[TO THE EDITOS OP THE " SPECTATOR."'
Sim,—The publication of the Children's Promise in the Spectator and our letter on rural amenities has brought us many inquiries as to the best way of dealing with the evils. described by correspondents. The magnitude of the subject opens up a wide field of action, and we ask, by your courtesy„ to be allowed to give the words of the appeal of Beautiful England as a way in which such action can be taken : " The. Women's Village Councils' Federation asks those men and. women who recognize that health and beauty are vital forces• for human happiness to join with them in working construc- tively for their full expression through the Beautiful England, Scheme, which seeks in practical ways to influence public opinion for their preservation and strives against the many forms of ignorance and vandalism. which threaten their exist- ence to-day. The councils believe that a great advance might be made towards a national love of health and beauty through the co-operation of societies now working independently for these aims and they will welcome any suggestions for a united general policy. Men and women in sympathy with the move- ment are asked to join as associates."
Both individual and co-operative effort are required and active help from genuine country lovers to remove the grievances which trained minds perceive as obvious, but which are passed by unheeded by the crowd. Town workers, once village chil- dren, see nothing offensive in holiday litter; they grew up amidst such disorders and are blinded by early habits. The head-mistress of a secondary school writes- that she has been preaching the gospel of the value of training in this matter of amenities for nearly forty years, but, in common with others, is hardly aware that the havoc wrought by excursionists is only part of the evil, the bedrock of which is the absence of any system for the collection and disposal of household rubbish in rural districts. Hero and there a few progressive parish on rural district couneils, or a landowner interested in the subject, may make provision of a sufficient character, but as there is no standard of rural sanitation authorities are not compelled to attend to this duty. It is time that the searchlight of public opinion was brought to bear on what is surely an ordinary need in a civilized community, the neglect of which is affecting the growing generation most injuriously. The Children's. Promise, which forms a very important and hopeful part of the schema, was actually written by a child (with the exception of para- graph 4) as his contribution to making his town beautiful. A well-known Montessori lecturer assures us that there is some-. thing attractive to the child-mind in giving a promise, which should, of course, be sustained by some organization, as set forth in Suggestions to Parents and Teachers. It is hoped that in some form the Children's Promise may be adopted not only by the day schools and secondary schools but by all the public schools, which have wider opportunities for that constructive work which naturally makes the stronger appeal to young minds. Consideration might be given to bird sanctuaries. We would welcome suggestions for the. town child's benefit.—I am,, Sir, &c., F. G. Hannrats. Women's Village Councils' Federation, 92 Victoria Street, S.TY . 1.
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