11 FEBRUARY 1955, Page 15

The first refers to the employment of domes- tic staff.

Up till the First World War the middle classes freely participated in cultural activities of all, types. This greatly assisted in the development of the arts and humanities, and so contributed to the general improvement of the nation. Under present conditions pro- fessional men, industrial and commercial executives, who largely make up the middle class, cannot, in general, afford anything like adequate 'domestic help as this has to be paid for out of taxed income (with one or two special exceptions, such as widowhood), and the result of this is that \ the wife is tied to almost continuous domestic work while the husband also has to contribute much of his 'spare' time to assist her. As a result, cultural activities fall to a regrettable minimum. Why should the wages of a char for cleaning out an office be an untaxed business expense while the same work in the home has to be paid for out of taxed income? A relief on such wages seems called for.

1. H. 11.