bernard O'Dowd

Poems by William Gay

Poems of Henry C. Kendall

Poems by Jessie Mackay .

Poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Poetical Works of William Gay .

Poetry Militant ....

Rosemary . .

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, The

Sappho .....

Satyrs and Sunlight .

Sea and Sky ....

Sea Spray and Smoke Drift

Seven Deadly Sins, The

Silent Land and Other Verses, The

Stranger's Friend, The

Spirit of the Child

Things Worth Thinking About .

Told in the Dormitory

Woman's Work.

THE SPIRIT OF THE CHILD

By TULLIE WOLLASTON.

Pott 4th. 224 pages. Price, 5/-; posted, 5/4

Every Home in Australia should possess a copy of " The Spirit of the Child " — and, in fact, every • teacher and child lover everywhere.

This is a distinctly original book, with quaint gleams of humour and a spiritual atmosphere, impossible to describe, but the very thing to rejoice the hearts of fathers and mothers who know how to give good gifts to their children. Also it is even more valuable for the parents themselves.

A father, ordered abroad for his health, and realizing how precarious life is, feels impelled to gather up in some interesting way the vital points of his varied experience for the children he loves so well. He feels, as so many fathers do, the veil of shyness between parent and child, and recognizes how few are the opportunities, in the rough and tumble of life, for the fitly spoken word to confirm " what has been silently indrawn by contact of love." A passionate Nature lover himself, he takes for unique treasures of Australia — a flower, a bird, a tree, and a precious stone — and treats them in a way to quicken every earnest heart, and foster the child spirit of bright interest and loving humility.

Two of these subjects are illustrated by six fine three- colour pictures — those of the Black Opals, probably being finer reproductions of Gems of Colour than any ever pre- viously made anywhere.

A quaint love story linked to the rest of the subject matter by the same mystic touch, lends variety to the Book and strengthens the one golden thread of purpose, which is briefly summed up in the title.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 3

THINGS WORTH THINKING ABOUT

By T. G. TUCKER, Litt.D. (Camb.)

Professor of Classical Literature in University, Melbourne.

Crown Svo. 288 pages. Bound in full cloth. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/9.

In this volume, Education, Science, Literature, Culture and Cant and other kindred subjects are treated in a manner that is full of vitality and attracts. This is a reprint of a book that has been out of print and quite unprocurable for many years.

PLATFORM MONOLOGUES

By T. G. TUCKER, Litt.D. (Camb.)

A new volume of essays and lectures, including " Supreme Literary Gift," "Hebraism," "Principles of Criticism," "Making of a Shakespeare," "Literature and Life," "Future of Poetry," etc.

Crown Svo. 254 pages. Price, 3/6 ; posted, 3/9.

SAPPHO

By T. G. TUCKER, Litt.D. (Camb.)

A lecture delivered before the Classical Association of Victoria, 1913.

Price, 2/6; posted, 2/8.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 4

LATER LITANIES

By KATHLEEN WATSON.

Author of " Litanies of Life." Bound in full cloth. Artistically blocked in gold. Price, 2/6; posted, 2/8. This new book by Kathleen Watson is sure to receive a friendly welcome from the hundreds of friends which she made with her previous books. This volume is, perhaps, more mature, and will give greater pleasure than any of her former books. All readers should secure a copy of this new book.

LITANIES OF LIFE

By KATHLEEN WATSON.

Author of "The House of Broken Dreams," "The Gaiety

of Fatma."

Crown Svo. Bound in full blue cloth, gold blocked. Price, 2/6 ;

posted, 2/8.

This is the fifth edition of a remarkable volume. Already over 20,000 copies have been sold — and little wonder, for it is a book to read and re-read. It will rivet the attention of the reader, and hold it right through. It pulsates with human interest, with human feeling, love and joy and sorrow.

" I read a few pages, and after that there was no laying down the book. Fancy a woman with a powerful, perhaps somewhat morbid imagination, with intense emotions, with a tendency to brood over all that is sad in the human lot ; and finally, with the power to concentrate a whole panorama of suffering into a phrase — fancy a woman so gifted sitting down with the resolve to crush into a few words the infinite tale of all the whole race of her sex can suffer, and you have an idea of what this remarkable book is like."— T.P.'s Weekly.

" The reader will lay down the book as I did, with a feeling of profound sympathy and gratitude to the unknown writer, in whose pages they can hear the tremulous throb of an intense emotion, which, however, does not obscure the finer and strongest note of heroic resolve." — The late W. T. Stead.

