SIR,—As a member of a public school I feel that
I cannot overlook Mr. Sharp's letter dealing with " schoolboy-slaves," which contains not one atom of truth. For the last twelve months I, together with some Soo fellow-schoolboys of this school, have made 'my own bed, cleaned my own shoes and laid the meal-table. Never have I heard a single complaint. The reason is not, as Mr. Sharp suggests, fear of the headmaster overhearing our complaints. It is rather that we have no complaints to make.
We at school look on these small tasks as part of the drudgery which war entails. By doing these little "jobs " ourselves (which, by the way, take about zo minutes a day) we have considerably reduced the domestic staff of the school, which has saved an otherwise inevitable rise in fees. We cannot, therefore, consider ourselves slaves, because we are paid, although indirectly, to the extent of the difference between our present fec and what it would be if we had to have a servant for each of the small " jobs " we have ourselves,— I am, Sir, yours sincerely, P. J. DAVIES. Taunton School, Taunton, Somerset.
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