Reaso'riably devoid though I hope I am of malice and
uncharitableness—envy I am not prepared completely to condemn or abjure—I rejoice unfeignedly to see that thanks to the activity of the Sussex police a number of vandals in that county (in, but probably not of, it) have been run in and fined for leaving litter about. I wish the Surrey police would act likewise. In spite of all the attempts to teach this nation civilised behaviour, a task in which the B.B.C. plays a commendable part, the litter nuisance is as bad as ever. The root of it is gross selfishness. " The place was clean for us ; what does it matter to us if it is left dirty for someone else ? " 'Litter-vandals are not unique in that. There used to be a notice on the tops of busses and trams requesting smokers to occupy the rear seats. It is rarely seen now, pre- sumably because it never had the least effect. So stale smoke is regularly blown back from the front seats into the faces of people who hate it. Why not definitely prohibit smoking in the first four or five seats ? And why not post a policeman at a bus-stop now and then to subject people who drop their tickets in the street to the ignominy of picking them up again and putting them in a litter-basket or their pockets ?
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