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diff --git a/57313-0.txt b/57313-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e0b72b --- /dev/null +++ b/57313-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12052 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57313 *** + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 57313-h.htm or 57313-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/57313/57313-h/57313-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/57313/57313-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + https://archive.org/details/feedingofschoolc00bulkuoft + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). + + + + + +THE FEEDING OF SCHOOL CHILDREN + + +The Ratan Tata Foundation +(University Of London) + +THE FEEDING OF SCHOOL CHILDREN + +by + +MILDRED EMILY BULKLEY + +With An Introductory Note By R. H. Tawney +Director of the Ratan Tata Foundation + + + + + + +London +G. Bell And Sons, Ltd. +1914 + + + + + The Ratan Tata Foundation + + +_Honorary Director_: PROFESSOR L. T. Hobhouse, M.A., D.LIT. _Honorary +Secretary_: PROFESSOR E. J. Urwick, M.A. _Director_: MR. R. H. Tawney, +B.A. _Secretary_: MISS M. E. Bulkley, B.SC. + +The Ratan Tata Foundation has been instituted in order to promote the +study and further the knowledge of methods of preventing and relieving +poverty and destitution. For the furtherance of this purpose the +Foundation conducts inquiries into wages and the cost of living, methods +of preventing and diminishing unemployment, measures affecting the +health and well-being of workers, public and private agencies for the +relief of destitution, and kindred matters. The results of its principal +researches will be published in pamphlet or book form; it will also +issue occasional notes on questions of the day under the heading of +"Memoranda on Problems of Poverty." In addition to these methods of +publishing information, the Officers of the Foundation will, as far as +is in their power, send replies to individual inquiries relating to +questions of poverty and destitution, their causes, prevention and +relief, whether at home or abroad. Such inquiries should be addressed to +the Secretary of the Ratan Tata Foundation, School of Economics, Clare +Market, Kingsway, W.C. The Officers are also prepared to supervise the +work of students wishing to engage in research in connection with +problems of poverty. Courses of Lectures will also be given from time to +time, which will be open to the Public. + +Already Published. + +"_Some Notes on the Incidence of Taxation on the Working-class Family._" + +BY F. W. Kolthammer, M.A. 6d. + +"_The Health and Physique of School Children._" + +BY Arthur Greenwood, B.Sc. 1s. + +"_Poverty as an Industrial Problem_": _an Inaugural Lecture_. + +BY R. H. Tawney, B.A. 6d. + +"_Studies in the Minimum Wage._" + +No. 1. The Establishment of Minimum Rates in the Chain-making Industry +under the Trade Boards Act of 1909. + +BY R. H. Tawney, B.A. 1s. 6d. net. + +"_The Feeding of School Children._" + +BY MISS M. E. Bulkley, B.A., B.Sc. 3s. 6d. net. + +To Appear Shortly + +"_Studies in the Minimum Wage._" + +No. 2. The Establishment of Minimum Rates in the Tailoring Trade. + +BY R. H. TAWNEY, B.A. + + + + + PREFACE + + +In the collection of the material on which the following pages are based +I have received assistance from so many persons that it is impossible to +thank them all individually. I gratefully acknowledge the unfailing +courtesy of officials of Local Education Authorities, School Medical +Officers, secretaries of Care Committees and many others, who have +always been most ready to supply me with information as to the working +of the Provision of Meals Act, and to show me the Feeding Centres. My +thanks are due especially to the students of the Social Science +Department of the School of Economics, who have assisted in collecting +and arranging the material, especially to Miss Ruth Giles, Miss A. L. +Hargrove, and Miss P. M. Bisgood, the first chapter being very largely +the work of Miss Giles; Mrs. Leslie Mackenzie, Mr. I. H. Cunningham, +Miss Cecil Young and Mrs. F. H. Spencer have also kindly collected local +information. I am greatly indebted to Mr. R. H. Tawney for much valuable +advice and co-operation, and to Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Webb and Dr. Kerr +for reading through the proofs. I should add that the enquiry was made +during the course of the year 1913 and the account of the provision made +refers to that date. + +M. E. Bulkley. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + Preface vii + + Introduction BY R. H. TAWNEY xi + + Chapter I. The History of the Movement for the Provision of + School Meals 1 + + Provision by Voluntary Agencies--The Organisation of the + Voluntary Agencies--The demand for State + provision--Provision by the Guardians--The Education + (Provision of Meals) Act. + + Chapter II. The Administration of the Education (Provision + of Meals) Act 50 + + The adoption of the Act--Canteen Committees, their + constitution and functions--The selection of the + children--The preparation and service of the meals--The + provision of meals during the holidays--The provision for + paying children and recovery of the cost--Overlapping + between the Poor Law and the Education Authorities--The + provision of meals at Day Industrial Schools and at Special + Schools--The underfed child in rural schools--Conclusions. + + + Chapter III. The Provision of Meals in London 131 + + The organisation of Voluntary Agencies--The assumption of + responsibility by the County Council--The extent of the + provision--The Care Committee--The provision for paying + children--The service of the meals--Overlapping with the + Poor Law Authority--Appendix (Examples of feeding centres). + + Chapter IV. The Extent and Causes of Malnutrition 170 + + Chapter V. The Effect of School Meals on the Children 184 + + Chapter VI. The Effect on the Parents 202 + + Chapter VII. Conclusions 219 + + Appendix I.--Examples of Menus 231 + + Appendix II.--The Provision of Meals in Scotland 237 + + Appendix III.--The Provision of Meals Abroad 249 + + + + + Introduction + + +The Provision of Meals for School Children, which is the subject of the +following pages, is still undergoing that process of tentative +transformation from a private charity to a public service by which we +are accustomed to disguise the assumption of new responsibilities by the +State. Begun in the 'sixties of the nineteenth century as a form of +philanthropic effort, and denounced from time to time as socialistic and +subversive of family life, it first attracted serious public attention +when the South African war made the physical defects caused by +starvation, which had been regarded with tolerance in citizens, appear +intolerable in soldiers, and was canvassed at some length in the +well-known reports of the Royal Commission on Physical Training in +Scotland and of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical +Deterioration. The first disposition of the authorities was, as usual, +to recur to that maid-of-all-work, the Poor Law, and in April, 1905, the +Relief (School Children) Order empowered the Guardians to grant relief +to the child of an able-bodied man without requiring him to enter the +workhouse or to perform the outdoor labour test, provided that they took +steps to recover the cost. The Guardians, however, perhaps happily, had +little sympathy for this deviation from the principle of deterrence, +with the result that the new Order was in most places either not applied +or applied with insignificant results. The consequence was that the +attempt to make the provision of meals for school children part of the +Poor Law was abandoned. In 1906 the Education (Provision of Meals) Act +was passed empowering Local Education Authorities to provide food, +either in co-operation with voluntary agencies or out of public funds, +up to the limit of a half-penny rate. In the year 1911-12, out of 322 +authorities, 131 were returned as making some provision for the feeding +of school children. + +The object of Miss Bulkley's monograph is to describe what that +provision is, how adequate or inadequate, how systematic or haphazard, +and to examine its effect on the welfare both of the children concerned, +and of the general community. The present work is, therefore, +complementary to Mr. Greenwood's _Health and Physique of School +Children_, which was recently published by the Ratan Tata Foundation, +and which gave an exhaustive description of the conditions of school +children in respect of health as revealed by the reports of School +Medical Officers. That the subject with which Miss Bulkley deals is one +of the first importance, few, whatever views may be held as to the Act +of 1906, will be found to deny. Almost all the medical authorities who +have made a study of the health and physique of school children are +unanimous that a capital cause of ill-health among them is lack of the +right kind of food. "Defective nutrition," states Sir George Newman, +"stands in the forefront as the most important of all physical defects +from which school children suffer.... From a purely scientific point of +view, if there was one thing he was allowed to do for the six million +children if he wanted to rear an imperial race, it would be to feed +them.... The great, urgent, pressing need was nutrition. With that they +could get better brains and a better race." "Apart from infectious +diseases," said Dr. Collie before the Inter-Departmental Committee on +Physical Deterioration, "malnutrition is accountable for nine-tenths of +child sickness." "Food," Dr. Eichholz told the same body, "is at the +base of all the evils of child degeneracy." "The sufficient feeding of +children," declared Dr. Niven, the Medical Officer of Health for +Manchester, "is by far the most important thing to attend to." "To +educate underfed children," said Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, "is to promote +deterioration of physique by exhausting the nervous system. Education of +the underfed is a positive evil." What doctors understand by +malnutrition is what the plain man calls starvation; and while it is, of +course, due to other causes besides actual inability to procure +sufficient food, the experience of those authorities which have +undertaken the provision of meals in a thorough and systematic manner +suggests that these statements as to the prevalence of malnutrition or +starvation are by no means exaggerations. To say, as has recently been +said by a writer of repute in the _Economic Journal_, "already 40,000 +children are fed weekly at the schools without appreciably improving the +situation," is a ridiculous misstatement of the facts. On the contrary, +there is every reason to believe that in those areas where suitable and +sufficient meals have been provided, there has been a marked improvement +in the health of the children receiving them. The tentative conclusions +on this point given for a single city by Mr. Greenwood (_Health and +Physique of School Children_, pp. 62-67), are substantiated by the +fuller evidence which Miss Bulkley sets out in Chapter V. of the present +work. "As far as the children are concerned, indeed, whether we consider +the improvement in physique, mental capacity or manners, there is no +doubt that the provision of school meals has proved of the greatest +benefit." + +But while there is little doubt that the authorities which have made +determined attempts to use to the full their powers under the Act of +1906 have been rewarded by an improvement in the health of the children +attending school, Miss Bulkley's enquiries show that the Act itself is +open to criticism, that many local authorities who ought to have +welcomed the new powers conferred by the Act have been deterred by a +mean and short-sighted parsimony from adopting it, and that in many +areas where it has been adopted its administration leaves much to be +desired. The limitation to a halfpenny rate of the amount which a local +authority may spend, has resulted in more than one authority stopping +meals in spite of the existence of urgent need for them. By +deciding--contrary, it would appear, to the intention of +Parliament--that local authorities cannot legally spend money on +providing meals except when the children are actually in school, the +Local Government Board has made impossible, except at the risk of a +surcharge or at the cost of private charity, the provision of meals +during holidays. To those who regard the whole policy of the Act of 1906 +as a mistake, these limitations upon it will appear, of course, to be an +advantage. But the assumption on which the Act is based is that it is in +the public interest that provision should be made for children who would +otherwise be underfed, and, granted this premise, the wisdom of +intervening to protect ratepayers against their own too logical +deductions from it would appear to be as questionable as it is +unnecessary. The bad precedent of authorities such as Leicester, which +has refused to adopt the Act, and which leaves the feeding of school +children to be carried out by a voluntary organisation under whose +management the application for meals is in effect discouraged, does not, +unfortunately, stand alone. Of more than 200 authorities who have made +no use of their statutory powers, how many are justified in their +inaction by the absence of distress among the school children in their +area? How many have even taken steps to ascertain whether such distress +exists or not? If it is the case, as is stated by high medical +authorities, that "the education of the underfed is a positive evil," +would not the natural corollary appear to be that, now that the +experimental stage has been passed, the Act should be made obligatory +and the provision of meals should become a normal part of the school +curriculum? + +Apart from these larger questions of policy, it will be agreed that, if +local authorities are to feed children at all, it is desirable that they +should do so in the way calculated to produce the beneficial results +upon the health of school children which it is the object of the Act to +secure. That certain authorities have been strikingly successful in +providing good food under humanising conditions appears from the account +of the effects of school meals given by Miss Bulkley. But the methods +pursued in the selection of the children and in the arrangements made +for feeding them vary infinitely from place to place, and the standards +of efficiency with which many authorities are content appear to be +lamentably low. It is evident that in many places a large number of +children who need food are overlooked, either because the conditions are +such as to deter parents from applying for meals, or because no attempt +is made to use the medical service to discover the needs of children +whose parents have not applied, or for both reasons (pp. 59-75). It is +evident also that many authorities do not give sufficient attention to +the character of the meals provided (pp. 79-83), or to the conditions +under which they are served (pp. 83-101), with the result that "most +diets ... are probably wanting in value for the children," and that +little attempt is made to secure the "directly educational effect ... in +respect of manners and conduct," which was emphasised as a _desideratum_ +by the Board of Education. London, in particular, where the necessity +for the provision of meals is conspicuous, has won a bad pre-eminence by +sinning against light. Reluctant, in the first place, to use its powers +at all--"the whole question," said the chairman of the Sub-Committee on +Underfed Children in 1908, "of deciding which children are underfed, and +of making special provision for such children, should really be one for +the Poor Law Authority"--the Education Committee of the London County +Council has taken little pains to ensure that the food provided should +always be suitable, or that the meals should be served under civilising +conditions. That these defects can be removed by care and forethought is +shown by the example set by such towns as Bradford, and now that eight +years have elapsed since the Education (Provision of Meals) Act was +passed, they should cease to receive the toleration which may reasonably +be extended to new experiments. Miss Bulkley's monograph will have +served its purpose if it makes it somewhat easier for the administrator, +whether on Education Authorities or Care Committees, in Public Offices +or in Parliament itself, to apply the varied experience of the last +eight years to a problem whose solution is an indispensable condition of +the progress of elementary education. + +R. H. Tawney. + +Heights and Weights of 366 Children from Secondary Schools and 2,111 +from Elementary Schools in Liverpool. + +Boys + + Age Secondary Council A Council B Council C + Schools + + ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. + + 7 3 11·4 3 9·33 3 8·8 3 8 + + 7-1/2 4 1·83 3 10·7 3 8·17 3 10 + + 8 4 2·61 3 11·67 3 10 3 8·37 + + 8-1/2 4 2·5 3 11·62 3 11·33 3 9·2 + + 9 4 4·03 4 1·76 4 0·8 3 11 + + 9-1/2 4 4·37 4 1·75 4 1·61 4 0 + + 10 4 6·41 4 3·3 4 1·7 4 0·5 + + 10-1/2 4 6·83 4 3·7 4 3·04 4 0·75 + + 11 4 7·5 4 5·11 4 3·8 4 1·75 + + 11-1/2 4 8·87 4 6·25 4 4·57 4 2·3 + + 12 4 10 4 6·9 4 5·6 4 3·6 + + 12-1/2 4 9·4 4 7·5 4 6·34 4 4·16 + + 13 5 0·55 4 9·05 4 5·9 4 5·61 + + 13-1/2 4 11·77 4 8·62 4 7·23 4 6·5 + + 14 5 1·75 4 10·2 4 8·25 4 7·25 + +Girls + + Age Council A Council B Council C + ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. + 7 3 10·75 3 8·25 3 9·12 + 7-1/2 3 10·13 3 9·77 3 8·75 + 8 3 11·5 3 10·73 3 8·87 + 8-1/2 4 0·25 3 10·57 3 9·5 + 9 4 2·62 4 0·25 3 11·16 + 9-1/2 4 2·25 4 1·2 4 0 + 10 4 3·25 4 1·76 4 0·17 + 10-1/2 4 2·75 4 3·35 4 0·3 + 11 4 5 4 4·12 4 1·06 + 11-1/2 4 4·75 4 4·25 4 2·7 + 12 4 7·25 4 5·7 4 4·16 + 12-1/2 4 9 4 6·14 4 5·16 + 13 4 8·3 4 7·3 4 7·5 + 13-1/2 4 10·75 4 8·87 4 7 + 14 5 0·5 4 5·7 4 8·5 + +Boys + + Age Secondary Council A Council B Council C + Schools + + st. lb. st. lb. st. lb. st. lb. + + 7 3 7·3 3 2·1 3 1 3 1 + + 7-1/2 4 0·7 3 6·77 3 0·11 3 4 + + 4 0·7 3 4·44 3 3·64 3 1·87 + + 8-1/2 3 10·5 3 5 3 5·2 3 3·3 + + 4 3·5 3 11·33 3 8·85 3 6·38 + + 9-1/2 4 5·4 3 9·35 3 11·16 3 9·5 + + 4 10·03 3 13·1 3 11 -- + + 10-1/2 4 12·76 4 0·43 4 0·6 3 12·37 + + 11 5 0·27 4 5·45 4 3·05 3 13·5 + + 11-1/2 5 4·75 4 6·8 4 4·79 4 2·3 + + 12 5 7·05 4 10·6 4 7·92 4 6·05 + + 12-1/2 5 4 4 13 4 11·5 4 7·73 + + 13 6 4·25 5 3·42 4 12·75 4 13·33 + + 13-1/2 6 1·72 5 4·26 4 12·5 5 0·63 + + 14 6 10·5 5 5·82 5 5·87 5 1·14 + +Girls + + Age Council A Council B Council C + st. lb. st. lb. st. lb. + 7 3 1 2 13·1 3 5 + 7-1/2 3 2·6 3 3 3 8 + 3 6·85 3 3·9 3 2·16 + 8-1/2 3 8 3 5·5 3 4·7 + 3 10 3 7·9 3 6·5 + 9-1/2 3 10·85 3 10·5 3 8·05 + 4 1·5 3 12·3 3 10·75 + 10-1/2 3 13·46 4 3·57 3 11·2 + 11 4 5·28 4 6·5 4 0·25 + 11-1/2 4 4·7 4 5·2 4 4·57 + 12 5 1·31 4 11·07 4 11·7 + 12-1/2 5 7·3 4 11·7 4 13·12 + 13 5 0·3 5 3·16 5 3·3 + 13-1/2 5 10·5 5 5·8 5 4 + 14 6 9·3 5 4·57 5 12 + +A is a school where the parents were comparatively well-to-do and the +children mostly had comfortable homes. + +B is a school where the parents were mostly small shopkeepers or +labourers in constant employment. + +C is a school where the parents were mostly unemployed or casually +employed. + + + + + CHAPTER I + THE HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT FOR THE PROVISION OF SCHOOL MEALS + + +The latter half of the nineteenth century was remarkable for the birth +of a new social conscience manifesting itself in every kind of social +movement. Some were mere outbursts of sentimentality, pauperising and +patronising, others indicated real care and sympathy for the weaker +members of society, others again a love of scientific method and order. +Thus in the early 'sixties there was an enormous growth in the amount +spent in charity, leading to hopeless confusion. An attempt to introduce +some order into this chaos and to stem the tide of indiscriminate +almsgiving was made in 1868 by the formation of the "Society for the +Prevention of Pauperism and Crime," which split the following year into +the Industrial Employment Association and the better known Charity +Organisation Society. In the 'eighties "slumming" became a fashionable +occupation, while 1884 saw the beginning of the Settlement movement in +the foundation of Toynbee Hall. Meanwhile the working classes were +becoming articulate, learning more self-reliance and mutual dependence. +The growth of Trade Unions, of Co-operative and Friendly societies, +showed how the working people were beginning to work out their own +salvation. Towards the close of the century methods of improvement were +nearly all on collectivist lines--in sanitary reform, in free education, +in the agitation for a legal limitation of labour to eight hours a day, +for a minimum wage and for Old Age Pensions. + +Amongst the most characteristic of these activities was the movement for +the feeding of poor school children. In the early years of the movement +the motives were chiefly philanthropic. The establishment of the Ragged +and other schools had brought under the notice of teachers and others +large numbers of children, underfed and ill-clothed. Still more was this +the case when education was made compulsory under the Education Act of +1870. It was impossible for humanitarians to attempt to educate these +children without at the same time trying to alleviate their distress. +Education, in fact, proved useless if the child was starving; more, it +might be positively detrimental, since the effort to learn placed on the +child's brain a task greater than it could bear. All these early +endeavours to provide meals were undertaken by voluntary agencies. Their +operations were spasmodic and proved totally inadequate to cope with the +evil. Towards the end of the century we find a growing insistence on the +doctrine that it was the duty of the State to ensure that the children +for whom it provided education should not be incapable, through lack of +food, of profiting by that education. On the one hand some socialists +demanded that the State ought itself to provide food for all its +elementary school children. Another school of reformers urged that +voluntary agencies might in many areas deal with the question, but that +where their resources proved inadequate the State must step in and +supplement them. Others again objected to any public provision of meals +on the ground that it would undermine parental responsibility. The +demand that the State must take some action was strengthened by the +alarm excited during the South African war by the difficulty experienced +in securing recruits of the requisite physique. The importance of the +physical condition of the masses of the population was thus forced upon +public attention. It was urged that the child was the material for the +future generation, and that a healthy race could not be reared if the +children were chronically underfed. In the result Parliament yielded to +the popular demand, and by the Education (Provision of Meals) Act of +1906 gave power to the Local Education Authorities to assist voluntary +agencies in the work of providing meals, and if necessary themselves to +provide food out of the rates. + + + (a)--Provision by Voluntary Agencies. + + +The first experiments in the provision of free or cheap dinners for +school children appear to date from the early 'sixties.[1] One of the +earliest and most important of the London societies was the Destitute +Children's Dinner Society, founded in February, 1864, in connection with +a Ragged School in Westminster.[2] This Society quickly grew and, +between October 1869 and April 1870, fifty-eight dining rooms were +opened for longer or shorter periods.[3] The motive, though largely +sentimental, was from the first supported by educational considerations. +"Their almost constant destitution of food," write the Committee in +their appeal for funds, "is not only laying the foundation of permanent +disease in their debilitated constitutions, but reduces them to so low a +state that they have not vigour of body or energy of mind sufficient to +derive any profit from the exertions of their teachers."[4] The +influence of the newly-formed Charity Organisation Society is seen in +the nervous anxiety of the promoters to avoid the charge of pauperising. +"Our object is not the indiscriminate relief of the multitude of poor +children to be found in the lowest parts of the metropolis. Our efforts +are limited to those in attendance at ragged or other schools so as to +encourage and assist the moral and religious training thus afforded."[5] +The dinners were not self-supporting,[6] but a great point was made of +the fact that a penny was charged towards paying the cost. Nevertheless +the promoters admitted that "it has been found impossible in some +localities to obtain any payment from the children."[7] + +Footnote 1: + + "Many of our own [Roman Catholic] schools ... fed the children even in + the 'sixties." (Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of + Meals) Bills (England and Scotland), 1906, Evidence of Monsignor + Brown, Q. 1038.) + +Footnote 2: + + It is interesting to note that the impulse for the formation of this + society came indirectly from France. In 1848 a commission of medical + and scientific men had been appointed by the French Government to + enquire into the causes of diseases, such as scrofula, rickets, and + impoverishment of blood, to which children of the poor were exposed, + and which produced so much mortality. The Committee reported that in + their opinion the diseases were caused by children not having animal + food, and might be checked by their having a meal of fresh meat once a + month. Owing to political events no action was taken on this report, + but it made a great impression on Victor Hugo, and some fourteen years + later (in 1862) he started the experiment of giving dinners of fresh + meat and a small glass of wine, once a fortnight, to forty of the most + necessitous young children of Guernsey. This experiment was declared + to be very successful. Many children suffering from the above diseases + had been cured, "and the physical constitution of nearly the whole of + them sensibly improved" (_Punch_, January 16, 1864). This description + concluded with a suggestion that a similar scheme might be initiated + in London. The Destitute Children's Dinner Society was the result. + (_Charity Organisation Review_, January, 1885, p. 23.) + +Footnote 3: + + Report on Metropolitan Soup Kitchens and Dinner Tables, by the Society + for Organising Charitable Relief, 1871, p. 57. + +Footnote 4: + + _The Times_, December 5, 1867. + +Footnote 5: + + _Ibid._, November 1, 1870. The following year the Charity Organisation + Society reports approvingly that the Destitute Children's Dinner + Society "cordially accepts and endeavours to act up to the principle + that 'to relieve destitution belongs to the Poor Law, while to prevent + destitution is the peculiar function of charity.'" (Report on + Metropolitan Soup Kitchens and Dinner Tables, 1871, p. 57.) + +Footnote 6: + + The cost of a meal was generally 4d., 5d. or 6d. + +Footnote 7: + + _The Times_, April 15, 1868. + +The methods adopted by other societies were very similar. A common +feature of all was the infrequency of the meal. As a rule a child would +receive a dinner once a week, at the most twice a week.[8] It is true +that the dinners, unlike those supplied at the end of the century, when +the predominant feature was soup, seem always to have been substantial +and to have consisted of hot meat.[9] But making all allowance for the +nutritive value of the meal, its infrequency prevents us from placing +much confidence in the enthusiastic reports of the various societies as +to the beneficial result upon the children. "Experience has proved," +writes the Destitute Children's Dinner Society in 1867, "that one +substantial meat dinner per week has a marked effect on the health and +powers of the children."[10] "Not only is there a marked improvement in +their physical condition," reports the same society two years later, +"but their teachers affirm that they are now enabled to exert their +mental powers in a degree which was formerly impossible."[11] The Ragged +School Union in 1870 reports to the same effect. "The physical benefit +of these dinners to the children is great; but it is not the body only +that is benefited; the teachers agree in their opinion that those who +are thus fed become more docile and teachable."[12] + +Footnote 8: + + We have only found one case where the dinner was given as often as + three times a week. (See letter from John Palmer, Hon. Sec. of the + Clare Market Ragged Schools, _ibid._, October 16, 1871.) + +Footnote 9: + + Thus a dinner given by the Refuge for Homeless and Destitute Children + to pupils of St. Giles and St. George, Bloomsbury, consisted of boiled + and roast beef, plenty of potatoes, and a thick slice of bread, the + portion given to each child being abundant. (_Ibid._, November 27, + 1869.) + +Footnote 10: + + _Ibid._, December 5, 1867. + +Footnote 11: + + _Ibid._, March 26, 1869. + +Footnote 12: + + Report of Ragged School Union for 1870, quoted in Report on + Metropolitan Soup Kitchens and Dinner Tables, 1871, p. 58. + +Meals were given only during the winter, though one society at any rate, +the Destitute Children's Dinner Society, realised the importance of +continuing the work throughout the year--an importance even now not +universally appreciated--their object being "not to relieve temporary +distress only, but by an additional weekly meal of good quality and +quantity, to improve the general health and moral condition of the half +starved and neglected children who swarm throughout the poor districts +of London."[13] Funds apparently did not permit of their achieving this +object.[14] + +Footnote 13: + + Letter from the Treasurer of the Destitute Children's Dinner Society, + _The Times_, April 15, 1868. + +Footnote 14: + + In that year (1868) dinners were given during nine months, being + discontinued only from July to September, but in subsequent years they + appear to have been provided during the winter months only. + +After the passing of the Education Act of 1870, educational +considerations became the dominant motive for feeding. Teachers and +school managers as well as philanthropists found themselves increasingly +compelled to deal with the problem. It was not only that compulsory +education brought into notice hundreds of needy children who had before +been hidden away in courts and back alleys,[15] but the effect of +education on a starving child proved useless. + +Footnote 15: + + "At the present season, when the energy of the School Board visitors + is filling the schools with all the poorest of the poor street Arabs, + the need of such a society as this is more than ever felt." (Letter + from the Committee of the Destitute Children's Dinner Society, _The + Times_, December 12, 1872.) + +The _Referee_ Fund, started in 1874, was the result of Mrs. Burgwin's +experience when head teacher of Orange Street School, Southwark. She +found the children in a deplorable condition and on appealing to a +medical man for advice was told that they were simply starving. With the +help of her assistant teachers she provided tea, coffee or warm milk for +the most needy. Soon a small local organisation was started, and a year +or two after Mr. G. R. Sims drew public attention to the question by his +articles on "How the Poor Live," and appealed for funds through the +_Referee_.[16] The operations of the fund thus established were at first +confined to West Southwark--"in that area," Mrs. Burgwin triumphantly +declared, "there was not a hungry school child"[17]--but were gradually +extended to other districts. As a result of the meals thus provided it +was said that the children looked healthier and attended school better +in the winter when they were being fed than they did in the summer.[18] + +Footnote 16: + + London School Board, Report of Special Committee on Underfed Children, + 1895, Appendix 1, p. 5. + +Footnote 17: + + Report of Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical Inspection and + Feeding, 1905, Vol. II., Q. 304. + +Footnote 18: + + London School Board, Report of Special Committee on Underfed Children, + 1895, Appendix 1, p. 6. + +The standard example, however, constantly quoted as evidence of the +value of school meals, was the experiment started by Sir Henry Peek at +Rousdon in 1876. The children in that district had to walk long +distances to school, "bringing with them wretched morsels of food for +dinner," with, naturally, most unsatisfactory results. Sir Henry Peek +provided one good meal a day for five days, charging one penny a day. +The system was practically self-supporting. The experiment was declared +by the Inspector to have "turned out a very great success. What strikes +one at once on coming into the school is the healthy vigorous look of +the children, and that their vigour is not merely bodily, but comes out +in the course of examination. There is a marked contrast between their +appearance and their work on the day of inspection, and those of the +children in many of the neighbouring schools. The midday meal is good +and without stint. It acts as an attraction, and induces regularity of +attendance.... Before the school was started the education of the +children of the neighbourhood was as low as in any part of the +district."[19] + +Footnote 19: + + Mr. Mundella in the House of Commons, _Hansard_, July 26, 1883, 3rd + Series, Vol. 282, pp. 577-9. "The effect on the health of the + children," writes the Rector of Rousdon in January, 1885, "may be well + exemplified by the most recent illustration--viz., that in the third + week of December, though whooping-cough had been, and still was, + prevalent among them, and the weather was damp and raw, the entry on + the master's weekly report was, absentees, 0--that is, _every_ child + on the register had appeared on the Monday morning and paid for its + week's dinners. Probably such a circumstance in a rural school + district (with radius of a mile and a half at least) in the height of + winter is unprecedented." (_Sanitary Record_, January 15, 1885.) + +About 1880 another motive for school meals emerges. Public opinion began +to be aroused on the subject of over-pressure. It was said that far too +many subjects were taught and that the system of "payment by results" +forced the teachers to overwork the children for the sake of the grant. +It was pointed out that not only was it useless to try to educate a +starving child, but the results might be positively harmful. Numerous +letters from school managers, doctors and others appeared in _The +Times_. "In dispensary practice," writes Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake, "I have +lately seen several cases of habitual headache and other cerebral +affections among children of all ages attending our Board Schools, and +have traced their origin to overstrain caused by the ordinary school +work, which the ill-nourished physical frames are often quite unfit to +bear. I have spoken repeatedly on the subject to members of the School +Boards, and also to teachers in the schools, and have again and again +been assured by them that they were quite alive to the danger, and +heartily wished that it was in their power to avert it, but that the +constantly advancing requirements of the Education Code left them no +option in the matter."[20] + +Footnote 20: + + _The Times_, April 15, 1880. Speaking of the children at London + Hospitals, Dr. Robert Farquharson writes: "Ill-fed and badly housed + and clothed, exposed to depressing sanitary and domestic conditions, + these poor creatures are frequently expected to do an amount of school + work of which their badly-nourished brains are utterly incapable. I + have long been familiar with the pale, dejected look, the chronic + headache, the sleeplessness, the loss of appetite, the general want of + tone, caused undoubtedly by the undue exercise of nervous tissues + unprovided with their proper allowance of healthy food." Such children + "are by no means inclined to shirk their lessons; they are frequently + much interested in them; but, feeling the responsibility of class and + examinations keenly ... they become sleepless and restless, and + rapidly lose flesh and strength." (_Ibid._, April 19, 1880.) + +_The Lancet_ spoke strongly on the subject[21] and in 1883 it was hotly +discussed in Parliament. Mr. Mundella spoke in warm praise of Sir Henry +Peek's experiment, while Mr. S. Smith, the member for Liverpool, went so +far as to say that "if Parliament compelled persons by force of law to +send their children to school, and the little ones were to be forced to +undergo such a grinding system, they ought not to injure them in so +doing, but should provide them, in cases of proved necessity, with +sufficient nourishment to enable them to stand the pressure."[22] Such a +proposition sounds "advanced" for the year 1883, but he added the still +more modern suggestion--"that not only should we have a medical +inspection of schools, but that the grants should be partly dependent +upon the physical health of the children.... We were applying sanitary +science to our great towns, and we should apply the same science also to +the educational system of the country."[23] At last Mr. Mundella +instigated Dr. Crichton Browne to undertake a private enquiry into the +subject. The report was somewhat vague and rhetorical, and Dr. Browne's +judgments were said to be based on insufficient data, so that little +fresh light was thrown on the question. It is, however, noteworthy that +he too recommended medical inspection and also that a record of the +height, weight and chest girth of the children should be kept.[24] + +Footnote 21: + + "That good feeding is necessary for brain nutrition does not need to + be demonstrated or even argued at length ... it must be evident that + the position in which education places the brains of underfed children + is that of a highly-exercised organ urgently requiring food, and + finding none or very little. These children are _growing_, and all or + nearly all the food they can get is appropriated by the grosser and + bulkier parts of the body to the starvation of the brain.... It is + cruel to educate a growing child unless you are also prepared to feed + him." (Leading Article, _The Lancet_, August 4, 1883, Vol. II., pp. + 191-2.) + +Footnote 22: + + _Hansard_, July 26, 1883, 3rd Series, Vol. 282, p. 597. + +Footnote 23: + + _Ibid._, p. 598. + +Footnote 24: + + _The Times_, September 16, 1884. + +In spite of conflicting opinions, one point became increasingly clear. +Whether the amount of mental strain necessitated by the Educational +Code was exaggerated or not, there was no doubt that good educational +results were dependent upon health and could not be attained where the +children were seriously underfed. The situation was summed up by Mr. +Sydney Buxton during a conference of Managers and Teachers of London +Board Schools in 1884. The School Boards, he said, had by their +compulsory powers been "year by year tapping a lower stratum of +society, bringing to light the distress, destitution and underfeeding +which formerly had escaped their notice. The cry of over-pressure had +drawn public attention to the children attending elementary schools, +and he thought it was now becoming more and more recognised that +'over-pressure' in a very large number of cases was only another word +for 'underfeeding.'"[25] + +Footnote 25: + + _School Board Chronicle_, December 13, 1884, pp. 628-9. + +The principle that compulsory education involved some provision of food +being thus generally admitted,[26] the question remained how was this to +be done? Should the meals be provided free or should they be +self-supporting? A keen controversy ensued as to the merits of penny +dinners. _The Times_ quoted with apparent astonishment and alarm the +view of the Minister of Education that it would not be enough to provide +meals for those who could pay for them, and that whatever might be the +vices of the parents the children ought not to suffer.[27] The Charity +Organisation Society held more than one conference on the subject and +emphatically contended that the only means of avoiding "pauperisation" +was to insist on payment for the meals. Indeed some members felt so +strongly that penny dinners were bound to be converted into halfpenny or +free dinners, that they were reluctant to give the movement any support +at all.[28] The attitude of the society was, as _The Times_ said, "one +of watchful criticism."[29] Yet there were some, at any rate, who +recognised that the obligation on the part of the parent to send his +children to school involved a very real pecuniary sacrifice which might +often more than counterbalance any advantage to be obtained from free +meals. "We must not teach poor children or poor parents to lean upon +charity," says the School Board Chronicle in 1884. "But, on the other +hand, it ought never to be forgotten that this new law of compulsory +attendance at school, in the making whereof the poorest classes of the +people had no hand whatever, exacts greater sacrifices from that class +than from any other. We hear a good deal sometimes ... of the grumbling +of the ratepayers ... as to the burden of the school rate.... But do +these grumblers ever reflect that the very poor of whom we are speaking +never asked to have education provided for their children, never wanted +it, have practically nothing to gain by it and much to lose, and that +this law of compulsory education is forced on them, not for their good +or for their pleasure, but for the safety and progress of society and +for the sake of economy in the administration of the laws in the matter +of poor relief and crime."[30] Amidst all the discussion on the needs +and morals of the poor from the standpoint of the superior person, it is +refreshing to find so honest and sympathetic a criticism. + +Footnote 26: + + "It is now admitted that children cannot be expected to learn their + lessons unless they are properly fed." (_The Times_, Leading Article, + December 13, 1884.) + +Footnote 27: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 28: + + _Charity Organisation Review_, January, 1885, p. 25. As we shall see + (post, p. 19), their fears in this respect were realised. + +Footnote 29: + + _The Times_, Leading Article, January 20, 1885. + +Footnote 30: + + _The School Board Chronicle_, December 13, 1884, p. 627. + +The outcome of this lengthy public discussion was a great increase in +voluntary feeding agencies all over the country about the year 1884.[31] +At the Conference of Board School Managers and Teachers in that year, +Mr. Mundella stated that, since he referred in the House of Commons to +the Rousdon experiment, provision for school meals was being made in +rural districts to an extent which he could hardly believe.[32] In +London the Council for Promoting Self-supporting Penny Dinners was +established and the movement spread rapidly. In August, 1884, there were +only two centres where penny dinners on a self-supporting basis were +provided. By December such dinners had been started in thirteen other +districts.[33] + +Footnote 31: + + Such voluntary agencies were established, for instance, at Hastings + (about 1882), at Birmingham and Gateshead (in 1884), at Carlisle (in + 1889). + +Footnote 32: + + _School Board Chronicle_, December 13, 1884, pp. 629-630. + +Footnote 33: + + _Ibid._, p. 628. + +Meanwhile the promoters of free meals continued their work unabashed. +The Board School Children's Free Dinner Fund declared in 1885, "our work +does not cross the lines of the penny dinner movement. It was started +before that movement and has been in some cases carried on side by side +with it, its object being to feed those children whose parents have +neither pennies nor half-pennies to pay for their dinners. Free dinners +are restricted to the children of widows, and to those whose parents are +ill or out of work."[34] The _Referee_ Fund now supplied schools over a +large part of South London and had always given free meals. In most +provincial towns, whether the dinners were nominally self-supporting or +not, necessitous children were seldom refused food on account of +inability to pay. Private philanthropists saw the suffering and tried to +alleviate it, not enquiring too closely into the consequences. + +Footnote 34: + + _The Times_, December 16, 1885. + +It was generally taken for granted that the meals, whether free or +self-supporting, should be provided by voluntary agencies. The Local +Education Authorities sometimes granted the use of rooms and plant,[35] +but seldom took any further action. It is remarkable that the Guardians, +whose duty it was to relieve the destitution existing, seem to have paid +but the scantiest attention to it. Even where they attempted to deal +with it by granting relief to the family, this relief was generally +inadequate and the children were consequently underfed, with the result +that they were given meals by the voluntary feeding agencies.[36] There +seems indeed to have been no co-operation whatever between the various +voluntary agencies established all over the country and the Boards of +Guardians.[37] By an Act of Parliament passed in 1868 it was enacted +that where any parent wilfully neglected to provide adequate food for +his child the Board of Guardians should institute proceedings.[38] This +Act seems to have remained almost a dead letter. In giving evidence +before the House of Lords Select Committee on Poor Law Relief in 1888, +Mr. Benjamin Waugh, Director of the National Society for the Prevention +of Cruelty to Children, in speaking of the Act, stated, "first, that the +Guardians do not act upon it to any very great extent; secondly, that +the police know that it is not their business, and they do not act upon +it; and, thirdly, the public have an impression that they are excluded +from taking cognisance of starvation cases because the term used is 'the +Guardians shall' do it." "There are cases in which they are habitually +doing it, chiefly where ladies are upon the board, but in a very small +number of cases indeed throughout the country."[39] The part taken by +the State in the matter of relieving the wants of underfed children was +thus as yet a small one.[40] + +Footnote 35: + + Thus at Liverpool, about 1885, the Council of Education resolved to + offer grants to School Managers for the supply of needful appliances + for penny dinners, provided that "the payment of a penny should + absolutely cover the cost of each dinner, so as not only to avoid + pauperising the recipient, but also to render the scheme entirely + self-supporting." (Report of Special Sub-Committee on Meals for School + Children, in Minutes of London School Board, July 25, 1889, p. 383.) + At Birmingham the School Board allowed a voluntary committee to erect + kitchens on the school premises. (London School Board, Report of + General Purposes Committee on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, p. 253.) At Gateshead, in 1884, the School Board arranged for a + supply of dinners in the schools in the poorest parts of the town. + (Report of Select Committee on the Education (Provision of Meals) + Bills (England and Scotland), 1906, Q. 4101.) In London, the School + Board in 1885 resolved "that the Board grant facilities to local + managers and to other responsible persons for the provision on the + school premises of penny dinners on self-supporting principles for + elementary school children, where it can be done without interference + with school work or injury to the school buildings." (Report of + Special Committee on Meals for School Children, in Minutes of London + School Board, July 25, 1889, p. 374.) At Manchester, as early as 1879, + the School Board initiated a scheme for providing meals. The chairman, + Mr. Herbert Birley, had been in the habit of supplying breakfasts to + poor children in some of the schools, and on these schools being + transferred to the School Board, he induced it to continue the work. + (Report of Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical Inspection and + Feeding, 1905, Vol. II., Qs. 2745A, 2754, evidence of Mr. C. H. + Wyatt.) + +Footnote 36: + + In Manchester there had been a serious attempt to meet the difficulty. + There the Board of Guardians maintained a "Day Feeding School" and + gave three meals a day to its out-door relief children for some years + between 1856 and 1866. (Report of Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, + 1909, 8vo Edition, Vol. III., p. 148 n.) + +Footnote 37: + + See for instance the evidence given before the London School Board in + 1895. (See post, p. 17.) + +Footnote 38: + + 31 and 32 Vict. c. 122, sec. 37. + +Footnote 39: + + House of Lords Select Committee on Poor Law Relief, 1888, Qs. 5857, + 5858. + +Footnote 40: + + By an Act of 1876, the Local Education Authority might establish Day + Industrial Schools at which one or more meals were provided, towards + the cost of which the parents should contribute. (39 and 40 Vict., c. + 79, sec. 16.) Very few such schools were established. (See post, p. + 119.) + + + (b)--The Organisation of the Voluntary Agencies. + + +The history of the movement for the next ten years or so is mainly +concerned with organisation. In London, with the number of feeding +centres growing so rapidly, with many different agencies whose +principles and methods conflicted, some plan of organisation and +co-operation was the crying need. In May, 1887, at the instigation of +Sir Henry Peek, a committee, composed of representatives of the various +voluntary societies,[41] was formed to consider in what ways +co-operation was feasible. This Committee recommended that (i) +self-supporting dinner centres should be opened in as many districts as +possible in London, and the various societies for providing dinners for +children should be invited to make use of them; (ii) free dinners to +children attending public elementary schools should only be given on the +recommendation of the head teacher; (iii) when free dinners were given a +register should be kept of the circumstances of the family.[42] + +Footnote 41: + + The Committee represented the Self-Supporting Penny Dinner Council, + the Board School Children's Free Dinner Fund, the South London Schools + Dinner Fund, Free Breakfasts and Dinners for the Poor Board School and + other Children of Southwark (the _Referee_ Fund) and the Poor + Children's Aid Association. + +Footnote 42: + + _The Times_, November 16, 1887. + +This attempt cannot have been very effective, for when, at last, the +London School Board took the matter in hand, feeding arrangements were +as chaotic as ever. In 1889 a special committee was appointed to enquire +into the whole question and report to the Board. The report shows that +the supply of food was extraordinarily badly distributed. "In some +districts there is an excess of charitable effort leading to a wasteful +and demoralising distribution of dinners to children who are not in +want, while in other places children are starving."[43] In most cases +the provision was insufficient to feed all the indigent children every +day, many getting a meal only once or twice a week.[44] Only a rough +estimate of the number of necessitous children could be obtained, but it +was calculated that 43,888 or 12·8 per cent. of the children attending +schools of the Board were habitually in want of food, and of these less +than half were provided for.[45] The Committee recommended that a +central organisation should be formed "to work with the existing +Associations with a view to a more economical and efficient system for +the provision of cheap or free meals."[46] As a result the London +Schools Dinner Association was founded. Most of the large societies were +merged into this body, one or two retaining their separate organisation, +but agreeing to work in harmony with it.[47] + +Footnote 43: + + Report of Special Sub-Committee on Meals for School Children, in + Minutes of London School Board, July 25, 1889, p. 373. + +Footnote 44: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 45: + + _Ibid._, p. 372. + +Footnote 46: + + _Ibid._, p. 377. + +Footnote 47: + + Seven members of the School Board were placed on the Executive + Committee as a kind of informal representation, but in 1899 this + number had dwindled to three. (London School Board, Report of General + Purposes Committee on Underfed Children, 1899, pp. v.-vi.) There was + "no direct touch" between the two bodies, "except the accidental + circumstance that Members of the Board might be on the Committee" of + the Association. (_Ibid._, p. 6, evidence of Mr. T. A. Spalding.) + +Another committee appointed by the School Board in December, 1894, was +just as emphatic as to the general inefficiency and want of uniformity. +The work of giving charitable meals, they found, was still in the +experimental stage, as was shown by the "extremely divergent views ... +both as to the nature and extent of the distress ... and as to the +efficiency of the methods employed in meeting it."[48] They were struck +by "the apparent want of co-ordination between the various agencies +which were dealing with distress in London" (_i.e._, the Poor Law, the +Labour Bureaux established by the London Vestries, etc.). "The local +committees in connection with the schools seem to have had no knowledge +whatsoever of what was being done by these other bodies, except in the +few cases where more or less permanent out-door relief was being given, +and where the children presented attendance cards to be filled up by +their teachers."[49] "Our work," remarked one witness, "is carried on +without paying heed to what may be done under the Poor Law +Authorities."[50] Relief was "often given without any connection with +the managers or teachers of Public Elementary Schools." In one instance +tickets for meals "were distributed without enquiry at the door of a +Music Hall ... the proprietor of which had been one of the chief +subscribers to the Fund."[51] In another case "tickets issued by an +evening paper fund were sold over and over again by the people to whom +they were given; sold in the streets and in the public-houses."[52] Even +when the arrangements were nominally controlled by the Education +Authorities the methods of selection were haphazard and the provision +often totally inadequate. A number of witnesses gave evidence of this. +"It was found that one child of a family was given fourteen tickets +during the season, whilst another child of the same family had only one +or two."[53] "It might have been well to have taken one or two children +in hand for the purpose of observations," remarked the head-master of a +Stepney school, "but I remember one of my instructions was that the same +child was not to be given a meal too often."[54] In one school the +number of children needing a dinner on any day was ascertained by a show +of hands. Each child was then called out before the teacher and asked +about its parents' circumstances.[55] In another case the teachers +merely asked the children in the morning which of them would not get any +dinner at home that day.[56] Of course there were seldom enough tickets +to go round. For the parents this haphazard method was most bewildering. +"No arrangement is made with the parents as to whether or not a child +will have a meal on any day .... In many cases the parents hardly know +whether the children are having a meal at school or not, as they +constantly come home for something more."[57] + +Footnote 48: + + London School Board, Report of Special Committee on Underfed Children, + 1895, p. vii. + +Footnote 49: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 50: + + _Ibid._, p. 11, evidence of Mr. W. H. Libby. "I am of opinion," said + this witness, "that the children of parents who are in receipt of + out-door relief are more in need of our help than others." (_Ibid._) + "In my experience," said Mrs. Burgwin, "the greatest distress was + amongst the children of parents who were in receipt of out-door + relief, and free meals should certainly be given to them, for the + amount allowed as out-door relief is so small that a family is left + practically on the verge of starvation." (_Ibid._, p. 7.) + +Footnote 51: + + _Ibid._, p. ii. + +Footnote 52: + + _Ibid._, p. 24. + +Footnote 53: + + _Ibid._, p. 30 (evidence of Mrs. Marion Leon, Manager of Vere Street + School, Clare Market). + +Footnote 54: + + _Ibid._, pp. 14-15 (evidence of Mr. J. Morgan). + +Footnote 55: + + _Ibid._, p. 21 (evidence of Mr. C. H. Heller, Headmaster of Sayer + Street School, Walworth). + +Footnote 56: + + _Ibid._, p. 30 (evidence of Mrs. Marion Leon). + +Footnote 57: + + _Ibid._, p. 41 (evidence of Miss L. P. Fowler). + +In 1889 the self-supporting meal was still regarded as the normal type +although the number of free meals was on the increase. In 1895 the +committee recognised that self-supporting penny dinners were a failure. +Only 10 per cent. of the meals were paid for by the children.[58] This +had one rather curious effect. The meals were much more uniform in type +than in 1889, and this uniformity was distasteful if not harmful to the +children. The chief reason was perhaps that the need to attract the +children was not so great as when it was hoped to establish the meals on +a self-supporting basis. Another reason was that the National Food +Supply Association, which did most of the catering, desired to encourage +the use of vegetable soup as well as to relieve distress.[59] + +Footnote 58: + + _Ibid._, p. iii. Even when the dinners were paid for, the payment + rarely covered the cost. The same want of success was reported in the + provinces. At Birmingham the experiment of giving penny dinners failed + completely, and the meals had to be given free. (Report of + Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, 1904, Qs. + 13238, 13240, evidence of Dr. Airy.) "The experience of all workers in + this movement testifies," says Canon Moore Ede, "that the poorest of + all--those who are least well nourished--are scarcely touched by the + penny dinners." ("Cheap Meals for Poor School Children," by Rev. W. + Moore Ede, in _Report of Conference on Education under Healthy + Conditions at Manchester_, 1885, p. 81.) + +Footnote 59: + + London School Board, Report of Special Committee on Underfed Children, + 1895, pp. iv., v. "Under the penny dinner system, we had to provide + something to attract the children, as they would not come to the same + meal every day and pay a penny for it; puddings and meat pies were + provided and varied from day to day. Now they get soup." (_Ibid._, + Appendix I., p. 39, evidence of Rev. R. Leach.) "The soup ... supplied + by the National Food Association varies so very little from day to day + that it is natural for the children to grow tired of it," (_Ibid._, p. + 22, evidence of Mr. C. H. Heller.) + +Apart from the question of more efficient organisation, the +recommendations of this committee were somewhat indefinite. They urged +that, as a guide for future action, continuous records should be kept +of all children fed.[60] On the adequacy of the existing voluntary +organisations to cope with the distress the majority declined to +commit themselves. The minority asserted emphatically that these +charitable funds were amply sufficient. The Committee questioned how +far the supply of food was the right way of dealing with distress. +"Actual starvation," they said, "was undoubtedly at one time the chief +evil to be feared by the poor. But now that rent in London is so high +and food so cheap conditions have changed."