19 OCTOBER 1912, Page 26

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

[Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as have. not been reserved for review in other forms.] The Rough and the Fairway : an Inquiry by the Agenda Club into the Problem of the Golf Caddie. (William Heinemann. 2s. 6d. net.)—A special committee of the Agenda Club have been engaged for some time in considering the Caddie problem, and their report and recommendations deserve the most serious atten- tion not only from golfers, but from every one who is concerned at the grave dangere which result from 414 forms of boy labour. The chief objections to the existithil system are (1) the casual nature of the employment, which involves ialing for a large part of the day, (2) the irregularity of the amount of wages earned, (3) the bad company into which the boys are brought, and (4) the absence of any prospects for their future. The principal recommendations made by the committee may be summarized as follows : (1) Men and boys should not both be employed by the same club. (2) A club employing boys should secure for them proper environment and food upon the premises. (3) It should pay them a fixed weekly wage. (4) It should endeavour to remove the reproach attached to a blind-alley occupation by providing training for the boys. This training is rendered possible by the very conditions that are at present so demoralizing—namely, by the many hours of idleness involved in the work. For this purpose the forms of training indicated by the report as likely to prove most pro- mising are the minor branches of agriculture and rough car- pentry. It is impossible for us to enter into the scheme in more detail or to discuss its difficulties. Those who are dissatisfied upon either of these points will do well to read with care the full evidence and clear arguments contained in the report