The Lords and the Fitness Campaign The discussion on physical
fitness in the House of Lords on Tuesday was marked by notable speeches from the two eminent physicians who sit in that Chamber, Lord Dawson and Lord Horder. A wide ground was covered, and Lord Dawson, after a pertinent reminder that. the average standard of fitness is sensibly lowered by our success in the preservation of the unfit, emphasised the importance of taking every step possible to dis- courage the unfit, particularly the mentally unfit, from reproduction. Lord Horder, with equal wisdom, pointed out that the first condition of physical fitness was adequate sustenance—what he called " the accessibility of food," and Lord Milne urged the need of a far larger supply of trained physical instructors to replace the drill-instructor to whom physical training was entrusted in far too many schools. For the Government Earl de la Warr once more rejected all thought of compulsion, and pinned his hopes to the idea of a great " voluntary drive " for better physical standards. That is well enough so far as it goes, but such a drive will have to be organised; directed and to some extent financed by the Government. Money spent on preserving health is money saved on curing—and supporting—invalids.
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