THE CHILDREN'S COUNTRY HOLIDAY FUND.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Your readers have in a very practical way shown their interest in the Children's Country Holiday Fund, of which I am the chairman. The fund does, I think, deserve the interest of people whose charity aims to reach beyond the immediate needs of the poor. It does indeed secure the health and the happiness of the forty thousand children, selected from the eight hundred thousand in London schools, whom it takes from narrow homes and noisy streets to spend a whole fort- night in a farm or cottage in fresh air and new surroundings. But it does much more. It unites in sympathy managers, teachers, and parents, as together they consult about the children, consider each individual's needs, and settle how much the parent will contribute to the fund. It introduces town children into country life, as they share a cottager's home, listen to the table talk about crops and animals, and join in the family pursuits. It increases friendships as year by year the children bring home tales of the kindness they have received, the presents of flowers, the ride3 in carts, the parties at the bigger houses. For its purpose the fund has to have command of money. Each host receives 5s. a week for each child, and the railway fare is sometimes high. But taking into account the parents' contribution, it may be said that every 10s. subscribed enables a London child to get a country holiday in which his body will grow stronger and his mind wider and his heart deeper. The experience of all the men and women who co-operate together has been full of delight, and the success of an organisation almost wholly voluntary has been remarkable. Medical officers and officials have been most helpful in enabling visitors to discover and prevent the spread of infection. The railway managers and the porters have been patient and tender with the crowds who invade their platforms. Every one is in good heart, and the only anxious person is the treasurer, the Earl of Arran, whose official address is 18 Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C.—I [It is hardly necessary to commend the Children's Country Holiday Fund to our readers. There are not many ways in which money can be spent by the charitable without some fears that harm will be done along with the good. In the case of the Children's Country Holiday Fund, however, there need be no doubts on this score. No child will be pauperised by a visit of a fortnight to the country, and an appreciable benefit to body and mind is almost certain to be the result. We sincerely trust that Canon Barnett's letter will receive a generous response.—En. Spectator.]
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