O NE strong proof that as a nation we are becoming
more humane is that, whereas a hundred years ago only the best men and women in the land cared greatly for even the ; ri vous bodily wrongs of unknown masses of children, at the pr. sent day ordinary, average human nature is not merely determined that their lives shall be free from grave wrongs and oppression, but is deeply concerned in their pleasures.
Among these country holidays take a prominent. place. No one can deny the delight that such holidays may give, nor the mental, moral, and physical advantages which may ensue. At the same time the question of children having these holidays apart from their parents and relatives and at the public expense is, to say the least of it, a vexed one. Promoters of the scheme tell us that it is an important movement, and we well believe it ; but their further statement that the need for charitable assistance in this direction is practically im- measurable, and that they are only at the beginning of their task, must give us pause.
Wages rise, the cost of most of the necessaries of life falls, means of transit become cheaper and cheaper, parks and recreation grounds are multiplied, housing improves. working- class parents become more and more self-sacrificing and indulgent. How, then, can there be an increasing inability among parents to provide their children with occasional change of air and scene? Are we going quite the rigat way to work ? If the cases were really sifted out would the number of children in need of free holidays each such unman- ageable proportions P Some time ago I was visiting a French elementary school. In general attractiveness it bore about as much resemblance to a modern County Council school as the children's rusty black overalls did to the frilled pinafores so justly dear to mothers on this side of the Channel, but my attention was drawn by a conspicuous placard : " Parents who desire that their children should be taken for country rambles under safe guidance on Thursday and Sunday afternoons are requested to send in their names."
Could not better and more regular use be made of all our parks and open spaces ? Merry little ragtag and bobtail wander as they please—often miles away from home—and many a bold and promising young life pays forfeit for the general freedom, but the children of careful and over-anxious parents are kept " within call," however hot and stuffy the street may be, however accessible the recreation ground. In London and in Edinburgh, within five minutes' walk of large open spaces, I have seen white-faced boys and girls who looked as if no breath of fresh air ever blew on them, and the same thing is true, not only of all great towns, but of very many which do not contain more than twenty or thirty thousand inhabit- ants. Could not a much larger number of mothers be induced to take their children to the nearest park four or five times a week in summer, and on any fine holiday in winter? I know that to take their own children for a walk is considered too great a sacrifice by many women who in other ways would work day and night for their benefit, but I have known very poor women, both in town and country, who made this effort, and were well rewarded by their children's improved health and intelligence and by their increased affection for the mother who shared their pleasures.
We are often told that three successive generations of poor wage-earners are rarely found in large towns. One impli- cation of this tolerably well-ascertained fact is commonly overlooked : a considerable proportion of town children must have near relatives in the country or at the seaside. In these days of general education, photography, and cheap excursions there is a tendency for intercourse to be kept up much longer and more regularly between separated members of families than was formerly the ease. Wholesale holiday funds are 1ikely to interfere with this natural development. Before con- tributing to the country holiday of any child it would always be advisable to ask : Is there neither father nor mother nor
any near relative to whom it could be sent with more advantage than among total strangers P
If the parents have no connexions in a suitable position and if complete change of air be desirable, the next question that arises is, Could not the parents, if they considered the matter early enough, save the necessary money ? There are few children among the stationary poor who do not receive a certain amount of pocket-money, and who do not in addition extract pence and halfpence from their mothers many a time during the course of the month. An affectionate father's pocket-money is heavily taxed by the little ones, and then there are all the gifts of unmarried uncles and aunts, sisters in service, and so forth. These pence are seldom spent in any useful way. That a child should save money and buy itself a book or substantial toy is practically unknown, and in moat cases it would be a sheer gain in health, in addition to a lesson in thrift and foresight, if at least three-fourths of this money were saved for a summer holiday. Economy can best be learnt in early life. Many a poor woman might echo the words of a lady suddenly reduced to living on a narrow income: " Oh, if my mother had never allowed me to form the habit of frittering money away ! My cousins have less than I, and yet they are never short of money." Saving seems a dull and negative virtue to the young, and one cannot hope to make it attractive unless the money saved is to be expended within a reasonable time on something that they really desire. Country holiday funds are largely provided by people of very moderate means, and yet I have repeatedly been told that many of the children whose parents " cannot afford " to make any substantial contribution to the expenses neverthe- less send them away with what is, relatively speaking, a large amount of pocket-money, an amount which middle-class parents would expect to last young children for three months nstead of a fortnight. A friend of mine—a woman of small means and frugal habits—took a party of twenty London girls out for a day's holiday almost entirely at her own expense. Her means of knowing their status and income was more close and exact than it could possibly have been with large numbers, and yet she told me afterwards that one of the girls had spent ten shillings in sheer waste and several of the others sums of from half a crown upwards.
