SIR,—My heart lifted with joy to read Joyce Cary's article.
I had the same sort of freedom, the same sort of parents, the same sort of pals; we also put our elders' gear to better service than they ever knew; we also waged our wars quite cleanly in the firm, kind grip of home. 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.'
For more than half the youngsters of this land one or other of those conditions is miss- ing. Certain- clever and greedy people, wield- ing power and money greater than they deserve, are taking advantage of our sleepy, civilised tolerance to sneak into that gap stuff that stinks, that knows no limit to its evil, that has no love at all. If they will not stop. then they must be stopped. Even censorship, if it come to that, in such a cause as this, is no graver interference with human liberty than otir present custom to forbid all publicans to serve gin to children. Not one in ten thousand would, but because the odd man might, all must be lined up.
Nothing is easier for Mr. Cary and me to argue from a gorgeous childhood to the need for unlimited tolerance in such things as these. But some of us, even some of us unrepentant parsons, have seen the thrilling satisfaction that fills lads with a vision of completed glory when, for the first time in their lives, and by the aid of such things as scouting for boys, we have provided for them a chance to find out how and where and with what gear to lead their gangs. For their sakes we will resist horror comics even as our grandfathers resisted the bad drains and .the factory con- litions of a hundred years ago. If public pinion be not willingly acknowledged. then ;ive us a law which can be enforced.—Yours 'aithfully, GEORGE PONTEFRACT I Eastmoor Road, Wakefield
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