[61] Other forms of help, +they felt, were possibly more needed, _e.g._, medical advice and +clothing. Indeed, during the last sixty years there had been such an +improvement in the economic conditions of the working classes as had +not been known at any other period of history. Comparisons between +conditions obtaining at the beginning and at the end of the nineteenth +century are to some extent vitiated by the fact that the former was a +period of extraordinary social misery. Nevertheless, the improvement +is striking. Sir Robert Giffen, speaking on "The Progress of the +Working Classes in the Last Half Century," in November, 1883, showed +that, while the wages of working men "have advanced, most articles he +consumes have rather diminished in price, the change in wheat being +especially remarkable, and significant of a complete revolution in the +conditions of the masses. The increased price in the case of one or +two articles--particularly meat and house rent--is insufficient to +neutralise the general advantages which the workman has gained."[62] +By further statistics he showed "a decline in the rate of mortality, +an increase of the consumption of articles in general use, an +improvement in general education, a diminution of crime and pauperism, +a vast increase in the number of depositors in savings banks, and +other evidences of general well-being."[63] Up to 1895 the cost of +living steadily declined, and in that year real wages were higher than +they had ever been before. This did not mean, as some urged, that +Society might slacken any of its efforts to improve the condition of +the poorer classes. Even from the most optimistic standpoint the +improvement was far too small, and there was still a residuum whose +deplorable condition demanded "something like a revolution for the +better."[64] But now that the more prosperous working men were +consciously striving to improve their own position, the community, or +the philanthropists among it, were more able to assist the submerged +remainder. The history of school feeding illustrates how "one of the +least noticed but most certain facts of social life is the fact that +Society very seldom awakes to the existence of an evil while that evil +is at its worst, but some time afterwards, when the evil is already in +process of healing itself.... Society can seldom be induced to bother +itself about any suffering, the removal of which requires really +revolutionary treatment. It only becomes sensitive, sympathetic and +eager for reform when reform is possible without too great an upheaval +of its settled way of life."[65] A higher standard of living was now +required and the real question was whether feeding the school child +was the right way to attain to it, or only a following of the line of +least resistance. If it was a healthy movement, then clearly it was +time to set about feeding in a more thorough fashion. + +Footnote 60: + + _Ibid._, pp. v., viii. + +Footnote 61: + + _Ibid._, p. vi. + +Footnote 62: + + _Economic Enquiries and Studies_, by Sir Robert Giffen, 1904, Vol. I., + pp. 398-9. + +Footnote 63: + + _Ibid._, p. 419. + +Footnote 64: + + _Ibid._, p. 408. + +Footnote 65: + + _A Philosophy of Social Progress_, by E. J. Urwick, 1912, pp. 88, 89. + +In 1898 a third attempt was made by the London School Board to deal with +the question. It was referred to the General Purposes Committee to +enquire into the number of underfed children and to consider "how far +the present voluntary provision for school meals is, or is not, +effectual."[66] The evidence given before the committee shows the +prevalence of a state of affairs very similar to that of the earlier +years. There is the same complaint about "the want of any general plan, +the utter lack of uniformity ... the absence (except in a few places) of +any means of enquiring into doubtful cases, and above all the +non-existence of any sort of machinery for securing that where want +exists it shall be dealt with."[67] But the report and recommendations +of the majority of the Special Committee show an astonishing advance on +the views of the two former committees. The necessity for feeding was +not now denied, they thought, "even by those ... who are keenly anxious +to prevent the undermining of prudence or self-help by ill-advised or +unregulated generosity."[68] They were most emphatic as to the good +effects on the children when the meals were nicely served in the schools +under proper supervision, and they considered "that food provision and +training at meals should in particular form part of the work of all +Centres for Physically and Mentally Defective children, and that the +Government grant should be calculated accordingly."[69] One or two of +the members of the committee and some of the witnesses urged that meals +should be continued in the summer.[70] As to the effect on the parents, +"it appears to the sub-committee ... that its concern is with the +well-being of the children, and even if it were the case that it was, in +some way, better for the moral character of the parents to let the +children starve, the sub-committee would not be prepared to advise that +line of policy. The first duty of the community to the child ... is to +see that it has a proper chance as regards its equipment for life."[71] +"If they come to school underfed ... it would seem to be the duty of +those who have a care of the children to deal with it, and to see that +the underfeeding ceases. It is, of course, obvious, in any case, that +this, like all other social evils, may be gradually eliminated by the +general improvement, moral and material, of the community. But apart +from the fact that that is a slow process and that many generations of +actual school children will come and go in the meantime, it is obvious +that the prevention of underfeeding in school children (with its results +of under-education and increasing malnutrition) is itself one of the +potent means of forwarding the general improvement."[72] At the same +time the idea that school dinners pauperise the parents or destroy the +sense of parental responsibility "appears to the sub-committee to be a +mere theoretic fancy entirely unsupported by practical experience."[73] +Parents who could feed their children and would not should "simply be +summoned for 'cruelty.'"[74] + +Footnote 66: + + London School Board, Report of General Purposes Committee on Underfed + Children, 1899, p. ii., par. 1. + +Footnote 67: + + _Ibid._, p. vi., par. 29. + +Footnote 68: + + _Ibid._, p. iii., pars. 11, 12. + +Footnote 69: + + _Ibid._, p. v., par. 25. "School dinners well managed may be made to + have an admirable educative effect.... This makes me think that a + proper part of the business of the School should be a common mid-day + meal." (Evidence of Mrs. Despard, _ibid._, p. 3.) Mrs. Burgwin was of + the same opinion. (_Ibid._, p. 14.) + +Footnote 70: + + See, for instance, the suggestions made by Mr. Whiteley (_ibid._, p. + ix.), and the evidence of Mrs. Burgwin and Mr. J. Morant (_ibid._, pp. + 14, 15). + +Footnote 71: + + _Ibid._, p. iv., par. 20. + +Footnote 72: + + _Ibid._, p. iv., par. 17. + +Footnote 73: + + _Ibid._, p. iv., par. 19. + +Footnote 74: + + _Ibid._, p. v., par. 21. + +The majority of the committee declared themselves convinced "by the +consideration of the subject, and by the special information now +obtained from Paris and from other foreign countries,[75] that the whole +question of the feeding and health of children compulsorily attending +school requires to be dealt with as a matter of public concern."[76] +They therefore recommended that a Central Committee should be formed, +which should be authorised to call for reports and general assistance +from the Board's staff, facilities being granted for the use of rooms at +the schools for meals, and they made the following important statement +of principle:--"It should be deemed to be part of the duty of any +authority by law responsible for the compulsory attendance of children +at school to ascertain what children, if any, come to school in a state +unfit to get normal profit by the school work--whether by reason of +underfeeding, physical disability or otherwise--and there should be the +necessary inspection for that purpose; that where it is ascertained that +children are sent to school 'underfed' ... it should be part of the duty +of the authority to see that they are provided, under proper conditions, +with the necessary food;" that "the authority should co-operate in any +existing or future voluntary efforts to that end," and that, "in so far +as such voluntary efforts fail to cover the ground, the authority should +have the power and the duty to supplement them." Where dinners were +provided, it was desirable that they should be open to all children, and +that the parents should pay for them, unless they were unable by +misfortune to find the money, and that no distinction should be made +between the paying and the non-paying children. If the underfed +condition of the child was due to the culpable neglect of the parent, +the Board should prosecute the parent, and, if the offence was persisted +in, should have power to deal with the child under the Industrial +Schools Acts.[77] + +Footnote 75: + + For some account of the "Cantines Scolaires" of Paris, and the + provision of meals in other foreign towns, see Appendix III. + +Footnote 76: + + London School Board, Report of General Purposes Committee on Underfed + Children, 1899, p. vii., par. 35. + +Footnote 77: + + _Ibid._, p. i. + +The Board rejected these proposals and acted on the more cautious +recommendations of the minority, who were convinced that there was no +necessity for any public authority to undertake the work, the voluntary +associations being entirely capable of dealing effectively with the +need, if they were properly organised. They considered, therefore, that +the duties of the School Board should be confined to co-operation in the +organisation of these associations.[78] This decision was hailed with +relief by _The Times_, which rejoiced that "the attempt of the 'Fabian' +School of Socialists, assisted by some philanthropic dupes, to capture +the London School Board has been decisively repelled."[79] + +Footnote 78: + + _Ibid._, p. xii. Minutes of the London School Board, November 30, + 1899, Vol. 51, pp. 1868-72. The Majority Report was rejected by 27 + votes to 12. + +Footnote 79: + + _The Times_, December 1, 1899. + +As a matter of fact the Fabian Society seems as yet to have paid little +attention to the question, and, in so far as these proposals had been +due to socialist influence, the agitation had come from the Social +Democratic Federation. This body had, since the early 'eighties, made +the provision of a free meal for all children attending elementary +schools one of the fundamental planks of its platform.[80] Several +memorials were sent to the School Board,[81] urging that all children +whose parents were unemployed should be fed and clothed out of the +rates, but this proposal was too sweeping to meet with a favourable +reception. + +Footnote 80: + + _Justice_, March 29, September 13 and 27, December 6, 1884. + +Footnote 81: + + See, for instance, the memorials presented in 1892, 1896, and 1899. + (Minutes of the London School Board, November 17, 1892; February 20, + 1896; December 7, 1899.) + +The recommendations, which were finally adopted in March, 1900, provided +for the establishment of a permanent committee, to be known as the +"Joint Committee on Underfed Children." This was composed partly of +members of the School Board, partly of representatives of various other +bodies. Sub-committees, consisting of managers, teachers, School Board +visitors and one or more co-opted outsiders, were to be appointed in +each Board School, or group of Schools, where the necessity for +providing meals for underfed children was felt, and these sub-committees +were to make all necessary arrangements for the provision of meals.[82] +The functions of the Joint Committee were limited. It was to receive +reports from the sub-committees, to draw their attention to any defect +which might appear in the selection of the children or the arrangements +made for providing relief, to give them assistance by placing them in +communication with a source of supply so as to enable them to obtain the +necessary funds, to communicate with the chief collecting agencies when +there was reason to fear that the funds might not be sufficient, and +"generally to keep the public informed of what is being done to provide +relief for underfed children, and to stimulate public interest in the +work."[83] How far this effort to meet the need was successful we shall +relate in a subsequent chapter.[84] + +Footnote 82: + + Similar committees had been in existence in several schools for some + years. + +Footnote 83: + + Minutes of the London School Board, March 1, 1900, Vol. 52, pp. 854-5, + 905. + +Footnote 84: + + See Chapter III. + + + (c)--The Demand for State Provision. + + +Soon after the beginning of the new century the agitation for some form +of State feeding grew urgent and widespread. There was no attempt to +deal with the matter in the Education Act of 1902, but from about this +date onwards the question constantly recurred in Parliamentary debates, +a sure indication that the question was interesting others besides the +expert and the philanthropist. And to the old motives of sentiment and +educational need was added a new motive, a motive specially +characteristic of the present century and one which in some other +directions threatens to become almost an obsession. This was the desire +for "race regeneration," the conviction of the supreme importance of +securing a physically efficient people. Formerly the tendency had been +to sacrifice the needs of the child to the supposed moral welfare of the +family, now the child was regarded primarily as the raw material for a +nation of healthy citizens. + +The South African war had been partly instrumental in producing this +extreme anxiety about physical unfitness, and two public enquiries--the +Royal Commission on Physical Training in Scotland, and the +Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration--furnished +abundant proof of the harm which was being done in this direction by the +mal-nutrition of school children. + +The report of the Royal Commission on Physical Training showed +indisputably the necessity for better feeding. On this point a large +number of important witnesses were unanimous.[85] The Commissioners +were, however, cautious in their recommendations. Though fully convinced +of the necessity for feeding, they were doubtful as to how far the +responsibility for dealing with the need should be placed upon the +Education Authorities. "It is matter for grave consideration," they +declared, "whether the valuable asset to the nation in the improved +moral and physical state of a large number of future citizens +counterbalances the evils of impaired parental responsibility, or +whether voluntary agencies may be trusted to do this work with more +discrimination and consequently less danger than a statutory +system."[86] On the other hand, they urged, "it must be remembered that, +with every desire to act up to their parental responsibility, and while +quite ready to contribute in proportion to their power, there are often +impediments in the way of the home provision of suitable food by the +parents."[87] They considered, therefore, that "accommodation and means +for enabling children to be properly fed should ... be provided either +in each school or in a centre; but, except a limited sum to provide the +necessary equipment, no part of the cost should be allowed to fall on +the rates."[88] The meal should be educational in character. "An +obligation for the proper supervision of the feeding of those who come +for instruction should be regarded as one of the duties of school +authorities."[89] + +Footnote 85: + + Report of Royal Commission on Physical Training (Scotland), 1903. Vol. + I., p. 30, par. 162. "If we are going to develop the physical training + of children we must be on our guard against overworking them," said + one witness, "and, of course, underfed children would be positively + injured by even light exercises." (_Ibid._, Vol. II., Q. 760, evidence + of Mr. J. E. Legge, Inspector of Reformatory and Industrial Schools.) + "Children can exist, when doing no mental or physical work, on a bare + subsistence diet," said Dr. Clement Dukes, "but ... a bare subsistence + diet becomes a starvation diet when mental or bodily work is added." + (_Ibid._, Q. 8140.) + +Footnote 86: + + _Ibid._, Vol. I., p. 30, par. 165. + +Footnote 87: + + _Ibid._, p. 30, par. 167. + +Footnote 88: + + _Ibid._, p. 31, par. 172. + +Footnote 89: + + _Ibid._, p. 30, par. 168. + +The findings of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical +Deterioration were more definite and striking. To take first the +evidence as to the extent of underfeeding, Dr. Eichholz, after careful +investigation, estimated that the rough total of underfed children in +London was 122,000 or 16 per cent. of the elementary school population. +These figures were based on the assumption that all the children being +fed at schools and centres would otherwise have gone unfed; but, +considering the loose method of enquiry prevalent, this was +questionable. The London School Board put the number at 10,000, but this +seems to have been grossly understating the case.[90] In Manchester, +according to the estimate of the Education Committee and the Medical +Officer of Health, not less than 15 per cent. were underfed.[91] The +evidence given was, however, conflicting, and indeed little reliance can +be placed on these statistics. + +Footnote 90: + + Report of Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, + 1904, p. 66, pars. 332-334; evidence of Dr. Eichholz, Qs. 471-476. + +Footnote 91: + + _Ibid._, p. 67, par. 335; evidence of Dr. Eichholz, Q. 476. + +With regard to the effect of underfeeding on the physique of the +children, the doctors gave striking testimony. Dr. Robert Hutchison was +of opinion that, if a child had not sufficient food during the period of +growth, that is during the school years, it would be permanently +stunted.[92] "Apart from infectious diseases," said Dr. Collie of the +London School Board, "malnutrition is accountable for nine-tenths of +child sickness."[93] Dr. Eichholz pointed out that at Leeds Dr. Hall had +found that fifty per cent. of the children in a poor school suffered +from rickets, the true cause of which was poor and unsuitable food, +whilst in a well-to-do school the proportion was only eight per +cent.[94] In the opinion of this witness, an opinion "shared by medical +men, members of Education Committees, managers, teachers and others +conversant with the condition of school children ... food is at the base +of all the evils of child degeneracy."[95] "The sufficient feeding of +children," declared Dr. Niven, Medical Officer of Health for Manchester, +"is by far the most important thing to attend to and ... specially +important in connection with the Army.... When trade is good," he +argued, "you will have to rely for the Army upon this very poor class, +and in order to get good soldiers you must rear good children, you must +see that children are adequately fed."[96] + +Footnote 92: + + _Ibid._, Q. 9974. "The critical age," he considered, was "from 10 to + 15." Looking at the enormous improvement in children in the Navy and + in Industrial Schools, where they were properly fed, he did not "share + the pessimistic view that the mischief is hopelessly done by the time + a child reaches school age." He felt certain that "the provision of + meals would do a great deal to improve the health and growth and + development of the children of the poorer classes." (_Ibid._, Qs. + 9973, 10047-8, 10051, 10006.) + +Footnote 93: + + _Ibid._, Q. 3992. + +Footnote 94: + + _Ibid._, Q. 452. + +Footnote 95: + + _Ibid._, Q. 475. + +Footnote 96: + + _Ibid._, Q. 6484. See also evidence of General Sir T. Maurice, Q. 278. + +Such were the arguments on the negative side--on the positive side there +was ample proof of the good effects of a regular nutritious diet. Dr. +Eichholz referred to Dr. Hall's experiment in feeding poor children at +Leeds. "Taking sixty poor seven-year-old children, at the beginning of +the period they totalled 455 lbs., below normal weight.... They gained +in three months forty lbs. in addition to the normal increase in weight" +for that time, "and they looked less anæmic and more cheerful."[97] Too +much importance must not be attached to these figures since the data on +which they are based are not sufficiently known to gauge their value, +but that the improvement was very considerable cannot be doubted. +Moreover, in the special schools for mentally defective children where +meals were regularly provided, the results were astonishing. Dr. Collie +told how, "in a large number of instances after the careful individual +attention and midday dinner of the special schools," the children +"returned after from six to eighteen months to the elementary schools +with a new lease of mental vigour. These children are functionally +mentally defective.... Their brains are starved, and naturally fail to +react to the ordinary methods of elementary teaching."[98] "Bad +nutrition and normal brain development," he added, "are +incompatible."[99] + +Footnote 97: + + _Ibid._, evidence of Dr. Eichholz, Q. 486. + +Footnote 98: + + _Ibid._, evidence of Dr. Collie, Q. 3938. + +Footnote 99: + + _Ibid._, Q. 3973. + +There was indeed, as the Committee pointed out, "a general consensus of +opinion that the time had come when the State should realise the +necessity of ensuring adequate nourishment to children in attendance at +school ... it was, further, the subject of general agreement that, as a +rule, no purely voluntary association could successfully cope with the +full extent of the evil."[100] In a large number of cases such voluntary +organisations would be sufficient for the purpose, "with the support and +oversight of the Local Authority," and, as long as this was so, the +Committee would "strongly deprecate recourse being had to direct +municipal assistance."[101] But in cases where "the extent or the +concentration of poverty might be too great for the resources of local +charity ... it might be expedient to permit the application of municipal +aid on a larger scale."[102] As a corollary to the exercise of such +powers on the part of the Local Authority, the law would have to be +altered to make it more possible to prosecute neglectful parents.[103] +The Committee were also in favour of establishing special schools of the +Day Industrial School type in which feeding would form an essential +feature. To these definitely "retarded" children might be sent.[104] +They recommended that the funds for these experiments should be found +through the machinery of the Poor Law,[105] for they were anxious to +guard the community from the consequences of "the somewhat dangerous +doctrine that free meals are the necessary concomitant of free +education."[106] + +Footnote 100: + + _Ibid._, p. 69, par. 348. + +Footnote 101: + + _Ibid._, p. 72, par. 359. + +Footnote 102: + + _Ibid._, par. 362. + +Footnote 103: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 104: + + _Ibid._, par. 363. + +Footnote 105: + + _Ibid._, par. 364. + +Footnote 106: + + _Ibid._, par. 365. + +Following on these reports came a strenuous agitation in Parliament and +in the country. The National Labour Conference on the State Maintenance +of Children, held at the Guildhall in January, 1905, declared +unanimously in favour of State Maintenance "as a necessary corollary of +Universal Compulsory Education, and as a means of partially arresting +that physical deterioration of the industrial population of this +country, which is now generally recognised as a grave national danger. +As a step towards such State Maintenance," the conference called upon +the Government to introduce without further delay legislation enabling +Local Authorities to provide meals for school children, the cost to be +borne by the National Exchequer.[107] The National Union of Teachers, at +a largely attended conference at Llandudno in the same year, were agreed +as to the urgent need for legislation.[108] + +Footnote 107: + + Report of the National Labour Conference on the State Maintenance of + Children, at the Guildhall, January 20, 1905, p. 25. + +Footnote 108: + + Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills + (England and Scotland), 1906, Qs. 792, 924, 925. By a considerable + majority the Conference defeated an amendment that the Board of + Guardians should be substituted for the Local Education Authority as + the authority for making the provision, but owing to a technical + difficulty the main resolution was not put. See also the resolution + passed at a conference of the School Attendance Officers' Association, + quoted by Mr. Slack in the House of Commons (_Hansard_, April 18, + 1905, 4th Series, Vol. 145, p. 533). + +In Parliament the agitation was led by Mr. Claude Hay, Sir John Gorst +and Dr. Macnamara. It was urged that a large part of the money spent on +education was wasted. To teach children who were physically quite unfit +to receive instruction, was, as Sir John Gorst pointed out, "the height +of absurdity."[109] Thirty years' compulsory education had, Mr. Claude +Hay declared, resulted in disappointment. "The gain in intelligence was, +to say the least of it, equivocal, while the physical deterioration of +the people was obvious. The reason was largely that we had taken +education as an isolated factor, whereas it was part of an absolutely +indivisible unit.... We had assumed that ... the intellect could act +independently of all other parts of the total human being. We had +ignored the body, the soul and the will, and the result had been a +fiasco."[110] Compulsory education involved free meals, but only for the +"necessitous child."[111] It was declared that many parents would gladly +pay if they were thereby assured that their children were adequately and +properly fed.[112] + +Footnote 109: + + _Hansard_, July 9, 1903, Vol. 125, p. 194. See also _ibid._, February + 14, 1905, Vol. 141, p. 143. + +Footnote 110: + + _Ibid._, April 20, 1904, Vol. 133, pp. 782-3. + +Footnote 111: + + _Ibid._, p. 784. + +Footnote 112: + + _Ibid._, p. 788; Sir John Gorst, _ibid._, July 9, 1903, Vol. 125, p. + 196. + +For some time the Government remained obdurate, and declined to take any +action. At last, however, it became clear that something must be done. +The findings of the Royal Commission on Physical Training and the +Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration had created too +profound an impression to be ignored. Yet even now the Government were +not prepared for legislation. They were of opinion that there still +existed a wide divergence of views as to the extent of underfeeding and +the remedies to be applied. Accordingly, in March, 1905, another +Departmental Committee was appointed to collect further +information.[113] + +Footnote 113: + + _Hansard_, March 13, 1905, Vol. 142, p. 1185. + +The reference of this Committee made it clear that the Government had no +intention of allowing the rates to be utilised for the supply of food. +In the matter of feeding, the Committee were merely to enquire into the +relief given by the various voluntary agencies, and report "whether +relief of this character could be better organised, without any charge +upon public funds."[114] The Report was, therefore, mainly concerned +with questions of administration. A careful and elaborate account was +given of the existing agencies all over England, the methods employed, +the sums expended, and the kind of relief given. Evidence was received +from representatives of all the more important societies in London and +the provinces. It was found that outside London feeding agencies existed +in 55 out of the 71 county boroughs, in 38 out of the 137 boroughs and +in 22 out of the 55 large urban districts.[115] In addition to these +there were numerous efforts of a spasmodic character, school meals being +often started hastily during some special emergency. The Committee +estimated that the total amount spent on the provision of meals in +England and Wales was approximately £33,568, of which £10,299 was spent +in London.[116] But these figures were "very far from representing the +full amount of money spent out of charitable sources."[117] No account +was taken of the innumerable philanthropic agencies existing all over +the country, such as Soup Kitchens, District Visiting Societies and the +like, who were incidentally spending large sums on the provision of food +for school children. Moreover, the impracticability of obtaining returns +from all the feeding agencies and the varying methods in which their +accounts were made up, made any exact computation impossible. + +Footnote 114: + + Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical Inspection and + Feeding, 1905, Vol. I., p. vii. + +Footnote 115: + + _Ibid._, pp. 54, 55, pars. 182, 186, 189. The total number of these + agencies was 140. Of these 71 were permanent (_i.e._, had been in + existence over a year), 24 were new, and 45 were intermittent in their + operations. + +Footnote 116: + + _Ibid._, pp. 78-80, pars. 290-293. + +Footnote 117: + + _Ibid._, p. 79, par. 291. + +In the evidence given before the Committee, we note the same evils +prevailing as had been discovered in former years. There is the same +diversity in the method of selection and the same inadequate provision. +We find still the practice of giving a child a meal two or three days a +week only.[118] In the great majority of cases the feeding was confined +to the winter months, though many witnesses were of opinion that meals +should be obtainable in the summer also.[119] + +Footnote 118: + + "At present," declared one witness, "the funds are wasted through + their being distributed over too large a number of children.... At one + school ... the headmaster asked the boys whether they would like to + have their ticket this week or next week." (_Ibid._, Vol. II., Q. + 1780, evidence of Mr. T. E. Harvey.) At Norwich, a child received a + meal only once a week. "There was no system of feeding the children + regularly. They had to take it in turns." (_Ibid._, Q. 4228, evidence + of Mrs. Pillow.) At Hull it was "a rough rule given to the teacher" + that a child should be fed every other day. (_Ibid._, Qs. 6157, 6158, + evidence of Mr. G. F. Grant.) See also evidence given by Mrs. Adler + (Qs. 135-136), Mrs. Burgwin (Q. 446), and the Rev. J. C. Mantle (Q. + 2452). It was even urged by Mr. Hookham, of Birmingham, that the + insufficiency of the provision was a positive advantage. The fact + "that there are more children wanting meals than can get them ... is + the main safeguard against imposition." Without this safeguard, he + declares, "you will lose the evidence which the children give against + one another when imposition takes place, which I think is the most + valuable of all evidence" (_Ibid._, Q. 1253.) + +Footnote 119: + + _Ibid._, Vol. I., pp. 75-76, pars. 280-281. The meals given at + Bradford were continued all through the year, and so were the + breakfasts given by Mr. Hookham at Birmingham (_ibid._). + +The Committee were convinced that, in all county boroughs and large +towns, no voluntary agency which extended beyond the limits of one or +two schools could be worked properly, except in intimate connection +with, if not directly organised by, the Local Education Authority. To +avoid overlapping and abuse it was essential that managers and school +teachers should be required to supply full information, and only the +Local Authority had power to insist on this being done.[120] The +Committee deprecated "the proneness for starting school meals hastily +upon some special emergency."[121] It was essential that any +organisation for feeding school children should be of a permanent +character and provision should be made for enabling meals to be given +where necessary throughout the year.[122] It was desirable that meals +should be obtainable on every school day, and it should be the object of +the feeding agency to feed the most destitute children regularly rather +than a larger number irregularly.[123] The Committee recognised the +valuable help which had been given by the teachers. Many of the systems +for feeding the children had in fact originated entirely with them, +whilst in many more the whole brunt of the work had fallen upon them. +But this work involved too great a strain upon the teachers and they +should not be required to supervise the meals unless their attendance +was indispensable.[124] Nor in the matter of the selection of the +children should the teachers be asked to do more than draw up the +preliminary list. They had no time for visiting the homes nor were they +always the most competent persons for making enquiries. The final +selection of the children should be in the hands of a Relief Committee, +which should be formed for each school or group of schools.[125] The +increasing attention paid to the medical side of the question is shown +by the recommendation that, wherever possible, the advice and guidance +of the school doctor should be obtained.[126] The Committee refer with +approval to the proposal that a system of school restaurants should be +established, at which meals could be supplied at cost price. "Not much +attempt," they say, "has yet been made through the medium of school +meals towards raising the standard of physical development among the +children and promoting a taste for wholesome and nourishing food."[127] +In view of the very divergent opinions expressed by witnesses, the +Committee were unable to come to a clear conclusion whether or not such +restaurants would succeed, but they would "welcome experiments made in +this direction."[128] The restaurants, they thought, would probably have +to be kept separate from any system of free dinners, for attempts to +combine free and cheap meals had always ended in failure. In country +districts, where the children often lived at a great distance from the +school, the need for school restaurants was distinctly felt. The lunches +brought by the children were generally of a most unsatisfactory nature. +The Committee were of opinion that the managers should arrange for the +provision of a hot dinner, or at any rate soup or cocoa, for those +children who were unable to go home at midday. A charge should be made +which should at least cover the cost of the food.[129] + +Footnote 120: + + _Ibid._, p. 59, par. 208. + +Footnote 121: + + _Ibid._, p. 75, par. 279. + +Footnote 122: + + _Ibid._, pp. 84, 85, par. 306, secs. 3, 4. + +Footnote 123: + + _Ibid._, p. 85, pars. 5, 6. + +Footnote 124: + + _Ibid._, pp. 60, 61, pars. 210, 215. + +Footnote 125: + + _Ibid._, pp. 62, 85, pars. 220, 306 (secs. 9, 10). + +Footnote 126: + + _Ibid._, p. 66, par. 236. So far as the committee could discover, "the + question of malnutrition and underfeeding has attracted very little + attention in connection with medical inspection. There appears to be + no area where the Medical Officer works in close touch with the + organisations for the feeding of children." (_Ibid._, p. 25, par. 97.) + +Footnote 127: + + _Ibid._, p. 68, par. 242. + +Footnote 128: + + _Ibid._, p. 71, par. 258. + +Footnote 129: + + _Ibid._, p. 58, par. 205. This was already being done in some rural + schools. At Siddington, for instance, a hot dinner had been supplied + for the last two years, the parents' payments more than covering the + cost of the food. (_Ibid._, par. 202.) We have already alluded to the + experiment at Rousdon, where dinners were provided throughout the year + in a specially provided dining-room, as a part of the school + organisation. Here the cost of the food was not quite covered by the + parents' payments. (_Ibid._, par. 203.) + +The report of the Committee was published late in 1905. Meanwhile the +Parliamentary agitation had continued. Two Bills were introduced in +March by Mr. Claude Hay and Mr. Arthur Henderson.[130] These were +withdrawn to make way for a resolution moved by Mr. (afterwards Sir +Bamford) Slack--"that in the opinion of this House, the Local Education +Authorities should be empowered (as unanimously recommended by the +Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, 1904) to make +provision, under such regulations and conditions as they may decide, for +ensuring that all the children at any public elementary school in their +area shall receive proper nourishment before being subjected to mental +or physical instruction, and for recovering the cost, where expedient, +from the parents or guardians."[131] This resolution marks an important +stage in the movement, for it received support from all sides of the +House, and was passed by a considerable majority.[132] One feature of +the debate was new. It was no longer said that the matter should be left +solely to private charity. The main point at issue now was whether the +money required should come from the Education rate or the Poor +rate.[133] + +Footnote 130: + + _Hansard_, March 27 and 29, 1905, Vol. 143, pp. 1307-9, 1543. + +Footnote 131: + + _Ibid._, April 18, 1905, Vol. 145, p. 531. + +Footnote 132: + + _Ibid._, March 2, 1906, Vol. 152, p. 1394. + +Footnote 133: + + _Ibid._, April 18, 1905, Vol. 145, p. 554. The balance of opinion was + at this date in favour of the latter. Sir John Gorst thought that + where the parents could not pay for the meals "reference should be + made to the Poor Law authority, and the natural consequences of the + receipt of public relief would follow." (_Ibid._, July 9, 1903, Vol. + 125, p. 197.) In the Bill introduced by Mr. Claude Hay in March, 1905, + provision was made for payment of the cost of meals by the Guardians, + but any parent receiving such relief from the Guardians might apply to + a court of summary jurisdiction and the court, "if satisfied that the + parent's ... inability to pay is temporary and arises from no fault of + his own," might make an order that he should not be disfranchised. + (Elementary Education (Feeding of Children) Bill, 1905, clause 3.) + + + (d)--Provision by the Guardians. + + +Following on this resolution came an attempt to deal with the question +through the machinery of the Poor Law. By the Relief (School Children) +Order,[134] issued in April, 1905, the Guardians were empowered to grant +relief to the child of an able-bodied man without requiring him to enter +the workhouse or perform the outdoor labour test.[135] Any relief so +given was to be on loan if the case was one of habitual neglect, and +might be so given in any case at the discretion of the Guardians.[136] +Except with the special sanction of the Local Government Board +proceedings were always to be taken to recover the cost.[137] The +children of widows and of wives not living with their husbands were +expressly excluded from the scope of the order.[138] The reason for this +omission was that these children could already be dealt with by the +Guardians and that, therefore, no further sanction was needed, but this +was not clearly explained by the Local Government Board, and was indeed +not generally understood.[139] It was recommended that, where charitable +organisations existed, the Guardians should make arrangements with them +for the supply of food; in other cases an arrangement might be made with +a local shopkeeper.[140] A circular issued by the Board of Education to +the Local Education Authorities, explaining how these authorities could +co-operate with the Guardians in carrying out the order, classified +underfed children under three heads:--(1) those whose parents were +permanently impoverished; (2) those whose parents through illness, loss +of employment, or other unavoidable causes were temporarily unable to +provide for them; (3) those whose parents, though capable of making +provision, had neglected to do so. It was suggested that the second of +these groups of cases should be left to the voluntary agencies, the +first and third being dealt with by the Guardians.[141] + +Footnote 134: + + For a description of the working of this order see the Report of the + Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, 8vo. edition, Vol. III., pp. + 160-162. + +Footnote 135: + + Relief (School Children) Order, 1905, Article V. (in 35th Report of + Local Government Board, 1905-6, p. 322). + +Footnote 136: + + _Ibid._, Article II., sec. 2. + +Footnote 137: + + _Ibid._, Article VI. Whether the amount was recovered or not the + parent became a pauper, and was disfranchised. + +Footnote 138: + + _Ibid._, Article VII. + +Footnote 139: + + "The whole Order," declared Mr. Wyatt, the Director of Elementary + Education at Manchester, "was a most perplexing thing. Very early in + the year there came down to Manchester a Poor Law Inspector who said + that the construction of the Order was that the children of widows or + deserted women should not come under the Order. That swept away a + great many of those we had been feeding." (Report of Select Committee + on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills (England and Scotland), 1906, + Q. 1208.) Miss Margaret Frere was of opinion that the Order would be a + dead letter in that it ruled out the two most difficult classes, one + being widows and deserted wives. (Report of Inter-Departmental + Committee on Medical Inspection and Feeding, 1905, Vol. II., Q. 483.) + +Footnote 140: + + Circular of Local Government Board accompanying Relief (School + Children) Order, in 35th Report of Local Government Board, 1905-6, p. + 320. + +Footnote 141: + + Circular issued by the Board of Education to the Local Education + Authorities re Relief (School Children) Order, April 28, 1905. + +In a large number of Unions this order was entirely disregarded.[142] In +London the County Council, though ready to assist in carrying it out +where local authorities desired it, declined to initiate proceedings, +for they did not look upon the order as "materially helping the solution +of the problem."[143] Where the Local Education Authority and the +Guardians agreed on a scheme, there was constant friction. This was only +to be expected. The opposing views of the two bodies--the one actuated +by a desire to ensure that children should not be prevented by lack of +food from taking advantage of the education provided for them, the other +imbued with the spirit of deterrence--militated against any successful +co-operation. When the Local Education Authority sent in lists of +underfed children, the Guardians cut them down ruthlessly.[144] There +was no serious contention that these children did not need food, but +merely that their parents' circumstances were such that they could +afford to provide it. Undoubtedly under the voluntary feeding system +there had been much abuse, many parents obtaining the meals when they +were in receipt of good incomes.[145] But in these cases, with very few +exceptions,[146] no pressure was brought to bear by the Guardians on the +parents to force them to provide adequate food for their children, and +the children consequently remained unfed. In many cases the fathers of +the children indignantly refused to allow them to receive the meals when +they discovered that disfranchisement was entailed. + +Footnote 142: + + The order "has been so far practically a dead letter in this district" + [the counties of Bedford, Hertford, Huntingdon, etc.]. (35th Report of + Local Government Board, 1905-6, p. 452.) Such seems to have been the + case also in Yorkshire and the northern counties, in Wales, in Essex + and in Surrey, for we find no mention of the Order in the reports of + the Inspectors for these districts. + +Footnote 143: + + Minutes of the London County Council, July 11, 1905, p. 297. The + Council objected to the introduction of a dual authority in every + district, which would cause delay and possibly friction; the absence + of any provision for uniformity of rules in the different districts; + and the radical error of allowing the cost to fall on the local + authorities instead of on Government funds, or at least on the rates + of London as a whole. The risk of fathers being disfranchised as a + result of meals being supplied by the Guardians to their children + without their knowledge, would militate against the usefulness of the + scheme (_ibid._). As a matter of fact very few cases were relieved in + London under the Order. (_Hansard_, July 31, 1906, Vol. 162, p. 680.) + In two unions, Fulham and Wandsworth, where the Guardians offered to + assist, the Council allowed lists to be sent from the schools, but the + great majority of these children were reported by the Relieving + Officers not to be underfed. (Report of Joint Committee on Underfed + Children for 1905-6, p. 4.) + +Footnote 144: + + At Bristol out of 129 applications from the Local Education Authority, + the Guardians felt justified in giving relief in 12 cases only. (35th + Report of Local Government Board, 1905-6, p. 480.) At Chorlton, relief + was given in 219 cases out of 1,295 applications; at Salford in 175 + out of 1,086. (_Ibid._, p. 504.) At Stoke-on-Trent, out of 72 cases + reported 4 were relieved, and at Ecclesall Bierlow 51 cases were + reduced after careful investigation to one. (_Ibid._, pp. 488, 520.) + At Kettering, on the other hand, practically all the cases referred to + the Guardians were relieved. (Report of Royal Commission on the Poor + Laws, 1909, Appendix, Vol. I., Q. 6443.) This, however, was + exceptional. + +Footnote 145: + + At Birmingham it was found that many parents "were earning over 30s. a + week, and in one case the parent was in constant employment with an + average rate of £3 17s. 6d. a week." (35th Report of Local Government + Board, 1905-6, p. 495.) At Bolton, some of the parents were receiving + from £2 to £3 a week. (_Ibid._, p. 506.) + +Footnote 146: + + In the Bolton Union, in cases where the father's income was considered + sufficient to provide meals without assistance, "the children were + specially watched and reported upon by the Cross Visitor each + fortnight, until the Guardians were satisfied that the parents were + carrying out their responsibility in this respect.... The Relieving + Officer visits the home at meal time, or in the evening, to see what + provision is made for feeding the children." (35th Report of Local + Government Board, 1905-6, p. 503.) At Birmingham the head teachers + were of opinion that the children were being better looked after by + their parents than formerly owing to the way in which the Order was + being carried out. (_Ibid._, p. 495.) + +At Bradford, where the most systematic attempt was made to carry out the +order, the disputes and difficulties proved endless. "The principles +upon which the Guardians ... proceeded in selecting the children to be +fed were," declared Mr. F. W. Jowett, "such as made not for the feeding +of the children so much as for the saving of expense."[147] The quality +of the food and the conditions under which the meals were served[148] +were hotly criticised. The attempt on the part of the Guardians to +recover the cost from the parents raised a storm of protest.[149] +Finally, in May, 1907, the Guardians announced their intention of +discontinuing the provision of meals and the Local Education Authority +took over the work.[150] In no other town was the action of the +Guardians prolonged to so late a date. By the end of 1906, indeed, the +Order had become a dead letter. Meanwhile, the public having assumed +that everything necessary would be undertaken by the Poor Law +Authorities, voluntary contributions had declined.[151] + +Footnote 147: + + Bradford City Council Proceedings, September 26, 1905. + +Footnote 148: + + At the centres provided by the Guardians "the children were kept + outside the doors until all was ready, and when they were allowed to + enter they came in without any semblance of order, to tables without + cloths, without seats." (_Bradford and its Children: How They are + Fed_, by Councillor J. H. Palin, 1908, pp. 6-7.) Later the Guardians + distributed the children among various little eating-houses in the + town, where the food was better, though the conditions of serving were + not much improved. (_Ibid._) + +Footnote 149: + + _Hansard_, February 28, 1906, Vol. 152, p. 1129; Bradford City Council + Proceedings, September 26, 1905; see also the local newspapers about + this time. The prosecutions were apparently confined to those cases + where the underfeeding of the children was due to neglect on the part + of the parents. The charge fixed by the Guardians was, however, very + high, 3d. per meal. Up to March 1, 1906, action had been taken in the + County Court against 51 men and orders for payment obtained in each + case. (A short account of the working of the Relief (School Children) + Order, issued by the Bradford Poor Law Union, 1906; Report of Select + Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills (England and + Scotland), 1906, Qs. 1702-05.) In other unions there seems to have + been little or no attempt to recover the cost. At Birmingham, for + instance, it was reported, "the process of recovery laid down by the + Local Government Board was farcical in character and was dropped." + (Report of Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, Appendix, Vol. + IV., Q. 43626, par. 37.) + +Footnote 150: + + Extracts from the Annual Reports of the Bradford Education Committee + for the four years ended March 31, 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910 in + respect to the working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act, p. + 3. + +Footnote 151: + + At Birmingham the Free Dinner Society, after an existence of thirty + years, ceased its operations when the Order came into force. (Report + of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, Appendix, Vol. I., Q. + 8525.) "There was at first," declared Mr. Jenner Fust, a Local + Government Board Inspector, "much misapprehension among the public as + to the scope of the Order, the prevalent idea being that all school + children requiring it would now be supplied with free meals at the + public expense, and that there was no further occasion for voluntary + efforts." (35th Report of the Local Government Board, 1905-6, p. 506.) + + + (e)--The Education (Provision of Meals) Act. + + +The Relief (School Children) Order having proved a "relative failure," +to use Mr. John Burns' moderate expression,[152] and the evidence given +before the Committee on Medical Inspection and Feeding of School +Children having demonstrated once more the inadequacy of existing +agencies to cope with the evil, it became imperative for Parliament to +take action. Early in 1906 the Education (Provision of Meals) Bill was +introduced.[153] The opposition to this Bill, both inside[154] and +outside[155] the House, rested mainly on the familiar arguments +respecting parental responsibility and the advisability of leaving all +questions connected with relief to the Poor Law Authorities. We hear +also the objection that free meals must lead to a reduction in +wages.[156] The strongest argument, to which, however, little attention +was paid, was that urged by the Edinburgh School Board before the Select +Committee of the House of Commons to which the Bill was referred. "The +Bill touches the fringe of very serious and comprehensive social +problems with which the Imperial Parliament should deal, and it [the +School Board] objects to so much power being placed upon a local +authority before Parliament has dealt with serious principles underlying +the questions involved."[157] "The causes of low physique and vitality, +and inability to profit by instruction" are "insanitation, overcrowding, +keeping the children out at night very late or all night, bad footwear, +and homes where they have no ventilation at night," irregular meals, +"uncleanliness and bad clothing and out-of-school employment."[158] This +was very true, but it did not convince the public that nothing should be +done. In the experience of Miss Horn, the secretary of the Westminster +Health Society, where continuous feeding was combined with regular +visits to the parents, there was a distinct improvement in the standard +of the homes.[159] + +Footnote 152: + + _Hansard_, December 6, 1906, vol. 166, p. 1284. + +Footnote 153: + + The Bill was introduced by a private member, Mr. W. T. Wilson. The + Government decided to make the matter an open question with their + followers. (_Ibid._, February 22 and March 2, 1906, vol. 152, pp. 525, + 1399.) + +Footnote 154: + + For the debates on the Bill see _Hansard_, March 2, December 6, 7, 13, + 19, 20 and 21, 1906 (vol. 152, pp. 1390-1448; vol. 166, pp. 1273-1292, + 1315-1465; vol. 167, pp. 722-780, 1473-1482, 1629-1670, 1865-1881). + +Footnote 155: + + See, for instance, the discussions at a conference of representatives + of Charity Organisation Societies held in 1906. (_Charity Organisation + Review_, July, 1906, pp. 30 _et seq._) + +Footnote 156: + + Mr. Harold Cox, _Hansard_, March 2, 1906, vol. 152, pp. 1412, 1417. + +Footnote 157: + + Report of the Select Committee on the Education (Provision of Meals) + Bills (England and Scotland), 1906, evidence of Mr. Mill, Chairman of + Edinburgh School Board, Q. 4194. + +Footnote 158: + + _Ibid._, evidence of Mr. Scott, Head Teacher of Wood Close School, + Bethnal Green, Q. 2641. _Cf._ evidence of Dr. Kerr (Q. 2984), Miss + Horn (Qs. 1321-2), and Mr. Ferguson (Q. 2739). + +Footnote 159: + + _Ibid._, Qs. 1287-1290. + +During the Parliamentary debates, for the first time, much emphasis was +laid on the educational value of the meals if served under proper +conditions. Mr. Birrell "could conceive no greater service to posterity +than to raise the standard of living in the children of the present +day."[160] "It was desired that this work should be not a work of +relief, but a work of education," declared Mr. Lough, the Parliamentary +Secretary to the Board of Education. "They wanted wholesome food given +to the children and they wanted the children taught how to eat it, which +was a most useful lesson."[161] "This was not merely a question of +providing the meals," said Mr. John Burns, "it was also one of teaching +better habits and manners."[162] For this work the Local Education +Authorities were better fitted than the Guardians, for they "would +attract, in a way which Boards of Guardians would not, the services of +voluntary agencies, of leisured people ... and of managers and teachers, +whose assistance was absolutely essential."[163] For these reasons it +was essential that the Local Education Authorities should have power to +provide meals, not only for necessitous children but also, on receipt of +payment, for the children of all parents who desired it.[164] + +Footnote 160: + + _Hansard_, March 2, 1906, Vol. 152, p. 1441. + +Footnote 161: + + _Ibid._, December 6, 1906, Vol. 166, p. 1280. + +Footnote 162: + + _Ibid._, p. 1285. + +Footnote 163: + + _Ibid._ See also the speeches of Mr. Jowett (_ibid._, March 2, 1906, + Vol. 152, p. 1412), Mr. Claude Hay (_ibid._, December 6, 1906, Vol. + 166, p. 1288) and the Earl of Crewe (_ibid._, December 19, 1906, Vol. + 167, p. 1478). An amendment to substitute the Poor Law Guardians for + the Local Education Authority as the authority for the administration + of the Act was defeated by an overwhelming majority, the voting being + 290 to 36. (_Ibid._, December 6, 1906, Vol. 166, pp. 1274-1288.) The + Local Government Board did not, in fact, desire to have the duty + imposed on them. (Mr. John Burns, _ibid._, p. 1285.) + +Footnote 164: + + An amendment to limit the provision of meals to underfed children only + was defeated by 230 votes to 39. Mr. Lough declared the amendment + would strike at the root of one of the objects of the Bill. (_Ibid._, + December 7, 1906, Vol. 166, pp. 1339-40, 1350.) + +The new attitude of Society towards the child and the family was brought +out by Lord Grimthorpe during the debates in the House of Lords. "The +children are the paramount consideration.... In a great many cases the +parents are already demoralised owing to having themselves been +insufficiently nourished in their youth. Because they suffer from those +conditions there is no reason why we should inflict similar conditions +on the children.... Experience in this matter shows us that the sense of +parental responsibility will be increased rather than decreased. When +the parent sees that his child is regarded by the nation as a valuable +national asset he himself will think more of his child."[165] + +Footnote 165: + + _Ibid._, December 20, 1906, Vol. 167, p. 1637. + +The Bill received the Royal assent on December 21, 1906.[166] It +provided that the Local Education Authority might associate with +themselves any committee (called a School Canteen Committee) on which +the Authority was represented, who would undertake to provide food, and +might aid that committee by furnishing buildings and apparatus and the +officers and servants necessary for the organisation, preparation and +service of the meals.[167] The parents were to be charged such an amount +as might be determined by the Local Education Authority, and, in the +event of non-payment, the Local Authority, unless satisfied that the +parent was unable to pay, should recover the amount summarily as a civil +debt.[168] Failure on the part of the parent to pay was not, however, to +involve disfranchisement.[169] Where the Education Authority resolved +"that any of the children attending an elementary school within their +area are unable by reason of lack of food to take full advantage of the +education provided for them, and have ascertained that funds other than +public funds are not available or are insufficient in amount to defray +the cost of food," they might, with the sanction of the Board of +Education, provide for food out of the rates, the amount thus spent +being, however, limited to what would be produced by a halfpenny +rate.[170] The teachers might, if they desired, assist in the provision +of meals but they were not to be required as part of their duties to do +so.[171] + +Footnote 166: + + 6 Edward VII., c. 57. + +Footnote 167: + + _Ibid._, clause 1. + +Footnote 168: + + _Ibid._, clause 2. The Select Committee to which the Bill had been + referred, while of opinion "that the local education authority ought + to undertake the administration rather than the Boards of Guardians," + nevertheless recommended that it should be the duty of the Guardians + to recover the cost from neglectful parents. (Report of Select + Committee on the Education (Provision of Meals) Bills (England and + Scotland), 1906, pp. viii., x.) They accordingly inserted a provision + to this effect (_see_ the Education (Provision of Meals) Bill as + amended by the Select Committee, No. 331 of 1906, clause 2). This was + amended in the committee stage in the House of Commons. (_Hansard_, + December 7, 1906, Vol. 166, pp. 1439-1444. + +Footnote 169: + + 6 Edward VII., c. 57, clause 4. + +Footnote 170: + + _Ibid._, clause 3. + +Footnote 171: + + _Ibid._, clause 6. + +The Bill, when it left the Commons, applied to Scotland as well as +England and Wales. The Lords, however, struck out the clause extending +its application to Scotland.[172] The Commons, in view of the fact that +the session was so far advanced, agreed to this amendment, but under +protest.