THE HOUSE OF BROKEN

DREAMS. A MEMORY

By KATHLEEN WATSON.

Second Edition, Crown Svo, bound in full cloth. Price, 2/6 ; posted, 2/8. A Review : " She who gave us the well-loved ' Litanies of Life ' clothes beautiful thoughts in beautiful language. ... As a picture of idyllic love and sympathy between mother and son, even unto death — and beyond — it has rarely been surpassed, and'; helps us to realize the wondrous truth that ' love is heaven, andTieaven is love.' " — The Register.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE.

5 U

THE BEST BOYS' BOOK OF STORIES.

TOLD IN THE DORMITORY By R. G. JENNINGS.

In Handsome Cloth Cover, and with Frontispiece in Colour. Price, 3/6 ; posted, 3/9.

Mr. R. G. Jennings is one of the best-known teachers in Melbourne. Hundreds of boys belonging to the Church of England Grammar School have listened with breathless interest to these stories, told them by their master after lessons, ' ' In the Dormitory." The boys all voted the stories so good that the best twelve were collected and are now published.

The stories are clean, wholesome and exciting, and many an elder brother, as well as the father, of a family, has picked up the volume to give it a rapid glance, and has had to read story after story, only putting the book reluctantly down when the last page was reached.

If you want to read a good school-boy book of adventuresome yarns, or make some small youth happy, then get a copy of " Told in the Dormitory." Just look at what the papers have said about it : —

" Entertaining yarns, well told, without a hint of padding or affectation." — The Athenceum.

" The sort of yarns boys love." — The New Age.

" They are tersely presented, direct, and pointed. . . . The book will be read with delight by boys at school and with interest by older folk." — Adelaide Register.

" These wholesome and terse stories, ' Told in the Dormitory,' are just what will delight elder boys — and such of their parents as still remember school days." — Geelong Advertiser.

ROSEMARY

THAT'S FOR REMEMBRANCE. By ELEANOR MORDAUNT.

Author of " The Garden of Contentment," " A Ship of Solace," etc., etc.

Crown 8vo. 204 Pages. Bound in Cloth. Gold Blocked. Price, 2/6; posted, 2/9.

More and more is Eleanor Mordaunt claiming the attention of the reading public, but it is doubtful whether any of her other books have surpassed " Rosemary " for sheer charm and attractiveness. It is a blue sky book, full of cheerfulness and good nature. It tells of an Englishwoman who spends a quiet year in Australia, and who describes the procession of the seasons and how they appeal to her. The chapters are all inter- esting, and cannot be exhausted by a single reading. This is a book that is always fresh. Open it anywhere and it arrests you at once.

" It is a delightful book, written in a most refreshing style. It is so full of sunny and happy thoughts, so suggestive of all that is best in life that one lingers over its pages." — Birmingham Daily Post.

GINGER TALKS ON BUSINESS By W. C. HOLMAN.

Price, 5/-; posted,, 5/4. 1

Crown 6vo, extra cloth gilt, 235 pages, with is^full-page cartoons, illustrating the principles of Salesmanship, which the " Talks " explain. In these days of commercial activity, business is becoming such a profession that it needs preparation and study to cope successfully with the problems of success.

" Ginger Talks " is as helpful a text-book as one could possibly get, but it differs from many text-books in that it is fascinating reading. It abounds in good humour, hopefulness and brilliant interesting, talk ; talk that is practical, helpful and human.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 6

BERNARD O'DOWD'S WORKS.

DAWNWARD

Price, 2/6; posted, 2/7.

A few copies of the original limited First Edition, published by the Bulletin Company, are still available. Price on application.

" The best book of verses yet produced in Australia." — T. G. Tucker, Litt.D., Prof, of Classical Literature, University of Melbourne.

THE SILENT LAND AND OTHER VERSES

Price, 2/6; posted, 2/7. Bound in Half-cloth Boards, Gilt Tops. A few copies of an Edition-de-Luxe {limited to 25), signed.by the author, are still available. Price, 7/6. " The most arresting work of the younger generation is that of Mr. Bernard O'Dowd." — The Times, London.

DOMINIONS OF THE BOUNDARY

64 Pages. Art Cover. Price, 1/-', posted, 1/1. " Mr. Bernard O'Dowd stands alone among modern Australian poets." — The Spectator (London).

