"ANOTHER FIGHT TO A FINISH."
PTO THE EDITOR Or MI "SPOCTATOR."1
SIR,—Some time ago you kindly inserted a letter from me appealing for support for the circulation of a pamphlet with the above title intended to help our young sailors and soldiers, and you yourself commended it to the generosity of your readers. I asked for the sum of £500, towards which, I am glad to say, I have received about £200. Some of the con- tributions have been of a pathetic character : in my own diocese a number of poor mothers raised, on their own initiative, a sum of twelve shillings in halfpennies, because they said they felt that the book would be most useful to young fellows, and they themselves had sons at the front and were glad to feel that there was some care being taken of them.
Requests for the pamphlet have been received from many parts of the Empire, and in some cases Chaplains of the Forces write to us that the only pity is that they did not have the pamphlet in their hands earlier for distribution. We have been applied to for the pamphlet by Captains of our great warships and by naval and military authorities at Gibraltar, in India, at Cape Town, and by the authorities of our overseas Expeditionary Forces. From one Continental city where there are many soldiers we received a letter saying : " Your pamphlet is admirable and exactly what we want, and one which we could circulate by thousands." As a matter of fact, if I had a million copies I could dispose of them at once. I have His Majesty the King's permission to say that he has read the booklet, and that he considers it deals with the matter in a very sensible and practical manner, and is bound to do good.
Every day of my life I am in touch with our soldiers coming back wounded from the front. My admiration for them, my respect for them, and my gratitude to them increase each time I see them. There is nothing one would not do in order
to try to keep these fine fellows in thorough health and strength of body, mind, and spirit. It is not because they face their temptations less bravely than they face the German Army that I ask for money to send them the pamphlet, but it is because at a very critical time in their lives they have to encounter an intensity of temptation to which they are not normally exposed. We have helped, through this pamphlet, the efficiency of our Army. I ask your readers to do what they can to enable us to go on with this good work.—I am Sir, &a., H. R. BIRMINGHAM. Bishop's Croft, Birmingham.
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