[173] It was not till two years later that the Scottish School +Boards, by the Education (Scotland) Act of 1908,[174] received power to +spend the rates on the provision of food. + +Footnote 172: + + _Hansard_, December 20, 1906, Vol. 167, pp. 1662-1670. + +Footnote 173: + + _Ibid._, December 21, 1906, pp. 1865-1881. + +Footnote 174: + + 8 Edward VII., c. 63 (December 21, 1908). A Bill was introduced by the + Government in 1907, but was withdrawn. (_Hansard_, March 20, 1907, + Vol. 171, pp. 880-883.) For an account of the provision made in + Scotland see Appendix II. + +The Provision of Meals Act marks an important point in the history of +school feeding. The experiments of forty years had amply demonstrated +the impossibility of dealing with the evils of underfeeding through +voluntary agencies alone. Parliament was indeed still convinced that +voluntary organisations were the best bodies to supply the necessary +food. The proposal that the duty of providing meals should be cast +entirely upon Local Education Authorities, relying only on public funds, +had indeed, as the Select Committee of the House of Commons declared, +not been "seriously suggested." Such a course would obviously result in +the extinction of all voluntary societies, a result "from every point of +view ... much to be deplored."[175] Only where voluntary subscriptions +failed might the Local Authority provide the necessary funds. Even in +this case there was no compulsion on the authority to take any action +whatsoever. Still, with all these limitations, the Act involved the +assumption, however partial and incomplete, by the State of the function +of securing to its children, by one means or another, the necessary +minimum, not only of education, but also of food. + +Footnote 175: + + Report of Select Committee on the Education (Provision of Meals) Bills + (England and Scotland), 1906, p. vi. + + + + + CHAPTER II + THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE EDUCATION (PROVISION OF MEALS) ACT + + +We propose in this chapter to describe the manner in which the Local +Education Authorities are administering the Act of 1906. We shall see +that the adoption of the Act has been by no means universal and that in +many towns provision is still made by voluntary agencies. Where the Act +has been put in force we shall find the greatest diversity of practice +in such matters as the selection of the children, the dietary provided +and the manner in which the meals are served. One Local Authority will +construe its duties under the Act in the narrowest sense, cutting down +the number of children to be fed to the minimum, and serving the meals +with the least possible expense. Another authority will look on the +school meal as a valuable means for improving the physique of its +scholars; it will endeavour to secure that all children who are underfed +shall be given school meals; the dietary will be carefully planned, +while, in the matter of the service of the meals, the aim will be to +make these in every way educational. We shall see that meals are as a +rule given only during term-time, holiday feeding out of rates being +held to be illegal, while many authorities limit their operations to the +winter months. Most authorities have confined their provision almost +entirely to necessitous children, the plan of providing meals as a +matter of convenience for children of parents who are at work all day or +are otherwise prevented from preparing a midday meal, and who would be +able and willing to pay for school dinners, finding but little favour. +We shall describe the arrangements made in the Special Schools for +defective children, where a dinner is provided either for all children +attending the school or for all those who care to stay, and in the Day +Industrial Schools, where the provision of three meals a day for all is +the rule. We shall discuss the extent to which the provision of meals by +the Local Education Authority overlaps the relief given by the Poor Law +Guardians. Finally we shall touch upon the question of underfeeding in +the rural districts, where the problem is little less urgent than in the +towns. + + + (a)--The Adoption of the Act. + + +The Provision of Meals Act came into force on December 21, 1906. As we +have seen, it was merely permissive and its adoption was, therefore, +only gradual.[176] Many Local Education Authorities contented themselves +with making arrangements with voluntary agencies, the Education +Committee continuing the already common practice of providing +accommodation and apparatus, and the voluntary society providing as +hitherto funds for the food. Thus, at Hull, the Education Authority +co-operated with the Hull School Children's Help Society, which had been +founded in 1885 for the provision of free meals. This arrangement was +continued till 1908, when the Society's funds were exhausted and +recourse was had to the rates.[177] At Scarborough, the Amicable +Society, which had been founded in 1729 "for clothing and educating the +children of the poor of Scarborough," arranged with the Education +Authority that the provision of meals should be organised through a +Joint Committee of the two bodies.[178] At Liverpool, where the +provision of meals had been undertaken since the early part of 1906, +before the Act was passed, by a voluntary committee consisting of +members of the Education Committee, the Central Relief Society, the +Guardians and others, this system was continued for some years. In spite +of strenuous opposition in 1908 from the Labour party and the local +Fabian Society, who complained that the numbers fed were far below the +number in need of food, and that no proper attempt was made to ascertain +the extent of the need, a special committee appointed by the Education +Committee to investigate the whole question reported that the existing +voluntary system was adequate. It was not till November, 1909, that the +Education Committee resolved that, "after full consideration of the +circumstances and after having regard to the fact that it has been +necessary to call upon the general public on two occasions during each +year for subscriptions to the funds, the Committee cannot but conclude +that the time has now come when the provisions of the Education +(Provision of Meals) Act, 1906, should be put into force, and, +therefore, _though with great reluctance_," they recommended that +application be made to the Board of Education for power to levy a +rate.[179] + +Footnote 176: + + Aston Manor was the first town to apply for authority to levy a rate. + Bradford, Manchester, and other towns soon followed. During the year + ended March 31, 1908, 40 authorities were authorised to levy a rate. + During the two following years the number was increased to 85 and 96 + respectively. (Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of + Meals) Act up to March 31, 1909, p. 8; Report of the Board of + Education for 1908-9, p. 123; ditto for 1909-10, p. 62.) + +Footnote 177: + + Appendix to Minutes of the Hull Education Committee, October 22, 1909. + +Footnote 178: + + Report of the Scarborough Amicable Society for 1910, pp. 5, 8. + +Footnote 179: + + "Feeding the Children," by H. Beswick, in the _Clarion_, October 11, + 1912. + +Leicester, perhaps, furnishes the most notable example of the survival +of the voluntary principle. In 1906, when the Provision of Meals Bill +was before Parliament, the Town Council appears to have been in favour +of it. After the Act was passed, however, the Leicester branch of the +Charity Organisation Society opposed its adoption. At a conference +between representatives of the Charity Organisation Society and the +National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a scheme was +formulated for administering the Act from voluntary funds. The scheme +was accepted by the Town Council, and the formation of the Children's +Aid Association was the result.[180] This body consists chiefly of +members of the Charity Organisation Society and of the National Society +for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, with a small minority +representing the Education Committee. In spite of considerable +opposition from the Labour party, who demand that the Act shall be put +into force, meals are still provided by this Association out of +voluntary funds.[181] + +Footnote 180: + + First Annual Report of the Leicester Children's Aid Association, + 1907-8, p. 3. + +Footnote 181: + + For a description of the methods adopted, see post, pp. 96-7. A + somewhat similar system is in force at Chesterfield, where the + arrangements for feeding are made by the Civic Guild, the expense + being borne out of their funds. The Education Committee is represented + on the General Council and Executive Committee of the Guild in a + general sense, not in connection with feeding alone. Cases of children + requiring food are reported by the Attendance Officers, and are fed at + once by the Guild, investigation being made afterwards. If help is + found necessary the whole family is adequately relieved. Arrangements + are usually made for the children to be fed at eating-houses. The + number of children so dealt with is very small. + +This delay on the part of the Local Authorities in towns where, it was +asserted, it was notorious that children suffered from want of +food,[182] led to an attempt to make the School Medical Officer +responsible for determining whether or not it was necessary to put the +Act in force. In December, 1908, a Bill was introduced by the Labour +party with the object of providing that, when requested by the Education +Committee, by a majority of the managers, or by the head teachers, the +Local Authority should provide for the medical inspection of the +children for the purpose of determining whether they were suffering from +insufficient or improper food; if the medical inspector reported that +the children were so suffering, the Local Authority should be obliged to +provide food. The Bill was not proceeded with, and the same fate befell +four similar Bills introduced within the next five years.[183] + +Footnote 182: + + _Hansard_, April 23, 1909, 5th Series, Vol. 3, p. 1797. + +Footnote 183: + + Education (Administrative Provisions) Bill, December 8, 1908; February + 19, 1909; April 14, 1910; February 19, 1912; April 15, 1913. + +In 1911-1912, out of 322 Local Education Authorities in England and +Wales, 131 were returned as making some provision for the feeding of +school children (_i.e._ 13 counties, including London, 57 County +Boroughs, 35 Boroughs and 26 Urban Districts).[184] Of these 95 were +spending rates on the provision of food; 19 were spending rates on +administrative charges only (accommodation, apparatus, etc.), the cost +of food being borne by voluntary funds; whilst in the remaining 17 +areas[185] the cost of both food and administration was met by voluntary +contributions. + +Footnote 184: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, pp. 320-322, 329. + +Footnote 185: + + The most important of these are Leicester, Sunderland, and Barnsley. + +The steady decrease in the amount derived from voluntary contributions, +and the increase in rates are shown by the following table :--[186] + + Rates £ Voluntary Miscellaneous sources Total. + Contribution £ (contributions from + parents, Poor Law + Guardians, etc.) £ + + For the year 67,524 17,831 335 85,690 + 1908-9 + + For the year 125,372 9,813 906 136,091 + 1909-10 + + For the year 140,875 7,537 1,370 149,782 + 1910-11 + + For the year 151,763 3,064 2,292 157,127 + 1911-12 + +Footnote 186: + + See Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act up + to March 31, 1909, p. 30, and (for London) p. 24; ditto for the year + ended March 31, 1910, p. 20; Report of the Chief Medical Officer of + the Board of Education for 1910, p. 309; ditto for 1911, p. 332. The + voluntary contributions are understated in the figures for 1908-9, and + possibly throughout. The returns for 1908-9, for instance, do not + include Liverpool, where the whole cost was defrayed by voluntary + contributions, and no financial details were supplied to the Board. + + The discrepancy in the total for 1911-12 is due to the fact that the + figures in the several columns are not given exactly, but to the + nearest £. + +The total number of children fed is given in the returns for 1911 as +124,685.[187] This, however, does not include a few counties and towns +which did not return the number fed during the year. In most of these +areas the number fed is very small, but at Barnsley the number attending +daily was about 2,917, and in London the highest number fed in any one +week during the year was 44,983. If we take these figures as +representing roughly between two-fifths and one half of the total number +of children who were fed at some time or other during the year, we get a +total of about 230,000,[188] out of a total school population of +5,357,567.[189] + +Footnote 187: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, pp. 322-24, 330. + +Footnote 188: + + This does not include children fed at Day Industrial Schools, Open Air + Schools or, with one or two exceptions, Special Schools for Mentally + or Physically Defective Children. + +Footnote 189: + + This number represents the average attendance at the ordinary + Elementary Schools, not the total number on the rolls. (Statistics of + Public Education in England and Wales, 1911-12, Part I., pp. 27, 333.) + +In most towns where the Act has been adopted the amount spent on food is +well within the limit of the halfpenny rate. In 1911-12, only Bradford +and Stoke-on-Trent exceeded the limit, the latter (by an inconsiderable +sum) owing to the coal strike. At Bradford the rate has almost from the +first been annually exceeded by a considerable amount.[190] This excess +is due partly to the numbers fed (a large proportion of the children +receiving breakfasts as well as dinners), partly to the fact that the +meals are continued throughout the holidays. The Local Government Board +Auditor has regularly surcharged the excess expenditure, but the Finance +Committee defrays it out of the Corporation trading profits, which are +not subject to the Local Government Board audit. + +Footnote 190: + + In 1908-9, by £1,645; in 1909-10, by £2,370; in 1910-11, by £1,163, + and in 1911-12, by £374. (Report on the Working of the Education + (Provision of Meals) Act up to March 31, 1909, p. 26; Report of the + Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for 1910, p. 304; + ditto for 1911, p. 317.) + +The limitation of the rate has in some towns undoubtedly restricted +operations. In 1909, for instance, the Workington Education Committee +were reluctantly obliged, owing to the exhaustion of the funds raised by +the halfpenny rate, to stop the meals at a time of great distress.[191] +At East Ham, the product of a halfpenny rate not being sufficient for a +whole year, meals can only be given during the winter months.[192] + +Footnote 191: + + _Hansard_, April 23, 1909, 5th Series, Vol. 3, pp. 1862-1863. A + similar complaint was received from Hartlepool. (_Ibid._) + +Footnote 192: + + See Minutes of Kingston-on-Hull Provision of Meals Sub-Committee, + March 24, 1911, Appendix, p. 16. The abortive Bills introduced in 1908 + and the following years by Labour members contained a clause that the + limitation of the rate should be abolished. + +We may note that the power of the Local Education Authorities to provide +food for necessitous children is not limited to their powers under the +Provision of Meals Act. By the Education Act of 1902 grants may be given +for the maintenance of children at Secondary Schools. At Bradford, at +any rate, in quite a number of cases this grant is earmarked for +providing school meals.[193] More important is the power to provide +three meals daily for all children attending Day Industrial Schools. +These children are drawn very largely from the class to whom free meals +would have to be given if they were attending the ordinary elementary +schools.[194] Again, necessitous children who are physically or mentally +defective can receive meals at the Special Schools, and the cost of the +food (and other expenses) can be charged to the Special Schools account. +Thus, at Liverpool, dinner is provided for all defective children, this +provision having been undertaken deliberately as part of the school +curriculum long before the Provision of Meals Act was passed. The class +of physically defective children for whom Special Schools can be +provided include not only cripples, but all children who are certified +by a doctor to be "by reason of ... physical defect ... incapable of +receiving proper benefit from the instruction in the ordinary public +elementary schools."[195] This wide definition enables the School +Medical Officer to send to the Open Air Schools, which several Local +Authorities have established, and at which one or more meals a day are +provided, not only children suffering from definite diseases, but also +those who are underfed, anæmic and generally debilitated, to whom the +fresh air, healthy life and regular, wholesome meals prove an +inestimable boon. + +Footnote 193: + + "School Feeding," by Wm. Leach, in the _Crusade_, November, 1911 (Vol. + 2, p. 192). + +Footnote 194: + + For a fuller account of the arrangements made for providing food at + the Day Industrial Schools and the Special Schools see post, pp. + 117-122. + +Footnote 195: + + Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act, 1899 (62 + and 63 Vict., c. 32, sec. 1 (1)). + + + (b)--Canteen Committees, their constitution and functions. + + +The arrangements for carrying out the Provision of Meals Act are usually +in the hands of a Committee called variously the School Canteen +Committee, the Children's Care Committee, the Underfed Children's Meals +Committee, or, as at Leicester, the Children's Aid Association. The +constitution of this Committee varies in different towns. Sometimes it +is composed entirely of members of the Education Committee.[196] +Sometimes outside bodies, such as Boards of Guardians and voluntary +agencies, are represented upon it. Thus at Crewe the Children's Care +Committee consists of representatives of the Local Education Authority, +teachers, Guardians and various voluntary societies.[197] At Leicester +the members of the Education Committee are in the minority, the +Children's Aid Association being composed chiefly of members of the +Charity Organisation Society and the National Society for the Prevention +of Cruelty to Children. Elsewhere the Committee may be composed +entirely, or almost entirely, of voluntary workers. Thus at Leeds, where +all the members are women, all, except the Chairman and Vice-chairman, +who are members of the Education Committee, are voluntary workers; two +Inspectors attend the meetings and carry recommendations to the +Education Committee, but they do not vote. At Bury St. Edmunds, where +the Committee is also composed of women members, the only representative +of the Education Committee is the official who holds the post of Borough +Treasurer and Secretary to the Education Committee. At Bournemouth the +schools are grouped under four District Care Committees, composed of +voluntary workers nominated by the School Managers, and of +representatives of the head teachers, the School Attendance Officers +being _ex officio_ members. These District Care Committees are +controlled by a Central Care Committee, composed partly of members of +the Education Committee, and partly of co-opted members. The School +Medical Officer here, as in some other towns, is an _ex officio_ +member.[198] + +Footnote 196: + + As at Birkenhead, Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Stoke, + West Ham. + +Footnote 197: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Crewe, 1911, p. 23. + +Footnote 198: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Bournemouth for 1911, pp. + 5-7. + +The functions of the Canteen Committee also vary in different towns. +Sometimes, as at Bradford, all the arrangements for the management of +the centres and the decision as to which children shall be fed are in +the hands of the Committee. At Leeds the Committee has no executive +power, its functions being limited to making recommendations to the +Education Committee as to the management of the dining centres. At Bury +St. Edmunds each member of the Committee is responsible for one school, +making arrangements with caterers for the feeding of the children and +visiting the homes. This visiting of the homes is rarely, if ever, +undertaken by members of the Canteen Committee, unless it is composed of +voluntary workers. + + + (c)--The Selection of the Children. + + +In the selection of the children who are to receive school meals two +methods may be adopted. The selection may be based either on the +physical condition of the child or on the economic circumstances of the +family. The majority of the children selected will, of course, be the +same whichever method is adopted, since the child will generally be +found to be under-nourished if the family income is inadequate, and vice +versa; but there are some children who, although the family income is +comparatively good, are yet, for some cause or other, underfed, and +these will be excluded if the "poverty test" is the only criterion used. +From the first the Board of Education has urged that the "physical test" +should be used as well as the "poverty test." The administration of the +Provision of Meals Act should be carried on in the closest co-operation +with the School Medical Service.[199] The School Medical Officer should +approve the dietary, he should supervise the quality, quantity, cooking +and service of the food and should inspect the feeding centres.[200] In +the selection of the children he should take an important part. Not only +should he recommend for school meals all cases of bad or insufficient +nutrition observed in the course of medical inspection. "The end to be +aimed at," writes Sir George Newman, "is that all children admitted to +the meals should be medically examined by the School Medical Officer +either before, or as soon as possible after, admission."[201] That is to +say, the Provision of Meals Act should not be considered primarily as a +measure for the relief of distress; "the physical and mental well-being +of [the] children ... should be regarded as the principal object to be +kept in view."[202] + +Footnote 199: + + "When a system of medical inspection of school children such as + already exists under several Local Education Authorities has been + established, the School Canteen Committee, so far as its operations + are concerned with underfed, ill-nourished or destitute children, + should work in intimate connection with the school medical officer." + (Circular issued by the Board of Education, January 1, 1907, in Report + on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act up to March + 31, 1909, p. 44.) "It is obviously desirable that any arrangements + made by a Local Education Authority under the Education (Provision of + Meals) Act, 1906 ... should be co-ordinated, as far as possible, with + the arrangements for medical inspection under the Act of 1907." (Board + of Education, Code of Regulations for Public Elementary Schools in + England, 1908, p. ii.) The general supervision of the administration + of the Act was placed in the hands of the Board's Medical Department. + +Footnote 200: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1910, p. 254. + +Footnote 201: + + _Ibid._ for 1911, p. 276. This course is strongly urged by the School + Medical Officer for Portsmouth. "_All_ children, however selected, + either by the physical or poverty test, _should be examined by the + School Medical Officer_. This in many areas would involve a good deal + of extra work on many medical men who find their time already fully + occupied. Yet if any work is worth doing it is worth doing well, and + here it is that the value of the School Medical Officer comes in, by + culling and recording facts relating to the personal condition of the + child, as well as the home conditions and surroundings of his or her + life." ("The Importance of a Well-advised and Comprehensive Scheme in + the Selection of Children ... under the Education (Provision of Meals) + Act," by Victor J. Blake, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. + E. Hecht, 1913, pp. 22-23.) + +Footnote 202: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 275. + +Very few authorities have made any attempt to select the children +primarily or even to any great extent on the "physical test." In +Brighton the plan has perhaps been tried with more thoroughness than in +any other town. When, in 1907, the Education Committee undertook the +provision of meals in association with the Voluntary Canteen Committee, +it was resolved that "the term 'underfed' ... should be held to apply +distinctively to those scholars who, by reason of more or less +continuous antecedent underfeeding, are physically below a certain +specified standard of size and weight. These cases, which must of course +be the first consideration of any feeding scheme, can only be +scientifically detected by a detailed system of medical weighing and +examination, and when so detected should be dealt with in accordance +with medical advice."[203] Accordingly all the children for whom an +application for free meals is made are weighed and measured, and the +Canteen Committee, when deciding whether any particular child shall be +fed or not, has before it this report as to the child's physical +condition. Whether the meals are supplied free depends on the economic +circumstances of the family. If the child needs meals on medical grounds +but the income is adequate, a circular is sent to the parent warning him +of the child's condition. Sometimes the parent will be willing for meals +to be supplied on payment of the cost. If the parent refuses to pay, +meals are not granted, but the name of the child is placed on a special +list for observation.[204] Roughly about fifty per cent. of the children +are fed solely on economic grounds and fifty per cent. on medical +grounds.[205] + +Footnote 203: + + Brighton Education Committee, Report of Canteen Joint Branch + Sub-Committee, July 17, 1907. There were, of course, also the cases of + "necessitous" children who did not appear on medical grounds to be + suffering from malnutrition, but who, from the economic circumstances + of the parents, were unable to obtain sufficient food. Children to + whom the provision of a mid-day meal would be a convenience, and whose + parents were able and willing to pay the cost, should also be provided + for. (_Ibid._) + +Footnote 204: + + We have not been able to ascertain exactly what happens to these + children on the "watching" list. In 1910 the School Medical Officer + reports that they "are examined at intervals by the school doctor, and + their progress is noted, the [Canteen] Committee taking such action as + is recommended. Enquiries are also carried out by the school nurse, + under the supervision of the school doctor, as to the nature of the + meals given at home in these cases." (Report on the Medical Inspection + of School Children in Brighton for 1910, p. 134.) These home visits by + the school nurse are no longer paid. + +Footnote 205: + + In 1911, out of 1,050 children who received free meals, 54 were not + examined, 550 were recommended by the school doctor on medical + grounds, 446 were fed solely on economic grounds. (_Ibid._ for 1911, + p. 119.) In 1912, out of 1,070 children fed, 69 were not examined, 422 + were recommended on medical and 579 on economic grounds. (_Ibid._ for + 1912, p. 122.) + +At Heston and Isleworth, the Canteen Sub-Committee decided in 1911 to +obtain from the School Medical Officer a report on the state of each +child before determining whether it required school meals.[206] At +Lancaster also all children who are recommended for free meals are seen +by the School Medical Officer.[207] + +Footnote 206: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 277. + +Footnote 207: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Lancaster for 1911, p. 26. + +But these cases are exceptional. In 1909 "the number of Local Education +Authorities who left the final selection in the hands of the School +Medical Officer, or acted exclusively upon his recommendation or +required every application to be endorsed by him," was, so far as the +information of the Board of Education extended, less than a dozen.[208] +In 1911 Sir George Newman writes, "it is true that in the majority of +cases the School Medical Officer takes some part ... in the work +connected with the provision of meals, but the number of cases in which +he exercises all the functions ... appropriately devolving upon him are +very few indeed."[209] In the great majority of towns, though the School +Medical Officer may recommend for school meals children whom he finds +suffering from malnutrition in the course of medical inspection, the +greater number of children are selected on the "poverty test." + +Footnote 208: + + Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act, up to + March 31, 1909, pp. 12-13. + +Footnote 209: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 273. + +As a rule the primary selection is made by the teachers, either on their +own initiative or on receiving requests from the parents. The School +Nurse, the Attendance Officer or perhaps a member of the local Guild of +Help may also recommend cases. + +Sometimes a personal application by the parent at the Education Offices +or before the Canteen Committee is insisted on. Thus at Manchester the +parents have to make application either at the Education Offices or at +any of the district centres, of which there are twenty-four, situated in +different parts of the town, and open at convenient hours. The teachers +can advise children, whom they consider to be in need of food, to tell +their parents to apply, but they take no further part in the selection +of the children. At West Ham also the parents have to apply at the +Public Hall or Education Office. The section of the Act dealing with +repayment is read to the applicant, who then decides whether or not he +wishes his children to be fed.[210] On the parent's signing a form (by +which he agrees to repay the cost of meals when he gets into work[211]), +tickets are issued for a week, pending enquiry. The parent is expected +to send a note to the head teacher each day to say that he or she still +wishes the child to be fed.[212] This personal application has to be +renewed every month. The teachers are allowed to give urgency tickets +for three meals, but if the parents fail to apply the meals have to be +discontinued. At Erith "no breakfasts are supplied till the parents have +registered at the Distress Committee (if eligible), or have made +personal application there, or at the Education Office."[213] At +Leicester, again, the parent has to make personal application at the +office of the Canteen Committee, and this application has to be renewed +every month. At Birmingham, except in special cases, the parent has to +attend the meeting of the Committee; if he fails to appear, after being +given a second chance, the child, who has meanwhile been temporarily +receiving the meals, is removed from the feeding list.[214] + +Footnote 210: + + Report of West Ham Education Committee for the year ending March 31, + 1910, p. 51. This is the procedure now in force. + +Footnote 211: + + See post, p. 110. + +Footnote 212: + + We were informed by the head teacher of an infants' department that + she did not insist on a note being sent more than two or three times a + week. + +Footnote 213: + + Report of Erith Education Committee for the three years ending March + 31, 1911. + +Footnote 214: + + _The Public Feeding of Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. + Winder, 1913, p. 27. + +The primary selection of the children having been made, by whatever +method, enquiry is then made into the home circumstances of the family. +The object of this enquiry is or should be twofold: to ascertain the +resources of the family, so as to determine whether the parents are able +to provide adequate food for the child or not, and to find out whether +help is needed in any other direction, and by friendly advice to improve +the conditions of the home. We shall discuss later the great advantages +to be obtained from the employment of voluntary workers for the purpose +of these friendly home visits, as distinct from the duty of making +enquiries.[215] Here it is sufficient to note that very few Education +Authorities have made use of their services at all.[216] The most +notable example is, of course, furnished by the London Care Committees. +A somewhat similar system has been adopted at Bournemouth. Here, as we +have seen, the schools have been divided into four groups, and a Care +Committee appointed for each. The members investigate the circumstances +of children who are alleged to be in want of food and report to their +Committee, which thereupon decides whether or not the children shall +receive free meals. At Liverpool a tentative effort has been made in the +same direction. Care Committees, managed by the different settlements, +have for some years been attached to some half-dozen schools, but their +position is rather indefinite. The enquiries are made by the School +Attendance Officers, but the Education Committee asks the Care Committee +for reports on special cases. At one school the Care Committee appears +to visit all the cases. A wider scheme for the establishment of a system +of Care Committees is at the present time (1913) under consideration. At +Brighton also, where Care Committees have been appointed, mainly for the +purpose of finding employment and generally supervising the children +when they leave school, a Care visitor is sometimes asked to supplement +the enquiries of the School Attendance Officers in doubtful cases where +further investigation is needed. At Leicester the enquiries are made by +a paid investigator appointed by the Children's Aid Association, +subsequent friendly visits being paid by voluntary workers.[217] In most +towns, however, the work of enquiry is undertaken solely by the School +Attendance Officers.[218] + +Footnote 215: + + See post, pp. 145 _et seq._ + +Footnote 216: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1910, pp. 107-8; ditto for 1911, pp. 104-5. In several of the few + towns where Care Committees have been appointed, they take no part in + the work of feeding the children, their functions being confined to + the "following up" of medical cases and perhaps the finding of + employment for the children when they leave school. + +Footnote 217: + + At Southend-on-Sea enquiry is made by the Civic Guild into many of the + cases. (Report of the School Medical Officer for Southend-on-Sea for + 1911, p. 54.) At Bradford the Canteen Committee communicates to the + Guild of Help the names of all the new cases which are put on the + feeding list. The members of the Guild thereupon visit any cases in + which other help besides the meals is needed. + +Footnote 218: + + As at Birkenhead, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Salford, Sheffield, + Stoke, etc. At Birkenhead an attendance officer has been specially + appointed for this purpose. At Bradford a special constable has been + told off to make enquiries in difficult cases. + +The thoroughness of the investigation varies considerably in different +towns. The parent's statements as to the amount of wages earned are in +some cases checked by enquiries from the employers. At Birmingham the +wages are always thus verified where the worker is employed by one firm +regularly. At Bradford the wages are verified except when the applicants +are working on their own account, for instance hawking, when it is +clearly impossible. Generally enquiry is made from the employer as to +the wages of the head of the house only, but at Leeds and at Leicester +the wages of all earning members of the family are verified. At +Leicester in doubtful cases enquiries may be made from the employer as +often as once a week. In other towns, as at Stoke and York, where the +current rates of wages are well known, wages are only verified when +there is any doubt as to the parent's statement. At Bootle little +attempt is made to verify the information given by the parents. Here the +enquiries are made--so far as they can be said to be made at all--by the +teachers. The help of the Attendance Officer can be asked in difficult +cases, but this appears to be seldom done. The teachers naturally have +no time to visit the homes, and the enquiry generally resolves itself +into a form being given to the child for its parent to fill up. The +parents are asked to state the rent, the number in the family and the +total weekly income, taking the average for four weeks. When one +considers the difficulty normally experienced in filling up forms +correctly, one can readily imagine that the information thus obtained is +practically valueless. Where the answers are unintelligible--an +occurrence by no means rare to judge from the few specimens of case +papers which we have seen--the information may be supplemented by +questioning the children. + +Often urgency tickets can be issued by the teachers, pending enquiries, +as at Bradford, Birmingham, Bootle and Liverpool. At Birkenhead the +teacher can only report the need for meals, but the enquiries only take +two or three days. At Leeds we were told that a week or ten days +generally elapses between the time of application and the child's being +placed on the list, with the result that in some cases the most urgent +need is passed. It is true that the head teachers can secure a child's +being placed immediately on the list by writing specially to the +Education Office, but to do this every time would involve a considerable +expenditure on postage, which is not refunded. + +When investigation has been made into the home circumstances, the +decision as to whether or no the child shall be fed is made generally by +the Canteen Committee or by a small sub-committee of this Committee, or +perhaps by the Chairman.[219] Sometimes the responsibility rests with +the Secretary of the Education Committee or some other official, as at +Acton and Leeds. At Bournemouth the cases are decided by the District +Care Committees, which are composed of voluntary workers and teachers. +At Bootle the decision appears to rest entirely in the teachers' hands. + +Footnote 219: + + Thus, at Birkenhead, where the Canteen Committee meets very seldom, + the cases are decided by the Chairman. + +The decision is based on a consideration of the family income. Many +authorities have adopted a scale. At Birmingham meals are granted if the +income per head, after rent is deducted, does not exceed 2s. 9d. in +winter or 2s. 6d. in summer.[220] In Bootle the income limit, in summer +and winter alike, is 3s. 6d. for an adult and 2s. 6d. for each child +under 14.[221] When we consider, however, the slipshod method of enquiry +pursued at Bootle, we cannot attach much importance to the existence on +paper of this scale. At Bradford dinners are given if the income does +not exceed 3s. per head; if the income is less than 2s., breakfasts also +are given. This scale is taken only as a rough criterion of the needs of +the family. Special circumstances are taken into account, such as the +size of the family, sickness, old debts, etc. And where the +circumstances of the family are slightly above the point at which free +meals may be given, the parents are often allowed to receive them on +paying 1/2d. or 1d. towards the cost. At Leeds, on the other hand, the +scale, which is a low one (2s. in winter and 1s. 6d. in summer) is, we +are informed, rigidly observed. No regard is paid to the circumstances +of the family. As a rule, directly the family income rises above the +limit, the child's dinners are stopped, no matter how much debt has to +be paid off. A delicate child who needed feeding or an underfed +neglected child would not be fed if the income was above the limit. At +Liverpool the scale is 2s. per head; at Stoke it is 2s. 6d.; at Brighton +it is 3s. per adult, two children being reckoned as one adult. In all +these towns the limit is not a hard and fast one, regard being paid to +any special circumstances. At Manchester a sliding scale has been +adopted. If there are five or more in the family the limit is 2s. 6d. +per head, if there are only three or four 2s. 9d. is allowed, while if +there are only one or two 3s. is allowed.[222] At Salford the limit is +10s. per week for two persons, and 2s. extra for each additional member +of the family, rent not being deducted. In other towns, as at +Birkenhead, Bournemouth, Leicester and West Ham, there is no fixed +scale, each case being decided on its merits. + +Footnote 220: + + _The Public Feeding of Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. + Winder, 1913, p. 26. + +Footnote 221: + + Report of Bootle School Canteen Committee, 1911-12, p. 3. + +Footnote 222: + + Report of the Manchester Education Committee, 1910-11, p. 221. + +As a rule the cases are revised about once a month. Sometimes chronic +cases will be continued for two or three months at a time, as at +Liverpool. At York the cases are revised only twice a year. At the +beginning of the winter the head teachers send in lists of children whom +they consider to be necessitous. These children (if the Cases Selection +Sub-Committee decide to feed them) remain on the feeding list till the +following April, when the head teachers are asked to send in a list of +children who they consider need not receive meals during the summer. The +Attendance Officers visit again and the cases are revised by the +Committee. This method is said to be satisfactory as, though officially +the cases are revised so seldom, practically the circumstances are +known, since the Attendance Officers regularly visit the homes in the +course of their ordinary work and the Chairman of the Canteen Committee +knows many of the children intimately. At Bootle, where, as we have +seen, the decision as to which children shall be fed is practically in +the hands of the teachers, there seems to be no system of revising the +cases, and the tendency is for a child who is once put on the feeding +list to remain on it till the meals are discontinued in the summer, +unless the parents voluntarily withdraw the child on an improvement in +the home circumstances. + +Without discussing here the question whether it is possible to devise +any system of selection which can be satisfactory, we may note some of +the disadvantages of the methods at present in use. In the first place, +since the selection is made in the main through the teachers, it +necessarily follows that the numbers fed in any particular school depend +very largely on the attitude taken by the head teachers. As a general +rule the teachers are keenly interested in the physical welfare of their +children, and anxious to do everything in their power which may promote +it; but some teachers are opposed to the provision of meals, feeling +that too much is done for the children; others, again, consider their +schools "superior," and do not like their children to go to free meals. +Constantly one finds an astonishing disproportion between the numbers +fed at two adjacent schools, drawing their children from the same +locality. It is true that the character of two schools, within a stone's +throw of each other, may vary in a curious way, one attracting a more +prosperous class of children--perhaps because of the personality of the +teacher, better buildings, or some other cause--but this would not +account for all the difference. At Bootle, for instance, it was +reported, "there is apparently an absence of uniformity in assessing the +needs of the children; for in the six schools of the poorest +neighbourhoods it is found that of the number on the rolls the +percentage of scheduled children varies from 6 per cent. to 34 per +cent., and that in two schools of almost identical character, in one +case 10 per cent. of the children are returned as needing daily +breakfasts, and in the other 34 per cent."[223] Where the teachers are +anxious to place all apparently underfed children on the feeding list, +pressure is not infrequently exercised by the Education Authority to +induce them to keep down the numbers. + +Footnote 223: + + Report of the Bootle School Canteen Committee for 1910-11, p. 22. At + Birkenhead, and probably in other towns, the percentage of children + fed in the Church of England schools is very much higher than in the + Council schools, whilst the Roman Catholic schools feed a larger + number still than the Church schools. This is doubtless due partly to + the character of the buildings, the non-provided schools being + generally very much inferior, and the better-off children being + consequently attracted to the Council schools; partly, of course, also + to the fact that the Roman Catholic population is chiefly Irish and + very poor. + +When an application by the parent is obligatory, there is cause for very +grave doubt whether the provision of meals reaches all for whom it is +intended. Miss Winder has shown that, at Birmingham, out of 22,753 +children for whom applications were received during the three years +1909-11, 4,700 were not fed because the parent failed to appear before +the Committee. She investigated the circumstances of twenty-eight of +these families and came to the conclusion that, "although the small +number of families investigated cannot justify an absolutely positive +assertion, I think it may fairly be concluded that, on the whole, they +are representative of most of the families whose applications are not +granted, and that the home circumstances of these families are much the +same as those of the families whose applications have been +granted."[224] This is the impression gained from enquiries at other +towns. At West Ham it is clear that there are children who need the +meals, but do not get them because their parents will not apply. The +number of "missed" cases does not appear to be large, for the Act is +administered in a sympathetic spirit, the Superintendent of Visitors +impressing on the Attendance Officers that they should bring to his +notice any case where the children appear to be suffering from lack of +food. But there are cases where the parents, though they will take the +urgency tickets for three meals which the teachers can give them, will +take no further action. At one school the headmaster pointed out two +boys who looked obviously in need of food and attention generally, but +whose father, though out of work, would not apply. In another case he +had used his discretion and kept two boys on the list for a month in +spite of their parents' failure to renew their application, but he felt +obliged at last to take them off though he considered that they still +needed the meals. In such cases the Attendance Officers are supposed to +visit the homes to find out the cause of the children's underfed +condition, and to urge the parents, if necessary, to make application +for school meals, but this course does not seem to be by any means +always pursued. + +Footnote 224: + + _The Public Feeding of Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. + Winder, 1913, pp. 27, 29, 59, 62. + +At Leicester again, nothing appears to be done in those cases where the +child needs food but the parent refuses to apply. And such cases appear +to be frequent. We were told by the vicar of a very poor parish that +numbers of the parents would not make the necessary application. This +evidence seems to be borne out by a comparison of the numbers of cases +helped by the Distress Committee and the Canteen Committee. In 1910, for +instance, it was found that on September 30, 607 married men and +widowers, having 1,145 children wholly, and 214 partly, dependent upon +them, were registered at the Labour Bureau as unemployed.[225] These +numbers were, of course, not a complete index of the unemployment in the +town. But, turning to the report of the Canteen Committee, we find that +on the same date only 105 children were being helped.[226] The great +discrepancy between these figures seems to point to the fact that the +Canteen Committee had not discovered all the cases of children who were +suffering from want of food. + +Footnote 225: + + _Leicester Pioneer_, October 29, 1910. + +Footnote 226: + + Quarterly Report of the Leicester Children's Aid Association, July 1 + to September 30, 1910. + +The failure of the parents to apply may in some cases be due to laziness +and disregard for their children's welfare. Or it may be that they are +too sensitive to ask for help. Or again it may be difficult or +impossible for them to attend at the time named. The hour is usually +fixed so as to be that most convenient for the parents, but it is +impossible, of course, to fix a time which will suit all. At Birmingham +cases have even occurred "where the father has been obliged to pay tram +fares in order to arrive in time to prove his inability to feed his +children"![227] + +Footnote 227: + + _The Public Feeding of Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. + Winder, 1913, p. 29. + +But even if the parent is not obliged to appear in person, but may send +an application by note or verbal message to the teacher, there are still +"missed" cases. It is notorious that many parents are too proud to let +their need be known; in such cases, as teachers have frequently told us, +it may be a considerable time before it is discovered that the child is +suffering from want of food; and when the discovery is made there is +frequently difficulty in inducing the parents to send the child, or in +inducing the child itself to go, to the school meals. There still seems +to exist, in certain districts at any rate, an idea that the provision +of meals is Poor Law Relief, and parents consequently shrink from +applying. Moreover, it is not generally recognised that the provision of +school meals is by no means universally known to the parents. The School +Medical Officer for Leicester reports that "in certain cases it was a +matter for regret that the families had not received help earlier by +personally applying for assistance. Ignorance of the existence of the +Canteen Committee was given as the reason for non-application."[228] And +we have ourselves been told in other towns of cases where the children +were suffering from want of food, but were not receiving school meals +because the parents were unaware that they could be obtained. + +Footnote 228: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Leicester for 1912, p. 36. + +The enquiries into the home circumstances undoubtedly exercise a +deterrent influence--to what extent depends on the manner of the +particular individual who makes the enquiries--both with the more +independent parent who resents the investigator's visit, and with the +criminal and semi-criminal parent whose record does not bear close +investigation. Thus the headmaster of a school in one of the worst +districts of Liverpool told us that numbers of the boys were in need of +food but the parents would not submit to the necessary enquiries and +consequently meals were not granted. At Leicester, the searching +enquiries made by the Canteen Committee, which, it must be remembered, +is practically a department of the Charity Organisation Society, coupled +with the insistence on an application by the parent in person, result, +as we have seen, in numbers of underfed children remaining underfed. + +Where the Education Authority has adopted a scale of income on which to +base the decision as to which children shall be fed, this scale is +frequently below, and in some cases very considerably below, the minimum +amount which has been shown to be necessary for expenditure on +food.[229] Where the scale is rigidly adhered to, two classes of +children are excluded altogether, those who are underfed through the +neglect of their parents to provide for them though able to do so, and +those cases where the family income may be sufficient to meet normal +calls but where, owing to illness or the delicacy of the children or +other special circumstances, extra nourishment is required. + +Footnote 229: + + See note on page 205, _infra_. + +To sum up, we find as between town and town, and even as between school +and school in the same town, a great want of uniformity in selecting the +children to be fed. Where the Education Authority has determined that +all its underfed children shall be provided for, the child's need being +the paramount consideration, undiscovered cases of underfeeding are +reduced to a minimum. Where, on the contrary, enquiries are carried out +in a deterrent manner, or the parent is made to apply in person for the +meals, or the selection is based on a rigid application of a scale, +there is reason to fear that considerable numbers of children are, and +remain, "unable by reason of lack of food to take full advantage of the +education provided for them." + + + (d)--The Preparation and Service of the Meals. + + + (i) The Time of the Meal. + + +There are considerable differences of opinion as to what kind of meal +should be given. Many Local Authorities prefer breakfast. It is argued +that when no breakfast is forthcoming at home the interval between the +meal the previous evening and the midday dinner is too long, and that it +is cruel to expect the child to attend morning school, when the heaviest +work of the day is done, without a meal, especially in the cold winter +months. By midday the parents, especially in districts where there is +much casual labour, may have earned enough to provide some sort of a +meal. But the arguments in favour of breakfast--as the sole meal +provided--are largely based not so much on the child's physical needs as +on the moral effect produced both on the child and the parent. The +provision of breakfast furnishes a test of need. The meal is not so +popular as dinner, and will only attract those who are really +hungry.[230] Co-operation on the part of the mother is demanded, since +she must get up early to see the children are dressed in time. Moreover, +the provision of breakfast does not act as an inducement to the mother +to go out to work, as it is feared the provision of dinner may. + +Footnote 230: + + Thus it was found at a school in Bethnal Green that, "in spite of the + supervision of a most efficient Care Committee," the change from a + porridge breakfast to a meat pie dinner doubled the number of children + attending. ("The Feeding of Necessitous Children. A Symposium. I., + Experience in S. W. Bethnal Green," by A. W. Chute, in _Oxford House + Magazine_, January, 1909, p. 37.) + +The arguments seem to us overwhelmingly in favour of dinner. The +provision of a midday meal may possibly encourage mothers to go out to +work, though it is exceedingly difficult to trace such a result to any +great extent. But on the other hand there are numbers of cases already +where the mothers are forced, by stress of circumstances, to be the +breadwinners and are obliged to leave home all day, or, if they come +home for the dinner hour, have no time to prepare a proper meal. The +children will either get a piece of bread, or will be given coppers to +buy their own dinner; in either case the meal will be equally +unsatisfactory. Possibly the children will go dinnerless altogether, and +the afternoon's lessons will then be a serious tax on their brains. The +attendance at breakfasts is always less than at dinner.[231] The +breakfast acts, that is to say, as a successful "test." But this means +that many children, either because their mothers are too lazy to get +them dressed early, or because they are too lazy themselves, miss the +meals, _though they are admittedly in need of them_. + +Footnote 231: + + At West Ham, for instance, where all the children on the feeding list + receive both breakfast and dinner, the number of breakfasts given + during the year 1911-12 was 247,233, and the number of dinners + 273,894; the attendance at breakfast was thus only ninety per cent. of + the attendance at dinner. (Report of the West Ham Education Committee + for the year ended March 31, 1912, pp. 175-77.) + +We do not wish to under-estimate the importance of the moral aspect of +the question. It is essential that co-operation on the part of the +mother should be demanded. But the child's need must be the first +consideration. The laziness of the children, be it noted, is frequently +not entirely their own fault; the drowsiness in the morning may be due +to the fact that they have slept all night in a crowded room and stuffy +atmosphere. Till the deep-rooted objection to open windows at night can +be overcome, this will continue to be the case. For this reason too, the +children will often have little appetite for breakfast. + +Physiologically, again, dinner appears to be the better meal since it +contains a greater quantity of the elements which are lacking in the +ordinary home dietary of the child. Thus in the feeding experiment at +Bradford in 1907,[232] the porridge breakfast, the most satisfactory +kind of breakfast that can be supplied from the food value point of +view, contained a proteid value of 19 grammes, and a fat value of 20 +grammes. The dinners contained, on an average, 29 grammes of proteid and +18 grammes of fat. Thus the combined proteid and fat value of the +breakfasts and dinners was respectively 39 and 47 grammes.[233] +Moreover, the gain in point of cheapness to be derived from provision on +a large scale is much greater relatively in the case of dinners than in +the case of breakfasts. + +Footnote 232: + + See post, pp. 184-6. + +Footnote 233: + + Bradford Education Committee, Report on a Course of Meals given to + Necessitous Children from April to July, 1907, p. 7. + +About 27 per cent. of the Local Authorities give breakfasts only, and +about 45 per cent. dinners only, the remainder giving both meals.[234] +In the last-named case, dinners may be given in some schools and +breakfasts in others, as at Southampton and York. At Bradford dinner is +given to all the children on the feeding list, the most necessitous +receiving breakfast as well.[235] At West Ham all the children receive +both meals. At Bootle, where till a few years ago only breakfasts were +given, it was found that this provision was inadequate to meet the needs +of many necessitous children.[236] The expense and the practical +difficulties in the way of providing a proper dinner led the Education +Committee to adopt a simpler method, namely, that of increasing the +quantity of food supplied for breakfasts, any overplus being given at +midday at the discretion of the teachers as an extra meal to children +who would otherwise go dinnerless.[237] + +Footnote 234: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, pp. 322-324. + +Footnote 235: + + Roughly about half the children fed receive both meals (Bradford + Education Committee, Return as to the Working of the Education + (Provision of Meals) Act, for the year ended March 31, 1913.) + +Footnote 236: + + Enquiries made by the head teachers showed that in the aggregate 295 + children received no mid-day meal or an insufficient meal. Since, + presumably, these enquiries were made by the method of questioning the + children, no particular value can be attached to the actual figures; + the school attendance officers enquired into fifty-four of the cases + taken at random and found that all but two showed undoubted poverty in + the home. (Report of Bootle School Canteen Committee, 1910-11, pp. + 10-11.) + +Footnote 237: + + _Ibid._, p. 11. This is the plan still pursued (see post, pp. 86-87). + + + (ii) The Dietary. + + +Taking into consideration the fact that with a large number of +elementary school children bread and tea form the chief elements in the +home diet, it is of the greatest importance that the school meal should +be planned so as to contain a good proportion of the ingredients which +are lacking at home. + +Whatever views may be held as to the amount of proteid food that is +necessary for adults, it is not disputed that in the case of children +the more expensive forms are necessary because the growth of the body +depends entirely upon the proteids. "It is impossible," declares the +School Medical Officer of the London County Council, "to cut down +proteids to the same extent in children as in adults without serious +results.... To set out, therefore, to relieve underfeeding by a single +meal a day, it is necessary to concentrate attention upon proteids and +fats ... and, therefore, a dinner for necessitous children must be +necessarily more costly than for those properly fed in institutions or +in their own homes. The want of clothing, which often accompanies +underfeeding, also necessitates more expensive feeding in relief, the +loss of bodily heat to be made up being greater than in the case of the +child in an industrial school or workhouse, who is warmly clad, and who, +moreover, spends much time in a properly heated playroom or +dormitory."