In the year 1918 the United Kingdom spent over £128,000,000
of public money on various forms of social service, including poor relief, education, public health, old age and war pensions, and insurance. This remarkable fact is stated for the first time in a Return just issued by the Treasury. Mr. Geoffrey Drage and the Denison House Public Assistance Committee have long been trying to extract from the Treasury an account of the total public expenditure under various Acts, and they have at last succeeded. The White Paper, No. 218 of 1919, which costa a penny, deserves very serious attention. Few people realize what social reform means, when represented in rates and taxes, or how muoh the State is doing in this way for the masses of the population. It is of the first importance that the facts should be made known.
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