POETRY MILITANT

An Australian plea for the Poetry of Purpose. An exceedingly fine, sincere literary essay. Paper Cover, 1/-; postage, id.

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

A Sonnet Series. Small ^to. 56pp., Deckle-edged, Antique Paper. Price, 3/6 ; postage, id.

" It is full of thought and vision. It embodies such a bold and luminous re- valuation of the universe, as we have every right to expect from the true poet." — The Herald.

THE BUSH

Small Quarto. Art Paper Cover. Price, 2/6 ; posted, 2/7.

" It is the most significant of all the poems, of any considerable length, that Australia has yet produced." — The Argus.

" It takes rank at once as a great national poem. It should be bought and read, and re-read, by every thoughtful Australian." — A. T. Strong in The Herald.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 7

EATING FOR HEALTH

By 0. L. M. ABRAMOWSKI, M.D., Ch.D.

(Berlin).

Cloth Bound. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/9. Third Edition, greatly increased and edited by J. T. Huston.

This book is written from actual personal knowledge and experience. It is as interesting as a novel. It is the evolution of a common sense idea of disease, and a natural system for its prevention and cure.

"It is the most complete work on dietary experiment that we have seen." — T.P.'s Weekly.

" The value of this book lies in its perfect frankness." — Stock and Station Journal, Sydney.

" The book contains a mass of information regarding many diseases, and the effect of diet upon them, and emphasizes the importance of doing as much thinking for oneself as one can, instead of trusting implicitly to the medicine men, who are liable — even the best of them — to go wrong, at all events, in matters of diet." — The Adver- tiser, Adelaide.

These are some of the subjects with which this most interesting book deals : —

Eating for Disease.

The Influence of Fruit Diet.

Influence of Natural Diet.

Typhoid.

Rheumatism.

Cancer.

Affections of the Lungs.

Eating for Death.

Eating for Life.

What shall we Eat ?

When shall we Eat ?

What shall we Drink ?

Humanity v. Alcohol.

Etc., etc.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 8

A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN BUTTERFLIES

By W. J. RAINBOW, F.L.S., F.E.S. Entomologist to the Australian Museum, Sydney.

300 pages. Full cloth. Crown Svo. Over 250 illustrations. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/9.

A thoroughly scientific, yet popular work for all who desire a knowledge of Australian Butterflies. It is quite indispensable to the modern teacher.

" Illustrated on a truly liberal scale, it should prove an ideal aid towards the purpose intended." — Otago Witness.

"Mr W. J. Rainbow's charming little book fills a want long felt by the general natura- list, and will prove invaluable to the Lepidopterist, be he beginner or expert." — Herald,

" A model of arrangement and sound work." — Publishers' Circular.

MOSQUITOES: THEIR HABITS AND DISTRIBUTION

By W. J. RAINBOW, F.L.S., F.E.S.

Entomologist to the Australian Museum, Sydney.

A neat booklet of 64 pp., well illustrated, dealing with this interesting pest and its extermination. Price, 1/6; postage, id.

" A most interesting and useful little book." — Sunday Times.

" This little book is worthy of a place with ' The Study of Australian Butterflies, by the same careful writer." — Ballarat Courier.

" A valuable contribution to Nature Study." — The Herald.

" It gives within a small compass an astonishing amount of interesting and well- arranged information. The book is very readably written, is well illustrated with numer- ous clear figures, and should appeal to a large body of readers." — Australian Naturalist.

AUSTRALIAN MINIATURES

Price 1/- each.

SEA SPRAY AND SMOKE DRIFT, by Adam Lindsay Gordon.

POEMS, by Henry C. Kendall.

POEMS, by Bernard O'Dowd.

POEMS, by William Gay.

POEMS, by Jennings Carmichael.

MATESHIP, by Henry Lawson.

THE STRANGER'S FRIEND, by Henry Lawson.

POEMS, by Jessie Mackay.

BUSH BALLADS AND GALLOPING RHYMES, by Adam

Lindsay Gordon. RUBAlYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM, The POEMS, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. BLUE SKY PHILOSOPHY, by W. T. Pyke.