[238] + +Footnote 238: + + London County Council, Report of the Medical Officer (Education) to + Sub-Committee on Underfed Children, 1909. See also "School Feeding," + by Dr. John Lambert, in _Medical Examination of Schools and Scholars_, + edited by T. N. Kelynack, M.D., 1910, pp. 240-242. + +Few Local Authorities have so planned their dietary as to contain this +excess of proteid and fat over starchy food. "Judged by this standard," +declared Dr. Kerr in 1908, and the same statement holds good to-day, +"most diets supplied by public funds are probably wanting in value for +the children, however useful they might be as a single meal for a normal +individual."[239] + +Footnote 239: + + Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council, + submitting report of the Medical Officer (Education) for the + twenty-one months ending December 31, 1908, p. 17. + +It would naturally be expected that the School Medical Officer would be +consulted about the dietary as a matter of course,[240] but this is by +no means invariably the case. At Birkenhead, for instance, the School +Medical Officer has no voice in the planning of the menu. At +Stoke-on-Trent the School Medical Officer reports in 1911 that, "with +the exception of the Fenton district, the medical staff does not appear +to have even been consulted on the matter of dietary."[241] + +Footnote 240: + + "The determination of the dietary of the children generally, and of + individual children whose health or age renders it desirable that + special arrangements should be made in their case" is, as the Chief + Medical Officer of the Board of Education points out, a matter "on + which the School Medical Officer is particularly competent to form an + opinion, and on which, therefore, his opinion should be sought by the + Authority." (Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of + Education for 1911, p. 275.) + +Footnote 241: + + Annual Report of the School Medical Officer for Stoke-on-Trent for + 1911, p. 56. + +Where the meals are given at restaurants, the dietary is almost +invariably unsatisfactory, adequate inspection being impossible.[242] + +Footnote 242: + + See the descriptions of Stoke and Liverpool, post, pp. 89, 90-91. + +The most elaborate dietary is probably that adopted by the Bradford +Education Committee. In 1907, after the Education Committee had adopted +the Provision of Meals Act, but before arrangements had been made to +feed the children out of the rates, an experiment was made in feeding +forty children for fourteen weeks. The dietary was carefully planned so +that, while containing the requisite amount of proteid and fat, it +should not be beyond the purse of the ordinary parent in normal +times.[243] This dietary is still in force, a few alterations having +been made which experience showed to be advisable. The menu is varied, +according to the season, winter, summer, and spring or autumn. The same +meal is not repeated for four weeks.[244] At Portsmouth again, where the +dietary is drawn up by the Medical Officer of Health and the School +Medical Officer, a different meal is given every day for three +weeks.[245] In most towns, however, the same menu is continued week +after week, with some slight variation in the summer. The same meal is +given on the same day in the week so that the children learn to know +what meal to expect, and in consequence the attendance is often +considerably smaller on days when the dish is unpopular. Sometimes the +food will vary very little even from day to day. Though served under +various names, soup, stew or hash, it is really almost precisely the +same. Some authorities supply only one course, others two. In some towns +a child is allowed to have as much as it wants, in reason; in other +towns only one helping is allowed as a rule, though, if there happens to +be any food over, this may be distributed among the children.[246] + +Footnote 243: + + See Bradford Education Committee, Report on a Course of Meals given to + Necessitous Children from April to July, 1907, p. 7. + +Footnote 244: + + For Bradford and some other typical menus see Appendix I.] + +Footnote 245: + + "The Importance of a Well-Advised and Comprehensive Scheme in the + Selection of Children ... under the Education (Provision of Meals) + Act," by Victor J. Blake, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. + E. Hecht, 1913, p. 24. + +Footnote 246: + + At one centre that we visited, the second helping consisted only of + what was left by some of the children on their plates! Those who + wanted more were asked to hold up their hands, and the food was then + handed to them, the recipients being apparently selected at random, + since there was not enough for all. + +Occasionally special provision is made for the infants. Thus, at York, +milk and bread is given in the middle of the morning to infants who are +on the feeding list, it having been found that they could not digest the +ordinary dinners. But as a rule, though in well managed centres the +infants are placed together at special tables, so that they can be +better supervised and taught how to eat, there is no separate dietary +for them. + +Where only breakfasts are provided there is, of course, less room for +variation. Generally cocoa or coffee is given, with bread and butter, +margarine, dripping, jam or syrup. At Bootle pea soup is given one day a +week. In several towns porridge is provided, either alternately with the +cocoa or coffee breakfast, or every day. At Sheffield, where a cocoa +breakfast used to be given, porridge was substituted at one school as an +experiment; it was found that the boys who were fed on porridge +increased in weight at double the rate of the boys who received only the +cocoa breakfast; as a result porridge breakfasts were substituted in all +the schools.[247] + +Footnote 247: + + Report of Chief School Medical Officer for Sheffield, for the year + 1910, pp. 26, 27. See post, p. 190. + + + (iii) Preparation and Distribution of the Meals. + + +In a few cases the Local Education Authority has equipped a kitchen for +the preparation of the food, and makes arrangements for distributing it +to the various centres. At Bradford all the meals, with the exception of +those for schools in outlying districts where arrangements are made with +local caterers, are cooked at a central kitchen and distributed in +special heat-retaining boxes to the different dining centres by motor +vans. Manchester, Birkenhead and other towns also have their own central +kitchen. Sometimes, as at West Ham, a kitchen is attached to each of the +centres; or occasionally a cookery centre is utilised for the +preparation of the meals. Sometimes, as at Leeds and Portsmouth,[248] +the Local Education Authority provides the kitchen and a caterer +prepares the food. Frequently, however, all the arrangements for the +preparation and the distribution of the meals are in the hands of +caterers. + +Footnote 248: + + "The Importance of a Well-Advised and Comprehensive Scheme in the + Selection of Children ... under the Education (Provision of Meals) + Act," by Victor J. Blake, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. + E. Hecht, 1913, p. 25. + + + (iv) The Service of the Meals. + + +From the first great stress was laid by the Board of Education upon the +educational aspect of the meals. "The methods employed in the provision +of meals should be not merely such as will secure an improvement in the +physical condition of the children, but such as will have a directly +educational effect upon them in respect of manners and conduct."[249] +"The school dinner may ... be made to serve as a valuable object-lesson +and used to reinforce the practical instruction in hygiene, cookery and +domestic economy."[250] + +Footnote 249: + + Board of Education, Code of Regulations for Public Elementary Schools + in England, 1908, p. ii. + +Footnote 250: + + Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act up to + March 31, 1909, prefatory note by L. A. Selby-Bigge, p. 6. + +In many cases this advice was totally disregarded. The second report on +the working of the Act contains many examples of the utter lack of +discipline prevailing in some centres. In one case "no attempt to teach +orderly eating was made; there was a certain amount of actual disorderly +conduct, throwing bits of food at each other and so forth." In another +case where the meals were served in a small outhouse in the playground, +the "table was a low locker.... On this a newspaper was spread, and +there was hardly room for more than six children to sit round it. Other +children sat on low benches where they could, holding their bowls on +their knees ... about fifty partake of the dinner, but there is not room +for more than twelve at a time, and then it is a scramble.... The food +(Irish stew and bread) was good but everything else was as bad as could +be." At another centre, we read, "the dinner is eaten in a perfect +pandemonium of noise. Nine charwomen of a rather low type attend to +about 470 children."[251] + +Footnote 251: + + Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act for + the year ended March 31, 1910, pp. 8, 9. + +It is encouraging to note that there has since been, generally speaking, +an improvement in the service of the meals. But "there are still areas +in which the educational possibilities of the meals have not been +realised, or, if realised, have not received the attention which they +deserve"[252]--a statement which we can amply corroborate. + +Footnote 252: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, pp. 278, 279. + +The different methods in vogue may be classified roughly under four +heads, according to the place in which the meal is served, _i.e._ (_a_) +in the school, (_b_) in eating-houses, (_c_) in "centres," or (_d_) in +the home. + +(_a_) The ideal place for the meal is the school when a room is +specially set apart as a dining-room. The meal should be attended only +by the children from that particular school and should be served under +proper supervision. The tables should be nicely laid, regard being paid +to the æsthetic side of the meal, and table manners should be taught. +The children should themselves lay the tables and wait on one another. +We have found these ideal arrangements in some of the Special Schools +for Defective Children and in Open Air Schools,[253] but it is very rare +to find such provision made for the "necessitous" children in the +ordinary elementary schools. Many authorities, indeed, adopt the plan of +serving the meals in the schools, but too frequently class-rooms are +utilised. The objections to this course are obvious. Adequate +ventilation after a meal is often impossible, and the smell of food +pervades the atmosphere. It is frequently necessary to hurry over the +meal so that the room may be prepared in time for school. The food is +often served on the desks, an uncomfortable arrangement and one which +renders it very difficult to teach the children to eat nicely. + +Footnote 253: + + We describe two or three of these schools later. (See post, pp. + 121-2.) + +The worst example of this utilisation of the school premises that we +have seen is that of Bootle. Here the arrangements made for supplying +the meals show a deplorable lack of appreciation, on the part of the +Education Authority, of the benefits which may be derived from the +Provision of Meals Act. The breakfasts are served sometimes in +class-rooms, sometimes in the cloak-rooms or the cellars! When we +visited Bootle (in April, 1913) the breakfasts had been stopped for the +summer, but we were shown one or two of these cellars. We were told that +they are made as inviting as possible--the walls are whitewashed, +sawdust is sprinkled on the floors, a table is placed for the children +to sit down to--but when all is done that can be done they remain +entirely unsuitable places for the purpose. The only point that is urged +in their favour is that the children enjoy the warmth from the heating +apparatus. In the cloak-rooms there is not always room for a table, and +the children sometimes have to sit along the walls, holding their mugs +of cocoa or their basins of soup on their knees. When the class-rooms +are utilised the food has to be placed on the desks; nothing in the +nature of table-cloths is provided, and the state of the desks after the +children, the infants especially, have eaten soup or bread and syrup, +can be well imagined. Often the breakfasts arrive late, and the children +have consequently to be hurried over the meal so that the class-rooms +may be got ready for school.[254] It must not be assumed that nothing in +the way of table manners is attempted; clean hands, for instance, can be +insisted on (though even this is difficult in some schools where there +is an insufficient supply of water), and at one school we were told that +the infants had learnt to eat without spilling their food; but it is +obvious that very little can be done. The method of serving the midday +meal is even less "educational." We have seen that the Education +Committee refused to make arrangements for the provision of a suitable +dinner, and decided instead that the teachers should distribute at +midday to the most necessitous children any surplus left over from +breakfast. The dinner thus consists usually of merely a piece of bread, +with perhaps some cocoa, if any remains from the morning meal. The bread +is given to the children to take away, and they eat it on their way +home. What renders the failure of the Education Authority to pay any +regard to the educational aspect of the meal more disastrous is that it +is the teachers who supervise the meals. Many of them bitterly resent +the way in which the meals are served; as one pointed out to us, the +girls are taught in the school how to set a table, but the practical +example which the teachers are forced to show will have much more weight +than any theoretical teaching. A year ago the head teachers presented a +memorial to the Education Committee, urging that the schools should no +longer be used. As "a temporary expedient," runs the communication, they +"have loyally endeavoured to work this imperfect system, but they now +feel that the time has arrived for the adoption of a scheme on a more +satisfactory and permanent basis.... The serving of meals in +cloak-rooms, cellars or basements, and other unsuitable places, calls +for immediate remedy. In some cases the children receive their meals +whilst sitting upon the floor; in all, the bread is of necessity placed +upon the dirty desks. In others, there is no adequate supply of hot +water and towels for use in cleansing the utensils. Under such +conditions there can be no training in habits of decency or +cleanliness.... When the meals are served in class-rooms, the desks and +floors are rendered unfit for immediate school use, and a smell of food +permeates the atmosphere. To combat this state of affairs as far as +possible, the teachers have, in many cases, to wash the desks and brush +the floors. In other cases, the children are hurried over their meals in +order that the necessary preparations for lessons may be made."[255] To +this the Education Committee replied that, while they agreed "that an +ideal system of feeding the children would be by properly equipped +centres quite apart from the school premises, the cost of such would be +prohibitory, and that quite possibly the pressing of such a change would +jeopardise the continuance of the exercise of the powers given by the +Provision of Meals Act, now so beneficially and economically +administered." The committee hoped "that the teachers will recognise the +Authority's financial difficulties in the way of the introduction of a +more desirable system, and, pending the arrival of the long-expected +parliamentary aid for this and other ameliorative work devolving upon +local education authorities, will continue their valuable co-operation +in meeting the needs of their hungry scholars by the existing practical +if not perfect system."[256] The teachers had apparently been +considering the advisability of withdrawing their services altogether, +but this threat of a possible cessation of the meals induced them to +continue their assistance. + +Footnote 254: + + At Birmingham we note the same defect. "The children are quiet and + well-behaved; but all the time is taken in serving the food, and there + is no opportunity to teach individual children to eat slowly. The + tendency, especially with the cocoa breakfast, is to gulp down the + drink, eat part of the bread and jam, and carry the rest away." (_The + Public Feeding of Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. Winder, + 1913, p. 42.) + +Footnote 255: + + Report of Bootle School Canteen Committee, 1911-12, p. 10. + +Footnote 256: + + _Ibid._, p. 11. + +(_b_) A second method is the service of the meals at local restaurants. +This plan is strongly discouraged by the Chief Medical Officer of the +Board of Education, since it is impossible to secure adequate +supervision of the meals or proper control of the dietary; "the meals +are consequently of little, if any, value from an educational or even +nutritional point of view."[257] Any authority adopting this system is, +in fact, animated solely by the desire to get the children fed with the +least possible trouble. + +Footnote 257: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 272. + +Unfortunately the plan is still in favour with a considerable number of +local authorities,[258] even in some of the large towns. + +Footnote 258: + + In many towns where meals are usually served at centres, local + restaurants are utilised in outlying districts where the number of + children is too small to allow of a centre being established. + +Thus at Stoke-on-Trent the children for whom free meals are granted are +sent to eating-houses.[259] These houses are often, if not always, small +bakers' shops, not general restaurants. They are usually situated at an +easy distance from the school. The numbers attending each are small, +amounting to not more than twenty or so. At the one we visited[260] the +conditions seemed to be as good as could be expected under the +circumstances; the caterer was a motherly old woman who took an evident +interest in the children, and the food was hot and palatable. The +disadvantages inherent in the system, the impossibility of supervision +and the lack of control over the dietary, are, however, observable here +as elsewhere. Probably in few cases would the children get an +insufficiency of food. The difficulty lies rather in securing good +quality and the proper kind of meal. Thus it was found that one caterer +had substituted, for the regulation fish pie, bread and jam, because the +children preferred it. "I have inspected several of these +[eating-houses]," reports the School Medical Officer, "and although I +found one instance in which the children were treated on exactly the +same lines as the contractor's own children, in fact sat at the same +table, and were regarded quite as members of the family; in most +instances the surroundings, the manner of serving and the dietary left +much to be desired.... I would strongly urge the advisability of getting +the catering in all instances into our own hands. I do not think that +the full benefit of the Act can be secured in any other way; it is +doubtful, as things are, whether the intention of the Act, as a remedy +for malnutrition, can be carried out at all."[261] + +Footnote 259: + + At one school, the children have the meal in the school, the food + being sent in by a caterer, the head-mistress preferring that + arrangement. + +Footnote 260: + + In April, 1913. + +Footnote 261: + + Annual Report of the School Medical Officer for Stoke-on-Trent, 1912, + p. 23. + +At Acton the meals are given at a dingy eating-house which is intended +primarily to serve the needs of the women working at the laundries in +the district.[262] There is only one room, so that the children have to +have their meals with the other customers, and the hour at which the +children come in, between twelve and one, is, of course, the busy hour +for the restaurant. At one time a rota of ladies attended voluntarily to +supervise the meals, but this plan has been given up; the School +Attendance Officers now take it in turn to be present. The children come +and go as they please and there is no attempt to teach table manners. + +Footnote 262: + + This eating-house is situated in the poorest part of Acton, where the + great majority of the children who are on the dinner-list live. In a + few cases, where the children live in other districts, arrangements + are made for them to obtain food at the cookery centres; this food + they take home with them. This plan, we were told, is only adopted in + cases where the mother can be trusted to see that the dinners are + really eaten by the children for whom they are intended. + +At Liverpool, till quite recently, the same system was in force. The +children received coupons at the school, which they presented at various +cocoa rooms in the city.[263] The objections to this system were many. +The number of cocoa rooms, at which coupons were accepted, was limited, +and in some cases the nearest cocoa room was situated too far from the +school for the children to be sent there.[264] Though some managers +refused to supply unsuitable food, others gave whatever the children +asked for--frequently buns, jam puffs, or iced cakes.[265] Often the +children would take the food home to be shared among the other members +of the family.[266] At some cocoa rooms the children were served in the +general room, and were brought into contact with adult customers "of a +class not choice in language or manners." There was little or no +supervision--only occasional visits by the teachers--and consequently no +attempt "to influence the children in the direction of cleanliness and +orderliness at meals."[267] In spite of these revelations the system was +continued for several years, being only finally given up in August, +1912. The meals are now served in centres. The food is at present +supplied by caterers, but the Education Committee are considering the +advisability of providing their own kitchen. + +Footnote 263: + + Some were sent to the depôts of the Food and Betterment Association. + +Footnote 264: + + Interim Report of the Special Committee appointed to investigate the + Insufficient or Improper Feeding of School Children, Liverpool City + Council Proceedings, 1907-8, Vol. II., pp. 5, 15. + +Footnote 265: + + _Ibid._, pp. 11, 12, 19. + +Footnote 266: + + _Ibid._, pp. 17, 22, 23, 24. In one case where five coupons were given + daily to five members of a family, it was found that the children took + the coupons home every day, and at the end of the week these coupons + were presented and value obtained. (_Ibid._, p. 21.) + +Footnote 267: + + MS. Memorandum on the Feeding of School Children, by the Liverpool + Fabian Society, 1908. + +(_c_) The plan most usually adopted, and the one recommended by the +Board of Education, is the system of serving the meals at centres +attended by children from three or four neighbouring schools. For this +purpose some room belonging to the Corporation may be utilised, perhaps +a room attached to the Police Station, as often at Manchester, or a room +in some disused school; frequently the hall of a club or mission is +hired. The arrangements are often of a makeshift character, the room +being ill-adapted for the purpose and the surroundings dark and dreary. +Moreover, the assembling of large numbers of children from different +schools renders the work of supervision more difficult and detracts +considerably from the educational value of the meal. + +The actual conditions vary widely from town to town, and even from +centre to centre in the same town. The best results are perhaps to be +seen at Bradford,[268] the town in which most attention has been paid to +the subject. Here the teachers supervise the meal, two or three being +present generally, one to apportion the food and the others to supervise +the table manners of the children. They are assisted by boy and girl +monitors. These are selected generally from the elder children on the +dinner list.[269] On arrival, about ten minutes before the meal, each +monitor puts on one of the blue overalls provided for them, sets the +table for which he or she is responsible and hands round the food. The +position of monitor is a much coveted one. The system provides a +valuable training for the children in doing things for themselves, and +in looking after one another. The results are most marked. In every +centre we visited the children were quiet and orderly, and in some cases +the behaviour was excellent. At one centre we were particularly struck +by the table manners of the boys, their consideration for one another, +and the quick and quiet way in which they collected all the plates and +spoons and packed them in the boxes for return to the cooking depot of +their own accord, without any instructions from the teacher in charge. +The results vary, of course, in different centres. For instance, with +regard to clean hands and faces, some teachers are very strict, each +child having to hold up his hands for inspection as he enters the +dining-room. In others only periodical inspection is made, and we +noticed several dirty hands, notably in the case of some of the boys who +were assisting to hand round the food. Infants are placed at separate +tables so that they can receive special attention. Each child is +expected to eat the first course, or at any rate to try to eat it, +before being given the second. When the child does not like the food, it +is given a small helping at first and coaxed to eat it. Over and over +again we were told that at first the children would hardly touch the +food, being accustomed to the home dietary of bread and tea and pickles; +but by the patient endeavours of the teachers this difficulty was +overcome and the children have learnt to appreciate nourishing food. The +importance of the æsthetic side of the meal is fully appreciated. Table +cloths are provided and often flowers. The meal, indeed, "from start to +finish is educational."[270] + +Footnote 268: + + The centres at Bradford, Leeds, West Ham and Birkenhead were all + visited in the spring of 1913 and the descriptions refer to that date. + +Footnote 269: + + In the secondary schools, the poorer children are allowed to act as + monitors, being given in return a 3d. dinner free. + +Footnote 270: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Bradford, 1909, pp. 100-1. At + Nottingham the conditions are very similar to those at Bradford, the + Education Committee having, in fact, modelled their policy on that of + Bradford. + +At Leeds it struck us that the chief aim was merely to feed the +children, the educational side receiving only secondary consideration. +As most of the centres are not large enough to accommodate all the +children at once (at any rate in winter time), two "sittings-down" are +necessary, and the meal is hurried through so as to allow the second +relay to come in as soon as possible. The children begin their meal as +soon as they enter, without waiting till the others have come in so that +all may begin together in an orderly manner. Grace is said halfway +through the meal. As soon as a child has finished the first course (of +which it is allowed to have a second helping, if desired), it is given a +piece of cake or bun which it eats outside in the street. The +supervision is undertaken by the teachers, but only for a day or two at +a time. This constant change of supervisors makes the teaching of table +manners more difficult. One of the regulations runs that "the supervisor +should see that no child is admitted who has not clean hands and +face,"[271] but to judge from the very dirty state of some of the hands +and faces we saw, this rule seems to be ignored, at any rate at some of +the centres. No special provision is made for the infants; they have the +same food and are placed at the same tables with the bigger children; in +some cases the tables are so high that they have to kneel on the forms +in order to reach their food, and the spoons provided are so large that +it is difficult for them to eat without spilling it.[272] The condition +of the rooms after the children have finished their dinner is anything +but desirable, soup being spilled on the table and pieces dropped on the +floor. Especially was this noticeable at one centre where the meal was +served on desks. These desks were covered with dirty and ragged +linoleum, and the whole surroundings were inexpressibly dreary, the +litter of food on the floor at the end of the meal adding to the general +squalor. + +Footnote 271: + + Leeds Education Committee, Rules for the Management of Dining Centres. + +Footnote 272: + + Complaints on both these points had, we were told, been made to the + Education Committee, but, on the score of expense, nothing had been + done. + +At West Ham some attempt is made to render the meal educational.[273] +Monitors and monitresses are appointed from among the elder children to +assist in waiting on the others. Table cloths are provided, and in some +cases flowers are placed on the tables. But here again the meal is +spoilt by the sense of rush. Since at each centre there may be twice or +even perhaps three times as many children as can be accommodated at +once, each child is given its dinner as soon as it comes in, and is +dispatched as soon as it has finished. "Table manners, personal +appearance, good behaviour, and punctuality," are indeed, as the +Superintendent of the Centres remarks, "not overlooked; but in these +respects, the results are not as satisfactory as one could desire. The +unusually large numbers of children attending the centres, and the +limited time in which to serve the meals to enable the children to +return in time for school, make it a difficult task to give the +necessary individual attention."[274] At one time school managers and +members of the Children's Care Committee took it in turn to attend the +different centres and supervise the children, but this plan has been +given up, and the supervision is now done solely by the women who +prepare the meals. + +Footnote 273: + + The meals are served at the schools in some room which is no longer + needed for teaching purposes; in some cases, we believe, in a room + which was specially built as a dining-room. We have included this + example in the third class rather than in the first, since in each + case the school serves as a centre for children from neighbouring + schools. + +Footnote 274: + + Report of the West Ham Education Committee for the year ended March + 31, 1912, p. 52. + +Birkenhead affords a striking example of the varying conditions +prevailing in different centres in the same town. In one case a +dining-room has been specially built at the school, this dining-room +serving as a centre for several other schools. No table cloths are used, +but the tables are of white wood, well scrubbed; plants are sometimes +provided, and the whole surroundings are bright and cheerful. The +children were unfortunately allowed to come in as they liked, but in +other respects the discipline seemed good. Table manners were inculcated +and clean hands insisted on. Food had to be finished at table and might +not be taken away. At another centre the conditions were entirely +different. The meals were served in a corridor at the public baths. Two +long narrow tables were placed against each wall, with forms on one +side; on the other side, owing to the narrowness of the corridor, there +was no room for seats, so that some of the children had to stand. The +children entered and left as they liked, and were allowed to take away +food with them. Little effort was made to teach table manners, indeed it +would have been impossible to do much in this respect owing to the +unsuitable character of the premises. It would perhaps be unfair to +dwell too much on the conditions prevailing in this centre, since the +use of these premises was admittedly a temporary expedient (though we +understood they had been used for some time), but the conditions at a +third centre were not very much better. The hall was large, it is true, +and there was plenty of room for the children, but the surroundings were +very dreary. The tables, which were not covered with tablecloths, were +dark and dingy. Here again the children were allowed to straggle in as +they pleased, some as much as half an hour or forty minutes late. They +left as soon as they had finished, frequently carrying away food with +them unchecked. Little attention was paid to table manners and much of +the food was wasted. + +(_d_) The three methods which we have described all present one feature +in common. The children, whether fed at the schools, at eating-houses or +at centres, all share with their schoolfellows in a common meal. There +remains one other method, the supply of food to the family for +consumption at home. This is the method adopted at Leicester and, so far +as we know, in this town only. As we have already pointed out, no rate +is levied at Leicester, voluntary funds being declared to be sufficient. +These funds are administered by the Children's Aid Association, a body +composed largely of members of the Charity Organisation Society and +imbued with its spirit. The Association proceeds on the theory that the +provision of meals is simply a form of relief; this being so, the relief +should be adequate, and the family as a whole should be dealt with. The +food is accordingly distributed in the homes,[275] sufficient being +supplied for all the family, not only for those attending school, and it +is given every day, including Sundays, throughout the year. Milk being +the chief article absent from the dietary of the poor, the food chosen +is bread and milk. This is delivered by the ordinary baker and milkman +so that the neighbours should not know that the family is receiving +relief (though as a matter of fact the "bread and milk" families appear +to be well known). + +Footnote 275: + + Where the home conditions are extremely bad, provision is made for + children to be fed at eating-houses, but such cases are very rare. At + the time of our visit, in July, 1913, there was not one such case. + +Certain advantages have undoubtedly accrued from this system. The +parents have learnt the value of milk, and the children have been taught +to take it. At first there was often much difficulty in this latter +respect, but by constant visitation the children's prejudice has been +broken down, and they now relish the food.[276] On the other hand, under +this method of distributing the food in the homes the advantages to be +derived from a common meal are totally ignored. No provision is made to +meet the case where the mother goes out to work all day, and where the +provision of a midday meal at school would be of great value. Moreover, +though frequent visits are paid to the homes at breakfast-time to see +that the children are actually getting the food intended for them, it is +impossible to ensure this in all cases. + +Footnote 276: + + Second Quarterly Report of the Children's Aid Association, November, + 1907, to February, 1908, p. 3. + +We have classified the different methods under the above four headings +according to the place where the meal is served, but, as will have been +seen by the examples given, the educational value of the meal is +determined even more by the character of the supervision than by the +nature of the surroundings. + +The supervision is frequently undertaken by the teachers. In 1909, the +Board of Education reports that the "assistance of teachers has been the +rule rather than the exception."[277] This service is always rendered +voluntarily, though occasionally, as at Bradford, the teachers receive +some small remuneration.[278] The amount of service given varies widely +in different towns. At Bradford the same teacher will attend the centre +daily for months. In other towns his or her turn may come quite +infrequently, and may only amount to two or three days' service at a +time.[279] Sometimes School Managers, members of the Canteen Committee +or voluntary workers take it in turn to assist in the supervision, but +their attendance is generally spasmodic. At Portsmouth the centres are +entirely in charge of ladies who give their services voluntarily.[280] +As a rule, however, paid superintendents are appointed, too often women +of the caretaker type. In some towns the School Attendance Officer +attends to collect the tickets and helps to maintain order. + +Footnote 277: + + Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act up to + March 31, 1909, p. 17. + +Footnote 278: + + The head teachers receive 5s. a week for supervising dinners, and 2s. + 6d. for breakfasts; the assistant teachers 4s. and 2s. respectively. + At Derby also the teachers are paid. (Report of the School Medical + Officer for Derby, 1911, p. 61.) This payment is very exceptional. + +Footnote 279: + + At Leeds, for instance, the teacher will perhaps be called on for a + day or two every two months. At Liverpool a teacher is supposed to + attend once a fortnight, but often no teacher at all is present. At + Bootle the turn may be one day a week or a fortnight, or perhaps a + week at a time; here the teachers, we were informed, voluntarily give + their services "under protest," a fact which, when one considers the + conditions under which they are asked to serve the meals, is not + surprising. + +Footnote 280: + + "The Importance of a Well-Advised and Comprehensive Scheme in the + Selection of Children ... under the Education (Provision of Meals) + Act," by Victor J. Blake, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. + E. Hecht, 1913, p. 24. + +The question how far the teachers should be asked to give their services +is a vexed one. On the one hand, where the teacher attends +regularly--and regular attendance is essential if the full benefit from +the meals is to be derived--this extra work involves a great strain. +Especially when the midday interval is only from 12 to 1.30, as in many +provincial towns, the time for rest is seriously curtailed. At Leeds "a +reasonable time is allowed the teachers in charge for their own midday +meal," and they are allowed to arrive late at afternoon school in +consequence of this,[281] but we were told that this permission is not +in practice taken advantage of, as their late arrival would dislocate +the work. Moreover, although the service is supposed to be always +entirely voluntary on the part of the teachers, there is always the +danger that they may feel under a moral obligation to offer their +services. In some cases, the burden seems to fall unduly on a few, only +a small minority offering to assist in the supervision, the others +taking no share. + +Footnote 281: + + Leeds Education Committee, Rules for the Management of Dinner Centres. + At Bradford it is noticeable that it is as a general rule the men + teachers who supervise the meals; women teachers assist, but the + responsibility for the management of the whole centre seems to involve + too great a strain upon them. + +On the other hand, "it is unquestionable that where the teachers are +willing to undertake the work, they are, generally speaking, the most +competent supervisors. The reason for this is not far to seek. The +children, being accustomed to obey the commands of their teachers, are +more ready to behave in an orderly and disciplined manner when under +their supervision than when a stranger is in charge. Moreover, the +teachers' acquaintance with the idiosyncrasies of individual children +enables them to keep an eye on those children who are specially in need +of food or who need persuasion to make them eat the wholesome food +provided."[282] Again, the fact that the teachers are present connects +the meal in the child's mind with the school, and so tends to make it +more a part of the school curriculum, a lesson in table manners. Without +the teacher, Miss McMillan points out, "the whole venture will fail +miserably on the educational side." But it is a mistake to ask the +teachers to serve the food and wait on the children. Their function +should be "to preside and to be the head, and as far as possible the +soul, of the daily gathering,"[283] just as at dinner in a secondary +school. + +Footnote 282: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 280. + +Footnote 283: + + _London's Children: How to Feed Them and How not to Feed Them_, by + Margaret McMillan and A. Cobden-Sanderson, 1909, p. 11. We have met + with this ideal arrangement only at one school--a small "special" + school for feeble-minded children at Bradford (see post, pp. 121-2.). + +To sum up now the main characteristics of the present methods of serving +the meals, it will be seen that, generally speaking, the conditions are +very far from satisfactory. Even where the Local Education Authority +draws up elaborate regulations for the management of the dining-centres, +these regulations are frequently disregarded in practice by the +supervisors. Too often the object is to get the meal over as quickly as +possible, and inadequate attention is paid to the inculcation of table +manners and the little amenities of a civilised meal. To expedite the +service the food is frequently placed on the table before the children +come in, and it is nearly cold before they eat it. Sometimes the second +course is served and placed in front of the child before it has finished +the first course. The food is almost invariably such as can be eaten +with a spoon and fork, and the children are thus not taught the use of a +knife.[284] Sometimes only a spoon is provided and the help of fingers +is almost unavoidable. We have as a rule found the supply of utensils +fairly adequate, though where water is given it is not always the case +for each child to have a separate mug.[285] It is rare to find any +attempt at table decoration, and table-cloths are by no means universal. +It may be objected that table cloths are expensive and, if the tables +are kept thoroughly clean, unnecessary, but to keep the tables well +scrubbed costs as much as to provide table cloths and the necessity of +keeping the cloth clean is a useful lesson to the child. Sometimes the +food, if of the bread and jam nature, is placed on the table without +plates. In very few cases has the system of utilising the services of +the elder children been adopted with any thoroughness, and the valuable +opportunity of training thus offered is lost. + +Footnote 284: + + Knives were used at Bradford for a time, but were given up, as it was + found that the children hurt themselves. Their use demands, of course, + much supervision, but they might be given to the elder children at any + rate. + +Footnote 285: + + At Birmingham "in one school the same mugs [for cocoa] were used twice + over for different children without being washed. The supply of + utensils at several of the schools was too small for the numbers fed." + (_The Public Feeding of Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. + Winder, 1913, p. 43.) + + + (e)--The Provision of Meals during the Holidays. + + +At the time the Act of 1906 was passed, it appears to have been +generally taken for granted that it empowered Local Education +Authorities to provide meals during holidays as well as during school +time.[286] The circular issued by the Board of Education, asking the +Local Authorities for information as to the way in which the Act had +been administered, contained a question as to the number of children who +were fed during the school holidays, thus assuming that the meals would +be continued; nowhere was it pointed out that the cost of the meals so +provided could not be borne by the rates.[287] Moreover, during the next +two or three years, the accounts of several Local Authorities, who +continued the meals during the holidays, were certified by the Local +Government Board Auditors.[288] About 1909, however, the question was +raised whether Local Authorities could legally spend the rates on +providing meals when the children were not actually in school. The Local +Government Board, on being appealed to by the Newcastle-on-Tyne +Education Authority, replied that they could not concur in any +interpretation of the Act which would empower the authority to incur +expenditure when the closing of the schools precluded the children's +attendance.[289] In August, 1909, the cost of feeding children during +the previous Christmas holidays was disallowed by the Auditor in the +accounts of the West Ham Authority. The Local Government Board, on +appeal, confirmed the disallowance, though they remitted the +surcharge.[290] + +Footnote 286: + + See preamble to the Education (Provision of Meals) Act Amendment Bill, + July 20, 1910. "This Bill introduces no new principle, but simply + extends the Act to render permissible the continued operation of the + Act during the holidays, a point which, when the original Act was + passing through Parliament, it was generally thought was covered." + +Footnote 287: + + Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act, up to + March 31, 1909, p. 48. + +Footnote 288: + + _Hansard_, July 12, 1910, 5th Series, Vol. 19, pp. 189-190. In 1910, + out of the twenty-five or so Local Authorities who continued the meals + during the holidays, about one-fifth paid for them out of the rates. + (Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1910, p. 255.) + +Footnote 289: + + _Ibid._, p. 254. + +Footnote 290: + + _Ibid._, pp. 254-5; Report of West Ham Education Committee for the + year ended March 31, 1910, pp. 45-6. + +Since this date, in the great majority of towns where meals are +continued during the holidays,[291] the cost is met by voluntary funds. +Sometimes the Local Education Authority will issue a special appeal for +funds. Or the arrangements may be undertaken by some voluntary society +or by philanthropic individuals. Where no provision is made officially, +the teachers sometimes make arrangements privately for the most +necessitous children to be fed at shops. At Leeds it has become the +custom for the Lord Mayor to provide out of his own purse meals during +the Christmas holidays (the meals being discontinued during the other +holidays); the cost of this provision may amount to as much as £500. + +Footnote 291: + + The first report which was issued on the Working of the Provision of + Meals Act gave the number of authorities who continued the meals + during the school holidays--at that date 3 out of the 7 counties, and + 32 out of the 105 county boroughs, boroughs and urban districts, who + were making some provision under the Act (Report on the Working of the + Education (Provision of Meals) Act, 1906, up to March 31, 1909, pp. + 34-38). No figures are now available. + +In one or two towns the charge has been met year after year out of +public funds. At Bradford, for example, the meals have from the first +been continued during school holidays.[292] The expenditure has been +surcharged regularly by the Local Government Board Auditor, but, as we +have said, it has been met out of a grant voted by the Finance Committee +from the trading profits of the Corporation. The Labour Councillors +maintain that when the Act was passed holiday feeding was considered +legal and the ratepayers generally seem to uphold them in this claim, in +spite of occasional protests.[293] At Nottingham the same plan is +pursued.[294] At Portsmouth a grant is made to the Mayor on the tacit +understanding that he will use it for the provision of meals during the +holidays. At West Ham, after the Local Government Board auditor had, in +1909, disallowed the charge for holiday feeding, the cost was for a year +or two borne by voluntary funds.[295] It became, however, increasingly +difficult to raise the necessary subscriptions, and during 1911 £494 was +charged to the rates, the voluntary subscriptions only amounting to +£74.[296] During the following year recourse was again had to the rates. +The Local Government Board Auditor surcharged the expenditure, but the +Board, on appeal, remitted the surcharge, though confirming the +Auditor's decision.[297] At Acton meals have been supplied regularly on +Saturdays[298] and during the school holidays for the past few years +without any question having been raised. + +Footnote 292: + + Report of Bradford Education Committee for the year ended March 31, + 1908. + +Footnote 293: + + See letter from Bradford Ratepayers Association, in Bradford City + Council Proceedings, August 10, 1909. + +Footnote 294: + + In London, during the Christmas holidays, 1911-12, meals were provided + out of a sum placed at the disposal of the Chairman of the Council by + the General Purposes Committee, from the balance of the account in + connection with the erection and management of the Coronation + Procession stands. (Minutes of the London County Council, February 13, + 1912, p. 2791.) + +Footnote 295: + + Report of the West Ham Education Committee for the year ended March + 31, 1910, p. 46; _Ibid._ for the year ended March 31, 1911, p. 39. + +Footnote 296: + + _Ibid._ for the year ended March 31, 1912, pp. 50-1. + +Footnote 297: + + The _East Ham Echo_, August 22, 1913. + +Footnote 298: + + At Brighton meals were provided on Saturdays by the Local Education + Authority out of the rates till January, 1909, when it was declared to + be _ultra vires_. (Report on the Medical Inspection of School Children + in Brighton for 1908, p. 99.) + +The question of the legality of the provision of meals during the +holidays out of the rates is, indeed, an open one. The London County +Council took counsel's opinion on the point in 1909 and again in 1910, +each time receiving the reply that holiday feeding was illegal,[299] but +the question has never been settled by a case in the courts. On special +occasions the Local Government Board have relaxed their prohibition. +Thus, in 1911, Mr. John Burns stated in Parliament that though the Board +would not sanction in advance any expenditure incurred in providing +meals during the week the schools were closed on account of the +Coronation festivities, they would be prepared to consider each case on +its merits, and decide whether any surcharge that might be made should +be remitted or upheld.[300] And in the spring of 1912, during the +widespread distress caused by the coal strike, the Board sanctioned the +provision of meals during the Easter holidays. + +Footnote 299: + + Minutes of the London County Council, February 2, 1909, p. 121; + Minutes of the Education Committee, November 23, 1910, p. 991. + +Footnote 300: + + _Hansard_, March 27, 1911, 5th Series, Vol. 23, pp. 1074-5. + +On several occasions Bills have been brought in by the Labour party to +legalise the provision of meals during the holidays, the latest being in +April, 1913.[301] So far these efforts have met with no success, though +the Prime Minister declared in 1912 that the Government was favourable +to the principle,[302] but it has now been promised that the forthcoming +Education Bill shall contain a clause enabling Local Authorities to +provide meals on Sundays and during holidays.[303] + +Footnote 301: + + See Education (Administrative Provisions) Bills, April 14, 1910 (No. + 128), February 19, 1912 (No. 18), April 15, 1913 (No. 101), which all + contained a clause for provision of school meals during the holidays; + Education (Provision of Meals) Act Amendment Bills, July 20, 1910 (No. + 265); April 19, 1911 (No. 181); March 13, 1912 (No. 82); April 16, + 1913 (No. 109). + +Footnote 302: + + _Hansard_, March 28, 1912, 5th Series, Vol. 36, p. 598. + +Footnote 303: + + _Hansard_, July 22, 1913, Vol. 55, pp. 1910-11. + +There seems indeed to be a general consensus of opinion in favour of +holiday feeding. The experiments made by Dr. Crowley at Bradford in +1907, and by the Medical Officer of Health at Northampton in 1909, which +we shall describe later,[304] not to mention the testimony offered by +numbers of teachers as to the deterioration of the children physically +during the holidays, prove conclusively the need for the continuation of +the meals, if the children are not to lose much of the benefit which +they have derived during term time. + +Footnote 304: + + See post, pp. 184-7. + +In passing we may note that not only do many Local Authorities--how +many we are unable to ascertain, but the number must be +considerable--discontinue the meals during the holidays, but they stop +them entirely during the summer months.[305] In some towns, where +employment is good during the summer, there may be little need for +school meals, but in large towns, such as Bootle and Salford, which +contain a large population who rely on casual labour, it is obvious +that the cessation of the meals during the summer must cause +considerable hardship. + +Footnote 305: + + This may be through lack of funds, as at East Ham (see ante, p. 56), + but is not always due to this cause. + + + (f)--The Provision for Paying Children and Recovery of the Cost. + + +When the Provision of Meals Act was passed it was assumed that a +considerable proportion of the cost of the meals would be borne by the +parents. It was confidently expected that large numbers of parents would +be willing to avail themselves of the provision of a midday meal at +school for their children and would gladly pay for it.[306] The circular +issued by the Board of Education to the Local Authorities pointed out +that the Act aimed at securing that suitable meals should be available +"just as much for those whose parents are in a position to pay as for +those to whom food must be given free of cost."[307] "There will +generally be no difficulty in providing, where it is so desired, a +school dinner at a fixed price in the middle of the day, attended by +children for whom, by reason of distance from the school or because the +mother's absence makes a home meal difficult, the parent prefers to take +advantage of an arrangement similar to that now in operation in most +secondary day schools."[308] Moreover, little difficulty was anticipated +in extracting payment from those parents who could afford to pay but +neglected to do so. These expectations have not been fulfilled. In the +year 1908-9 the sums received from the parents, either contributed +voluntarily by them or recovered after prosecution or threat of +prosecution, amounted to only £295, or .44 per cent. of the total +receipts.[309] In 1911-12 the amount so received had increased but was +still only 1 per cent.[310] + +Footnote 306: + + See, for instance, _Hansard_, December 6, 1906, 4th Series, Vol. 166, + p. 1283; December 7, 1906, pp. 1340, 1344. See also _ibid._, July 9, + 1903, Vol. 125, p. 196, and April 20, 1904, Vol. 133, p. 788. + +Footnote 307: + + Report on Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act up to + March 31, 1909, p. 41. + +Footnote 308: + + _Ibid._, p. 42. + +Footnote 309: + + _Ibid._, p. 33. + +Footnote 310: + + The amount was £1,570 out of a total of £157,127. (Report of the Chief + Medical Officer of the Board of Education for 1911, p. 332.) + +The smallness of the sums voluntarily contributed by the parents is +largely due to the action of the Local Authorities. In the great +majority of towns in England[311] no serious attempt has been made to +establish "school restaurants"; the Local Education Authority, owing +perhaps to lack of accommodation, perhaps to the difficulty of providing +for a fluctuating number of children (a difficulty felt especially where +the meals are supplied through a caterer), perhaps to the feeling that +the provision of school meals as a matter of convenience would encourage +the mothers to go out to work, has limited the provision to necessitous +children. In 1911-12, out of 118 towns (apart from London) in which +provision was made for underfed children, in only twenty-two were any of +the meals paid for wholly by the parents. The number of children so paid +for was in most cases negligible, the total amounting to only a few +hundreds. And these figures include meals paid for under compulsion +(though without prosecution) as well as meals voluntarily paid for as a +matter of convenience.[312] + +Footnote 311: + + For provision made for paying children in Scottish towns, see Appendix + II., pp. 242, 245, 246. + +Footnote 312: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, pp. 325-7, 331. In eleven other towns the parents in some cases + paid part of the cost. + +But even where the system of voluntary payment has been tried, it has +been a failure. At Bradford, where a large proportion of married women +work in the mills, it was felt that many parents would take advantage of +a system by which they could obtain a midday meal for their children at +cost price.[313] The Education Committee accordingly sent round a +circular to the head teachers asking them to announce to their scholars +that a good dinner could be obtained for 2d.[314] The response was +disappointing. Comparatively few of the mothers took advantage of the +offer, and the result, though the number of paying children[315] seems +to be larger than in any other provincial town,[316] can only be +described as a failure. This may be partly attributed to the cost. Where +there are several children a payment of 2d. per head may be more than +the parent can afford. But the main cause of failure is undoubtedly the +dislike of the independent type of parent who can afford to pay to +sending his children to meals the majority of which are being given +free. In fact any system which seeks to combine free and paying meals, +the free meals being the chief element, is fore-doomed to failure.[317] + +Footnote 313: + + "The needs would be met of a host of children who never got a decent + meal." (Councillor North, Bradford City Council Proceedings, February + 26, 1907, p. 233.) + +Footnote 314: + + Extracts from the Annual Reports of the Bradford Education Committee + for the four years ended March 31, 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910, pp. 14, + 16. The charge is now 2-1/2d. + +Footnote 315: + + The numbers given in the Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the + Board of Education for 1911 (p. 325) are 182, but some of these were + paid for by the Guardians. No record, we were told, is kept of the + individual children who pay, but the amount received in 1912-13 from + parents who voluntarily paid the whole cost was £169 19s. 8d. Thus + only some 16,320 meals were wholly paid for, out of a total of + 782,979. (Bradford Education Committee, Return as to the Working of + the Provision of Meals Act for the year ending March 31, 1913.) + +Footnote 316: + + At Finchley as many as two-thirds of the meals are paid for, but the + charge is very low, only 1/2d. per meal. We were informed that the + price would not cover the cost of food if it were not for the fact + that the meat used in connection with the dinners was provided as a + voluntary gift. + +Footnote 317: + + This was the opinion of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical + Inspection and Feeding in 1905. (See ante, p. 37.) "If no distinction + is made between the paying children and the non-paying children," + declared one witness, "I feel sure that the Birmingham artisan would + not send his children. He would not let them go to receive a meal in + regard to which it was not known whether it was given free or not." + (Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical Inspection and + Feeding, 1905, Vol. II., Q. 1246, evidence of Mr. George Hookham.) See + also the evidence given by Mr. F. Wilkinson, the Director of Education + for Bolton. (_Ibid._, Qs. 3115-3119.) + +In the Special Schools for mentally or physically defective children, +where the dinner is provided more as a part of the school curriculum +than as a "charity" meal, there is not, as we shall see, much difficulty +in inducing the parents to pay for the meals.