LONDON REVISITED
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—May a visitor to London, after an absence of several years, crave the hospitality of your columns, in order to set down her impressions ? The first impression is that of prosperity ; rather astonishingly so, when abroad the unemployment question bulks so largely and the decadence of the British is hinted at.
On coming to London the stranger sees a busy, prosperous, well-kept town, whose parks and gardens are a delight to the eye. The means of communication are numerous and easy of access. The traffic is so admirably policed that it is possible to cross the busiest thoroughfare with absolute safety. In all parts, new buildings and good buildings are to be noticed. The inhabitants, mostly well-dressed and healthy-looking, have an air of purpose and vigour. Especially the younger generation : that generation which has grown up since the War. Wherever one goes after office hours, along the Thames or to the airy northern suburbs, these young people, in flannels or tennis frocks, are a very pleasant sight : a hopeful one too for the future of the race. Bare- headed, clear-eyed, well-built, with noticeably good teeth, their appearance speaks volumes for the greater care given in recent years to the general health of children, from the State schools upwards.
But where so much is admirable, there are also sights which give pain. Why in this wealthy city, the capital of a proud people, are maimed ex-Service men begging in the streets ? Has everything been done that ought to have been done for those who went through the hell of war, in order that the country might enjoy its present peace ? If not, what a poor example of generosity the older generation is teaching the younger !
I have no inside knowledge of the question. I set it down merely as it strikes a stranger.
With apologies for encroaching on your time and space.—
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