Next below these children come others whose parents' resources will not meet half the cost, or will perhaps be suffi- ciently taxed by providing clean and decent clothing ; and below these, again, come the children for whom even clothing must be provided by charity. With regard to this last class the idea suggests itself : Would not the money and energy be more fruitful if devoted to making some small permanent improvement in the children's home conditions? In one case quoted by earnest supporters, and therefore evidently counted as a satisfactory result, a little girl cried bitterly on her return borne from the country because she had to sleep in a verminous bed, a discomfort previously unnoticed. Surely time and money and influence would have been better spent in trying to improve her everyday surroundings, instead of wakening in her a sense of disgust for circumstances which she was far too young to remedy.
When it is once decided that it is advisable for certain children to have a holiday at the public expense the next question that arises is, " In what way can we obtain most advantages for them ? " The popular idea, held most strongly by persons who know little or nothing of any rural dwelling below the rank of a parsonage or a large farm-house, is, "Board them out in a village." I know villages in nearly half the counties in England, but I know of none where suitable accommodation could be obtained, at the price offered, for more than three or four children. In a fairly representative village forty miles from London, and with about a thousand inhabitants, I was told by old residents that the labourers' cottages were so over- crowded that the medical officer was seriously considering the practicability of removing all the elder lads from their homes at night and lodging them in a small barrack. A few days later I was calling on a superior cottager and learnt that the Lady Bountiful of the district had become in- terested in a country holiday fund and was trying to make arrangements to board out twenty or thirty children, and that the villagers resented and opposed the plan, not because of the condition of their houses, but because they feared that the little visitors would " bring things." • The risks of sending unknown children to unknown sur- roundings are very great, but as the children are young, and go in twos and threes (often unrelated twos and threes), one must be excused for thinking more of the injury they may receive than of that which they may inflict. Legally related town and country cousins may do each other an immense amount of good, but the chance intercourse of strangers is a very different matter. The standard of life and conduct differs in many ways, and all parents know how much more surely the child, left wholly to its own devices, is attracted by what is new than by what is true.
Finally, unless seen under favourable conditions, the country is extremely uninteresting to town children. Left alone face to face with the country, they remind me of poor Alice "intro- duced" to the pudding, but in no way enabled to eat it, and there are very many villages where the little natives have no playground but the roads, and never dare cross a field except on some accredited errand. Only people well acquainted with country villages have any conception how little amuse- ment there is for the children, nor how little of the " boundless space " is theirs.
Instead of attempting to board children out in cottages where they will be more overcrowded and quite as unsatis- factorily fed as in their own homes it would be better to receive them at a few well-chosen centres where there would be proper housing, food, and superintendence, and where they would be helped to amuse themselves in a healthful and rational way. One objection raised to fixed centres and per- manent accommodation is that the so-called holiday season lasts for six weeks at the outside, and therefore only three sets of children could be received. But, after all, this is only a matter of arrangement with the school authorities ; the oppor- tunity for a fortnight's holiday under healthy and educative conditions ought to be counted a valid reason for absence from school, and there are many places where a holiday would be enjoyable at any time between April and November, and some which are available all the year round.
French charity takes the form of establishing what are called country boarding schools where carefully selected children are received throughout the year for periods of three weeks or longer. They are given three good meals a day besides their godter, the elder children taking it in turns to help prepare and serve, and they are carefully drilled in good manners. Two or three morning hours are devoted to study, but lessons are as far as possible given out of doors, and are chiefly concerned with subjects which will lead them to enjoy and appreciate their beautiful surroundings. Once a week they are encouraged to write long letters to their parents. Within the grounds—which are large and varied—they are given almost complete freedom, but do not go beyond them unaccompanied.
From such a holiday as this a child can scarcely fail to derive some permanent advantage. Can we say the same of our haphazard system If strictly confined to really poor children the cost, although greater per head, need not be prohibitive; and with regard to voluntary works of bene- ficence it must be remembered that, while heavy expense may be an excellent reason for not undertaking them, it is no excuse for carrying them out in an inefficient or perfunctory [Anything which Miss Loane has to say in regard to the life of the poor should always be listened to with attention. Nevertheless, and in spite of the drawbacks she mentions, we cannot help feeling that on the whole a carefully organized institution like "The Children's Country Holiday Fund " adds a great deal to the health and happiness of the poor in the great towns.—Ed. Spectator.]
Previous page