[318] In rural districts +also, where the children are in many cases unable to go home at midday, +the system of paying dinners has more chance of success.[319] + +Footnote 318: + + See post, p. 120. + +Footnote 319: + + See post, pp. 123-5. + +Turning now to the question of the recovery of the cost from unwilling +parents, the Provision of Meals Act, it will be remembered, laid down +that the Local Authorities should require payment unless satisfied that +the parents could not pay, and the cost might be recovered summarily as +a civil debt. In practice this has been found very difficult to +accomplish. It is impossible to tell from the returns how much of the +£1,570 received from parents in 1911-12 was contributed voluntarily, and +how much recovered after compulsion, but the amount recovered must +necessarily be very small.[320] + +Footnote 320: + + The amount recovered _after prosecution_ in 1911-12 was £42 10s. 6d. + for the whole of England and Wales, London accounting for more than + half this sum. (Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of + Education for 1911, pp. 325-7.) To this we must add the amount + recovered with more or less difficulty, but without prosecution. + +Where the Local Education Authority confines the provision of meals +strictly to the cases where the family income is below a certain amount +per head, as at Leeds, there is of course little to be recovered, +attempts at recovery being limited to cases where the parents have made +an incorrect statement as to their income, and have therefore been +obtaining the meals under false pretences. At West Ham, indeed, the +Education Committee has interpreted the Provision of Meals Act to mean +that recovery must be attempted in every case where meals are supplied. +When a parent applies for meals for his children on the score of being +unable to provide for them himself--for only necessitous children are +fed, no provision being made for voluntary payment--he has to sign a +form by which he agrees to repay the cost of all meals which have been +supplied when he gets back into work and can afford to do so. Moreover, +he has to send a note every day saying that he still wishes his children +to be fed,[321] this being insisted on as a proof that meals have been +supplied in the event of an attempt at recovery. In any case the full +cost is rarely charged, the wage and the number of children being taken +into consideration, and a rebate of sometimes as much as 75 per cent. +being granted. But as a matter of fact very few accounts are sent to the +Borough Treasurer for collection, as the wages of nearly all the parents +of the children who are fed, even when they are in good work, are too +small to allow of their paying for meals supplied in the past.[322] + +Footnote 321: + + See ante, p. 64. + +Footnote 322: + + Report of the West Ham Education Committee for the year ending March + 31, 1912, p. 54. + +When the Local Education Authority is determined to provide food for all +children who need it, for those who are underfed through the neglect of +their parents to provide for them as well as for those whose parents are +too poor to do so, a considerable amount ought to be recovered. The +difficulty lies in the impossibility in many cases of securing +sufficient evidence of the parent's ability to pay. Magistrates are +notoriously loth to convict. At Bradford we were told that in numbers of +cases magistrates' orders for payment had been served on the parents, +but these orders were frequently disregarded by parents who knew the +practical difficulties in the way of enforcing them.[323] + +Footnote 323: + + In 1911 proceedings were taken against parents in only eight towns, + including London. The number of cases was 219, of which 147 were in + London. (Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education + for 1911, pp. 325-327.) + +Whether the amount due for meals which have been already supplied is +paid by the parent or not, the commonest result of sending a notice that +the Local Authority intends to recover the cost is that the parents +refuse to allow their children any longer to receive the meals. "In +practice it is found," says the Bootle School Canteen Committee, "that +when action is taken to enforce payment the children are withdrawn by +their parents from further participation in the meals, with the result +that the children revert to their former ill-fed condition."[324] At +York, too, we were told that when a child who is found to be underfed +through neglect is put on the feeding-list and a letter written to the +father that he will be charged the cost of the meals, he invariably +writes back demanding that his child shall be taken off the list. +Nothing more is done and the child remains underfed. The Local Education +Authorities are, indeed, "on the horns of a dilemma in dealing with such +cases, as the Act obliges them to make this attempt to recover the cost, +and they know that the only result of their doing so will be that the +children are withdrawn from the meals."[325] So much has the Bradford +Education Authority felt this difficulty that they have more than once +sought power, by inserting a clause in the local Bills promoted by the +Corporation, to compel the attendance of children at meals in all cases +in which the School Medical Officer certifies that the children are +underfed, and to recover the cost. These efforts have so far proved +useless, it being held that such a clause involves a new principle and +cannot therefore be included in a local Act.[326] + +Footnote 324: + + Report on the work of the Bootle School Canteen Committee, 1910-11, p. + 21. Since this date the Committee have accordingly made no attempt to + prosecute parents for repayment of the cost. + +Footnote 325: + + Extracts from Annual Reports of Bradford Education Committee for the + four years ended March 31, 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910, p. 13. + +Footnote 326: + + At Bradford a child who is underfed through neglect is put on the + feeding-list for a month before the bill is sent to its parents, so + that it may receive the benefit of the meals for this period at any + rate. + +The question of dealing with neglectful parents is indeed beset with +difficulties. Under the Children Act, 1908, a parent or guardian can be +prosecuted for neglecting a child "in a manner likely to cause such +child unnecessary suffering or injury to its health." This neglect is +defined to mean those cases where the parent or guardian "fails to +provide adequate food, clothing, medical aid or lodging," or, if unable +to provide the same himself, fails to apply to the Guardians for +relief.[327] It is rare for the Local Education Authorities themselves +to institute proceedings under this Act. Usually they prefer to refer +cases to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Often an +improvement in the condition of the child is effected as a result of the +visits of this society's inspectors to the home. But when these warnings +prove useless, frequently nothing more is done; the society are loth to +prosecute, except in extreme cases when they can be practically certain +of securing a conviction. + +Footnote 327: + + 8 Edward VII., c. 67, sec. 12. + + + (g)--Overlapping between the Poor Law and the Education Authorities. + + +We have already alluded to the neglect of the Guardians to deal with +more than an insignificant fraction of the children who are underfed. +The attempt made in 1905 to force them to fulfil their responsibility in +this respect was, as we have seen, a complete failure, and the duty was +therefore cast upon the Local Education Authorities. But even in the few +cases where the Guardians have assumed the responsibility by granting +out-relief to the family, the amount of this relief is, in the vast +majority of cases, totally inadequate. This was abundantly proved by the +Report of the Poor Law Commission in 1909. "The children," they +reported, "are undernourished, many of them poorly dressed and many +bare-footed ... the decent mother's one desire is to keep herself and +her children out of the work-house. She will, if allowed, try to do this +on an impossibly inadequate sum, until both she and her children become +mentally and physically deteriorated."[328] When the mother was careless +or neglectful no supervision was exercised by the Guardians to see that +even this inadequate amount was really spent on the children. This +indictment still holds good to-day. The inadequacy of the relief granted +by the Guardians, in all but a few exceptional Unions, has, in fact, +become a byword. + +Footnote 328: + + Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of + Distress, 1909, 8vo edition, Vol. III. (Minority Report), p. 36. + +In the great majority of towns, the Local Education Authority is +consequently driven to feed children whose parents are in receipt of +poor relief. Thus two authorities deal with the same case, without, in +many instances, either of them knowing what the other is doing.[329] +Only in a few cases has any attempt been made to prevent this +overlapping. For example, at Leicester (one of the few towns, we may +note, where liberal out-relief is granted by the Guardians) there has +from the first been co-operation between the Guardians and the Canteen +Committee.[330] The Relieving Officer refers to the Canteen Committee +many applications that are made to him where temporary help only is +needed, and the Committee has frequently tided families over a bad time +and saved them from recourse to the Poor Law. On the other hand, when a +family is receiving out-relief the Canteen Committee refuses to grant +food for the children. At Acton a similar policy has been adopted. If +parents who are in receipt of out-relief apply for school meals for +their children, the Secretary of the Education Committee recommends them +to apply to the Guardians for more relief, at the same time himself +writing to the Relieving Officer. As a rule the relief is increased in +consequence. Meanwhile the teachers are told to watch the children to +see that they do not suffer from want of food. At Dewsbury, also, +temporary cases are dealt with by the Canteen Committee, but all chronic +cases by the Guardians.[331] + +Footnote 329: + + Occasionally, as we have seen, the Guardians are represented on the + Canteen Committee, as at Crewe. + +Footnote 330: + + First Annual Report of the Leicester Children's Aid Association, + 1907-8, p. 4. + +Footnote 331: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Dewsbury for 1911, p. 41. + +Elsewhere an attempt has been made to prevent overlapping by other +means. While the Education Authority undertakes to provide for all the +underfed children, an arrangement is made with the Guardians whereby +they repay the cost of the meals supplied for all children whose parents +are in receipt of relief. The relief is thus given partly in the form of +school meals, a plan strongly to be commended, since it ensures that the +relief given on account of the children is in fact obtained by them. +This plan has been for some years pursued at Bradford. At first there +appear to have been complaints that the Guardians were reducing the +relief granted, on account of the dinners supplied at school,[332] but +the dinners are now given in addition to the ordinary relief.[333] In +1912-13, the Guardians paid £303 to the Education Authority on this +account.[334] Even so, there is some slight overlapping, since the +Guardians only pay for dinners and in some cases the Canteen Committee +are of opinion that a second meal is needed, and consequently breakfasts +are granted and paid for by the Education Authority. A similar plan has +been adopted at Blackburn,[335] Huddersfield,[336] Brighton,[337] York +and Liverpool. In the last named town the arrangement has only recently +been made, and is in force in only two of the three Unions into which +the town is divided, West Derby and Liverpool. The Guardians have agreed +to issue coupons for school meals to children whose parents are in +receipt of out-relief, and will pay to the Education Authority 2d. per +meal. We were informed that, in the case of the West Derby Guardians at +any rate, these coupons would only be given to children whose mothers +were out all day. The relief would be reduced in consequence, though not +to the extent of the full value of the meal. The Guardians of the +Toxteth Union declined to make a similar arrangement, but suggested that +the Local Education Authority should inform them when they found +children underfed whose parents were in receipt of relief, and they +proposed in these cases to increase the relief.[338] + +Footnote 332: + + Bradford City Council Proceedings, June 16, 1908, p. 395; April 11, + 1911, p. 305. + +Footnote 333: + + Thus the minimum relief for a widow is 4s., with 2s. each for the + first two children, and 1s. each for other children. In addition five + dinners a week, amounting in value to 1s. 0-1/2d., are given to all + children attending school. (Bradford Poor Law Union, Outdoor Relief + Arrangements.) + +Footnote 334: + + Bradford Education Committee, Return as to the Working of the + Provision of Meals Act for the year ending March 31, 1913. + +Footnote 335: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Blackburn, 1911, p. 218. Out + of 59,537 meals given during the year, the Guardians paid for 17,786, + or nearly one-third. + +Footnote 336: + + Report of the Huddersfield Education Committee, 1911, p. 23. + +Footnote 337: + + Report of Brighton Education Committee for the year ending March 31, + 1912, p. 28. + +Footnote 338: + + For the arrangements made between the Liverpool Education Committee + and the Guardians with regard to payment for children admitted as + voluntary cases to the Day Industrial Schools, see post, p. 118 n. + +Other Local Education Authorities have tried this plan of communicating +with the Guardians, in the hope that they would grant adequate relief +for the needs of the children, but, finding no such result ensue, have +discontinued the practice. At Bury St. Edmunds, for instance, it was +found in the winter of 1907-8 that "a large percentage of the families +whose children were fed at school were in receipt of outdoor relief of +an amount which the Education Authority thought inadequate. The +attention of the Board of Guardians was called to the fact, but no steps +were taken by them."[339] The Education Committee accordingly continued +to feed the children, and we gather that now no communication is made by +them to the Guardians. Similarly at West Ham we were informed that the +Education Committee used to report cases to the Guardians, but the +practice proved useless and it has been given up, except for special +cases, where the Guardians will sometimes increase the relief given. + +Footnote 339: + + Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of + Distress, 1909, 8vo edition, Vol. III. (Minority Report), p. 166 n. + +In a few Unions, as at Leeds, the only result of the Guardians learning +that the children are receiving school meals--the need for which points +to the conclusion that the out-relief granted is inadequate--is that +they promptly reduce the relief, though not contributing to the Local +Education Authority anything towards the cost of the meals. They appear +to regard the provision of school meals merely as a means of reducing +the poor-rates, and casting the burden on other shoulders. Naturally in +such circumstances the Local Education Authority does not report cases +to the Guardians. + +Any systematic arrangement between the two Authorities appears indeed to +be exceptional. As a rule there is practically no co-operation, beyond, +perhaps, the notification of cases by both authorities to some Mutual +Registration Society,[340] or the informal meetings of the Relieving +Officers and the School Attendance Officers.[341] + +Footnote 340: + + Thus at Manchester, the Education Committee and the Guardians send + lists of their cases to the District Provident Society, and the + Secretary lets each Authority know what the other is doing. + +Footnote 341: + + It is impossible to give any figures as to the overlapping that + exists, since the practice varies so much in different towns, and in + many cases no records are kept. + + + (h)--The Provision of Meals at Day Industrial Schools and Special + Schools. + + +We have already alluded to the power of the Local Education Authorities +to provide meals for the children attending the Day Industrial Schools +and the Special Schools for the mentally or physically defective. The +Day Industrial Schools are intended primarily for children who have +played truant from the ordinary schools and who are committed by a +magistrate's order. But in the case of widows or deserted wives who have +to work all day, or when the father is incapacitated from work by +illness or infirmity, or if the father is a widower, the children may be +admitted to a Day Industrial School, without an order, as "voluntary +cases."[342] When children are committed by a magistrate's order, the +parents are ordered to make a weekly payment towards the cost of +industrial training and meals.[343] In the case of children admitted +voluntarily such payment is also theoretically demanded,[344] but in +practice it is, as a rule, impossible to exact it. Thus at Liverpool, +though small payments are received from widowers, the condition as to +payment has to be waived in the case of widows and deserted wives, or +when the father is unable to work through illness.[345] At Bootle we +were informed that no payment is received from any of the voluntary +cases. The Schools are open from 6 or 7 in the morning to 5.30 or 6 at +night and three meals are provided. The dietary is as a rule monotonous, +being continued week after week with practically no variation. In point +of order, as might be expected, the service of the meals compares +favourably with those given to necessitous children, erring rather on +the side of over-much discipline. It is, unfortunately, by no means +uncommon to find absolute silence insisted on, a regulation which has a +most depressing effect. In these Day Industrial Schools the Local +Education Authorities have a valuable instrument for providing for the +numerous cases where mothers are at work all day and so cannot provide +proper meals for their children, or where the children are neglected. +This was urged by many witnesses before the Royal Commission on the Poor +Laws,[346] and again recently by the Departmental Committee on +Reformatory and Industrial Schools.[347] Very few authorities, however, +have taken advantage of this power. In 1911 there were only twelve Day +Industrial Schools in England, provided by eight authorities, and eight +in Scotland, of which seven were in Glasgow.[348] The total attendance +numbered a little over 3,000, the voluntary cases amounting to only +308.[349] These numbers showed a decrease compared with previous +years,[350] and this decline has since continued, partly owing to the +fact that truancy is far less common now than formerly, partly owing to +the provision of meals for children attending elementary schools, which +renders the Day Industrial Schools less necessary.[351] + +Footnote 342: + + Elementary Education Act, 1876 (39 and 40 Vic., c. 79), sec. 16 (4); + Children Act, 1908 (8 Edward VII., c. 67), sec. 79; "Day Industrial + Schools," by J. C. Legge, in _Proceedings of National Conference on + the Prevention of Destitution_, 1911, p. 360. + +Footnote 343: + + Children Act, 1908, sec. 82 (1). + +Footnote 344: + + _Ibid._, sec. 79. + +Footnote 345: + + "Day Industrial Schools," by J. C. Legge, in _Proceedings of National + Conference on the Prevention of Destitution_, 1911, p. 361. For many + years an arrangement has been in force by which the Liverpool Select + Vestry pay the Local Education Authority 9d. a week in respect of each + child in their area admitted as a voluntary scholar. (_Ibid._) A few + years ago the Guardians of the Toxteth Union agreed, in such cases, + where the parent was in receipt of outdoor relief, to increase the + relief by 6d. on condition that this was paid to the Education + Authority. (_Ibid._, p. 362.) The West Derby Guardians pay a lump sum + of £40 a year. + +Footnote 346: + + Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909. 8vo edition, + Vol. III., p. 165. + +Footnote 347: + + Report of the Departmental Committee on Reformatory and Industrial + Schools, 1913, p. 62. + +Footnote 348: + + Fifty-fifth Report on Reformatory and Industrial Schools, 1911, Part + I., pp. 28-30; Part II., p. 20. Two of the schools in England have + since been closed, and the school at Leeds is shortly to be given up. + +Footnote 349: + + _Ibid._, Part I., pp. 267-292; Part II., p. 20. + +Footnote 350: + + _Ibid._, Part II., p. 19. + +Footnote 351: + + Report of the Departmental Committee on Reformatory and Industrial + Schools, 1913, p. 62. + +The arrangements made for providing for the mentally and physically +defective children vary in different towns. Sometimes no special +provision is made. At Leicester, for instance, the mentally defective +children who come from a distance bring their food with them and the +caretaker warms it. Frequently, however, a regular dinner is supplied. +Thus at Eastbourne dinners are provided at the Special School for dull +and backward children at a very small charge.[352] At Bradford some of +the children pay 1-1/2d. a meal, others receive it free. At Liverpool a +payment of 1s., 6d. or 3d. a week is demanded, according to the +circumstances, the meals being given free in special cases.[353] In +Birkenhead, too, the charge varies, some paying 1s. a week, some 2d. or +1d. per meal, at the discretion of the teacher; no meals are given free, +children who cannot pay being sent to the centre to have their dinner +with the necessitous children from the ordinary elementary schools. +There appears to be usually little difficulty in collecting payment. At +Birkenhead we were told that some difficulty was experienced at first, +but the children appreciate the dinners so much now that they beg their +parents to give them the necessary pence. + +Footnote 352: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Eastbourne for 1912, p. 46. + +Footnote 353: + + The majority pay about 6d. a week. In the case of physically defective + children the parent's payment is intended to meet the expenses of + dinner, any medicines or dressings that may be necessary, and the cost + of conveyance. It does not, of course, nearly cover these charges. + +At the Open Air Schools[354] the common meal always forms part of the +regular school routine. As a rule three meals a day are provided,[355] +and sometimes milk is given in addition in the middle of the morning. +Usually some charge is made towards the cost of the meals, varying from +6d. to 3s. per week, according to the parents' circumstances, but in +necessitous cases the charge is remitted.[356] + +Footnote 354: + + In 1911 there were only nine Open Air Schools, maintained by eight + authorities. (Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of + Education for 1911, p. 215.) + +Footnote 355: + + At Darlington only a mid-day meal is provided. + +Footnote 356: + + At Norwich the charge varies from 6d. to 1s. 6d.; at Sheffield, from + 6d. to 2s. 6d.; at Halifax it may amount to 3s. At Barnsley all the + parents are charged 2s. 6d. per week, no children being admitted + without payment. At Bradford the meals are given free to all. + +The service of the meals at these Special Schools presents in general a +marked contrast to the methods prevailing at the centres for necessitous +children. For example, at Birkenhead, where the management of the +feeding centres leaves much to be desired,[357] the dinner provided at +the Mentally Defective School, for all children who care to stay, is +served in an attractive and educational manner. One or more teachers are +always present to supervise it. The children enter all together and sit +down at small tables. The boys and girls take it in turns to lay the +tables and clear away afterwards, and help to serve the food. +Table-cloths are provided and these are kept remarkably clean. Somewhat +similar conditions prevail at Liverpool in the Special Schools for +Physically and Mentally Defective Children.[358] But it is at a school +for feeble-minded children at Bradford that we found the most perfect +arrangements. The smallness of the numbers--only some 17 or 18 children +being present--allowed attention to be paid to each individual child. +The dinner was served in a bright cheerful hall, and the tables were +nicely laid by the children, with table-cloths, plants and flowers; +these latter the children often bring themselves. Two teachers are +always present and preside at the two tables, having their dinner with +the children. The children's manners were excellent and spoke volumes +for the patience and care exercised by the teachers. + +Footnote 357: + + See ante, pp. 95-6. + +Footnote 358: + + At one of these schools, the mentally defective children were having + their dinner in one room, the physically defective in an adjoining + room. All the children stay for the meal. The headmistress supervised, + assisted by a teacher for the mentally defective, and the school nurse + for the physically defective children. Tablecloths were provided for + the latter, but not for the former. The dinner was cooked by the + children who had been attending the cookery class in the morning; the + children laid the tables, and monitors helped to serve the food. + +The example afforded by the service of the meals at these special +schools might well be imitated by the Education Authorities in providing +meals at the ordinary elementary schools. + + + (i)--The Underfed Child in Rural Schools. + + +We have confined our investigations almost entirely to the Urban +Districts. We must, however, briefly touch upon the question of +underfeeding in the country. Here the conditions are different. The +problem is not only how to provide for the children who do not get +sufficient to eat; there are also to be considered the large numbers who +are unable to return home at midday and have to bring their dinner to +school with them. Many of these children have to walk long distances, +perhaps two miles, three miles, or even more. The long walk necessitates +an early start from home; this makes the interval between breakfast and +dinner long and the exercise sharpens the appetite. Hence it is of the +greatest importance that the midday meal should be adequate. In most +cases, however, as the reports of School Medical Officers abundantly +testify, the dinner which these children bring with them consists of +bread and jam, cake or pastry, with perhaps a bottle of cold tea.[359] +In a few schools the teachers have organised cocoa clubs, the children +paying 1d. or 1-1/2d. per week, which is as a rule just sufficient to +cover expenses.[360] Incidentally, it is noticed, the weekly payment for +cocoa has a good effect on the attendance. "A child having once paid his +or her cocoa fee at the beginning of the week seldom stays away from +school during the remainder of the week if it can possibly be +avoided."[361] + +Footnote 359: + + In East Sussex, for instance, where particulars were supplied by the + teachers as to the meals brought by eleven of the children, it was + found that the food was totally inadequate, in most cases consisting + of bread and butter, or cake, with perhaps a small piece of cheese or + an apple. Two children of five years old, who had to walk two miles to + school, brought, one of them bread and butter only, the other cake. + Three children, who had to walk three and a half miles, brought either + cake or only bread. ("The Diet of Elementary School Children in + Country Districts," by Dr. George Finch, in _Rearing an Imperial + Race_, edited by C. E. Hecht, 1913, p. 29.) In a Bedfordshire school + out of 62 children who brought their dinner to school with them, one + had an apple tart, three had bread and cheese, while 58 had "bread + with a thin layer of butter or lard on it, or else bread and jam, or + bread and syrup. This meal was washed down with water, as nothing hot + was obtainable." ("How the Family of the Agricultural Labourer Lives," + by Ronald T. Herdman, reprinted in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, p. + 341.) + +Footnote 360: + + Thus at Brynconin, where 85 children are supplied daily with cocoa for + a weekly charge of 1d., the week's expenditure on cocoa, sugar and + milk amounts to 6s. 6d., and the children's payments to 6s. 10d. + (Report of the School Medical Officer for Pembrokeshire for 1912, p. + 14.) See also Reports of the School Medical Officer for Hampshire + (1910), p. 25; for the Isle of Ely (1910), p. 18; for Gloucestershire + (1910), p. 53; for East Suffolk (1910), p. 19; for West Sussex (1911), + p. 10. Sometimes the cocoa is provided free through the generosity of + the teachers. (See Report of Monmouthshire Education Committee on the + Medical Inspection Department for 1910, p. 9.) + +Footnote 361: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Hampshire for 1910, p. 25. + +Sometimes the teacher encourages the children to bring bottles of milk, +cocoa or coffee and sees that they are warmed over the fire before being +partaken of. + +Occasionally a regular dinner is provided. We have already mentioned the +experiment made at Rousdon by Sir Henry Peek in 1876. This has been +continued to the present day. A hot dinner is provided daily, consisting +of one course, soup with bread and vegetables two days a week, and some +form of suet pudding the other three days. About half the children stay +for the dinner and pay one penny each, these payments just about +covering the cost of the food. The meal is served in a dining-room in +the school and the ex-headmaster and the present headmaster voluntarily +undertake the supervision. + +A somewhat similar plan has been tried at Grassington, in Yorkshire. +When, eighteen years ago, the teaching of cookery was introduced, it was +resolved to combine with that instruction the provision of a hot midday +meal. The children not only cook the dinner themselves, but they take it +in turns to order and pay for the materials, thus acquiring the valuable +knowledge how to buy. They are taught the value of the different +foodstuffs and learn how to make a good substantial dinner at a little +cost. A two-course dinner, ample and varied, is provided daily at the +school.[362] Each child is allowed to eat as much as it wants, but no +waste is allowed. Marvellous as it appears, the payment of a 1d. per +meal covers the cost of the food.[363] The dinner appears to have been +intended chiefly for the children who came from a distance, but the +parents of the children who live in the village have been glad to avail +themselves of the provision, since the school dinner is better than they +can supply at home.[364] Nearly half the children stay. All the +arrangements are, and have from the first been, made by the headmaster's +wife, who takes the cookery lesson and serves the meal herself, and the +success of the experiment must be very largely attributed to her +voluntary labours. + +Footnote 362: + + For sample menus, see Appendix I., p. 236. + +Footnote 363: + + For instance, the cost of the food for the dinners for twelve weeks + amounted to £7 9s. 8d., and the children's payments to £7 9s. 5d. On + cold snowy mornings hot cocoa is provided before morning school for + all the children. The cost of this is, we gather, borne entirely by + the headmaster and his wife. + +Footnote 364: + + _Yorkshire Post_, July 9, 1908. + +In two schools in Cheshire also, Siddington and Nether Alderley, hot +dinners are provided at a charge of 1-1/2d., in the former during the +winter months, in the latter all the year round. In both cases the +children's payments cover, or slightly more than cover, the cost of the +food, the other expenses being borne by voluntary funds. + +Such provision is, however, quite exceptional. As a rule no provision +whatever is made. "I have only once seen any supervision of the meal on +the part of the teachers," writes a late Assistant School Medical +Officer for East Sussex; "in fine weather the children generally eat +[their dinner] out of doors; in bad weather it is taken in the school or +cloak-room in what are often very unhygienic surroundings."[365] "There +is no doubt," writes another School Medical Officer, "that at some of +the schools the conditions in which the children get their midday meal +are deplorable."[366] "It is only too common a sight," reports the +School Medical Officer for Derbyshire, "to see little children sitting +in a corner of the class-room, cloak-room or even the playground, +munching at thick slices of bread and butter. Under these +circumstances," he continues, "it cannot be wondered at that children +below the normal development are to be found in our schools."[367] In +Anglesey the School Medical Officer finds more children badly nourished +in the rural areas than in the urban areas; this he attributes mainly to +the long walk to school every day, the inadequacy of the midday meal and +the hurried manner in which it is eaten.[368] + +Footnote 365: + + "The Diet of Elementary School Children in Country Districts," by Dr. + George Finch, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. E. Hecht, + 1913, p. 109. + +Footnote 366: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Hampshire, 1910, p. 24. + +Footnote 367: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 284. + +Footnote 368: + + _Ibid._, pp. 283-4. + +It is indeed essential that in all country schools to which children +come from a distance, provision should be made for the serving of a +midday meal under proper supervision.[369] As Dr. George Finch points +out, "the authority which requires the child to spend its day away from +home might not unreasonably be expected by the parents to make some +provision that its midday meal might be taken under not unfavourable +conditions. The parent, however conscientious, cannot adequately deal +with the problem, and the provision of suitable cold food is not an easy +matter, even in the more well-to-do family."[370] The meals should be +served as part of the school curriculum and might well be combined with +the teaching of cookery as is done at Grassington. + +Footnote 369: + + As we have seen, the Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical + Inspection and Feeding in 1905 recommended that managers of country + schools should arrange, during the winter at any rate, to provide + either a hot dinner or soup or cocoa for children who lived too far + away to go home at mid-day. (See ante, p. 38.) + +Footnote 370: + + "The Diet of Elementary School Children in Country Districts," by Dr. + George Finch, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. E. Hecht, + 1913, p. 109. + + + Conclusions. + + +It may be useful now to sum up the main points which emerge from the +foregoing description. The proposal, which we shall discuss in the final +chapter, to make the midday meal a part of the school curriculum, to be +attended by all children who wish to avail themselves of the provision, +would obviate many of the difficulties that arise under the present +system. Meanwhile we may point out some ways in which improvements can +be effected, apart from this more drastic proposal. + +1. Since the Provision of Meals Act is only permissive, Local Education +Authorities are allowed to remain inactive in spite of the fact that +children in their schools are underfed, and that no adequate provision +is made by voluntary agencies. It should be made obligatory on the Local +Authority to take action in such a case. + +2. The limitation of the amount which may be spent on food by the Local +Education Authority to the sum yielded by a halfpenny rate restricts +operations in some towns, and prevents provision being made for all the +necessitous children. This limitation should be removed. + +An alteration of the law in these two directions would merely assimilate +the powers and duties of the English Education Authorities to those +already conferred on the Scottish School Boards by the Education +(Scotland) Act of 1908.[371] + +Footnote 371: + + See post, pp. 237-8. + +3. The selection of the children who are to receive school meals is +based, often solely and always primarily, on the poverty test. Little +attempt is made to link up the provision of meals with the school +medical service. The meals, that is to say, are regarded primarily as a +means of relieving distress rather than as a remedy for malnutrition. +The numbers selected vary according to the policy of the Local Education +Authority and the views taken by the individual head teachers. Nowhere +can the selection of the children be said to be satisfactory. In towns +such as Bradford, where the Local Authority is determined to search out +all cases of children who are suffering from lack of food, the great +majority of underfed children are doubtless discovered, but in other +towns numbers of such children are overlooked and left unprovided for, +while everywhere little or no provision is made for the countless +children who are improperly fed at home. We shall discuss in the final +chapter the best method to be pursued in this matter of selecting the +children. + +4. There is great diversity of practice in different towns with regard +to the time at which the meal is given, the manner in which it is +prepared and served, and the kind of food supplied. Where only one meal +is provided, it would appear that dinner is for many reasons preferable +to breakfast. The dietary should be varied and should be drawn up in +consultation with the School Medical Officer; it should be so planned as +to contain a due proportion of the elements which are lacking in the +child's home diet, and special provision should be made for the infants. +The preparation of the meals should not be left to caterers but should +be undertaken by the Local Authority, so that adherence to the approved +dietary and a high standard of quality can be assured. The meal should +be regarded as part of the school curriculum. It should be served as far +as possible on the school premises, and should be attended only by +children from that particular school. The children should be taught to +set the tables and wait on one another, the tables being nicely laid, +with table-cloths and, if possible, flowers or plants. Clean hands and +faces and orderly behaviour should be insisted on. Some of the teachers +should supervise the meal and should receive some extra remuneration for +this service. + +5. The discontinuance of the school meals during the holidays has been +shown to undo much of the benefit derived during term-time, and it +entails unnecessary suffering on the children. The expenditure of the +rates on holiday feeding must be legalised. The limitation of the +provision to the winter months, as is the practice in some towns, is +even more absurd. Local Authorities should be required to continue the +school meals throughout the year, if need exists. + +6. The sums contributed by the parents towards the cost of their +children's meals amount to only a trifling fraction of the total +expenditure. The power of providing meals as a matter of convenience for +children whose parents are able and willing to pay has been very +sparingly used by the Local Education Authorities, as far as the +ordinary elementary schools are concerned. In the special schools for +defective children, on the other hand, where not infrequently a midday +meal is provided for all the children, a considerable proportion of the +parents contribute towards the cost. It is difficult to say whether the +establishment of School Restaurants in the ordinary schools would be +successful. One point, however, seems clear; if the plan is to succeed, +the meals must be intended primarily for paying children; if they are +provided mainly for necessitous children, parents who can afford to pay +will not send their children to any great extent. + +In the case of the parents who can afford to feed their children but +neglect to do so, the attempt to recover the cost of the meals supplied +to the children results as a rule in almost total failure, owing to the +extreme difficulty of obtaining conclusive evidence of the parents' +ability to pay. An attempt to recover may be worse than useless, for it +frequently leads the parent to withdraw his children promptly from the +school meals, though their need of the meals continues as great as +before. + +7. Owing to the inadequate relief usually given by the Boards of +Guardians, the Local Education Authorities are in many cases forced to +feed children whose parents are receiving poor relief. In only a few +towns is any systematic attempt made to prevent this overlapping between +the two authorities. So long as the Guardians retain their present +functions, the plan adopted at Bradford and a few other towns, by which +the out-relief granted by the Guardians is given partly in the form of +school meals, the Guardians paying the Education Authority for these +meals, might well be extended to other towns. By this plan overlapping +of relief is avoided, while it ensures that the relief given to the +mother on account of her children is in effect obtained by them. + +8. In the rural districts the conditions under which the children eat +their midday meal are frequently deplorable. The long walk to school +renders it even more important than it is in the towns that the meal +should be a substantial one, but the food which the children bring with +them is as a rule entirely inadequate. In the few schools where a hot +dinner has been provided, the plan has met with marked success, and such +provision should be made in all schools. It might advantageously be +combined with the teaching of cookery, a plan which is more practicable +in the country than in the towns, since the numbers to be provided for +are comparatively small. + + + + + CHAPTER III + THE PROVISION OF MEALS IN LONDON + + +We have reserved the treatment of London for a separate chapter since, +owing to its size and the diverse conditions prevailing in the different +districts, it presents problems of special difficulty. We shall describe +in this chapter the provision made in the early years of this century by +voluntary agencies, and the final assumption by the London County +Council of the whole responsibility of dealing with its underfed +children; we shall trace the gradual building up of a vast and complex +organisation to deal not only with the question of school meals, but +also with other matters affecting the general welfare of the children; +and we shall discuss the actual methods of working at the present day. + + + (a)--The Organisation of the Voluntary Agencies. + + +We have already sketched the early history of the movement in London, +and described the attempts made by the London School Board to organise +the host of voluntary agencies.[372] The proposal put forward by a +Committee of the School Board in 1899 to make that body responsible for +providing food for all its underfed children was, as we have shown, +defeated by a large majority, and a renewed attempt was made by the +establishment of a central organisation, the Joint Committee on Underfed +Children, to organise the voluntary agencies. + +Footnote 372: + + See ante, pp. 16-27. + +This attempt met with but little more success than the earlier +endeavours. The functions of the Joint Committee were limited to +receiving reports from the Relief Committees, pointing out defects in +their methods of working, and acting generally as a medium of +communication between these committees and the collecting agencies. If +the Relief Committees failed to send reports, the Joint Committee had no +power to compel them to do so, nor could the Committee insist on the +remedying of the defects which they pointed out. By 1907 the Committee +were able to report that only one school had been discovered in which +meals were provided but no report received. "We may hope, therefore," +they continue, "that ... the instructions of the Council ... have at +last reached all head teachers and are being obeyed. But in default of +any executive and inspecting machinery, it has taken the persistent +efforts of the Joint Committee, during six years, to effect this result, +if indeed it has really been effected."[373] The greatest difficulty was +experienced in getting Relief Committees established in every school or +group of schools in which underfed children were provided with +meals.[374] Even when these committees were appointed, the meetings of +many of them were held infrequently and for formal business only, the +selection of the children and the enquiry into the parents' +circumstances being left entirely to the teachers.[375] Consequently the +methods of selection differed widely, even in the same school, the +different departments paying no attention to what the others were +doing.[376] The enquiry was generally totally inadequate, and in some +cases was not even attempted.[377] The Joint Committee urged that, when +meals were given at all, they should be given regularly at least four if +not five days a week, and should be continued throughout the year if +necessary.[378] But in 1907 we find that "there are still a good many +schools where meals are only provided on one or two days, and more where +they are only given on three days, the average number throughout the +schools being 2-3/4 meals per child per week."[379] In only sixteen +schools were the meals continued for more than twenty weeks during the +year.[380] + +Footnote 373: + + Report of the Joint Committee on Underfed Children, for 1906-7, p. 2. + +Footnote 374: + + Fourth Annual Report of the Joint Committee on Underfed Children, + 1904, pp. 1-2; Report of Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical + Inspection and Feeding, 1905, Qs. 1649, 1650 (evidence of Mr. T. E. + Harvey). Even in 1908 there were 74 schools at which feeding took + place which had not a properly constituted committee. (London County + Council, Report by Executive Officer (Education), Appendix A to agenda + of Sub-Committee on Underfed Children, July 6, 1908.) + +Footnote 375: + + "There is supposed to be a committee in every school," said one + headmaster, "but the committees never meet in the vast majority of + cases, and if they do, they never undertake personal investigation." + (Report of the Select Committee on the Education (Provision of Meals) + Bills (England and Scotland), 1906, Q. 849, evidence of Mr. Marshall + Jackman.) "There is [a Relief Committee] in accordance with the + rules," declared another headmaster, but "the Committee acts really + through the head teachers.... The Committee say that the teachers have + their confidence, and they could not do any good by attempting + themselves to help as a committee, and therefore they do not help." + (Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical Inspection and + Feeding, 1905, Q. 5149 (evidence of Mr. T. P. Shovelier.) See also + _Ibid._, Qs. 4773 A, 4937-4939, 6233, 6265. + +Footnote 376: + + See, for instance, Report of Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical + Inspection and Feeding, 1905, Qs. 185, 5154. + +Footnote 377: + + "The duty of making enquiries by the managers, or by outsiders working + for them, into the home conditions of the children is, with some + remarkable exceptions, seldom well done, and often not done at all. + They are authorised to invite assistance from attendance officers, ... + from Charity Organisation Society visitors, district visitors, country + holiday fund visitors, and similar persons, but we have very seldom + found that this class of person has been consulted." (Report of the + Joint Committee on Underfed Children for 1906-7, p. 23.) + +Footnote 378: + + _Ibid._ for 1904-5, p. 5. + +Footnote 379: + + _Ibid._ for 1906-7, Appendix G., p. 23. + +Footnote 380: + + _Ibid._, p. 2. + +The Joint Committee strenuously opposed the theory, which was now +steadily gaining ground, that the rates should be utilised for the +supply of food. In 1904 they report that, in their opinion, "all real +distress on any considerable scale has been effectually met.... They +have never been restricted in their efforts for want of funds, and there +is no reason to think that any organisations dealing with public money +would be more efficient than these bodies dealing with charitable money. +On the other hand, there is reason to believe that, even as things are +now, relief is often given to children who are not really in want, and +there is no doubt that if the public purse were being drawn upon, relief +would be distributed more lavishly."[381] The County Council could +hardly, however, remain unmoved by the disquieting report of the +Committee on Physical Deterioration published in the same year. Dr. +Eichholz, in his evidence before the committee, had indeed described the +existing method of feeding in London as "entirely in the nature of a +temporary stop-gap. There is," he declared, "but little concentrated +effort at building up enfeebled constitutions, school feeding doing +little beyond arresting further degeneracy."[382] In April, 1905, the +Council accordingly resolved "that, with a view to checking the physical +deterioration among the London population and securing the best result +from the expenditure on education, it be referred to the Education +Committee to consider and report as to the necessary Parliamentary power +being obtained for the provision of food where necessary for the +children attending rate-supported schools in London."[383] The Education +Committee, however, while admitting that there were numbers of underfed +and ill-fed children attending the schools and that in the case of these +children it was impossible to secure the best results from an +educational standpoint, were nevertheless of opinion that, "while the +necessity for feeding children as the last resort out of public funds is +a proposition endorsed by the whole spirit of the Poor Law," there were +strong arguments against seeking power to utilise the rates at present. +The provision of school meals out of public funds must tend to lessen +parental responsibility, and the expense entailed would be very serious, +since the numbers, though small at first, would inevitably tend to +increase.[384] The Committee recommended, therefore, that the experiment +should be tried of utilising the food prepared at the cookery centres. +The advantages of this course would be twofold. The experiment would +prove whether there was a demand on the part of the better-off parents +for the provision of cheap dinners at school, while the training at the +cookery centres would be improved by receiving a more practical +trend.[385] + +Footnote 381: + + Fourth Annual Report of the Joint Committee on Underfed Children, + 1904, p. 2. Evidence was given before the Inter-Departmental Committee + on Medical Inspection and Feeding in 1905, which showed that + difficulty was experienced in collecting sufficient funds. The London + Schools Dinner Association found that people would contribute at + Christmas time, but in the early spring, when the work was heaviest, + the subscriptions ceased. (Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee + on Medical Inspection and Feeding, 1905, Qs. 2074, 2081-2083.) See + also evidence of Mr. Marshall Jackman before the Select Committee on + the Education (Provision of Meals) Bills (England and Scotland), 1906, + Qs. 780, 788-790. + +Footnote 382: + + Report of Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, + 1904, Q. 477. + +Footnote 383: + + Minutes of the London County Council, April 11, 1905, p. 1381. + +Footnote 384: + + _Ibid._, July 11, 1905, p. 297. + +Footnote 385: + + _Ibid._, p. 298. + +The experiment was accordingly tried at five[386] selected schools. In +three of these schools, which were situated in poor districts, dinners +were supplied at 1-1/2d each. In the other two schools, situated in +better-class neighbourhoods, the cost was 2d. and 3d., the parents +preferring the more expensive dinner.[387] The Council having no power +to spend the rates on the provision of food, the meals had to be paid +for by the parents or by charitable agencies. The teachers were +instructed not to choose only necessitous children, but to distribute +the tickets fairly between the children in the schools, the object being +to try the experiment of a common dinner.[388] From an educational point +of view the dinners were very successful. The children were taught to +eat properly,[389] and the girls attending the cookery class benefited +by the practical training. It appeared, too, that there was a demand, in +certain districts at any rate, for the provision of cheap dinners at +school.[390] But the experiment was on too small a scale to have much +practical bearing on the question of feeding necessitous children. For +large numbers the cookery centres were quite inadequate and any attempt +to use them primarily for the object of providing children's meals would +interfere with the instruction given. + +Footnote 386: + + The experiment was later extended to fifteen schools. + +Footnote 387: + + Report of the Select Committee on the Education (Provision of Meals) + Bills, 1906, Qs. 451, 500, evidence of Mr. A. J. Shepheard. + +Footnote 388: + + _Ibid._, Q. 327. + +Footnote 389: + + The tables were "nicely laid and with tablecloths, with all the + ordinary appliances and requirements of a table put there, such as + salt cellars, knives and forks, and everything of that kind. The + tables were laid out with flowers ... I think I may quite certainly + say that some of these children had never sat down to a meal of that + description in their lives." (_Ibid._, Q. 331.) + +Footnote 390: + + Minutes of the London County Council, December 19, 1905, p. 2138. + About eighty per cent. of the meals were paid for by the parents, the + remaining twenty per cent. being paid for by friends or voluntary + agencies. (Report of the Select Committee on the Education (Provision + of Meals) Bills, 1906, Q. 326.) + + + (b)--The Assumption of Responsibility by the County Council. + + +No further serious attempt was made for some years to place the +provision of food upon the rates. On the passing of the Provision of +Meals Act the County Council took over the whole responsibility for the +provision, the Joint Committee on Underfed Children, which had been +composed partly of representatives of voluntary organisations,[391] +giving place to a Sub-Committee of the Education Committee[392]; but +voluntary funds were still relied on. In 1908, however, the supply began +to fail. In July of that year a conference of the Mayors of the London +boroughs had declared that there was no reason to fear that voluntary +contributions would be insufficient to defray the cost of food.[393] The +appeal subsequently issued met, however, with a very meagre response, +only some £6,000 being subscribed.[394] By the end of the year it became +clear that recourse must be had to the rates, and application was +accordingly made to the Board of Education. The new system was put in +force early in 1909.[395] + +Footnote 391: + + When, in 1904, the London School Board was superseded by the London + County Council, the Joint Committee on Underfed Children had been + continued by the latter body, its constitution remaining practically + unaltered. (London County Council, Report of Education Committee, + 1908-9, Part II., p. 3.) + +Footnote 392: + + This Sub-Committee was known at first as the Sub-Committee on Underfed + Children. In December, 1908, the name was altered to the Children's + Care (Central) Sub-Committee. (_Ibid._, p. 4.) + +Footnote 393: + + See Minutes of the London County Council, November 24, 1908, p. 1120. + +Footnote 394: + + "State Feeding of School Children in London," by Sir Charles Elliott, + in _Nineteenth Century_, May, 1909, p. 866. + +Footnote 395: + + London County Council, Report of the Education Committee for 1908-9, + Part II., p. 4. + +Meanwhile the constant complaints of the varying methods pursued by the +different Care Committees[396] in the selection of the children, and the +rapid increase in the number of children fed,[397] led the Sub-Committee +on Underfed Children to call for a report on the circumstances of these +children, so that the cause of the distress might be ascertained and +some light thrown on the question how far the provision of free meals +was really an effective remedy for the evils which existed.[398] An +investigation was accordingly conducted by the two officials who had +been appointed by the Council to organise the work of the local Care +Committees. Twelve schools were selected in different districts, and a +careful enquiry made into the circumstances of all the children at these +schools who were receiving free meals. In all 1,218 families were dealt +with, containing 3,334 children. + +Footnote 396: + + The local Relief Committees had been re-organised under the name of + Children's Care Committees in July, 1907. (_Ibid._) + +Footnote 397: + + The numbers greatly increased during the winter of 1907-8, and reached + a maximum of 49,043 in March, 1908. (London County Council, Report on + the Home Circumstances of Necessitous Children in twelve selected + schools, 1908, p. 2.) + +Footnote 398: + + _Ibid._ + +In a small number of the cases, 3·9 per cent., the distress was found to +be due to illness or some other temporary misfortune; unemployment of +the wage-earner accounted for 5·7 per cent., and under-employment for 19 +per cent., of the cases; in 44·7 per cent. the cause of the distress was +attributed to the intemperance or wastefulness of the parents.[399] The +necessity of providing school meals, at any rate as a temporary +expedient, was clearly proved. It was found that, though 21·12 per cent. +of the children were not necessitous, the remaining 78·88 per cent. were +necessitous "in the sense of lacking sufficient food," and that they +would require school meals "until effective Care Committees are able to +check the diseases attendant on partial employment, bad housing and +other evils."[400] So far little attempt had been made to improve the +conditions of the homes by systematic visiting. With the majority of the +Care Committees, declared the organisers, "their only active members are +the head teachers and their only visitors are the attendance +officers."[401] The complaints as to want of uniformity in the selection +of the children were corroborated. In many schools "each department has +its own system of enquiry, its own method of selection, its own standard +of necessity, and the result is that it is seldom that all the school +children of one family are on the necessitous list."