Also bound in ooze leather, 1/3 each. The verses in these volumes are the very best, and wherever possible the authors themselves have specially selected the verses they wish to be printed. Therefore, these booklets contain only their living work — the cream of these authors. The set should be purchased straight away by aU good Australians, and further copies sent to friends. No other books yet published in Australia are at once so suitable for your reading, or make such exquisite little gifts for friends. They make beautiful little books for the pocket, and are able to be carried around and read during leisure moments.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 9

SATYRS AND SUNLIGHT

By HUGH McCRAE. 2nd Edition, cloth bound, crown Svo. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/8. Readers of Australian verse will remember the sensation caused by the appearance of the limited edition of these poems, illustrated by Norman Lindsay. This second (unillustrated) edition brings, as the Herald says, " one of the best books of recent Australian verse within the reach of the general public."

\, " Mr. McCrae . . . produces remarkable poems, which strike a note new to Australia, and take a high place in our literature." — Sydney Morn- ing Herald.

POEMS

By HUBERT CHURCH.

Crown Svo. Antique Paper. Bound in Full Cloth. Price, 3/6; posted, 3 /g.

Those acquainted with this poet's " Egmont " will be glad to see this announcement of a further collection of poems. The present volume includes a few of the best poems in " Egmont," and a number of fine additions, some published for the first time, make up a most attractive volume.

" In Hubert Church we have a poet who worthily upholds the highest traditions of Australasian poetry. Grandeur, simplicity, tenderness and power are all reflected in this fine collection of poems." — Dundee Advertiser.

SEA AND SKY

By J. LE GAY BRERETON.

Small Quarto. Edition limited to 500 copies. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/8.

Any lover of Australian verse unacquainted with Mr. J . Le Gay Brere- ton's work has a real pleasure in store. The poems in this collection are unique, and as the Bulletin says, " Such careful work, so delicately done, is a rare portent in our vague Australian sky."

" In Mr. Le Gay Brereton's ' Sea and Sky,' " says the Bookman, " one has some of the most delicate and essentially poetical work that has yet been written in Australia."

POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM GAY

With Biographical Sketch by J. Glen Oliphant. Bound in Full Cloth, Gold Blocked, Gilt Top. Crown 8vo. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/9. The authentic and only complete edition. This Scotch born poet, driven like so many, before and since, to seek health across the sea, has left a rare memorial in the land of his adoption. We cannot call him an Australian poet. " His poetry," says his bio- grapher, " was universal, not local, and might have been written any- where," but as his life was linked with Australia, we are glad to count him among her sons, and to remember that he found under her skies greater spiritual peace, and a measure of physical strength sufficient to leave this legacy.

AUSTRALIANS YET

By GRANT HERVEY.

Crown 8vo. 254 pages. Clearly printed on good white paper, and attractively bound. Lettered in gold. Gilt top. Price, 3/6 ; fost free, 3/8.

" This is a volume of vigorous ballads, chanting the praise of Australia, a creed of hard work, and a love of women, in long, rollicking lines. He sings manfully, with a good ear for a chorus." — Times.

" His verses are good reading." — The Bookseller.

" This is jolly hearty Colonial stuff, by one who sees that Australia needs an arch interpreter." — The Daily Chronicle, London.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 10

THEiMOST PRACTICAL AUSTRALIAN COOKERY BOOK EVER PUBLISHED.

THE KEEYUGA COOKERY BOOK

By HENRIETTA C. McGOWAN.

(Of The Age and The Leader.) {Price, 1/6; posted, 1/8. Strongly Bound in Grease-proof Cloth.

This is the long-looked-for Australian Cookery Book. Once used, you will find it a practical necessity in your kitchen. Every recipe has been tried, proved and found good. It is well printed, clearly written, and the directions can easily be followed.

It can be claimed with confidence for the " Keeyuga " that it is the cheapest and most practical cookery book ever sold. What is wanted in these days of scarcity of domestic help is a cookery book that will serve in an emergency, one that contains well- tried reliable recipes that can be depended upon ; these are to be found in the " Keeyuga," as well as all the recipes necessary for a full-course dinner.

Whatever the difficulty in the culinary department may be, one can turn to the " Keeyuga " with absolute confidence ; whether it is helpful recipes that are needed, or how to vary the children's school lunches, or what to take to the pleasant week-end camping out picnics, or how to make up an Australian fruit luncheon, the " Keeyuga '" will help every time.

