GUINEAS FOR POUNDS.—AN INVESTMENT FOR WOMEN.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Since I issued my appeal on behalf of the Boy Scouts' Endowment Fund in February an average of about £700 a day has been sent, and the Fund, therefore, has now almost reached
100,000. With a few exceptions the whole of this amount has been sent by men. I believe the reason for this is that they recognize it as an opportunity for making a valuable step in national insurance against the result of inefficient citizenhood. They are glad to take a hand in such a move as a matter of patriotism, but there is nothing sensational about it to appeal to sentiment or charity, and therefore it does not at once catch the attention or enlist the sympathy of all.
I cannot help thinking that if this were recognized by the women of England they would not care to be behind, but would be glad, if the case were put to them, to contribute the next £100,000. When they have done this there is little doubt but that the men would buckle to and find the remaining .250,000 to complete the scheme. If one woman in every two hundred and thirty-three would send a sovereign to-day, the hundred thousand would be obtained to-morrow, and it would be a sound invest- ment, giving by way of dividend a healthier, happier manhood for our nation in the near future. In addition, Sir Francis Trippel, who is very kindly helping me in this work, has made a generous offer to turn each one of these hundred thousand sovereigns into guineas as they arrive.
Women can help this national work by : (1) Sending their con- tributions to me at 116 Victoria Street, S.W. ; (2) by sending a line to Sir Francis Trippel, at the same address, offering to assist in forming the Ladies' Committees that will shortly be in- augurated in the cities and big towns of the country to help forward the scheme. I am especially hoping to secure the recog- nition of the Lady Mayoresses and the Mayoresses of the country in this work.
I have already explained in the Press that the object of the fund is : (a) To enable us to start Scoutmasters' Training Centres throughout the country to assist those men who are so nobly giving up their leisure to this work ; (b) to provide organization for specially helping the Scout Troops in poor districts, where at pent an immense number of boys become wasters from lack of help which can be given them by the Scout Movement ; (c) to develop the Sea Scouts; (d) to carry on the Scout Farm at Wadhurst, in Sussex ; (e) to keep old Scouts in touch with their high ideals, and to give them a helping hand when they leave their troop ; (f) to develop the Wolf Cubs—i.e., the Junior Scouts ; (g) to provide proper Headquarters organization to enable us to cope efficiently with the large amount of work that is necessary to ensure the smooth running of the machine.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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