[402] The extent of +overlapping between the Education Authority and the Boards of Guardians +was shown by the fact that out of the 1,218 families 39 were in receipt +of out-relief while no fewer than 165 had been in receipt of relief +recently.[403] + +Footnote 399: + + _Ibid._, pp. 7-8, 22. + +Footnote 400: + + _Ibid._, p. 24. + +Footnote 401: + + _Ibid._, p. 25. + +Footnote 402: + + _Ibid._, p. 25. See also the description of the methods employed at + typical schools. (_Ibid._, pp. 19, 20.) + +Footnote 403: + + _Ibid._, p. 22. + +To put an end to all this want of uniformity it was recommended that a +responsible secretary visitor should be appointed for each school or +group of schools, who would organise bands of voluntary workers, and +co-operate with all existing local agencies for social improvement. It +was urged that the duties of the Care Committees should not be confined +to the provision of meals, but should include everything pertaining to +the health and general well-being of the child.[404] This latter +recommendation was carried out. The Care Committees were re-organised +and given additional duties, the supervision of medical treatment and +the work of after-care,[405] and it was resolved that a committee should +be appointed for every elementary school, not only for those which +contained "necessitous" children.[406] The suggestion that a paid +secretary should be appointed for every school or group of schools was +not adopted. The Council decided merely to appoint twelve paid lady +workers for the whole of London, whose duties would be to strengthen the +Care Committees. At the same time, as a further step towards uniformity, +local associations of Care Committees were formed. Several such +associations had already come into existence voluntarily, but they were +now made uniform and permanent. The functions of these associations, +which numbered 27, were to make all the arrangements in connection with +the feeding centres, and to collect voluntary contributions. They were +also to act as advisory bodies. At their meetings would be discussed +such questions as the selection of children to be fed, after-care, +medical treatment, and any other duties falling to the Care Committees +to be performed. They would thus, it was hoped, initiate a common policy +and serve as a means of co-ordinating the work of the various Care +Committees. Two-thirds of their members were to be representatives of +Care Committees, one-sixth were to be nominated by the Teachers' Local +Consultative Committees, and one-sixth appointed by the Children's Care +(Central) Sub-Committee.[407] + +Footnote 404: + + _Ibid._, p. 27. + +Footnote 405: + + A few Care Committees were already carrying out these functions. See, + for instance, the description of the methods adopted at one school + (_Ibid._, p. 19, No. C.) + +Footnote 406: + + Minutes of the London County Council, April 6, 1909, pp. 855-6. + +Footnote 407: + + Minutes of the London County Council, April 6, 1909, pp. 856, 857; + Handbook containing general information with reference to Children's + Care, 1912, pp. 7-8, 88. + +There are thus to-day three distinct, though interdependent, +organisations--the Children's Care (Central) Sub-Committee, the Local +Associations of Care Committees and the local Care Committees appointed +for each school. + +In considering the development in London of the movement for the +provision of meals, one is struck by the haphazard way in which the vast +organisation has been built up. The County Council has from the first +been reluctant to undertake the responsibility for its underfed +children. "The whole question of deciding which children are underfed, +and of making special provision for such children," declared the +Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Underfed Children in 1908, "should +really be one for the Poor Law Authority to decide, and not the +Education Authority."[408] The attempt to make the Guardians carry out +their duty having signally failed, the London County Council was forced +to undertake the task, but it has done so in a half-hearted fashion. The +results of this failure to grasp the problem in a statesmanlike manner +are conspicuously evident in the conditions prevailing to-day. + +Footnote 408: + + Report on the Home Circumstances of Necessitous Children in twelve + selected schools, 1908, p. 3. + + + (c)--The Extent of the Provision. + + +The total expenditure on the provision of meals in London amounted, for +the year 1912-13, to £99,805. Of this by far the greater part, £98,111, +was derived from the rates, voluntary contributions amounting to only +£3. Apart from these voluntary contributions collected by the Local +Associations, however, a few schools "contract out" and supply the meals +from their own private sources.[409] Moreover, large sums were collected +by voluntary organisations for the provision of meals during the +holidays, especially during the summer holiday of 1912, owing to the +distress caused by the dock strike. And besides this holiday feeding, +which, since it cannot be met out of the rates, must be paid for out of +voluntary funds, there are still a certain number of voluntary agencies +which are providing meals quite independently of the County Council. + +Footnote 409: + + Thus at St. Giles'-in-the-Fields the expenditure on the provision of + food is still met from voluntary funds. At Hampstead, in all the + schools except one or two, the provision of food for necessitous + children is paid for by the Hampstead Council of Social Welfare. The + Care Committee refers to the Council of Social Welfare cases which are + suitable for home relief, _i.e._, cases where the mother can be + trusted to look after the children at home; in these cases adequate + relief for the whole family is given by the Council. If the mother + cannot be trusted or if she goes out to work all day, the children + receive meals at the feeding centre, the Council paying for these + meals. + +Amongst the most important of these is the London Vegetarian +Association. One of the chief objects of this Association, which has +been in existence many years, is the popularisation in the homes of the +poor of a vegetable diet which is at once both cheap and wholesome. +Dinners are provided consisting of a bowl of vegetable soup, a slice of +wholemeal bread and a slab of pudding. As a rule the meals are given +during the winter only, being continued during the Christmas holidays +and, if necessary, during the Easter holidays, and on Saturdays also. +The number of centres opened varies according to the state of the +Association's finances and the need that exists. During the present +winter some half-dozen have been established, besides the central depôt +in Whitechapel, about 900 children on an average being fed daily. Since +the passing of the Provision of Meals Act the activities of the +Association, as far as the children are concerned, have been confined +theoretically to the supply of dinners to children under school age or +to children who wish to pay for the meals. But school children who +prefer to be fed by the Association rather than by the school are also +given meals, as in addition are those who are not considered necessitous +by the School Care Committee. Any child can have a dinner on producing a +halfpenny. Free dinners are only given to children for whom application +is made by some charitable agency, district visitors, Little Sisters of +the Poor or other persons interested, no enquiry being made by the +Association itself in these cases. It is clear that there is much danger +of overlapping--in fact it has been found that, in some cases, children +have obtained a dinner at school first and have then gone on to the +depôt. In other cases it seems that the Association feeds some children +of a family, the Care Committee others. + +The total number of individual children fed during the year 1912-13 was +100,771,[410] the average weekly number being 41,529. The numbers fed +during the last thirteen years are seen in the following table:--[411] + + Season. Average weekly + number of + children fed. + + 1900-01 (August to July inclusive) 18,857 + + 1901-02 " " 20,085 + + 1902-03 " " 22,206 + + 1903-04 " " 23,842 + + 1904-05 " " 26,951 + + 1905-06 " " 27,159 + + 1906-07 " " 29,334 + + 1907-08 " " 37,979 + + 1908-09 " " 39,632 + + 1909-10 (August 1 to March 31) 42,153 + + 1910-11 (April 1 to March 31) 41,672 + + 1911-12 36,897 + + 1912-13 41,529 + +Footnote 410: + + These are necessitous children only. This number includes the + necessitous children in the Defective Schools, except the Cripple + Schools, where the meals are provided by the Cripple Children's + Dinners Committee. (See post, pp. 155-6.) + +Footnote 411: + + Annual Report of London County Council for 1911, Vol. IV., p. 33. The + figures for the earlier years are not reliable owing to the + multiplicity of agencies providing food. + + + (d)--The Care Committee. + + +In the selection of the children the County Council has throughout +pursued the policy of keeping the numbers fed as low as possible. The +School Doctor may recommend for meals, or more frequently for milk or +codliver oil, under-nourished children whom he discovers in the course +of medical inspection,[412] but the number of such cases is +comparatively small. As a rule the children are selected by the teachers +(either on their own initiative or, more frequently, on the application +of the parents) on the ground of poverty. + +Footnote 412: + + The teachers are asked to point out to the school doctor any children + about to be inspected whose names are on the necessitous register. + (London County Council, Handbook containing general information with + reference to Children's Care, 1912, p. 18.) + +The enquiry into the home circumstances of these children and the final +decision as to which of them shall be fed, devolve upon the Care +Committees. These Care Committees form the most striking feature of the +administration of the Provision of Meals Act in London. In no other town +have the services of the volunteer worker been utilised to such an +extent.[413] As we have seen, the County Council decided in 1909 that a +Children's Care Committee should be formed for every elementary school, +and there is now practically no school for which a committee has not +been appointed.[414] The committees consist of two or three of the +School Managers, together with not less than four voluntary workers +appointed by the Children's Care (Central) Sub-Committee.[415] The head +teachers, though not members,[416] usually attend the meetings, and in +some cases undertake a considerable amount of clerical work. The members +of these committees number some 5,600,[417] but of these many take +little or no part in the work, and the effective membership amounts +perhaps to not more than two-thirds of this total. + +Footnote 413: + + For examples of Care Committees in provincial towns, see ante, pp. + 65-66. In one or two Scottish towns also Care Committees have been + formed (see post, pp. 240, 241, 244-5.) + +Footnote 414: + + In addition to the ordinary elementary schools, Care Committees have + been formed also for the Special Schools for Defective Children, with + the exception of the Physically Defective. + +Footnote 415: + + In a few cases the committees are composed entirely, or almost + entirely, of working men. + +Footnote 416: + + In 1908 the Care Committees were very largely composed of teachers. + Out of the total membership of 2,939, 1,278, or about three-sevenths, + were teachers, 1,391 were school managers, and only 270 were voluntary + workers. (London County Council, Agenda for Sub-Committee on Underfed + Children, Appendix A, July 6, 1908.) + +Footnote 417: + + London County Council, list of members of Children's Care (School) + Committees, 1912. + +The functions of the Care Committees are numerous and important. They do +not merely decide which children shall receive school meals. They have +also to "follow up" cases of children who are found by the School +Medical Officer to need medical treatment, and, by visiting the homes, +induce the parents to obtain this treatment; often they arrange for the +supply of spectacles at reduced rates and collect payment from the +parents by instalments. Further, they have to advise parents in +connection with the employment of their children, referring suitable +cases to the Local Juvenile Advisory Committee, Apprenticeship Committee +or other agency, and generally befriending the children leaving school. +Some committees undertake the work in connection with the Children's +Country Holidays Fund. Frequently the Care Committee makes arrangements +for the supply of boots,[418] and sometimes also clothing, gratuitously +or at reduced rates. + +Footnote 418: + + At the end of 1911, organisations for the supply of boots were in + existence in 1,012 schools. These organisations were controlled by the + Care Committees, managers, or head teachers. (Report of the London + County Council for 1911, Vol. IV., p. 38.) + +The advantages of such a system of voluntary workers, acting in +connection with, and under the guidance of, the Local Authority are +many. The volunteer worker, as has often been pointed out, can bring to +bear on individual cases a patience and an enthusiasm which the official +has no time to bestow. By getting into friendly relations with the +mother, the volunteer visitor will often be able to help the family in +numberless ways. The Care Committee system represents, indeed, one of +the most hopeful movements of the time, denoting, as it does, an +awakening of the social conscience and a revolt against the old system +of district visiting, which meant too frequently merely the giving of a +dole, a system which encouraged a patronising attitude on the one hand, +and a cadging habit on the other. From the Care Committee visitor little +in the way of material gifts is to be expected. Instead, some effort is +demanded from the parent. He, or more usually she, is asked to +co-operate with the Care Committee in doing what is necessary for the +child's welfare. Moreover, the Care Committee is invaluable as a means +of educating public opinion. Many will be found who, though perhaps +strongly opposed in theory to the whole system of the provision of free +meals, are yet willing to work for the children, and by contact with the +children and their homes will learn something of the life and struggles +of the poor, and a better mutual understanding will be brought about. As +the Warden of a Settlement in Liverpool has pointed out, "it is a +constant lament of administrators of education that the public care more +for saving the rates than making citizens. The complaint is justified. +We only care about what we understand; the public understands the money +it has to pay, but it does not understand what happens to it. As a +matter of fact ninety per cent. of the ratepaying public have never been +at a feeding centre or seen a medical inspection; and their own +education was of such a scanty nature that one cannot expect their +general imagination to supply the deficiency. Hence they grumble at +paying for a service of which they are ignorant. The remedy lies in +making them understand. From the young men and women of these families +we can recruit Care Committee workers. They will visit the homes of the +people, the feeding centres and the school; their imagination will be +stirred and their intellects quickened; finally, the time will come when +an enlightened public opinion will be the critic of the education policy +of our city."[419] Splendid work is now being done in many parts of +London by the Care Committees and it is greatly to be regretted that the +system has not been more widely adopted in the provinces. + +Footnote 419: + + "Care Committee Work in Liverpool," by F. J. Marquis, in the _School + Child_, September, 1913, p. 11. + +On the other hand, the disadvantages of relying only on voluntary help +must not be overlooked. In the first place there is the difficulty of +securing enough workers. Remarkable as has been the response to the +appeal of the County Council for helpers, yet many more are needed. In +the residential parts of London this difficulty is not so much felt, but +in the poorer districts, where the need is greatest, it is impossible to +find enough people with leisure to devote to the work. From every Care +Committee that we have visited comes the cry for more helpers. If the +friendly relations with the parents are to be established, which are +essential if the maximum amount of good is to be derived from the +various activities which are undertaken by the school authorities, it is +of the greatest importance that the homes should be visited; but it is +rare to find a sufficient supply of workers forthcoming for this +visiting to be undertaken regularly. It is true that some committees +visit the homes once a month or sometimes even, in doubtful cases, once +a fortnight, but more frequently visits are paid at long intervals, and +in some districts many of the homes are never visited at all. At a +school in East London, for instance (and this is typical of many +others), we were told that it is found in practice quite impossible for +every case to be visited, since there are only two members of the Care +Committee to undertake this work. A committee in another district +reports, "visits in doubtful cases are made twice a year, supplemented +by quarterly visits," while another committee in the same district +reports that, "owing to the lack of sufficient help, it is often +necessary to receive parents instead of visiting homes." + +Still more difficult is it to obtain honorary secretaries. The functions +of a Care Committee are, as we have seen, many and varied, and involve +an enormous amount of work, if they are to be performed efficiently, +especially in districts where few volunteers can be obtained and where, +in consequence, a disproportionate amount of visiting falls to the lot +of the secretary. The secretary of a Care Committee in Stepney found +that it was necessary to give three quarters of her time to the work, +and "even so, outside help had to be called in to keep the clerical work +even approximately up to date."[420] The secretary of another school in +East London informed us that he had to give four full days a week, +besides some hours devoted to clerical work in the evening; while +another secretary, in Central London, gives about four hours' work on an +average five days a week. Obviously it is impossible to secure enough +volunteers. Many who undertake the work of secretary find after a few +months that they are obliged to give it up. The history of too many Care +Committees is a record of ever-changing secretaries, interspersed with +more or less prolonged interregna. In one district--and this appears to +be typical of London as a whole--we were told that, out of 91 schools, +some 10 or 15 were at the time without secretaries, and the duties had +to be undertaken by the Assistant Organisers. These officials are +already overburdened, and the result is that all but the most urgent +work is left undone. Nothing is more disheartening for an energetic +secretary who has laboured hard to effect some improvement in the +condition of the children than to find, when forced by stress of +circumstances to give up the work, that no one can be found to undertake +the secretaryship and that, consequently, much of the devoted labour of +months, perhaps of years, is undone. + +Footnote 420: + + "Care Committees," by A. S., in the _School Child_, March 1913, pp. + 4-5. + +The need for the appointment of paid secretaries for each school or +group of schools was, as we have seen, pointed out as long ago as +1908.[421] Since that date the activities of the Care Committees have +been enormously extended, and, in certain districts at any rate, if the +work is to be done with any degree of efficiency, the necessity for such +paid secretaries is becoming absolutely imperative. + +Footnote 421: + + See ante, pp. 139-140. + +But apart from the difficulty of securing enough voluntary workers, +there are inherent disadvantages in the present system. The enquiry into +the circumstances of the parents is not a duty for which the ordinary +volunteer worker is fitted. And the necessity of making these enquiries +may endanger those friendly relations which it is of such importance to +establish between the visitor and the parent. The enquiry is generally +totally inadequate. In the majority of cases the visitor is not trained +for the purpose, and frequently finds this work distasteful. Each +visitor has a different standard. No enquiry is made from the +employer[422]; indeed, in the large number of cases where the father is +casually employed such enquiry would be impracticable. In many cases +there is little or no knowledge of what other help is being given to the +family. Many committees insist on the parents appearing before them to +answer enquiries as to their circumstances. This is sometimes, as we +have seen, rendered necessary by the lack of workers and the consequent +impossibility of visiting the homes. But even if the homes are visited +some committees consider that the obligation on the part of the parents +to apply in person furnishes a test of the genuineness of their need. +The attendance of the father, where it can be secured, is useful as it +proves a means of bringing home to him his responsibility. It is not +infrequently found that the mother has applied for meals without the +husband's knowledge. On the other hand, as we have already shown, the +insistence on the parents' attendance may result in considerable +hardship to them, entailing perhaps the loss of half a day's work. They +are often kept waiting for a considerable time. Moreover, the assembling +of numbers together, all for the purpose of making application for +meals, tends to diminish the sense of self-respect. For this reason many +committees consider it undesirable to summon the parents, or they only +summon them in special cases. When the parent is summoned and does not +attend, the Council lays down that, if no immediate home visit is +possible, a notice shall be sent to the parent that if he or she fails +to attend before the committee or to show some good reason for not +attending, the committee will be obliged to charge for the meals +supplied to the children.[423] As far as we can discover, this is very +rarely done. The far more usual course is for the committee to send a +notice to the effect that the meals will be discontinued unless the +parent appeals. + +Footnote 422: + + Enquiries from the employers may not be made by the Care Committee + without the consent of the parent or guardian. Where the committee is + doubtful of the accuracy of the parents' statements, the case can be + referred to the Divisional Superintendent, who may make such + enquiries. + +Footnote 423: + + London County Council, Handbook containing general information with + reference to Children's Care, 1912, pp. 18-19. + +Another disadvantage arising from the utilisation of the service of +voluntary workers alone, is that no sufficient control can be exercised +by the Central Authority to enforce a common policy. A certain amount of +latitude is desirable so as to allow scope for individual initiative and +experiment. But in the matter of selection of the children to be fed +want of uniformity is wholly to be condemned. The diversity in methods +that prevails is in effect amazing. In two schools situated almost side +by side, and drawing their children from the same streets, the +percentage fed may be, in the one case, two, in the other ten, fifteen +or even more.[424] We have found this lack of uniformity in other towns, +since the numbers fed depend very largely on the views taken by +individual teachers, but in London there is superadded the diversity +produced by the divergence of views of the different Care Committees. In +one Care Committee the socialist element will be predominant. In another +the work may be done on strictly "C.O.S." lines; the meals are regarded +simply as a form of relief, and the feeding-list is cut down to the +lowest limit.[425] + +Footnote 424: + + Thus in three schools in South London, attended by children whose home + circumstances were very similar, the majority of the parents being + casual labourers, the percentages of children who were receiving free + meals in March, 1913, were 1.8, 2.9 and 7.5. In another neighbouring + school, where the children were very little poorer, nineteen per cent. + were being fed. + +Footnote 425: + + The most extreme example of the "strict" type is the committee which + deals with a group of schools in St. George's-in-the-East. It is held + that, the provision of meals being merely a form of relief, the work + should be as far as possible dissociated from the school; the parents + do not make application to the teachers but to a central office. + +The County Council has not found it possible to lay down any uniform +rule for the guidance of the committees.[426] Though, in a small number +of cases, the committee professes to have a scale, usually that laid +down by Rowntree,[427] in practice this is a very rough criterion, +frequently departed from, and the cases are all virtually decided on +their merits. Moreover, the policy of the same Care Committee even will +not always be a consistent one. The decision as to any particular case +will vary with the presence or absence of particular members of the +Committee. + +Footnote 426: + + "Having regard to the varying circumstances and conditions of + families, it is considered undesirable to fix a minimum wage which + would justify children being provided with school meals, and each case + should therefore be considered upon its own merits." (London County + Council, Handbook containing general information with reference to + Children's Care, 1912, p. 22.) + +Footnote 427: + + That is, 3s. for an adult and 2s. 3d. for a child. (_Poverty_, by B. + Seebohm Rowntree, 1901, p. 110.) + +Where children from the same family attend different schools--a frequent +occurrence in London--meals may be granted at one school and refused at +another. The County Council have issued elaborate regulations for +ensuring that in such cases each Care Committee concerned shall know +what the others are doing.[428] But though many Care Committees do +communicate with one another, or notify cases to a Mutual Registration +Committee, the County Council's instructions are frequently disregarded. +The secretary of one committee informed us that during the whole time of +her secretaryship--a period of over a year--she never once received any +notification from another committee. Even where the cases are notified, +it by no means follows that the several committees concerned adopt the +same plan of action; often we have found that the one committee did not +know in any particular case what the result of their notification had +been. One secretary even told us that though all the committees in her +district mutually notified cases to each other, this was solely for +information; they pursued their own policy, merely noting that some of +the children of the family were receiving meals at another school.[429] + +Footnote 428: + + Handbook containing general information with reference to Children's + Care, 1912, p. 20. + +Footnote 429: + + The County Council, a few months ago, drew attention to the lack of + uniformity prevailing. "In a number of cases it has been found that + the form has not been issued, with the result that Care Committees + dealing with part of a family are unacquainted with the relief + afforded by another Care Committee." (_London County Council Gazette_, + March 3, 1913, p. 210.) + +To the parents this diversity of treatment of similar cases can only +appear as capricious. Successive visits by the Care Committee visitors +from different schools, all making the same enquiries, are a needless +source of irritation to the parent, while being at the same time +unnecessary expenditure of time and energy for the visitors. Attempts +have been made in some districts to put an end to this waste of energy +and overlapping. In Camberwell, two or three years ago, it was decided +that the Care Committee visiting should be organised by streets instead +of by schools. The Care Committees of the different schools all sent on +their cases to the secretary of the organisation, who referred them to +the visitor for the particular street.[430] This scheme worked very well +for about eighteen months, but was then given up chiefly because the +secretary could not continue the work. Now three Care Committees in this +district have been amalgamated, so as to secure some measure of +uniformity.[431] In a few other districts also, the Care Committees for +groups of schools, though nominally separately appointed for each +school, are in effect composed of the same people. Quite recently an +attempt to prevent overlapping has been made by the County Council on a +larger scale. In Whitechapel the Council have provided a Central Office +where case papers will be kept, and paid assistants have been appointed +who will notify to each Care Committee any assistance which is being +given to the brothers and sisters of the children with whom they are +dealing. + +Footnote 430: + + "School Care Committees," by Maude F. Davies, in _Progress_, July, + 1910, p. 177. + +Footnote 431: + + At St. George's-in-the-East five committees have been amalgamated and + then re-divided into two, one dealing with all the Jewish, one with + all the Christian, children of the group. Overlapping is thus almost + completely avoided. + + + (e)--The Provision for Paying Children. + + +The County Council from the first has not looked with approval on the +proposal that meals should be provided as a matter of convenience to +parents who are willing to pay for them. "Only cases of exceptional +hardship," declared the Education Committee, "_e.g._, children of +widowers or of widows who are compelled, owing to their work, to be away +from home all day--should be so dealt with."[432] In such cases payment +must be made in advance and a week's notice be given, the full cost of +the meals being charged.[433] Consequently, in most schools we find that +no parents or only an insignificant number are voluntarily paying for +the meals.[434] But that there is a certain demand for such provision is +shown by the number of applications received where the Care Committee +encourages such a plan. In one school, for instance, we were informed +that a number of parents paid; sometimes when the children had been +receiving free meals the parents wished the children to continue having +them when the home circumstances improved, and were quite willing to pay +the cost. In such cases they preferred the children to go to the Cookery +Centre, this being looked on as superior to the feeding-centre. In +another district we were told that, though there was a demand on the +part of the parents, this was not encouraged, partly because the staff +of supervisors was inadequate to cope with larger numbers. There is +frequently an unfortunate difference in the treatment of the paying and +the non-paying children. At one centre, for instance, the "necessitous" +children are placed at one table, and are supplied with food provided by +the Alexandra Trust; the paying children are placed at another and are +given food cooked at the Cookery Centre. At another school we were told +that the paying children were fed at one end of the room, the +necessitous children at the other; incidentally the paying children had +to stand, since there were no chairs available, while the necessitous +children sat on forms. In several schools the parents pay for milk or +codliver oil when this is recommended by the doctor. In at least one +school, however, we were told that though some of the parents would be +willing to pay for this milk, it was too much trouble to collect the +money, so no payment was asked. In one or two schools milk is provided +for any child who likes to pay a halfpenny, and this provision is very +largely taken advantage of. + +Footnote 432: + + London County Council Minutes, November 2, 1909, p. 841. + +Footnote 433: + + The charge includes the cost of preparation and service of the meals, + and is calculated to the nearest farthing. (London County Council, + Handbook containing general information with reference to Children's + Care, 1912, pp. 27-28.) + +Footnote 434: + + In 1912-13 the number of individual children who paid the full cost of + the meals was 2,521, that is, only one-fortieth of the number of + "necessitous" children who were fed. The amount so received was £863. + +In the special schools for mentally defective children, where the +provision of meals is carried on on the same lines as in the ordinary +elementary schools, the proportion of children who pay for the meals is +greater, since, owing to the distance from school of many of the +children's homes, provision has to be made for non-necessitous as well +as necessitous. In the Cripple Schools special provision has for many +years been made by the Cripple Children's Dinners Committee. This body +provides the food, the County Council supplying the apparatus and +attendance. Dinners are supplied for all the children at a charge of 2d. +each. The parents appear thoroughly to appreciate the provision made, +and the great majority of them pay the full cost, only a few of the +children receiving the dinner free or at a reduced price.[435] + +Footnote 435: + + In 1911-12 the expenditure on food materials amounted to £4,273 2s. + 0d., and the payments for dinners to £4,206 15s. 9d. Out of a total of + 523,266 dinners supplied, only 33,043, or 6·3 per cent., were given + free. The average cost of the dinner, for food materials only, was + 1·96d. (Report of Cripple Children's Dinners Committee for 1911-12, + pp. 10, 11.) + + + (f)--The Service of the Meals. + + +The results of the half-hearted fashion in which London undertook the +responsibility for its underfed children are seen nowhere more clearly +than in the arrangements made for serving the meals. The County Council +seems to have been actuated throughout rather by the desire to keep the +expense down to the minimum than to supply the children with the most +suitable food and to see that the meals were served under civilising +conditions. In the early years after the Council took over the +provision, the Local Committees were left to make the best arrangements +that they could. Little encouragement was given them in any endeavour to +provide wholesome and varied meals under conditions likely to exercise +an educational influence over the children. Still less was any attempt +made to enforce such a policy. The reports are almost silent on this +aspect of the question, though the scanty references which are to be +found show a far from satisfactory state of affairs. In 1908, for +instance, it was reported that at thirty schools, where 3,090 children +were fed, plates and mugs were not provided. "This has meant generally," +reports the Executive Officer, "that the children brought their own mugs +and ate the food out of their hands." In twenty other schools +insufficient provision was made for washing up the utensils used and, +"as food was served to the children in successive relays, two or more +children used each drinking vessel or plate before it had been washed." +"The usual meal has been a dinner of soup (sometimes containing meat), +with, in certain cases, a form of pudding as an alternative. In the +great majority of cases this was the daily meal for months without +variety."[436] The Care Committee organisers, in their Report on the +Home Circumstances of Necessitous Children in the same year, remark +that, considering "the poor accommodation and the inferior quality of +the meals often provided for the children," together with the fact that +the highest average number of meals per child was 4·4 per week, it could +not be expected that there would be much noticeable improvement in the +physical condition of the children."[437] + +Footnote 436: + + London County Council, Agenda for Sub-Committee on Underfed Children, + Appendix A., July 6, 1908. + +Footnote 437: + + London County Council, Report on the Home Circumstances of Necessitous + Children in twelve selected schools, 1908, p. 25. + +Since the formation of the Local Associations of Care Committees in 1909 +conditions have improved, but they are still far from satisfactory. As +we have already mentioned, these Associations were formed in order to +introduce some measure of uniformity into the work of feeding the +necessitous children of the metropolis. They were from henceforth to be +responsible for the arrangements made for the actual serving of the +meals. The selection of a suitable centre rests with them, and it is +their duty to arrange for the requisite supply of food and for the +proper service of the meals and supervision of the children during the +meal time. + +The food may be supplied by the Alexandra Trust, a local caterer, a +cookery centre or a kitchen managed by the Local Association. The +quality of the food varies according to the arrangements made by each +Local Association. The food specially prepared for the Jewish children +appears to be generally good. At the cookery centres again, though +complaints are occasionally heard that the dinners are badly cooked, +they are as a rule appetising, and the menu is varied. The great +majority of the meals are, however, supplied by the Alexandra Trust. Ten +different dinner menus have been drawn up by this Trust, with a slight +variation for summer,[438] but in practice there is very little variety, +practically the same dietary being repeated week after week; usually +there is a deficiency of proteids and fats. The quantity supplied for +each child varies considerably in different centres. In one that we +visited, for instance, each child was given a large helping of suet +pudding with minced meat, followed by a large plateful of rice, and +second helpings were given if required; at another, where the dinner +consisted of only one course, with a piece of bread, the portions were +very small; the cook admitted that some of the children could eat more, +but if any were allowed a second helping all would ask for it, whether +they wanted it or not, and the food would then be left uneaten. + +Footnote 438: + + For menus, see Appendix I. + +How far the infants' needs are specially catered for depends on each +Local Association. Sometimes they are fed by themselves at the Cookery +Centre, where it is easier to provide suitable food and to pay +individual attention to their wants. More often they go with the elder +children to the feeding-centres. The Alexandra Trust has drawn up a +special menu for infants, and in centres where the food is supplied +otherwise than by the Trust the Council have instructed the Local +Association to make special provision.[439] But it is rare to find any +such provision made. As a rule the infants have the same food as the +elder children, though in centres where there is careful supervision, +and where the infants are placed at a separate table,[440] the size of +the helping is suited to their appetites. In many centres the number of +infants is so few as to make the preparation of a separate diet hardly +worth while, and the provision of special food has been known to give +rise to jealousy on the part of the elder children. + +Footnote 439: + + Minutes of London County Council, December 20, 1910, p. 1491. + +Footnote 440: + + Frequently the infants are placed with the older children at the + ordinary tables, which are too high for them to reach up to with any + comfort; it is sometimes impossible for them to eat without spilling + their food. (See the description of a feeding centre, post, p. 167.) + +Ordinarily one meal a day is provided, this meal being almost invariably +dinner, but in cases of special necessity or delicacy an additional meal +may be given. This meal may be either breakfast, milk or codliver oil. +The practice varies in each school. In some schools breakfast is never +given, or given only in very rare cases. In others breakfasts as well as +dinners are given to the most necessitous children. At St. +George's-in-the-East formerly only breakfasts were given, but now +dinners are given in addition to all the children on the feeding-list; +the breakfast is used as a test, the theory being that if the child does +not come for breakfast it shall not receive dinner, but in practice this +plan is not strictly carried out. Milk and codliver oil are given in +most schools, when recommended by the School Doctor; in some schools +milk is also given on economic grounds, as an additional meal to +specially necessitous children, instead of breakfast. In a few schools a +quantity of milk is supplied in the middle of the morning, and any child +who pays a halfpenny can have it, the children, especially the infants, +being encouraged to spend their halfpence on milk instead of on sweets. + +Where no other suitable accommodation is available, the meals may be +served in the School Hall, but this method is not encouraged by the +Council, and is frequently objected to by the teachers, and it is only +occasionally utilised. Often, as we have already mentioned, the meals +are served in the cookery centres, but the number of children that can +be thus accommodated is necessarily limited, and the centre may be +closed during the summer. Till recently some Local Associations arranged +for their children to be sent to small eating-houses. We have already +pointed out the disadvantages--the impossibility of making the meal in +any sense educational, and the lack of control over the +dietary--inherent, even under the most favourable conditions, in this +system. But in London, in many of these cookshops, the conditions were +the reverse of favourable; they could, indeed, only be described as +deplorable. For instance, at one eating-house, where the children were +sent for their dinners up to the spring of 1912, the room used was +hardly larger than a cupboard, and only six or eight children could be +fed at a time; the children had to go in relays and, when the numbers +were very large, had to sit on the stairs eating their food. In others +the conditions were equally bad. The plan of utilising restaurants is, +we are glad to say, falling into disfavour, but it is not yet entirely +abandoned. + +The most usual method is for the children to be sent to centres. These +centres are frequently basement rooms, dark and cheerless. Occasionally +plants or flowers are provided, but it is very rare to find any attempt +at table decoration. Since the average cost of serving the meals is much +less proportionately if the number of children is large, the County +Council has, for the sake of economy, decided that, where possible, +schools shall be grouped, and the children from them fed at one +centre.[441] As we have already pointed out, the herding together of +large numbers of children from different schools deprives the meal of +much of its educational value. The children from the different schools +will come in at different times. Often the centre is not large enough +for them all to be accommodated at once, and they have to be served in +relays, with the consequence that the meal must be hurried through. They +are usually seated at long tables, and are often crowded together, so +that adequate supervision is rendered very difficult. + +Footnote 441: + + London County Council, Handbook containing general information with + reference to Children's Care, 1912, p. 31. + +The supervision is occasionally undertaken voluntarily by teachers, and +in many centres by other voluntary workers. Where their regular +attendance can be secured the good results are soon apparent. But the +visits of voluntary supervisors are too often irregular, and it may +happen that no one is present to supervise the meal, except the women +who serve the food. In many districts it is impossible to obtain the +services of volunteers at all, and paid supervisors are appointed.[442] +These may be assistant teachers, retired teachers or other suitable +persons. One supervisor may be appointed for every hundred children, but +frequently the number to be looked after by one supervisor far exceeds a +hundred. Thus, in three centres we visited, there were 140 to 160 +children present, whilst in two others the numbers were well over two +hundred; in all these there was only one supervisor. + +Footnote 442: + + The payment is 7s. 6d. a week. (_Ibid._, p. 34.) + +The County Council has drawn up regulations for the management of the +centres,[443] but these regulations are largely disregarded. The +Council, for instance, has laid it down that boys and girls are to be +appointed to act as monitors, to assist in laying the tables and serving +the meals. In many centres this is not even attempted, and occasionally +where their services are utilised, owing to the large number of children +present, the supervisor is unable to devote much attention to the +training of the monitors, and their presence rather adds to the +prevailing confusion than conduces to the orderly and quiet service of +the meal. Another of the Council's regulations directs that a separate +mug shall be provided for each child.[444] But it appears to be the +exception rather than the rule for this instruction to be observed. +Though a sufficient supply of mugs is, or can on application be, +supplied for every centre, the women who serve the meals, being only +employed and paid for a fixed time, object to the extra labour involved +in washing up. Frequently no mugs are placed on the table at all, though +we were told that the children could have water if they asked for it; +when mugs are provided there is often only one to every two or three +children, perhaps to every five or six! At one centre that we visited, +though the girls were allowed mugs, the boys were not trusted, and mugs +of water were placed on a side table for their indiscriminate use after +the meal. + +Footnote 443: + + _Ibid._, pp. 29-30. + +Footnote 444: + + _Ibid._, pp. 32-33. + +The actual management of each centre varies, of course, very largely +according to the personality of the supervisor. We have visited some two +or three centres where all the arrangements were admirable; the children +were quiet and well-behaved, there was little or no waste of food, and +attention was paid to individual wants. But these cases are +unfortunately exceptional. Out of twenty centres in different parts of +London that we have seen,[445] in at least half the educational +advantages to be derived from the common meal are imperfectly +realised.[446] In a few cases the supervisors appear to consider this +aspect as but of secondary importance. So long as the children are fed +and some sort of rough order preserved, they are satisfied. The meal may +be eaten in a babel of noise. Food which the children do not fancy they +will throw on the floor, little attempt being made to prevent waste. But +in any case, in many centres, owing to the large number of children to +be attended to, the task of inculcating table manners is an almost +impossible one. Though the supervisors do their utmost, for instance, to +teach the children to use spoons and forks, it is not uncommon to +observe children eating with their fingers--even occasionally licking +their plates! It is impossible for the supervisor to give that +individual attention which is absolutely essential if the meal is to be +in any sense educational. + +Footnote 445: + + These centres were all visited in the spring, summer or autumn of + 1913. We describe some typical examples in the Appendix to this + chapter. + +Footnote 446: + + In 1911, as the result of an inspection of all the feeding centres by + the school doctors, it was reported that "in one-fifth ... the + conditions required material improvement, to make the giving of these + meals an educational function, and to impress the hygiene of proper + eating and cleanliness on the children." (Annual Report of the London + County Council for 1911, Vol. III., p. 170.) + + + (g)--Overlapping with the Poor Law Authority. + + +We have already described the extent to which, in the provinces, the +provision of meals by the Local Education Authority overlaps the +granting of relief by the Poor Law Authorities. London is no exception +to the general rule. In 1908 it was found that out of 1,218 families +investigated, 3·2 per cent. were at the time in receipt of out-relief, +while 13·54 per cent. had recently been receiving such relief.[447] In +February, 1910, it was reported that, of the children who were being fed +all over London, 4·6 per cent. were from families to whom Poor Law +relief was being granted.[448] The confusion was the greater since the +practice of the Guardians varied in each Union. "There is no uniformity +of policy or action amongst the Boards," reports the Education Committee +of the County Council in 1910. "For example, there could hardly be a +wider divergence of principle and practice between public bodies than +that which exists between such Boards as Paddington, Fulham, and St. +George's-in-the-East on the one hand, and Islington and Poplar on the +other. In the case of Fulham, the Guardians, when assessing the relief +to be granted, take into account the extent to which school meals are +already being supplied to children of the family ... but in the case of +Poplar, the Guardians have informed the various school Care Committees +that 'the fact that a family is in receipt of poor law relief should not +be considered as a reason for the children not being supplied with +meals.'"[449] To put an end to all this overlapping and diversity of +practice, the Council proposed that the Guardians should purchase school +meals for the children of families who were in receipt of relief. The +Local Government Board, however, declined to agree to this course. In +practice, they thought, it was hardly possible to avoid all difficulty +of overlapping, "though it should be feasible, with careful +administration, to restrict it within reasonable limits"; the only +suggestion they offered towards the solution of the difficulty was that, +if it appeared to the Education Authority that a child whose parents +were receiving out-relief required supervision by the Guardians, the +Education Authority should communicate with the Guardians with a view to +an investigation of the circumstances.[450] This suggestion was acted +upon, and the Care Committees were instructed in future to notify to the +Guardians all cases in which, to their knowledge, necessitous children +belonged to families in receipt of poor law relief.[451] But such +notification had little practical result. The Guardians continued to +grant inadequate relief, and the Council felt compelled to continue to +provide these children with food. How necessary school meals were was, +indeed, clearly shown by a resolution of the Hammersmith Guardians, who +themselves actually declared that, "when school children's parents are +in receipt of outdoor relief, that fact should in general be taken as an +indication that such children would be benefited by school meals, and +not as an indication that they are adequately fed, since, as a matter of +fact, outdoor relief is seldom or never adequate"![452] + +Footnote 447: + + London County Council, Report on the Home Circumstances of Necessitous + Children in twelve selected schools, 1908, p. 22. + +Footnote 448: + + Annual Report of London County Council for 1910, Chapter XLI., p. 7. + +Footnote 449: + + Minutes of the London County Council, February 15, 1910, p. 175. + +Footnote 450: + + _Ibid._, July 26-27, 1910, p. 319. + +Footnote 451: + + _London County Council Gazette_, May 29, 1911, p. 370. + +Footnote 452: + + _School Child_, February, 1912, p. 4. + +Though the Council's proposal that the Boards of Guardians should repay +the cost of the meals was rejected by the Local Government Board, as far +as London generally was concerned, individual Boards have agreed to the +plan. In Lambeth and Chelsea the Guardians have consented to pay the +cost of meals supplied to the children of parents who are receiving +out-relief, if they consider that school meals are necessary.[453] At +Hampstead, where the funds for the provision of school meals are +supplied by the Council of Social Welfare,[454] an informal arrangement +has been made with the Guardians. Where the mother can stay at home and +can be trusted to expend the relief given in food for the children, the +Guardians have agreed to give ample relief. Where the mother goes out to +work or cannot be trusted to feed the children properly, or where it is +undesirable for the children to go home, the Council of Social Welfare +pays for school dinners. + +Footnote 453: + + Minutes of London County Council, November 5, 1912, p. 1093; _London + County Council Gazette_, January 20, 1913, p. 65. + +Footnote 454: + + See ante, p. 141 n. + +But as a rule no definite arrangement is made. A few Care Committees +refuse to feed children whose parents are receiving relief, but in the +great majority of schools cases are to be found where children are being +fed by the Care Committee, while their parents are being relieved by the +Guardians.[455] Frequently no official communication passes between the +two authorities concerned. The Guardians may learn indirectly through +the Relieving Officer, or perhaps through some member of their Board who +happens also to be a member of the Care Committee, that the latter are +feeding the children. Where a system of mutual registration has been +established, each authority will, theoretically, be informed of what the +other is doing. How far all cases are actually notified will depend on +the secretary of each individual Care Committee. And this system of +mutual registration does not prevent overlapping in many cases where the +children are on the feeding-list for a short time only, since cases are +often notified only once a month, by which time the necessity for +feeding may have ceased. Occasionally the Guardians ask the Care +Committee to inform them if they discover any cases where the relief +appears inadequate, so that they may increase it, if necessary. In other +Unions the Guardians deliberately count on the provision of school meals +to supplement the relief given; they tell the parents to apply for +dinners and grant less relief in consequence, thereafter priding +themselves on keeping down the rates. + +Footnote 455: + + Most of the cases of overlapping are, of course, cases in which the + Guardians are granting out-relief. There are also the cases where the + Guardians are relieving a widow by maintaining some of her children in + Poor Law schools, but the mother has not sufficient income adequately + to maintain the remaining child or children. + + + APPENDIX + EXAMPLES OF FEEDING CENTRES IN LONDON + + + (a)--School, visited October, 1913. + + +Here the dinner is served in the Infants' School in a room at the top of +the building. Some sixty infants, all attending the school, were being +fed. They entered the room two by two and sat down together at low +tables on specially small chairs. Two teachers were present throughout +the meal; they served the food, and four of the children handed it +round. Perfect order was kept, and at the end of the meal all the +children rose together, and, after saying grace, marched out quietly. +The food is cooked on the premises, the menu being drawn up by one of +the teachers and varied every day. The whole meal was served in as +attractive a manner as possible, and testified eloquently to the care +and thought which must have been spent on its organisation. + + + (b)--School, visited June, 1913. + + +Here the meal is served in the school hall. The Headmistress much +objects to this plan, since it leaves the atmosphere close and stuffy +all the afternoon. Moreover, the bringing in of the tables and forms, an +operation which has to be begun twenty minutes before the end of morning +school, causes a considerable commotion. On the day of our visit 160 +children, boys, girls and infants, were receiving dinner. For this +number there were only one supervisor and two servers, assisted by five +or six monitresses chosen from among the elder children. As a result of +this inadequate supervision the meal was served in a perfect babel of +noise; the children shouted and screamed and banged their spoons on the +table. A bell was rung at intervals throughout the meal to obtain +silence, but no attention was paid to it. The fact that there was a +deficiency of seating accommodation heightened the confusion. At the end +of each table a child had to stand, and those sitting down were crowded +much too closely together. Separate tables were reserved for the +infants, of whom there were a large number, some of them tiny mites of +three years old. The tables, however, were not specially adapted for +them, being of the ordinary height. In consequence many of the little +ones had considerable difficulty in feeding themselves, their heads only +just appearing above the table, and, of course, nobody had time to +attend to their wants. It is only fair to add that we saw the centre at +a particularly unfortunate time, since the supervisor had only taken +over the work a few days prior to our visit, and therefore had not yet +obtained a firm hold over the children. The noise, we were told, was +usually not so great. + + + (c)--Centre, visited May, 1913. + + +This centre, attended by children from two neighbouring schools, is a +striking illustration of what can be effected by patient and careful +supervision. At the time of our visit this work was being performed by +an assistant teacher, but before her appointment the secretary or some +other member of the Care Committee daily supervised the meal for two +years. The meal was served in a large, cheerful room. No tablecloths +were supplied; at one time flowers were provided, much to the joy of the +children, but it was found impossible to continue this practice. The +children were seated at small tables, some eight or ten at each, an +arrangement which renders the work of supervision very much easier. +There were no infants present, as these are sent to the Cookery Centre. +A boy or girl was responsible for each table; they handed round the +food, paying attention to the individual appetites of the children. No +waste of food was permitted, the children being kept till they had +finished. The whole scene, the quiet and orderly behaviour of the +children and their consideration for one another's wants, left a most +pleasing impression upon the mind. At the date of our visit the numbers +were small, only some 50 children being present, but we were told that +their behaviour was quite as orderly even in winter, when the numbers +were much larger. + + + (d)--Centre, visited March, 1913. + + +This centre is a large basement room in a Mission Hall, dark and +unattractive, accommodating between 200 and 300 children. It serves +several neighbouring schools, and the numbers on the day of our visit +were too large to admit of all the children sitting down together. As +each child came in and gave up its ticket, it seized a spoon and fork +from a pile on a table near the door, and rushed to its place. When +about half the children were seated, grace was sung or rather shouted, +and then the food was brought in and literally flung on to the table by +the server and one or two of the elder boys. Though the numbers were so +large there was only one supervisor, though we were told that +occasionally one of the sisters from the neighbouring settlement came to +help. With such inadequate supervision it was, of course, impossible to +teach table manners. The children, the boys especially, gobbled down +their dinner, amid a hubbub of noise, and hurried out as soon as they +had finished, other boys rushing in to take their places. No special +provision was made for the infants; they were placed with the other +children and were given the same food. No attention was paid to +individual appetites and much of the food, we were told, was wasted. + + + (e)--Centre, visited June, 1913. + + +This is a centre for Jewish children, serving three or four neighbouring +schools. The room not being large enough to accommodate all the children +at once, two relays are necessary, even in summer. Over 200 children +were present, but there was only one supervisor, assisted by four or +five women. The children entered in an orderly fashion and seated +themselves at the table, none being allowed to begin the meal till all +were seated. The infants were placed at a separate table; they are given +special food when the dietary provided for the other children is not +suitable for them. Some of the elder girls acted as monitresses and +helped to serve the food and clear up afterwards. Unfortunately, owing +to the fact that other children were waiting to come in, the meal was +necessarily hurried, the second course being placed on the table while +the children were still eating the first course. Though the order +maintained was wonderful, considering the large numbers present, it was +impossible to attend adequately to the children's manners; many of them +were using their fingers, and there appeared to be considerable waste of +food. + + + (f)--Centre, visited October, 1913. + + +This is another centre for Jewish children. The dinner was served in a +large, dreary parish hall, to some 200 or 300 children. There was one +supervisor and four servers, while tickets were taken by the caretaker. +Order was well preserved, but only by means of the frequent ringing of a +bell, and by the enforcement of absolute silence. The supervisor said +that if the children were allowed to talk the noise would be unbearable. +Before being given their food, the children were told to hold up their +hands if they were "big eaters," the margin of waste being minimised in +this way. Although the manners and behaviour of the children could not +be said to be bad, the whole effect was singularly unattractive--the +bare room, the large numbers, and the frequent shouted commands and +rebukes of the supervisor leaving no scope for humanising and +educational influences. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + THE EXTENT AND CAUSES OF MALNUTRITION + + +"Defective nutrition," Sir George Newman points out, "stands in the +forefront as the most important of all physical defects from which +school children suffer."[456] Malnutrition, 'debility' and other +physical defects in childhood "are the ancestry of tuberculosis in the +adult. They predispose to disease, and are, in a sense, both its seed +and its soil."[457] + +Footnote 456: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1910, p. 26. + +Footnote 457: + + _Ibid._, p. 1. + +It is impossible to give any figures as to the extent of this defect, +since nutrition is not a condition which can be measured by any definite +standards. The weight of the child is, of course, a most important +matter to be noted, but there are other points--"the ratio of stature to +weight; the general appearance, carriage and 'substance' of the child; +the firmness of the tissues; the presence of subcutaneous fat; the +development of the muscular system; the condition of the skin and +redness of the mucous membranes; the expression of listlessness or +alertness, apathy or keenness; the condition of the various systems of +the body; and, speaking generally, the relative balance and +co-ordination of the functions and powers of digestion, absorption and +assimilation of food."[458] Each observer adopts a different standard of +what constitutes good nutrition, and hence the statistics given in the +reports of the School Medical Officers cannot be used for comparative +purposes. According to the latest figures, as quoted by the President of +the Board of Education, 10 per cent. of the elementary school children +of England and Wales suffer from defective nutrition.[459] Many of the +School Medical Officers, however, have obviously adopted a low standard +and Mr. Arthur Greenwood, who has made a careful enquiry into this +subject, is of opinion that, "taking the country as a whole, not merely +10 per cent., but probably a number approaching 20 per cent., show +perceptible signs of malnutrition."[460] + +Footnote 458: + + _Ibid._, p. 26. + +Footnote 459: + + _Hansard_, April 10, 1913, Vol. 51, p. 1381; _The Health and Physique + of School Children_, by Arthur Greenwood, 1913, p. 48. + +Footnote 460: + + _Ibid._, p. 50. + +Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that the degeneration is +progressive. In an enquiry conducted by Dr. Arkle at Liverpool, 2,111 +children from three elementary schools were compared, as to height and +weight, with 366 children from secondary schools. The results (see +accompanying table) showed that at practically every age the heights and +weights of the children varied directly with the class from which they +were drawn, and the deficit increased out of proportion to the rate of +growth. "These figures," he points out, "are rendered all the more +striking when one considers that one is talking of children and not of +full-grown men. A difference of a stone in the weight of two men may not +be a very great matter, but when the investigation shows such a +discrepancy between two groups of boys of eleven, it means that one of +the groups is deficient to the extent of one-fifth of the whole body +weight, and the decadence is so progressive that the deficiency has by +fourteen years of age almost reached a quarter of the whole body +weight."[461] + +Footnote 461: + + "The Medical Examination of School Children," by Dr. A. S. Arkle, a + paper read at the North of England Education Conference, January, 1907 + (reprinted in _School Government Chronicle_, Supplement, January 12, + 1907, pp. 77, 89). As we have already said, the nutrition cannot be + determined solely by weight. "In fact," as a School Medical Officer + points out, "an ill-nourished child may be above the average weight, + or, on the other hand, a healthy child may be much under the average + and yet not be ill-nourished." (Report of the School Medical Officer + for Leeds for 1910, p. 27.) But when dealing with large numbers of + children, the average weight furnishes a reliable index of nutrition. + +This malnutrition is to be attributed to many causes besides actual lack +of food. Improper food and hurried methods of eating account for much +malnutrition. So much has been written on the subject of the wrong +feeding of children that it seems unnecessary to labour this point. One +can, indeed, hardly open a report of a School Medical Officer without +finding this evil deplored. In the poorest homes there are frequently no +fixed meal times; the children are given "a piece" when they are hungry, +and this is often eaten in the street or on the doorstep. Bread and tea +figure largely in the dietary. Supper is frequently the principal meal +of the day, with resulting indigestion for the children. + +Employment out of school hours and want of sleep are again important +factors. Indeed, in the eyes of some School Medical Officers, +malnutrition is due more to want of sleep than to lack of food. The +children are almost invariably kept up till late at night, it being a +rare exception to find a child being sent to bed at anything approaching +a reasonable hour. + +A still more potent cause, perhaps, is to be found in bad housing +conditions. Striking testimony as to the relation between the physique +of school children and housing was adduced by Dr. Leslie Mackenzie and +Captain Foster, as a result of an enquiry into the condition of 72,857 +school children in Glasgow. "If we take all the children of ages from 5 +to 18," they report, "we find that the average weight of the one-roomed +boy is 52·6 lbs.; of the two-roomed, 56·1 lbs.; of the three-roomed, +60·6 lbs.; of the four-roomed and over, 64·3 lbs. The respective heights +are 46·6 inches; 48·1 inches; 50·0 inches and 51·3 inches. For girls the +corresponding figures are:--Weights, 51·5 lbs.; 54·8 lbs.; 59·4 lbs.; +65·5 lbs. The heights are 46·3 inches; 47·8 inches; 49·6 inches; 57·6 +inches."[462] + +Footnote 462: + + Report by Dr. Leslie Mackenzie and Captain A. Foster, on the Physical + Condition of Children attending the Public Schools of the School Board + of Glasgow, 1907, p. v. + +At East Ham also the nutrition of the children was found to vary in +accordance with the number of rooms:--[463] + + Number of Rooms. Number of Percentage with + Children Nutritional + Examined. Defects. + + Children from 2 and 3-roomed 255 17·2 + houses + + 4-roomed houses 486 16·7 + + 5-roomed houses 657 13·2 + + 6-roomed houses 1,486 13·5 + + Number of Persons per Room. + Less than one 877 9·2 + One 576 15·4 + Between one and two 1,379 15·2 + Two and more 181 17·7 + +Footnote 463: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for East Ham for 1911, p. 56. + +The interpretation of these tables, as the School Medical Officer points +out, must be guarded. But, he continues, "I think it is safe to assume +that nutrition ... suffered the more confined the individual."[464] + +Footnote 464: + + _Ibid._, p. 57. + +Actual physical defects, such as decayed teeth,[465] adenoids or +enlarged tonsils, or definite diseases, such as phthisis, may account +for malnutrition in many cases. Want of cleanliness again may be a +cause.[466] + +Footnote 465: + + The School Medical Officer for Cumberland found that whilst, at the + age of 3 to 4, 28·4 per cent. of the boys and 38·7 per cent. of the + girls were classified as good, "the percentages diminish gradually + till at the age of 7 to 8 they are only 12·8 and 15·9, but from 20·4 + and 29·7 at the age of 12 to 13 they gradually rise to 36·0 and 34·6 + at the age of 14 to 15. Probably in most cases the condition of the + teeth is responsible for this falling off in condition. In the early + years of life, before the teeth begin to go bad, the nutrition is + good, but gradually gets worse as time goes on and more teeth decay, + but nutrition again improves after the eruption of the permanent + teeth, which, of course, are in the majority of cases sound for some + little time." (Report of the School Medical Officer for Cumberland for + 1911, p. 20.) + +Footnote 466: + + "The cleanliness of the houses and especially of the bedrooms ... has + an important bearing on nutrition." (Report of the School Medical + Officer for Congleton for 1911, p. 4.) A School Medical Officer in + London told us that if a child improved in the point of cleanliness + there was a marked improvement also in nutrition. + +The precise effect to be attributed to each cause is difficult to +estimate. Often, of course, two or more factors will be present, +concurrently and interdependently. In an enquiry made in 1910 by Dr. +Chate, into the condition of 570 children (307 boys and 263 girls) in a +rural or semi-rural district of Middlesex who were suffering from +malnutrition, it was found that poverty was the principal cause in 29·5 +per cent. of the cases among the boys, and 26·1 per cent. among the +girls. Adenoids, worms, rickets, carious teeth and oral sepsis accounted +for 32·7 per cent. among the boys, and 33·3 per cent. among the girls. +Improper diet was the main cause in 2·3 per cent. of the cases. In 69 +cases malnutrition was due to some disease such as tuberculosis, chronic +bronchitis, etc., while in 13 cases it was attributed to overcrowding, +and in 10 cases to overwork with insufficient sleep.[467] In the +following year a similar enquiry was made by Dr. Tate in a suburban +residential area of the same county. Out of 167 cases, defective +nutrition was found to be due to poverty and neglect in 23·3 per cent.; +to rickets, adenoids, worms or digestive disorder in 28·5 per cent.; to +lung affection in 5·4 per cent.; in 7·2 per cent. malnutrition "appeared +to be associated with some previous or present condition of ill-health, +to account for which no organic mischief could be found at the time of +inspection"; while in 33 instances no obvious cause could be +assigned.[468] + +Footnote 467: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1910, pp. 29-30. + +Footnote 468: + + _Ibid._, for 1911, p. 30. + +At Bootle the School Medical Officer reports that out of 289 cases of +sub-normal nutrition, the cause is to be sought in 78 per cent. in some +definite disease or physical defect (including disturbances of digestion +due to improper feeding); in 17 per cent. there are no definite signs of +organic disease; while in 5 per cent. malnutrition is due to +neglect.[469] + +Footnote 469: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Bootle for 1912, p. 17. + +At Wolverhampton Dr. Badger reports that, out of 131 cases, malnutrition +is due to the influence or reaction of disease, convalescence from +recent disease, or defective heredity in 64; to pampering in 4; to +excessive growth in 1; to overwork and insufficient sleep in 11; to +ignorance and poverty in 25; while in 26 cases there was strong evidence +of neglect, dirt or drink.[470] In his opinion, an opinion based upon a +comparison of the clothing and footgear of the malnourished and normal +children, "the malnutrition of the scholars examined was not primarily +due to poverty."[471] This, as Sir George Newman points out, "may well +have been the case, but the fact that the examinations were 'routine' in +character, when the children are apt to be specially dressed and boots +even borrowed for the occasion, makes this particular item, unless +subjected to further analysis, of little or no value as a criterion in +forming a judgment as to the relation of poverty to the +malnutrition."[472] + +Footnote 470: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Wolverhampton for 1911, p. + 28. + +Footnote 471: + + _Ibid._, p. 32. + +Footnote 472: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 25. + +Other School Medical Officers are of the same opinion as Dr. Badger. At +Congleton the School Medical Officer visited the homes of a considerable +number of children whose nutrition was defective, with a view to +ascertaining the cause of their condition. He found that "actual poverty +of the parents and inability to provide food was comparatively rare, +that neglect was common, and unsuitable food probably the most frequent +cause."[473] At Hornsey in the majority of cases "some definite ailment +was apparent to explain, at least partially, the condition. There were +very few instances in which it could be certainly stated that +insufficiency of food was the sole cause."[474] At Manchester "the vast +majority" of children whose nutrition was medium "and many of those who +were poorly nourished were not in this condition through want of +food.... Each year's work adds to the evidence that poverty is not +responsible for more than about 50 per cent. of the cases."[475] On the +other hand, the School Medical Officer for Kidderminster reports, "I +find that the better condition of trade and employment in the town was +reflected in the improved nutrition of the children.... This also tends +to show that the majority of cases of defective nutrition arise, not +from carelessness and inattention on the part of the parents, but from +inability on their part to provide the children with sufficient +nourishment owing to want of means."[476] + +Footnote 473: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Congleton for 1911, p. 4. + +Footnote 474: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Hornsey for 1911, p. 14. + +Footnote 475: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for 1911, in Report of the + Manchester Education Committee, 1910-11, p. 242. + +Footnote 476: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Kidderminster for 1911, p. 2. + +It is indeed impossible to say how much malnutrition is due to poverty. +Though the immediate cause may be disease, overwork, or overcrowding, +these evils are themselves largely the result of insufficient means. + +The relation between the malnutrition of the children and the amount of +the family income is strikingly illustrated by the results of an enquiry +recently made into the diet of the labouring classes in Glasgow. A +careful study was made of the family diet of certain selected families +during a week, or in some cases a fortnight, and the energy value of +each diet expressed in terms of the requirements of a man per day, a +woman or a boy of 14 to 16 being reckoned as equivalent to ·8 of a man, +a girl of 14 to 16 as ·7, and children of 10 to 13, 6 to 9, 2 to 5, and +under 2 respectively as ·6, ·5, ·4, ·3. "If a family diet expressed in +this way gives a yield of energy of less than 3,500 calories per man per +day, it is insufficient for active work, and if less than 3,000 +calories, it is quite inadequate for the proper maintenance of growth +and of normal activity."[477] + +Footnote 477: + + Report upon a Study of the Diet of the Labouring Classes in the City + of Glasgow carried out during 1911-12, by Dorothy E. Lindsay, B.Sc., + 1913, pp. 5-6. + +"Taking the average intake of energy and of protein in the various +groups [comprising 52 families], the results are as follows:-- + + Energy. Protein. + + Group A. [Income regular, average 39s.] 3,184 113·8 + (excluding LIX. abnormal) + + Group B. [Income regular, lodgers kept, 3,316 111·7 + average 43s.] + + Group C. [Income regular, between 27s. & 3,467 118 + 31s.] + + Group D. [ " " " 20s. & 3,456 117·7 + 25s.] + + Group E. [ " " under 20s.] 2,690 97·8 + + Group F. [Income irregular, over 20s.] 2,994 108 + + (excluding XLIV. abnormal) 2,784 101·4 + + Group G. [Income irregular, under 20s.] 2,797 96·6 + + Group H. [ " " father 3,155 103·9 + drinks] + + or, excluding XXVII. abnormal 2,921 95·6 + +"These figures show conclusively that, while the labouring classes with +a regular income of over 20s. a week generally manage to secure a diet +approaching the proper standard for active life, _those with a smaller +income and those with an irregular income entirely fail to get a supply +of food sufficient for the proper development and growth of the body or +for the maintenance of a capacity for active work_."[478] "An +interesting point in connection with these studies is the influence of +the diet on the physical condition of the children." The weights of a +number of children which were obtained "show very markedly the +relationship between the physique and the food. _When the weight is much +below the average for that age, almost without exception the diet is +inadequate._"[479] + +Footnote 478: + + _Ibid._, p. 27. The numbers in each group are so small that the + average does not furnish a reliable index, but that the conclusion + drawn from the figures is warranted is shown by the fact that of the + 27 families in the first four groups (excluding one case where the + circumstances are abnormal), 8 have a dietary yielding over 3,500 + calories of energy and only 6 fall below the minimum of 3,000, while + of the 22 families in the remaining groups (excluding two abnormal + cases), only one has a dietary yielding over 3,500 calories, while no + less than 16 fall below the minimum. (_Ibid._, pp. 12-23.) Here, of + course, again we have the question of wrong feeding. In many cases the + income could have been laid out to better advantage. "Where one family + gets nearly their minimum adequate diet on an expenditure of 5·1 pence + per man per diem ... others on an expenditure of nearly 9d. fail to + secure it." (_Ibid._, p. 29.) + +Footnote 479: + + _Ibid._, p. 30. + +Dr. Larkins, late assistant School Medical Officer for Surrey, also came +to the conclusion "that a steady wage of 20s. a week is required to +produce and properly maintain average strong well-nourished children; +that below this figure, the danger zone is reached." This conclusion was +based on an enquiry he made into the wages of the parents of all +children aged 13 that he examined during a considerable period.[480] The +results are seen in the following table:-- + +Footnote 480: + + The actual number of children examined is not stated. + + Average Average Weight General Condition of Average number of + Weekly in lbs. of the children children in family. + Wages. children aged (Percent Very Good / (Total, Under 14, + between 13 and Average / Poor) Over 14) + 14. + + Over 25s. 99·6 50 / 46 / 4 5·5 3·4 2·1 + + 20s. to 84·1 15 / 73 / 11 5·7 2·8 2·9 + 25s. + + 18s. to 77·0 / 56 / 44 6·3 3·8 2·5 + 20s. + + 16s. to 72·6 / 42·5 / 57·5 6·6 4·2 2·4 + 18s. + + 14s. to 74·3 / 22 / 78 7·6 2·9 4·7 + 16s. + + 12s. to 70·8 / 20 / 80 3·6 2·2 1·4 + 14s. + +The wages are the total weekly income out of which everything has to be +paid, including rent, which varies from 4s. to 7s. 6d. ("The Influence +of Wages on the Child's Nutrition," by F. E. Larkins, M.D. Edin., +D.P.H., late Assistant School Medical Officer for Surrey, in _The +Medical Officer_, December 17, 1910, p. 347.) + +The effect of education is, as was recognised thirty years ago, to +intensify the evil of malnutrition. "To educate underfed children," says +Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, "is to promote deterioration of physique by +exhausting the nervous system. Education of the underfed is a positive +evil."[481] "Defective nutrition," says the School Medical Officer for +Blackburn, "to a far greater extent than any other single cause, and +probably more than all other causes combined, renders children incapable +of education. In a growing child the demands of muscle and bone must be +satisfied before those of nervous tissue, and consequently when there is +deficiency, or what comes to the same thing, unsuitability of food or +inability to assimilate it, the nervous system is the first to suffer, +the brain is starved and anæmic, and the extra strain involved in school +work can have only a harmful, and in some cases a disastrous +result."[482] "There is probably no disease of children," says another +School Medical Officer, "which needs combating more than bad +nutrition.... It is quite impossible for any child thus affected to +compete mentally with normal children of similar age; in fact, mental +defect is frequently found in association with malnutrition."[483] + +Footnote 481: + + _The Medical Inspection of School Children_, by Dr. W. Leslie + Mackenzie, assisted by Dr. E. Matthew, 1904, p. 196. + +Footnote 482: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Blackburn for 1911, p. 190. + +Footnote 483: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Leeds for 1912, p. 30. + +This relation of mental capacity to nutrition was exemplified in the +figures quoted by Dr. Ralph Crowley at the Education Conference in 1907. +He examined 1,840 children in elementary schools at Bradford, and +classified them according to their nutrition and intelligence. + +Of the children of exceptional intelligence, 62·7 per cent. were of good +nutrition, 35·6 per cent. were below normal, and 1·7 per cent. were of +poor or very poor nutrition. Of the children who were exceptionally +dull, only 24·9 per cent. were of good nutrition, 39·5 were below +normal, and no less than 35·6 poor or very poor.[484] + +Footnote 484: + + "The Physical Conditions of School Children," by Dr. Ralph H. Crowley, + North of England Education Conference, January, 1907 (reprinted in the + _School Government Chronicle_, Supplement, January 12, 1907, pp. + 80-81). + +In an enquiry made at Manchester by the School Medical Officer a few +years ago, it was found on examining 146 poorly nourished and 163 +markedly badly nourished children, that 56·1 per cent. of the former +were below par in mental capacity, and 4·8 per cent. were classed as +bad; of the latter 63·2 per cent. were below normal, and 12·9 per cent. +bad. + +But the most remarkable results are recorded by Dr. Arkle, of Liverpool, +in the enquiry to which we have already referred. He asked the teachers +to give evidence as to the intelligence of the 2,111 elementary school +children whom he examined. "The teachers in 'A' and 'B' both return +about 60 per cent. of the children as normal in intelligence, but +whereas the former returns 25 per cent. as above and 15 per cent. below +normal, the latter only returns 5 per cent. above and 35 per cent. as +below the normal. But it is in the return from the poorest school that +we get the most curious result. In 'C' the master only feels justified +in calling 22 per cent. of the boys normal, while he puts 33 per cent. +above and 45 per cent. below normal." These figures, "it seems to me," +writes Dr. Arkle, "can only be explained on one hypothesis. I believe, +and my personal notes tend to confirm this view, that almost all the +abnormal intelligences in the poorest school are due to the one +factor--starvation.... Over and over again I noted such cases of +children without an ounce of superfluous flesh upon them, with skins +harsh and rough, a rapid pulse and nerves ever on the strain, and yet +with the expression of the most lively intelligence. But it is the eager +intelligence of the hunting animal.... I fear it is from this class that +the ranks of pilferers and sneak thieves come, and their cleverness is +not of any real intellectual value. On the other hand, with children of +a more lymphatic temperament, starvation seems to produce creatures more +like automata.... If I told one of these children to open its mouth, it +would take no notice till the request became a command, which had to be +accompanied by a slight shake to draw the child's attention. Then the +mouth would be slowly opened widely, but no effort would be made to +close it again until the child was told to do so.... I believe both +these types of children are suffering from what I would call starvation +of the nervous system, in one case causing irritation and in the other +torpor. And, further, these cases are always associated with the +clearest signs of bodily starvation, stunted growth, emaciation, rough +and cold skin and the mouth full of viscid saliva due to hunger."[485] + +Footnote 485: + + "The Medical Examination of School Children," by Dr. A. S. Arkle, in + _School Government Chronicle_, Supplement, January 12, 1907, p. 78. + +Somewhat similar results were observed by Dr. Badger, the School Medical +Officer for Wolverhampton. In comparing 1,299 normal children of +thirteen years of age with 100 mal-nourished children, he found that, +while of the normal scholars 16·6 per cent. were of good intelligence, +68 per cent. of average intelligence and 15·5 per cent. dull, among the +mal-nourished children the percentages were respectively 16, 59 and +25.[486] This "record in respect of intelligence," points out Sir George +Newman, "shows, what has been noted by other observers, that though the +proportion of children considered as 'dull' by the teachers is +considerably larger among mal-nourished children than among children +generally, nevertheless there are children who suffer serious defects in +nutrition whose mental powers are well above the average. It is +naturally quick and keen children such as these who require care in +order that their physical health may not be further injured by excessive +mental application."[487] + +Footnote 486: + + Report of the School Medical Officer for Wolverhampton for 1911, p. + 24. (Quoted in Report of Chief Medical Officer of the Board of + Education for 1911, p. 24.) + +Footnote 487: + + Report of Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for 1911, p. + 24. + + + + + CHAPTER V + THE EFFECT OF SCHOOL MEALS ON THE CHILDREN + + +Since the causes of malnutrition are so many and diverse it is obvious +that this defect cannot be remedied or prevented solely by the provision +of school meals. But that the provision of wholesome food at regular +hours has a marked effect in the improvement of the physique of the +children, there is abundant evidence. + +Unfortunately, though the periodic weighing of children who are +receiving school meals, in order to ascertain the effect produced, has +been strongly advocated by the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of +Education,[488] this advice has rarely been acted upon. It is true that +a few--a very few--Education Authorities profess to have a system of +weighing children who are receiving meals, before they are put on, and +after they are taken off, the feeding-list, but for the most part this +weighing is only done spasmodically, and the records are not accessible. + +Footnote 488: + + Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for + 1911, p. 286. + +Several such enquiries have, however, been made in the past, the best +known being that made by Dr. Ralph Crowley at Bradford in 1907.[489] The +results of this experiment have been often quoted, but they are so +important that they will bear repetition. Forty children were selected +from two of the poorest schools in the city, the children being mainly +those who appeared to be most in need of food, though a few were +included primarily on the ground of their particularly poor home +circumstances.[490] To these children from April 17 to July 24 two meals +a day were given--breakfast, consisting of oatmeal porridge with milk +and treacle followed by bread and margarine or dripping, with hot or +cold milk to drink; and a dinner comprising in rotation one of seventeen +different menus specially drawn up so as to contain the amounts of fat +and proteid necessary for a child's nourishment.[491] Every effort was +made to render the meals of as much educational value as possible, and +special attention was given to such matters as the provision of +table-cloths and flowers and the inculcation of good manners. + +Footnote 489: + + Bradford Education Committee, Report on a Course of Meals given to + necessitous children from April to July, 1907. + +Footnote 490: + + _Ibid._, p. 3. + +Footnote 491: + + _Ibid._, pp. 4, 5. + +The children experimented on were weighed three times during the five +weeks preceding the starting of the meals, and every week while they +were receiving them. For the purpose of making comparative observations +69 children were selected who were being fed at home, and who in other +respects were as comparable as possible with those who were receiving +the breakfasts and dinners. These "control children" were also weighed +weekly. During the four weeks, March 12 to April 9, before the feeding +began, the forty children gained on an average ·17 kilos, and during the +week previous to feeding ·008 kilos. At the end of the first week of +feeding the average increase was found to be ·58 kilos (1 lb. 4 +oz.).[492] During the next week, there was a slight loss of ·001 kilos, +followed by a gain during the next two weeks of ·15 and ·13 kilos +respectively. During the ensuing eleven days, the Whitsuntide holiday, +no meals were given. At the end of this period it was found that the +"control children" who, during the three weeks preceding the holiday, +had lost ·003 kilos on the average, had during these eleven days gained +an average of ·23 kilos; in the case, however, of the children fed at +school, not only had the lack of food neutralised the benefits of fresh +air and exercise, but they had actually lost an average of ·48 kilos, a +loss which it took them nearly a fortnight to make up, after the meals +had been started again. During the eleven days after the holiday the +"control children" only gained ·02 kilos. A group of "control children" +from another school similarly gained ·21 kilos during the holiday, and +only ·04 kilos during the subsequent fortnight. The same result was +observed during the five weeks' summer holiday; the "control children" +gained on an average ·37 kilos (_i.e._, at the rate of ·074 kilos per +week), while the children fed at school lost ·46 kilos.[493] The +accompanying chart illustrates the rate of increase of the two groups of +children. Apart from the increase in weight, the improvement in the +general appearance and carriage of the children who received the meals +"was more or less apparent in all, and very obvious in some of the +children, who visibly filled out and brightened up."[494] The reverse +process was equally apparent after the summer holidays. + +Footnote 492: + + "The average gain per year of children of this class and size," Dr. + Crowley points out, "is not more than two kilos (4 lbs. 6 oz.) for the + whole year." (_Ibid._, p. 9.) + +Footnote 493: + + _Ibid._, pp. 9-11. As Dr. Crowley points out, several points have to + be considered in interpreting the effect on weight. "The increase in + the weight of children normally varies greatly at different seasons of + the year," and "at any given season fluctuates much, sometimes, + comparatively, even from week to week. The proportional increase in + weight varies with the age of the child, or rather with the weight to + which the child has already attained." (_Ibid._, p. 8.) + +Footnote 494: + + _Ibid._, p. 8. + +[Illustration: Chart illustrating the average gain or loss in +weight--during the intervals shown--of the children who were fed at +Bradford. The broken line shows the average increase in weight--during +the same time--of the "Control Children."] + +At Northampton, in 1909, a similar experiment was conducted under the +supervision of the Medical Officer of Health. Forty-four children were +given breakfast and dinner for fourteen weeks, and weighed weekly, +together with forty children of the same social class who were not +receiving meals. At the beginning of the experiment the average weight +of the fed children was 1·71 kilos less than that of the "controls"; in +the second week their average gain was much greater, and by the end of +the fourteenth week the difference in weight was reduced to 1·02 kilos. +During the Easter holidays of ten days in which no meals were given, the +children who had previously been fed lost in weight while the "controls" +gained.[495] + +Footnote 495: + + Report on the Working of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act up to + March 31, 1909, pp. 14-15. + +Another interesting experiment was conducted by Dr. Haden Guest in a +poor school in Lambeth in the early part of 1908.[496] A large number of +children were selected--244--but the attendance of many of these was +irregular and continuous records were obtained in the case of only 89 +children. From January 24 to April 11 a midday meal was given six days a +week. The meal consisted of two courses, a normal portion of which was +calculated to be sufficient to supply the amounts of proteids, +carbohydrates, fats and salts, physiologically necessary for children. +The same meal was never given twice in succession, a variation of six +menus being repeated over twelve consecutive days. The room in which the +meals were served was bright and airy, the surroundings having, in Dr. +Guest's estimation, an important physiological bearing on good +digestion. All the children in the school were weighed before and after +the experiment and again in the first week of July, the children who +were receiving dinners being also weighed regularly during the +experiment. Taking first the case of the elder children, we read that +the results "showed a very decided and positive improvement both from +the general standpoint and from that of increase in weight, the fed +children increasing at a more rapid rate than the other children in the +school with whom they were compared."[497] "Starting a good deal below +the normal of their own school mates, they tended, under the influence +of one good meal a day, rapidly to approach that normal." And again, +"the increase in the healthy appearance of the children and in their +general alertness was marked. Children with sores, small abscesses, +colds and blepharitis recovered from these ailments.... The amount of +absence from school due to illness was considerably less during the +course of the experiment." This testimony was fully borne out by the +headmaster. "The effect of the feeding of the children," he declared, +"is a marked improvement judging from the general appearance of the +boys, who are almost all brighter. The improvement is particularly +noticeable in their play. They are more vigorous and enter more heartily +into the rougher games of boys and bear the knocks without coming to the +teacher to complain. They certainly enjoy their play more and show less +fatigue. There are few lads shivering against the walls with hands in +pockets, sloping shoulders and pale faces. In school, the effect during +the first few weeks was drowsiness. This was succeeded by improved tone +and greater independence of character, and generally a greater +individuality. The difference in mental condition is not so marked, and +is certainly more difficult to measure. There is less fatigue in +lessons, and the lads are capable of more continuous exertion." The +teachers' reports on the girls were of the same character, though not so +decided in tone, except on one point--that those who were fed were "more +troublesome," that is to say, more full of spirits, a factor which +appeared also in their play. Turning to the effect of the meals on the +infants a most disquieting state of affairs was disclosed. It was found +that, while the weight of the infants who were fed was less than that of +the other infants of their own school, "the difference was much less +than in the case of the bigger children, the increase in weight in each +case correspondingly slow, and the amount by which both groups fell +below the normal greater." During the first week there was a remarkable +fall in weight among the infants who received meals, ascribable partly +to the fact that they did not receive the necessary attention which was +afterwards given them, partly to the fact that they were unfamiliar with +good nourishing food (a factor operating in the case of the elder +children also, though to a far less degree[498]); largely, however, it +was due to their being "actually unable to digest and assimilate this +food." This slow progress on the part of the infants Dr. Guest +attributed to improper feeding at home. In most Lambeth homes the +younger children received the same diet (the staple articles being tea +and bread and butter) as the older ones, but whereas the latter could +manage on this diet, and, with a good midday meal in addition, even +flourish, the former could not thrive. Dr. Guest therefore advocated +that necessitous infants should be fed at least twice a day, on a diet +different from that given to the elder children, and that more +individual care should be devoted to each child, since in most cases +they required coaxing before they would eat the wholesome food provided. + +Footnote 496: + + MS. Report on Lambeth School Children Feeding Experiment, by Dr. L. + Haden Guest, 1908. + +Footnote 497: + + We have, unfortunately, not been able to obtain a copy of the figures + on which Dr. Haden Guest's report is based. + +Footnote 498: + + In the case of the boys, their weights, during this week, only + increased a little; those of the girls remained stationary. + +On the cessation of the meals we find the same result ensuing as we have +already noticed at Bradford and Northampton. For when, in July, 1908, +three months after the meals had been discontinued, all the children +were again weighed and measured, it was found that there was a general +decline in weight; the decline was so general that it was obviously due +partly to a diminution in clothing, but "the necessitous children, who +after the conclusion of the experiment were only fed spasmodically, show +a greater decrease than the other children, pointing to either a +stationary weight during the twelve weeks from April to July or a loss +of weight." + +Interesting figures as to the effects of different dietaries were +obtained at Sheffield in 1910. Before this date the meals provided for +necessitous children had taken the form of cocoa breakfasts. As an +experiment at one school some of the boys were given porridge for +several weeks. Their weights were compared with those of a group of +other boys who were receiving cocoa breakfasts at school, and also with +a group of boys who were being fed at home. The two groups of boys who +were fed at school were drawn from equally poor districts, those who +were fed at home being somewhat better off. It was found that the boys +who were receiving cocoa breakfasts only gained on an average ·0451 +kilos or 1·58 oz. per week; the boys who were being fed at home gained +·0594 kilos (2·09 oz.); while the boys who were receiving porridge +breakfasts gained as much as ·0942 kilos (3·317 oz.). As a result of +this proof of the superiority of porridge diet, porridge breakfasts were +substituted for cocoa breakfasts in all the schools.[499] + +Footnote 499: + + Report of Chief School Medical Officer for Sheffield for 1910, pp. + 26-27. We may quote here striking results observed in the improved + physique of the children at a special school for cripple children in + London consequent on an improved dietary. A two-course dinner of meat, + potatoes and pudding had been previously given, but in the summer of + 1901 it was decided to provide a more liberal and varied dietary, + _e.g._, more hot meat, eggs, milk, cream, vegetables and fruit. The + results were soon apparent. "Partially paralysed children," writes + Mrs. Humphry Ward a few months after the change, "have been recovering + strength in hands and limbs with greater rapidity than before. A child + who, last year, often could not walk at all from rickets and extreme + delicacy and seemed to be fading away, and who in May was still + languid and feeble, is now racing about in the garden on his crutches; + a boy who last year could only crawl on his hands and feet is now + rapidly and steadily learning to walk, and so on.... Hardly any child + now wants to lie down during school time, whereas applications to lie + down used to be common, and the children both learn and remember + better." (Letter from Mrs. Humphry Ward, _The Times_, September 26, + 1901.) + +At Brighton it has for the last few years been the practice to weigh +before and after the course of meals the children who have been +recommended for feeding on medical grounds. At the end of the last +session, 1912-13, 269 children who had received meals for nine weeks or +more were thus re-examined. It was found that 133 of these, or 50 per +cent., no longer needed meals on medical grounds, that is, they had been +brought over the average weight for a given height.[500] + +Footnote 500: + + Brighton Education Committee, Report on the re-examination of children + receiving free meals during the winter session, 1912-13. + +Where only milk or codliver oil is given a remarkable improvement is +often effected. Indeed, several teachers told us that in their opinion +the provision of milk was more beneficial than either breakfasts or +dinners. At a Bethnal Green school, during the winter of 1909-10, it was +found that out of 57 boys and 109 girls examined at the medical +inspection, 24 of the boys and 61 of the girls were underfed. These +children were given a tea-spoonful of codliver oil in a cupful of warm +milk every day during the morning interval. At the end of the year the +nutrition was re-assessed, with the following results:--[501] + +Footnote 501: + + Annual Report of London County Council for 1910, Vol. III., p. 130. + + Good. Average. Bad. + 57 boys Before 4 19 34 + After 26 28 3 + 109 girls Before 3 49 57 + After 42 61 6 + +The results of these experiments are sufficient in themselves to +establish conclusively the benefit to be derived from regular feeding +even when no other factor in the child's environment is changed. "No +doubt," says Dr. Haden Guest, "irregular and late hours, disturbed +sleep, overcrowding, improper clothing and employment of children after +and before school hours, do each and all exercise a very detrimental +effect on the children of poor parents. But that the greatest influence +for evil is exerted by improper and insufficient food is a matter over +which it appears impossible to have great controversy."[502] + +Footnote 502: + + MS. Report by Dr. L. Haden Guest on Lambeth School Children Feeding + Experiment, 1908. + +And these results are corroborated by abundant testimony from School +Medical Officers, teachers, Care Committee workers and others, of the +benefit derived by the children where the Provision of Meals Act has +been put in force. "The children derived an enormous amount of benefit" +from the meals.[503] "The physical appearance of the children speaks in +pronounced terms" of the value of feeding.[504] "Those who have any +practical experience ... are all agreed that such meals [free +breakfasts] are of the greatest value, not only from a humanitarian +point of view but also as a necessary adjunct for successful +education."[505] "There is continuous evidence of the immense benefit +conferred upon the children by the administration of this Act--both from +the inspection of the scholars at the dining-centres and from the +reports of the teachers."[506] These are a few typical opinions culled +from reports of School Medical Officers. At Manchester "the operation of +the provision of free meals acts very largely ... not so much in the way +of improving the physical condition of children already emaciated and +debilitated, but of preventing their ever reaching that condition by +stepping in when the home income fails. It is certain that since the +organisation of the supply of free meals at centres covering practically +all parts of the city where they are required, _the number of underfed +children_--_i.e._, the number showing signs of underfeeding--_has +decreased markedly_. It is also certain that the type of child at the +feeding centres is gradually improving--_i.e._, there are fewer children +found in the centres with signs of the result of bad nourishment, and +there are fewer such children in the schools."[507] At Bradford, where +the Local Education Authority has systematically endeavoured to effect +an improvement in the condition of the children both by the school +medical service and the provision of meals, there has been in the last +few years a very marked improvement in nutrition and "a fairly regular +increase in weight amongst Bradford children as a whole. They are +approaching nearer each year to the national average."[508] + +Footnote 503: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Macclesfield for 1911, p. 18. + +Footnote 504: + + _Ibid._ for Workington for 1911, p. viii. + +Footnote 505: + + _Ibid._ for Hastings for 1911, p. 14. + +Footnote 506: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Newcastle-on-Tyne for 1910, p. + 49. + +Footnote 507: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Manchester for 1911, pp. 256-7. + In the following year he reports that out of over four hundred + children attending eight feeding centres, only ten cases of markedly + bad nourishment were recorded. (_Ibid._ for 1912, p. 31.) + +Footnote 508: + + _The Health and Physique of School Children_, by Arthur Greenwood, + 1913, pp. 65, 66. "It may perhaps be urged," he continues, "that this + progress is purely accidental; but a close examination of a large + number of school medical officers' reports does not show any general + increase during the few years for which records are available. There + are variations from year to year, of course, but no apparent regular + improvement, except in isolated instances, of which Bradford is one." + (_Ibid._, p. 65.) + +The witness of the teachers is no less favourable. In London, for +instance, the Education Committee in 1910 made enquiries among the head +teachers of some of the schools where a considerable number of meals +were provided; the majority of the teachers were enthusiastic as to the +benefit derived. "Physical progress is most marked," said one +headmistress. "The disappearance of chronic headaches, sores on faces, +gatherings on fingers, pains in chest ... point to a more 'fit' +condition, which the children can only express for me by saying that +they 'feel better now,' for they 'are not hungry all the afternoons +now.'"[509] And a headmaster writes, "The change in the children after a +month's provision of suitable and nourishing diet for breakfast and +dinner has been distinctly beneficial. They have been more inclined to +take part in the school sports, into which they have entered with +considerable zest. Their appearance, too, has greatly improved. Their +eyes have become brighter, their cheeks rounded. If, for any reason, +such as temporary absence, they have lost the advantage of regular +feeding, they have almost immediately shown signs of deterioration. When +the period [of feeding] has been prolonged to three or six months, their +health has permanently improved, and their capacity for work and play +has still further developed."[510] "The children on the necessitous +register," says another headmaster, "now fully participate in these +activities [games and sports] and supply rather above their +proportionate number of prominent performers; this is equally true of +swimming. It is indisputable that in the past lack of nourishment, where +it did not entirely exclude, greatly limited the part taken by many +children in this the most attractive side of school life."[511] + +Footnote 509: + + Annual Report of the London County Council for 1910, Chapter XLI., p. + 8. + +Footnote 510: + + _Ibid._, pp. 8, 9. + +Footnote 511: + + _Ibid._, p. 9. + +We have ourselves questioned numbers of teachers, both in London and the +provinces, on this point. Here and there are found, it is true, teachers +who declare that no improvement is to be observed, perhaps because, +being with the children day by day they do not notice any change. But +the verdict as to the beneficial results of school meals is almost +unanimous. At Bradford we were told that it used to be not uncommon for +a child to faint in school from want of food; such an occurrence is now +unknown. Often children who are dull and listless are found, after a +course of regular meals, to become full of life and spirits. It is +indeed frequently remarked that the children become "naughtier" after +the meals, a sign, of course, of increased vitality. + +We find that, as a result of the regular feeding, the resisting power of +the children is increased and they are less susceptible to the +contraction of infectious and other diseases.[512] The attendance at +school is thus improved. At a school in the Potteries, the headmaster +informed us that during the coal strike in 1912, when three meals a day +were given in the schools, there was far less non-attendance than usual +through biliousness, headaches or other minor ailments.[513] At +Liverpool we were told that there has been a considerable improvement in +the regularity of the children's attendance, as a result of the +dinners.[514] Non-attendance may be due, of course, not only to illness, +but also to lack of food. When the parents have nothing to give the +children for breakfast they will encourage them to sleep through the +morning. The headmaster of a very poor school in Liverpool told us that +some years ago, before the Education Committee had undertaken the +provision of meals, the attendance was very bad. He raised a voluntary +fund and provided breakfasts himself. As a result the attendance +improved to such an extent that the increased grant amounted to £74, +which more than covered the cost of the food (£63). + +Footnote 512: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Bootle for 1912, p. 56; _Ibid._ + for Worcester for 1911, p. 14. + +Footnote 513: + + As we have seen, this result was noticed during the feeding experiment + at Lambeth (see ante, p. 188.) + +Footnote 514: + + At Bootle, on the other hand, where "it was anticipated that the + movement would have a beneficial effect upon the regularity of the + attendance ... there is no evidence to show that such has been the + case, and it is very doubtful whether the attendance has been + appreciably affected." (Report of the Bootle School Canteen Committee + for 1910-11, p. 8.) + +It would be interesting to compare the nutrition of the children in the +Day Industrial Schools, where three meals a day are given. Since the +children in these schools, who, it must be remembered, are drawn very +largely from the poorest and most neglected class, return home in the +evening, the only condition altered is the supply of food. We have, +unfortunately, not been able to obtain any statistics as to the weights +of these children, but we have received ample evidence from teachers and +others as to the very marked physical improvement which is to be +observed after they have been in the schools but a very short time. At +Liverpool some time ago it was found that the children attending the Day +Industrial Schools suffered much from sores and gatherings. On the diet +being altered very considerably, these ailments entirely disappeared, +and the children, we were told, are now in perfect health. At Leeds the +School Medical Officer found that, while of 11,763 children from the +ordinary elementary schools, 5·6 per cent. were of sub-normal nutrition, +the percentage in the same condition among the Day Industrial School +children (of whom 91 were examined) was only 1·1.[515] + +Footnote 515: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Leeds for 1910, p. 41. The + chairman of the Leeds Education Committee, in giving evidence before + the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, stated, "the supply of three + good meals a day has been of great benefit to the children in + attendance, who compare favourably with the children attending the + ordinary public elementary schools.... They take a good position in + school competitions for swimming, etc., and are particularly smart in + school drills and exercises." (Report of the Royal Commission on the + Poor Laws, 1909, Vol. IV. of Evidence, Appendix LXXXII. (12).) + +Let us turn now to the effect of the meals on the mental capabilities of +the children. This effect is, from the nature of the case, less easy to +assess, and the evidence is not so unanimous as on the question of the +physical effect. A minority of teachers assert that no improvement is to +be observed. At Hull, for instance, out of 165 head-teachers who were +asked for their opinions on this point, 76 declared that there had been +a considerable or distinct improvement, 53 that there had been a slight +improvement, and 36 that there was no visible difference.[516] At +Bradford, 134 teachers were of opinion that there had been a +considerable or distinct improvement, 35 that the improvement had been +slight, 35 that no visible difference was to be noticed.[517] "I cannot +say," said the headmaster of a London school, "that the improvement in +mentality has been in any way commensurate with the physical +improvement."[518] On the other hand, a headmistress declared, "there is +undoubted improvement physically and educationally in the necessitous +children supplied with meals at this school. But I confess the fact only +came home to me vividly at our last terminal examination, when I found +three of them headed the class in Standard III. (including all +subjects)."[519] Another wrote, "the girls receiving regular meals have +become more alert, less apathetic, and consequently far more ready to +respond to the teachers' efforts to gain their undivided attention. The +interest thus aroused has led the girls to look upon all branches of +their work with more favour than heretofore. The taste for knowledge +once established, homework has followed with the inevitable results +produced by voluntary effort rather than compulsory work."[520] In North +Kensington the "children who are supplied with milk at school or who are +given breakfast and dinner respond at once to the better feeding, and +show distinct improvement in their class work."[521] At Darlington it +was reported that, "generally speaking, the replies [from the teachers] +were very definite to the effect that the provision of dinners had +assisted the educational progress of the children."[522] And a striking +illustration of the benefit derived from a regular course of feeding is +given us by a medical member of an Education Committee who writes, "I +find the condition of the children much improved by feeding. Some +children who, eighteen months ago, were considered half-witted are now +monitors and monitresses, taking an intelligent interest in their work." + +Footnote 516: + + Hull Education Committee, Appendix to Minutes of the Provision of + Meals Sub-Committee, October 20, 1911. + +Footnote 517: + + Report of Bradford Education Committee for the 16 months ended July + 31, 1912, p. 10. + +Footnote 518: + + Annual Report of the London County Council for 1910, Chapter XLI., p. + 9. + +Footnote 519: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 520: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 521: + + Annual Report of the London County Council for 1910, Vol. III., p. + 129. + +Footnote 522: + + Report of Darlington Education Committee, 1908-10, p. xii. + +We have already noticed the improvement in attendance consequent on the +provision of meals. This, of course, assists in the educational +progress, not only of those children who before attended irregularly, +but of the whole class, since the others are no longer kept back by the +irregular attenders. + +Too much importance cannot be attached to the training of the children +in habits of self-control and thoughtfulness for one another. For this +training the common meal furnishes an excellent opportunity. As we have +seen, far too little attention is paid to this aspect of the question. +It is true that, even where the meal is served in a somewhat +rough-and-ready fashion, leaving, in the eyes of the educationalist, +much to be desired, we have generally been informed that there has been +an improvement in manners. At first the children, many of whom, +probably, had rarely sat down to a meal before, would throw the food at +each other or on the floor, and the scene was often a pandemonium. Some +sort of order has been evolved out of this chaos. But how far this falls +short of what might be effected is seen when one compares the great +majority of feeding-centres all over England, not necessarily the worst, +with a small minority, such as some of the Bradford centres, or one or +two London centres, where the meal is truly educational. It is +interesting to hear that, when recently a party of children were sent to +the Cinderella Holiday Home from one of the Bradford schools and the +supervisor was particularly requested to notice those who had been +receiving meals, it was found that they alone knew how to behave at +table, and that the others learnt from them. + +In another direction the school meal may have an educational result of +the highest importance. Children in all ranks of life are notoriously +conservative in the matter of food and shy of venturing on unknown +dishes, but with the poorest class of children it is not only +"faddiness" which has to be contended with; the unaccustomed food, +however wholesome for the normal child, actually does not agree with +these chronically underfed children. As was pointed out at the time of +the passing of the Provision of Meals Act, "one great merit of this Act +... will be the teaching and training of a child in the matter of taste. +At present it is a well known physiological fact that the slum stomach +cannot accommodate itself in a moment to good, wholesome food. The child +has been accustomed to tea and jam and pickles, and to food that is +often more tasty than nourishing. It will now eat under public and +_medical superintendence_ and gradually a pure and simple taste will be +cultivated."