These are some titles taken from its invaluable contents : —

" Meals Make the Man " For Breakfast, Lunch, or Supper

Emergency Meals Soups Puddings Pastry

Cookery for Children Cold Puddings and Sweets

School Lunches Cakes Teacakes Sandwiches

Camp Life and Week-end Cookery Jams, Jellies, Marmalades, Household Cookery — Joints Fruit Cheeses and Preserves

Poultry Fish Sauces, Pickles and Chutneyc

Spiced Meat, Sausages, etc. Salads Drinks

Curries Invalid Cookery Sweets Sundries

Vegetables Fruit Things Worth Knowing

And many other interesting Chapters.

A BOOK OF VITAL IMPORTANCE. WHAT TO DO WITH OUR GIRLS.

WOMAN'S WORK By HENRIETTA C. McGOWAN. MARGARET C. CUTHBERTSON.

Price, i/-; posted, i/i.

"The Publisher has pleasure in placing upon the market a book of such eminent import- ance and usefulness as this book on Woman's Work.

The aim of the writers has been to set before the prospective worker the ways and means by which she may secure thej work best ruited to her,and some idea of the remuner- ation she may expect to receive as a return for her investment of time, study, work and money.

The writers are probably the two most able women in Australia for the subject in hand. Miss H. C. McGowen, by her long experience in connection with the Age and Leader, has been brought into close practical touch with the condition*, and possibilities of private women workers, while Miss Cuthbeitson, in her capacity of Inspectress of Factories, is peculiarly fitted to speak with authority upon this particular class of work-

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 11

PERADVENTURE

By ARCHIBALD T. STRONG.

164 pages. Post 4to. Printed on art paper, with attractive paper cover. Price, 3/6 ; posted, 3/9.

A book that is a pleasure to handle as it is an education and inspiration to read. Mr. Strong does not belong to the School of Dryasdust, he treats his books as human documents, and his literary friends as beings of flesh and blood. The breadth of his range and the freshness of this point of view are seen by a glance at the titles of his Essays, which range from " The Devil " to " The Faith of Shelley," and from " Rabelais " to " Neitzsche."

" Both in its grave and gay moods the book is one of unusual charm." — Literary World.

THE DARK TOWER

By ALAN D. MICKLE. Author of "The Great Longing."

Bound in Art Cloth. Crown 8vo. 152 pages. Price, 3/6; posted, 3/8.

" The Dark Tower " is a new and original volume of short essays ; stimulating, good, attractive. All thoughtful people who are interested in living thought should obtain a copy of this new book.

These essays deal with a variety of things and people, but the value of this book lies in the author's forceful sincerity and his advocacy of fearlessness in thought.

SOME OF THE BEST CHAPTERS : The Supreme Virtue ; Tolstoy and Turgeneiff ; Don Quixote, Mr. Pickwick and Hamlet ; Hedda Gabler ; Nietzsche ; William Blake ; Pontius Pilate ; Gallio ; Cleo- patra ; The Venus of Milo ; The Sphinx.

"... gives the impression of genuine sincerity." — Athenceum.

" A book worth buying and worth keeping." — The Triad.

" Those who have read ' The Great Longing ' will welcome Mr. Mickle's latest work, as, indeed, anything that comes from his pen. He stands in the front rank of philosophical essayists, and is doing more for Australian literature than all the many poetasters and their kind who yearly publish many books, but write little poetry. Regarded only for their literary merit his essays have high place. ... It is good for Australian literature to have the books of Mr. Mickle, which will win him permanence of posi- tion. He is making a very real and valuable addition to the best in our literature." — Hobart Daily Post.

" Certainly a striking little book." — The Australasian.

NO BREAKFAST; OR, THE SECRET OF LIFE

By " Gossip."

Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. 94 pp. Antique paper. Attractive cover in two colours. Price, 1/-; posted, 1/1.

When a book of this description goes into a Fifth Edition we realize that the gospel it preaches is one that has been accepted and proved to be true by thousands of readers. This is not surprising when one con- siders that this is the actual story of a man's own experience. Gossip writes of what he knows to be true, he has proved it — is proving it every day.

" This little book," says the Sydney Morning Herald, " has been a continuous success since its first appearance in 1905, and it deserved to be so, for the argument is lively, sound and helpful throughout. It is a vigorous expression of the philosophy of common sense. The plea is for more simplicity, for moderation in all things."

How to live and how to get the most out of life : Those are the problems that confront every one of us. This little volume helps to solve them. You will be glad to read it.

THOMAS C. LOTHIAN, MELBOURNE. 12

Massachusetts School for Feeble M indeed