[523] That this prophecy is in process of being fulfilled +may, we think, with justice be claimed. There still exists a certain +amount of difficulty in inducing the children to take food to which they +are unaccustomed, but that this difficulty can be surmounted by the +exercise of tact and attention to individual needs has been practically +demonstrated again and again. Over and over again we have been told the +same tale, "at first the children would not eat this or that dish, but +now they have learned to like it." Especially is this the case with +porridge. At first, wherever this was given, it was found that many +refused to eat it, but this antipathy was gradually overcome, and the +children finally ate it with relish.[524] It is amusing to find that at +St. George's-in-the-East, where a porridge breakfast was devised as a +test of need, it being thought that no child would come who was not +really hungry, the children now like the porridge so much that this diet +no longer furnishes a test. Where the children do not learn to eat what +is provided, it always turns out, on further enquiry, that the +supervisors have failed, either because of the large numbers whom they +have to look after or, perhaps, through lack of enthusiasm, to devote +that careful and detailed attention to the children without which it is +quite impossible to bring about any change. + +Footnote 523: + + _Child Life and Labour_, by Margaret Alden, M.D., 1908, p. 108. + +Footnote 524: + + Thus, to quote one of many instances, at Bradford, when porridge + breakfasts were given in the experiment of 1907, it was found that the + first morning thirteen refused to eat it; the next morning only two + refused, and after that all ate and enjoyed it. (Bradford Education + Committee, Report on a Course of Meals given to Necessitous Children + from April to July, 1907, p. 4.) + +Moreover, it is encouraging to notice that this education of the +children in the matter of taste is not without its effect on the home +diet. This was observed as long ago as 1895. In giving evidence before +the Committee of the London School Board, Mrs. Burgwin declared that, as +a result of the porridge breakfasts given to the school children, there +was "an increasing demand upon the local shop-keepers by the poor +families themselves."[525] "At first," said Miss Honnor Morten, "the +children did not care for porridge, but the result of the breakfasts has +been that many now persuade their parents to make it for them."[526] +"The children," says Lady Meyer, who has started penny dinners in +connection with the Health Centre at Newport, "act as missionaries to +their mothers, comparing the meals at the Health Centre with those at +their homes, much to the disparagement of the latter, which quickly +brought the more intelligent mothers to the centre to 'see how it was +done.'"[527] + +Footnote 525: + + Report of the Special Committee of the London School Board on Underfed + Children, 1895, Appendix I., p. 7. + +Footnote 526: + + Report of the General Purposes Committee of the London School Board on + Underfed Children, 1899, Appendix I., p. 12. + +Footnote 527: + + _A Health Centre and Dental Clinic in a Rural District, Newport, + Essex_, 1911, p. 6. + +As far as the children are concerned, indeed, whether we consider the +improvement in physique, mental capacity or manners, there is no doubt +that the provision of school meals has proved of the greatest benefit. + + + + + CHAPTER VI + THE EFFECT ON THE PARENTS + + +The evidence which has been presented in the preceding chapter as to the +benefits resulting from the feeding of school children would have +evoked, fifty, or even twenty years ago, a simple and decisive retort. +Granted, it would have been argued, that the health and educational +capacity of the children is deteriorated by lack of nourishment, that +irreparable and preventible damage is inflicted, and that the provision +of meals by a public authority averts this evil for many and mitigates +it for all; yet no plea of immediate expediency can stand against the +ultimate loss involved in any public assumption of the cost of providing +maintenance for children. If a local authority supplies part, even a +small part, of their food, parental responsibility is, _pro tanto_, +diminished, with results disastrous not only to the character of the +parents but to the prospects of the children themselves. For if parents +receive assistance in one direction from a public authority, they will +soon clamour to receive assistance in other directions as well. In order +to qualify for it, they will neglect their children, who will thus +benefit in one way only to be victimized in others. The children +themselves, having been fed from public funds, will be trained in habits +of dependence, and, when they grow up, will insist on still further +provision being made for their children in their turn. Thus one tiny +breach in the walls of the family will insensibly be widened till it +admits a flood in which domestic affections and the integrity of the +home, "relations dear, and all the charities of father, son, and +brother" are submerged. + +If such anticipations seem exaggerated, they have nevertheless played an +important part in determining the policy pursued in England towards more +than one question, and lie behind many of the criticisms which are +passed on certain recent forms of social intervention. The idea that +relief given to the child must be regarded as relief given to the +parent, and that, if given at all, it must be accompanied by severe +restrictions, was enunciated emphatically in the Poor Law Report of +1834--indeed that famous document scarcely mentions children except in +so far as the treatment of adults is influenced by these appendages--and +has since become a settled part of Poor Law policy. The fear that +parental responsibility might be weakened was a criticism brought +against the Education Act of 1870, against the abolition of school fees +in 1894, and against the provision of medical treatment for school +children under the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act of 1907. +Naturally, therefore, the public provision of meals for school children +has not escaped the criticism that it would weaken the bond between +parent and child and ultimately result in "the breaking up of the home." +"To remove the spur to exertion and self-restraint," reported a special +committee of the Charity Organisation Society in 1887, "which the +spectacle of his children's hunger must be to any man in whom the +feelings of natural kindness are not altogether dead, is to assume a +very grave responsibility, and perhaps to take away the last chance of +re-establishing the character and fortunes of the breadwinner, and, with +him, the fortunes of the whole household. It is true, no doubt, that +there are parents who are past redemption by influences of this kind, +but the majority of the committee are of opinion that it is better in +the interests of the community to allow, in such cases, the sins of the +parents to be visited on the children than to impair the principle of +the solidarity of the family and run the risk of permanently +demoralising large numbers of the population by the offer of free meals +to their children."[528] + +Footnote 528: + + "Charity and Food," report of a Special Committee of the Charity + Organisation Society, 1887, p. 16. For later expressions of the same + line of criticism, see, for instance, "The Relief of School Children," + by M. Clutton and E. Neville (C.O.S. Occasional Paper), March, 1901, + pp. 4, 6; "Underfed School Children," by Arthur Clay (C.O.S. + Occasional Paper), May, 1905, p. 3; "The Feeding of School Children," + by Miss McKnight, in _Charity Organisation Review_, July, 1906, p. 37; + "A New Poor Law for Children," by Rev. H. Iselin, in _Charity + Organisation Review_, March, 1909, p. 170. + +Now it is obvious that an economic policy which was determined primarily +by a consideration for the "solidarity of the family" would lead to +far-reaching measures of industrial reorganisation. If the ideal is a +society in which "the bread-winner" is by his "exertion and +self-restraint" to guarantee "the fortunes of his whole household," the +immediate object of attack must be those industrial evils which +effectually prevent him from doing so at present, and of which the +principal are low wages, casual labour, recurrent periods of +unemployment and bad housing. That a crusade conducted in the interests +of the family against these regular features of modern industry is +entirely desirable need not be questioned. But in its absence it is +obvious that, so far from allowing "the sins of the parents to be +visited on the children," what we are really doing is to allow the sins +of the employer to be visited on the employed or the sins of the +community to be visited upon future generations of unborn children, and +it seems almost frivolous to ascribe the results of this constant and +vicarious sacrifice to the measures which, like the provision of school +meals, are directed merely to the partial mitigation of some of its +worst effects. The truth is, to put the matter bluntly, that what breaks +up the family is not the presence of food but its absence, and that, if +the public conscience is unperturbed by the spectacle of numerous homes +in which economic circumstances have deprived the parents of the means +of providing meals for their children themselves, its sudden +sensitiveness at the thought of meals being provided by some external +authority would be ludicrous if it did not lead to such tragic +consequences. The reader who reflects on the thousands of dock-labourers +in London, Liverpool and Glasgow who, through no fault of their own, can +obtain only three days' work a week, or on the 25 to 30 per cent. of the +working-class population of Reading who have been shown by Professor +Bowley to be receiving a total family income below the low standard +fixed by Mr. Rowntree,[529] and to be receiving it, in 49 per cent. of +the cases, because they are "in regular work but at low wages,"[530] +will scarcely argue that the mere provision of meals, however +injudicious he may regard it, is likely to contribute seriously to the +weakening of family relationships which have been already strained or +broken by industrial anarchy or industrial tyranny. _Sublata causa +tollitur effectus._ But does any one seriously believe that a cessation +of school meals would restore the desired "solidarity of the family" to +the casual or sweated labourer? + +Footnote 529: + + "Working-Class Households in Reading," by Professor A. L. Bowley, in + _The Journal of the Royal Statistical Society_, June, 1913, p. 686. + The minimum standard for food was computed by Mr. Rowntree, in 1901, + as 3s. for an adult, and 2s. 3d. for a child. This standard has been + raised by Professor Bowley to 3s. 6d. and 2s. 7d. respectively, since + prices in Reading in 1912 were about sixteen per cent. higher than at + York in 1901. The diet on which Mr. Rowntree based his computations + was mainly vegetarian, and his minimum standard assumed a knowledge of + food values and perfectly scientific expenditure. (_Ibid._, p. 684.) + Taking a slightly different standard, Professor Bowley computes that + "_more than half the working-class children of Reading, during some + part of their first fourteen years, live in households where the + standard of life in question is not attained_." (_Ibid._, p. 692.) + +Footnote 530: + + _Ibid._, p. 693. + +If the suggestion that the provision of meals is a _principal_ cause +undermining parental responsibility is fantastic, is the suggestion that +it must necessarily exercise _some_ influence in that direction better +founded? We shall deal later with such facts as can be used to throw +light on this question. But we may point out here that the idea +underlying it usually derives part of its cogency in the minds of many +of its supporters less from any concrete evidence than from an implicit +assumption that there is a "natural" division of duties between public +authorities and the individual citizen, and that any redistribution of +them between these two parties, which removes one function from the +latter to the former, must necessarily result in the undermining of +character, the weakening of the incentive to self-maintenance, the decay +of parental responsibility, in short, in all the phenomena of the +process known as "pauperisation." Now we need scarcely point out that, +stated in this crude form, the theory that every assumption of fresh +responsibilities by public authorities results in the undermining of +character has no foundation in the experience of mankind. It is, of +course, quite true that any sudden removal from an individual of duties +which he has hitherto been accustomed to discharge may result in +weakening the springs of effort. It is also quite true that any sudden +addition to his responsibilities may result in crushing them, and that, +as far as the more poorly paid ranks of labour are concerned, energies +are far more often worn out in a hopeless struggle than sapped by an +insidious ease. But by themselves these facts prove nothing as to the +_manner_ in which burdens, duties, responsibilities, should be +distributed between the community and its individual members. What +experience shows is that there is no "natural" allocation of functions, +but that there has been throughout history at once a constant addition +to, and a constant re-arrangement of them, and that the former process +is quite compatible with the latter. Nor is there any ground for the +idea that the extension of the activities of public bodies must +necessarily result in accelerating the approach of the state of economic +and moral inertia described by those who anticipate it as "Pauperism." +If that were the case, all civilised communities would, indeed, have +been hastening to destruction from a time "whereof the memory of man +runneth not to the contrary." For our fathers had no elementary +education, our grandfathers no municipal water, and few lamp-posts; +while our great-grandfathers enjoyed the independence derived from the +possession of relatively few roads, and those of a character +sufficiently bad to offer the most powerful incentives to the energy and +self-reliance of the pedestrian. On this theory the citizen of +Manchester would be more pauperised than the citizen of London; both +would be seriously pauperised compared with the peasant of Connemara; +while the wretched inhabitants of German municipalities would be +wallowing in a perfect quagmire of perpetual pauperism. Why indeed +should one stop here? There have been periods in history in which not +only these functions, but the organisation of justice and the equipment +of military forces have been left to the bracing activities of private +individuals; and an enquiry into the decline and fall of individual +independence would, if logically pursued, lead us into dim regions of +history far anterior to the Norman Conquest. The origins of modern +pauperism, like the origins of modern liberty, are to be sought among +"the primeval forests of Germany!" + +While, however, there is no foundation for the doctrine that every +extension of public provision results in a slackening of energy on the +part of the individual, it is, none the less, possible that this may be +the result of the particular kind of provision which consists in the +supplying of meals to school children. In the event of that being proved +to be the case, it is by no means easy to say what policy should be +pursued. Public authorities, it may be argued, should cease to provide +school meals. To this answer, which is at first sight plausible, there +are two objections which are together almost insuperable. The first is +that Education Authorities are under a legal obligation to provide +education for the children in their charge and to carry out medical +inspection with a view to discovering their ailments; while they may, if +they think fit, provide medical treatment for them. They owe it to their +constituents to spend their money in the most effective and economical +manner. Education given to children who are suffering from want of +nourishment not only is ineffective, but may be positively deleterious. +When the extent of malnutrition is known, is it reasonable to expect the +Authorities deliberately to shut their eyes to the fact that so far from +benefiting the children who suffer from it they may be positively +aggravating their misfortunes? If it be replied, _ruat coelum fiat +justitia_, let the children suffer in order to improve the moral +character of their parents, an Education Committee may not unfairly +retort that it is elected primarily to attend to the welfare of the +children, and that the wisdom of elevating parents, who _ex hypothesi_ +are demoralised, at the cost of the rising generation is, at any rate, +too problematical to justify it in neglecting its own special duties. +Moreover, even assuming that public bodies were willing to apply to the +education of children the principles recommended in 1834 for the +treatment of "improvidence and vice," there is no reason to suppose that +they would succeed in averting the "pauperisation" which is dreaded. No +fact is more clearly established by the history of all kinds of relief +administration since 1834 than that the effect of refusing to make +public provision for persons in distress is merely to lead to the +provision of assistance in a rather more haphazard, uncoordinated and +indiscriminate manner by private agencies. A purely negative policy is +systematically "blacklegged" by private philanthropists. Rightly or +wrongly the plain man finds his stomach turned by the full gospel of +deterrence; with the result that, while the English Poor Law is +nominally deterrent, enormous sums are spent every year in private +charity in London alone; that in 1886 the Local Government Board +recommended local authorities to provide relief for certain classes of +workers apart from the Poor Law, on the ground that the Poor Law, for +whose administration the Local Government Board is responsible, is +necessarily degrading; and that, finally, a special Act had to be passed +in 1905 creating authorities to administer assistance for unemployed +workmen whom public opinion would no longer allow to be left to the +tender mercies of a deterrent policy of Poor Relief. That the same +result would follow with even greater certainty were public bodies to +decline to provide for necessitous school children is obvious, inasmuch +as to the foolish sentimentality of the ordinary person the sufferings +of childhood make a special appeal. Indeed it has followed already. In +the days when Education Authorities had no power to spend public money +on the provision of meals for school children, what happened was that +the provision of meals was begun by private persons, and in the towns +which have not put the Act of 1906 into force such private provision +obtains at the present day. Such extra-legal intervention has all the +disadvantages ascribed to the public provision of meals, for one can +scarcely accept the extravagant contention that while soup supplied by +an Education Authority pauperises, soup tickets supplied by a +philanthropic society do not. And it has few of its advantages. For +private philanthropy tends to be more irregular and arbitrary in its +administration than most public authorities. Since it cannot cover the +whole area of distress, its selection of children to be fed is more +capricious; since its funds are raised by appeals _ad misericordiam_ +they often fail when they are needed most; and when, as often happens, +more than one agency enters the field, the result is overlapping and +duplication. Nor will it seem a minor evil to those who care for the +civic spirit that even the best-intentioned charity can never escape +from the taint of patronage, can never be anything but a sop with which +the rich relieve their consciences by ministering to the poor. + +The statement that the feeding of school children weakens parental +responsibility presumably means that the provision of meals at school +induces parents to neglect to provide meals themselves. When one turns +from these general considerations to examine how far this result has +actually occurred, one is faced with the task of sifting a few grains of +fact from a multitude of impressions. The first and most essential +preliminary to the formation of any reasonable judgment is to determine +the circumstances of those families one or more of whose members are +receiving meals at school; and in order to throw some light on this +point we give, in the following table, such particulars from six areas +as are available:--[531] + +Footnote 531: + + The figures for Birmingham are taken from _The Public Feeding of + Elementary School Children_, by Phyllis D. Winder, 1913, pp. 47-55; + those for St. George's-in-the-East, from "The Story of a Children's + Care Committee," by Rev. H. Iselin, in _Economic Review_, January, + 1912, p. 47; those for Stoke, Bradford, St. Pancras and Bermondsey + from case papers that we have analysed. These figures must not be + taken as more than a somewhat rough indication of the state of + affairs, for it is not always easy to determine precisely into which + category a particular case should be put. Probably the proportion of + casually employed is somewhat understated; of the twenty-six, for + instance, who are classed as unemployed at Birmingham, roughly + one-third belonged to the class of permanent casuals, but were totally + unemployed at the date of the enquiry. (_The Public Feeding of + Elementary School Children_, p. 48.) + + Causes of Stoke. Bradford. Birmingham. School School in + distress in St. Bermondsey + Pancras. + + Unemployment 16 11 26 9 13 + + Casual 3 26 54 8 18 + employment + + Short time 5 3 8 -- -- + + Regular work -- 16 6 1 2 + but low wages + + Illness or 15 19 47 5 9 + disablement of + father + + Widows 16 41 40 10 9 + + Desertion or 3 32 19 2 2 + absence of + father + +It will be seen that the four largest classes of families consist of +those in which the father is casually employed, is disabled by illness +or accident, is dead or is unemployed. If one adds to these 605 families +the 41 in which the father is paid low wages or is working short time, +there is a total of 646 out of 718 families in which distress is due +either to industrial causes or to a misfortune. Since men do not usually +contract illness or die in order that their children may be fed at +school, there is no question of the responsibility of the father being +weakened in the 285 cases in which death or ill-health was the cause +which led to the provision of school meals. + +It is often argued, however, that the public provision of assistance is +itself one cause of the distress which it is designed to relieve, +because it must necessarily exercise a deteriorating influence over +industrial conditions. The knowledge that his children will be fed is +likely, it is said, to lead a man to relax the demands which he makes on +his employer. The knowledge that he need not offer a subsistence wage +for a family leads the employer to offer worse terms to his employees, +more irregular employment or lower rates of wages, with the result that +the ratepayer relieves the employer of part of his wage bill. Cut off +all public assistance, and "economic conditions will adjust themselves +to the change." Now it is perfectly true that the need which prompts the +provision of school meals does normally arise from bad industrial +conditions, and that to allow those conditions to continue while merely +mitigating their effects is an offence against morality and an outrage +on commonsense. Whether school meals are desirable or not for their own +sake, it is the right of the worker that industry should be organised in +such a way that he should be able to provide for his children in the +manner which he thinks best, and that he should not be compelled (as he +often is at present) to choose between seeing them fed at school and +seeing them half-starved at home. But the theory which we have stated +goes much further than this. It holds that public provision is a _cause_ +of bad industrial conditions, and that the mere abolition of public +provision would _in itself_ result in those conditions being improved. +It is obvious that, as far as certain economic evils are concerned, this +doctrine does not hold good. Many children are underfed because their +parents are suffering from sickness or accident incurred in the course +of their employment. Clearly an employer will not be induced to render +his processes safe merely by the fact that his employees' children will +suffer if they are unsafe. Many children are underfed because their +parents are casually employed or altogether unemployed. Equally clearly +there is no reason whatever to suppose that casual labour would cease +because of their starvation; for if that were the case it would have +ceased long ago. Nor again does the more specious doctrine that the +wages of men are lowered by the provision of food for their children +rest upon a securer foundation. In the nature of things it can neither +be verified nor disproved by an appeal to facts; for the controversy is +not concerning facts but concerning their interpretation. If we point +out that in Bradford, when the Education (Provision of Meals) Act was +first adopted in 1907, the majority of children fed were children of +woolcombers, dyers' labourers, carters and builders' labourers, and that +since 1907 the first three classes of workers have all received advances +of wages, it may, of course, be answered that the advance would have +been still greater if the children had not been fed.[532] In reality, +however, the more this theory that the feeding of school children acts +as a subsidy to wages is examined, the weaker does it appear. +Historically it is traceable to the popular rendering of Ricardo +introduced by Senior into the Poor Law Report of 1834, and it still +contains marks of its origin. It assumes, in the first place, that wages +are never above "subsistence level." For, clearly, if they are above it, +there is no reason why they should be lowered if the cost of keeping a +family is somewhat reduced. It assumes, in the second place, that they +are never below the subsistence level of a family; for clearly, if they +are, that in itself proves that the absence of public provision has not +been able to maintain them. It assumes, in the third place, that the +ability of workers to resist a reduction or to insist on an advance +depends not upon the profitableness of the industry, nor upon the +strength of their organisation, but solely upon their necessities. Of +these assumptions the first two are untrue, and the last is not only +untrue, but the exact opposite of the truth. In reality, as every trade +unionist knows, the necessities of the non-wage earning members of a +family do not keep wages up; they keep them down. A man who knows that a +stoppage of work will plunge his family in starvation has little +resisting power, and acquiesces in oppression to which he would +otherwise refuse to submit. It is the strikers' wives and children who +really break many strikes, and if the pressure of immediate necessity is +removed the worker is not less likely, he is more likely, to hold out +for better terms. + +Footnote 532: + + We may note that there are very few cases where the fathers of the + children who are receiving school meals are, at the time, in regular + work. (See table on page 211.) Many authorities refuse to consider + such cases, while, where they are not necessarily barred, they amount + as a rule, so far as we have found, except at Bradford, to a very + small proportion of the total number of cases dealt with. In London a + few committees have several such cases on their feeding-lists--a + member of one committee, indeed, informed us that the fact that a man + had a large family and low wages was, till recently, taken as a reason + for granting meals to his children--but the great majority of + committees either refuse to feed such children at all, or only do so + in infrequent and exceptional circumstances. One or two instances were + quoted to us where, as it was alleged, the provision of meals for the + children had induced the father to acquiesce in the acceptance of a + low wage without demanding an increase or seeking more remunerative + employment. Thus we were told of a man who was formerly in charge of + two furnaces at a wage of 24s. a week; one furnace was shut down, and + he was offered the charge of the remaining one at 15s. This he + accepted and the Care Committee had been feeding his children for a + whole year. In another case, a man who was out of work, and was having + all his children fed at school, took a job at 15s. a week, a wage + which, it was asserted, he would not otherwise have agreed to. But in + such instances, infrequent and isolated as they are in any case, it is + often found on analysis that the father, through some physical or + mental infirmity, is incapable of performing a man's work, and unable, + therefore, to earn more wages. + +Nor is there much more substance in the theory that the provision of +meals by a public authority weakens family life by "undermining parental +responsibility." We are not, of course, concerned to deny that in the +working classes as well as in the propertied classes there are a certain +number of persons who are anxious "to get something for nothing." Cases, +no doubt, do arise in which a parent who knows that the needs of his +children will partially be met by the food supplied by an Education +Authority may for that reason contemplate their fate when abandoned by +him with less apprehension. At most, however, such cases constitute only +10 per cent. of those on the table, and the wisdom of withholding +assistance from the remaining 90 per cent. merely in order to bring +pressure upon this small fraction of all the families concerned is, to +put the matter at the lowest, highly questionable. Moreover, even +assuming that children who are neglected by their parents should be made +to suffer in order to teach the latter a moral lesson, what probability +is there that the lesson will be appreciated? In those families where a +father is contemplating the desertion of his home, family relationships +must obviously be weak and unstable. Is it seriously suggested that the +mere fact that a public body is known to provide meals for children in +attendance at school is sufficient to tilt the scale; that a man who is +willing, _ex hypothesi_, to contemplate relinquishing his wife and +younger children to the Poor Law will be deterred from leaving them +merely by anxiety as to how the children of school age will obtain their +midday meal; and that, when his apprehensions upon this point are +removed, he will hasten to avail himself of his freedom in order to +abandon them to much more serious evils than the loss of one meal per +day? Such a suggestion carries its refutation on its face. When family +life has been so disintegrated that a man is contemplating the desertion +of his wife and children, he is not likely either to be encouraged to do +so by the mere fact that meals for school children are provided by a +public body, or deterred from doing so by the fact that they are not. +And a similar answer may be made to those who argue that "the result of +feeding children at school is merely to encourage their parents to spend +more upon drink." No one, of course, would deny that, if a man has +already formed the habit of indulging his tastes without regard to the +consequences, an increase in his means will enable him to spend more +upon such indulgence. But that is a very different thing from accepting +the implication that every accession in the income of a class merely +leads it to fresh extravagance. The evidence, indeed, points in the +opposite direction. During the last forty years there has been a great +extension of public provision and a rise in money wages. Yet it is a +matter of common knowledge that the consumption of alcoholic liquor per +head of population has diminished and is still diminishing. + +In reality, however, the idea that any large number of parents misuse +the public provision of meals appears to be quite without any solid +foundation, and to be a hasty generalisation from exceptional cases, +which, because they are exceptional, are recorded by charitable persons +with pious horror, and are given an undeserved and misleading notoriety. +Almost all the actual evidence available points in the opposite +direction. Again and again has it been stated to us that parents +withdraw their children from the school meals as soon as an improvement +in their circumstances enables them to provide food at home.[533] +Indeed, it is often said that they withdraw them before they can +properly afford to do so, and before the Canteen Committee thinks it +wise for the school meals to be stopped, while many refrain from +applying for meals until they are driven to do so by actual necessity. +The truth is that behind the talk on parental responsibility which finds +favour in certain sections of society--especially those where it is +customary for parents to pay for their children to be fed at school +during 30 to 40 weeks of the year--there is a considerable amount not +only of ignorance but of hypocrisy. These critics are apt entirely to +overlook the fact that during the last hundred years parental +responsibilities, so far from being diminished, have been multiplied by +the State. Middle-class parliaments have insisted that working-class +parents should send their children to school, should dispense with the +help of their earnings, should provide them with food, clothing and +medical aid. More important, they forget that to insist on +"responsibility" is meaningless unless the means of discharging it are +available; for one cannot blame a man for failing to do what he wishes +to do, but which he is prevented from doing by _force majeure_. Now this +is precisely the position of the majority of such parents as are aided +by school meals. _They_ did not fix the wages of adult men at 18s. a +week; _they_ did not ordain that employment at the ports of London and +Liverpool and Glasgow, and in a score of other trades, should be a +gamble. _They_ did not decree that those who direct industry should at +intervals of five to seven years find it convenient to curtail +production and turn their employees on to the streets. They are born +into a world where this is the established social order, an order which, +as individuals, they are impotent to alter. If some of them occasionally +give up a struggle which must often seem hopeless, at whose door does +the blood of these men and their children lie? If it is desired that +every man should regularly provide the whole maintenance of his family, +then industry must be organised in such a way as to make it possible. +Till that is done, to blame working people for acquiescing in +circumstances which they did not create and which they detest is not +only cruel but absurd. When every competent worker is secured regular +employment and a living wage, it may be desirable that forms of public +provision which exist at present should cease--though, even so, it is +possible that the educational value of school meals will lead to their +being continued. Till that happy condition is brought about they must be +not only continued, but extended and improved. + +Footnote 533: + + At Bradford a few years ago an enquiry was made with the object of + discovering how far parents were obtaining the meals under false + pretences. Two criteria were taken, firstly, whether the parents' + statements as to the income earned were corroborated by their + employers; secondly, how far the parents voluntarily withdrew their + children from the school meals when their circumstances improved. As a + result of this enquiry it appeared that not more than 2-1/2 per cent. + were unduly taking advantage of the meals. In many cases, where the + parents' statements as to income did not tally with the employers' + statements, it was found that the parents, in giving their average + earnings, had overstated instead of understating them. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + CONCLUSIONS + + +The provision of meals for school children is, as we have pointed out, +merely an attempt to mitigate some of the evil effects of industrial +disorganisation. The principal end at which Society should aim is the +removal of the causes, low wages, casual employment, recurrent periods +of unemployment, and bad housing, which make them necessary. But +meanwhile, as long as economic conditions remain as they are, some +provision must be made for the present generation of school children. +And the provision of school meals is not merely a question of relief, it +is also a preventive measure. "Every step ... in the direction of making +and keeping the children healthy is a step towards diminishing the +prevalence and lightening the burden of disease for the adult, and a +relatively small rise in the standard of child health may represent a +proportionately large gain in the physical health, capacity, and energy +of the people as a whole."[534] + +Footnote 534: + + Report of Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education for 1910, p. + 1. + +Granted, therefore, that the school meal is, for the present at any +rate, a necessity, the question remains, for what children shall this +meal be provided. We have described the methods of selection at +present in force. We have seen that, though a few children are given +school meals because they are found by the School Doctor to be +ill-nourished, the great majority are selected by the teachers on the +ground of poverty, a method which involves an enquiry into the +parents' circumstances. We have shown some of the disadvantages +inherent in this method of selection. The enquiries deter parents from +applying. It is impossible for the teachers to discover all cases of +underfed children. If the child is told by its parents to say that it +has plenty to eat at home, how is the teacher to know that it is +underfed? It is difficult, and in many cases quite impossible, to +ascertain the amount of income coming in. Even if this could always be +accurately ascertained, it would be difficult to discriminate with +justice since other circumstances vary so widely. The enquiry is +demoralising for the parents, putting a premium on deception and +creating a sense of injustice. So unsatisfactory, indeed, has this +system of investigation into income proved to be that there is a +general consensus of opinion among adherents of the most opposing +schools of thought that it must be given up. "As a Guardian of the +poor and a member of the Charity Organisation Society, and in many +other ways," says the late Canon Barnett, "I have come to see that no +enquiry is adequate. I would not trust myself to enquire into any +one's condition and be just. Enquiry is never satisfactory and is +always irritating.... _I believe it is enquiry and investigation and +suspicion which undermine parental responsibility._"[535] Even so firm +a supporter of Charity Organisation Society principles as the Rev. +Henry Iselin would, we gather, prefer to the present inadequate system +of investigation the provision of a meal for all children who like to +come, without enquiry, though he would, of course, make the conditions +of the meal in some way deterrent.[536] In discussing what is the best +method to be adopted we must, therefore, rule out any plan which +involves an enquiry into the family income. + +Footnote 535: + + Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills + (England and Scotland), 1906, Qs. 2290, 2312. (The italics are mine.) + +Footnote 536: + + See post, p. 222. + +(i) We may consider first the proposal that the selection should be made +by the School Doctor, school meals being ordered for all children whom +he finds to be suffering from mal-nutrition. This method, which is +strongly recommended by the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of +Education, has been adopted in a few towns, but only to a very limited +extent and always in subordination to the system of selection based on +the "poverty test." The selection by the "physical test" would obviate +all the disadvantages arising from the demoralising enquiry into the +parents' circumstances. On the other hand, the practical difficulties +would be very great. At present a child is normally examined by the +doctor only two or three times during the whole of its school career. +Under the system proposed frequent examinations would be necessary, +which would entail an enormous increase in the school medical staff. +But, however frequent the examinations, the discovery of all underfed +children would not be assured. It is not always possible for the doctor +to determine the cause of malnutrition in any particular case; hence +many children would be included who get plenty of food at home, but yet, +from some other cause, do not thrive. More important, numbers of +children would be excluded who fail to get sufficient food but who yet +appear healthy. As a School Medical Officer points out, "temporary lack +of food does not stamp the child in such a way that it is possible to +detect past privations by ordinary inspection."[537] The underfeeding +might be prolonged for a considerable time before its effects were +apparent. But it is essential that underfeeding should be discovered +before the child shows definite signs of malnutrition, since the object +to be aimed at is to prevent its ever getting into this state. The +physical test, therefore, forms too narrow a basis to be satisfactorily +employed, at any rate as the sole test, in the selection of children to +be provided for. + +Footnote 537: + + Report of School Medical Officer for Leicester for 1912, p. 34. + +(ii) We will consider next the plan to which we have already alluded, +the provision of meals, free and without enquiry, for all children who +like to come, it being understood that the meals are intended only for +"necessitous" children, _i.e._, those children who through poverty are +unable to obtain an adequate supply of food at home. Those who aim at +making this provision in some way deterrent suggest a breakfast of +porridge, the time of the meal and the nature of the food providing a +test of need. "As the man inside the workhouse must not have better, but +a decidedly worse, treatment than the man outside, so if the food be +nourishing but not too palatable it may chance that only the truly +necessitous may apply."[538] Children who can obtain food at home will +prefer to do so. But it is found in practice that it is not only the +children who can get sufficient food at home who are deterred by such a +device, but that the "truly necessitous" also refuse to come. Such a +system, in fact, defeats its own ends. It is futile to provide meals for +all underfed children and at the same time to make that provision so +deterrent that those for whom it is intended decline to avail themselves +of it. Even if there is no intention of making the provision deterrent, +the idea that the meals are meant only for necessitous children will, in +fact, make it so; many parents will prefer to feed their children at +home on a totally inadequate diet rather than disclose their poverty by +sending them to the school meals. The "poverty test" in fact, in +whatever form it may be applied, will exclude numbers of children whom +it is desirable to provide for. + +Footnote 538: + + "A New Poor Law for Children," by Rev. Henry Iselin, in _Charity + Organisation Review_, March, 1909, p. 170. + +(iii) The two methods that we have described would each leave a large +class of children without provision. The first would fail to discover +numbers of children who are underfed, but who do not show obvious signs +of malnutrition. The second would not touch those cases where the +children cannot get sufficient food at home, but where the parents are +too proud to accept school meals for them. A combination of the two +methods would remove both these objections. The provision of meals, free +and without enquiry, for all necessitous children, would secure the +feeding of the majority of those who are underfed, while the School +Doctor would generally discover those cases where the parents try to +conceal the fact that they cannot give their children sufficient food at +home. For these children the doctor would, of course, order school +meals. This method would not obviate the necessity of a great increase +in the school medical service. Moreover, by any of the methods +discussed, provision would be made only for underfed children. There +would remain the hosts who are unsuitably fed; the worst of these cases +would, of course, be discovered by the doctor, but only the worst cases. +And, again, no provision would be made for the children whose mothers +are at work all day and consequently unable to provide a midday meal, +and for whom the school dinner would be a great convenience, for which +the parents would, in many cases, be willing to pay. + +(iv) There remains the only logical conclusion, the provision of a meal +for all school children, as part of the school curriculum. Such a +provision need not necessarily be compulsory, though it should be so in +all cases where the School Doctor recommends it. From every point of +view, the psychological, the medical and the educational, the advantages +to be gained from such a course would be enormous. General provision for +all would do away with all pauperising discrimination between the +necessitous and the non-necessitous. On the medical side it would be +difficult to over-estimate the benefits to be secured. On this point the +Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education has recently pronounced +in no measured terms. "From a purely scientific point of view," he +declared, "if there was one thing he was allowed to do for the six +million children, if he wanted to rear an imperial race, it would be to +feed them.... The great, urgent, pressing need was nutrition. With that +they could get better brains and a better race."[539] The beneficial +results already observed in the case of children who have received a +regular course of school meals would be extended to all. Then, again, +the common meal would serve as an opportunity for the exercise of many +little acts of consideration for one another. The teachers would be +brought into more intimate relations with the children, for they get to +know the children better at meal time than in any other way. The school +meal would serve as an object lesson; taken in conjunction with the +teaching of housewifery and cookery in the schools, it would speedily +raise the standard in the homes. There would be another advantage. +Adequate rest after the meal could be insisted on, followed by healthy +play in the open air in the playground instead of in stuffy rooms and +backyards. In the rural districts, as we have already shown, it is +imperative that dinner should be provided for all who want to stay. +Numbers of children are unable to return home, and it is almost +impossible for the parents to provide suitable cold food for them to +take with them; even when they can go home to dinner they frequently +have a long walk, with the consequence that the meal must be eaten +hastily and the children hurry back to school immediately afterwards. + +Footnote 539: + + Report of Proceedings of University Extension Oxford Summer Meeting, + 1913, p. 17. + +If general provision is made, ought the parents to be required to pay or +should the meal be free to all? The first plan has much to recommend it +and has been advocated in many quarters. At the recent conference at the +Guildhall on School Feeding, for instance, there appeared to be a +general agreement in favour of this course. The experience of the +Special Schools for Defective Children, and some of the rural schools, +where a midday meal or hot cocoa is provided, shows that numbers of +parents are able to pay, and there does not appear to be much difficulty +in collecting the payment.[540] And in the ordinary elementary schools, +where little provision is made for paying cases, it would appear that +there does exist a certain demand for such provision.[541] On the other +hand, it must be admitted that it is a question whether any large number +of parents would voluntarily pay for their children's meals when it was +known that provision was made for all and that other children were +receiving the meal free. The payment would have to be left to the +parent's conscience, for any attempt to try to decide in which cases +payment should be insisted on and in which it should be remitted would +introduce again the evils of the present system, with its demoralising +enquiry into the parents' circumstances--though in a somewhat mitigated +form, since no distinction would be made between the paying and the +non-paying children, and the latter would not be marked off as a +separate class as at present. Another difficulty, though a minor one, +would arise in the fixing of the price to be charged. In the more +prosperous districts the dinner might be self-supporting, but in the +poorest localities it would hardly be possible to charge an amount +sufficient to cover the cost of the food. + +Footnote 540: + + See ante, pp. 120, 123-5, 155-6. + +Footnote 541: + + In the ordinary elementary schools in some of the Scottish towns, + large numbers of children pay for the dinners. (See Appendix II., pp. + 242, 245, 246.) + +The provision of a free meal for all would obviate these difficulties. +It will be objected at once that such a plan will undermine parental +responsibility, but, as we have shown in the previous chapter, communal +provision of other services has not had this result. And against this +lightening of parental burdens must be set the continual increase of +duties which are being placed upon them. A more serious objection lies +in the expense. Taking the cost of a school dinner at 2-1/4d. per +head,[542] the provision of one meal a day for five days a week during +term time for all the six million school children in England, Wales and +Scotland would cost about £12,500,000. This is, of course, an outside +estimate, for it would probably be found that a considerable number of +parents would prefer to have their children at home to dinner rather +than send them to the school meal; and the provision might be confined +to schools in poor districts. To the actual cost of supplying the meals +there must be added the initial outlay incurred in providing +dining-rooms and appliances.[543] On the other hand, there would be a +great saving of time and energy which is now consumed in making +enquiries. And the provision of school meals would tend to diminish the +amount which will otherwise have to be spent in the near future on +medical treatment. Food, as Sir George Newman has pointed out, is of +more importance than drugs and surgical treatment, and if regular meals +were provided there would be much less need for school clinics.[544] The +expenditure on the provision of school meals would, indeed, be +nationally a most profitable investment; it would be amply justified by +the improved physique of the rising generation and by the consequent +increase in their efficiency. It would be far more productive, in fact, +than much of the money which is now spent on education, than the outlay, +for instance, on the erection of huge school buildings, an outlay the +necessity of which is becoming more and more questionable in the light +of the proved superiority of open-air education. + +Footnote 542: + + The cost depends, of course, on the kind of food provided. At + Bradford, where a two-course dinner is given, the total cost per meal, + for administrative charges (the upkeep of the Cooking Depot, the rent + of the dining-rooms, the wages of the staff, payment for supervision, + the carriage of the food, sinking fund, etc.), amounted in 1912-13 to + 1·2d., and for food to 1·26d., making a total of 2·46d. About + one-third of the meals supplied were breakfasts, which are usually + rather cheaper than dinners, so that the cost per dinner would be + slightly more. (Bradford Education Committee, Return as to the Working + of the Education (Provision of Meals) Act for the year ending March + 31, 1913). At Edinburgh, where a one-course dinner is given, the cost + is ·9d. for food and 1d. for administrative charges. (Report of the + Edinburgh School Board for 1912-13, p. 35.) + +Footnote 543: + + We must add one other item of expenditure, which will be necessary + whatever course be adopted with regard to the provision of meals, + namely, the appointment of salaried organisers for each group of + schools, to supervise the work of medical treatment, after-care, and + all other activities directed to the physical well-being of the child. + +Footnote 544: + + Report of Proceedings of University Extension Oxford Summer Meeting, + 1913, p. 17. + +Unfortunately the general provision of a school dinner will not be a +complete solution of the problem. There will remain the children for +whom one meal a day will not be sufficient, while the discontinuance of +the meals during the holidays will cause them serious suffering. +Experience has amply shown the necessity of the meals being continued +during the holidays and power must be given to the Local Education +Authorities to make this provision when it is required. They must also +be allowed to provide an additional meal for those children for whom +dinner alone is not sufficient. Any proposal to limit the provision to +one meal could not, indeed, be seriously entertained, for numbers of +Local Authorities are already supplying this extra food and would resist +any curtailment of their powers in this respect. But when we come to +consider for what children this additional provision shall be made, we +are face to face with all the old difficulties of selection. Obviously +it cannot be made for all. Perhaps the best method would be to provide +for all children who liked to come, whilst attendance should be +obligatory on those for whom the School Doctor ordered extra +nourishment. Such a prospect would be viewed with alarm by many, but the +numbers to be provided for would probably not be excessive, if it was +understood that this extra provision was intended only for necessitous +or delicate children. It is found that the attendance drops off +considerably during the holidays, and that it is always less for a +breakfast than for a dinner; it requires more exertion to come in time +for breakfast, while the fare provided is not so popular. Probably the +danger would be rather on the side of too few children being provided +for than too many. + +No plan that can be proposed is free from disadvantages. And this brings +us back to the point at which we started in this chapter. From the +nature of the case, no attempt to deal with effects only, while causes +remain untouched, can be wholly satisfactory. Provision must be made for +the present generation of school children; their necessities must be +relieved and future inefficiency due to underfeeding in childhood must +be prevented. But at the same time, and above all, a determined attack +must be made on the evils which lie at the root of the children's +malnutrition. Industrial conditions must be so organised that it is +possible for every man himself to provide for his children at least the +requisite minimum of food, clothing and other necessaries. + + + _Summary of Conclusions_ + + +1. That, so long as economic conditions remain as they are, the +provision of school meals is a necessity. + +2. That no method of selection of the children who are to receive the +meals can be satisfactory, and that all attempts at picking and choosing +should, therefore, be abandoned. The meal should be provided for all +children who like to come, without any enquiry into their parents' +circumstances. Attendance should be compulsory if recommended by the +School Medical Officer. + +3. That the meal should be regarded as part of the school curriculum and +should be educational. It should be served, as far as practicable, on +the school premises, in rooms which are not used as class-rooms; the +plan of sending the children to eating-houses or to large centres should +be discontinued. Some of the teachers should be present to supervise the +children, who should be taught to set the tables and to wait on one +another. The meal should be served as attractively as possible. + +4. The dietary should be drawn up in consultation with the School +Medical Officer, with a view to the physiological requirements of the +children, special attention being paid to the infants. + +5. The preparation of the food should not be entrusted to caterers, but +should be undertaken by the Local Education Authority. + +6. The meals should be continued throughout the school year, and, if +necessary, during the holidays. + + + + + APPENDIX I + EXAMPLES OF MENUS + + + (1) Bradford + + + SPRING DIETARY, 1913 + + +Dinners to be repeated every four weeks + +1st week: + +Monday. Brown vegetable soup. Rice pudding. + +Tuesday. Cottage pie; green peas. Stewed fruit. + +Wednesday. Potato and onion soup. Plum cake (Cocoanut cake alternate +months). + +Thursday. Meat and potato hash; beans. Rice pudding. + +Friday. Fish and potato pie; parsley sauce; peas. Ground rice. + +2nd week: + +Monday. Potato and onion soup. Rice pudding. + +Tuesday. Shepherd's pie. Stewed fruit. + +Wednesday. Yorkshire pudding; gravy; peas. Sago pudding. + +Thursday. Scotch barley broth. Currant pastry. + +Friday. Fish and potato pie; parsley sauce; peas. Rice and sultanas. + +3rd week: + +Monday. Brown vegetable soup. Rice pudding. + +Tuesday. Meat and potato hash; beans. Stewed fruit. + +Wednesday. Potato and onion soup. Ginger pudding and sweet sauce. + +Thursday. Stewed beef and gravy; mashed potatoes. Baked jam roll. + +Friday. Fish and potato pie; parsley sauce; peas. Semolina pudding. + +4th week: + +Monday. Potato and onion soup. Wholemeal cake. + +Tuesday. Hashed beef and savoury balls. Rice pudding. + +Wednesday. Yorkshire cheese pudding; peas and gravy. Stewed fruit. + +Thursday. Shepherd's pie; green peas. Sago pudding. + +Friday. Fish and potato pie; parsley sauce. Rice and sultanas. + + (2) Leeds + + + WINTER DIETARY + + +Repeated week after week. + +Monday. Pea soup; brown and white bread. Parkin. + +Tuesday. Shepherd's pie; brown and white bread. Buns or cake. + +Wednesday (except during Advent and Lent)--Irish stew; brown and white +bread. Parkin. + +Wednesday (during Advent and Lent)--Lentil and tomato soup (alternately +with fish pie); brown and white bread. Parkin. + +Thursday. Crust pie; brown or white bread. Buns or cake. + +Friday. Lentil and tomato soup (alternately with fish pie); brown and +white bread. Parkin. + +(Some other kind of cake or bun is now sometimes substituted for +parkin.) + + + SUMMER DIETARY + + +Monday. Rice pudding; stewed fruit. Currant cake. + +Tuesday. Shepherd's pie; brown and white bread. Seed cake. + +Wednesday. Crust pie; brown and white bread. Currant cake. + +Thursday. Potted meat sandwiches. Rice pudding. + +Friday. Lentil and tomato soup; white and brown bread. Buns. + + + (3) West Ham. + + + WINTER DIETARY. + + +Monday. Irish stew. Brown bread and jam. + +Tuesday. Lentil soup. Baked currant pudding. + +Wednesday. Roast mutton; potatoes; haricot beans; bread. + +Thursday. Mince. Suet pudding; jam or stewed fruit. + +Friday. Soup. Rice with jam or treacle. + +(During summer lighter food is substituted.) + + + (4) Acton. + + +Monday. Soup and bread. Currant roll. + +Tuesday. Stewed meat; cabbage; potatoes. + +Wednesday. Soup and bread. Plain suet pudding with syrup. + +Thursday. Irish stew and potatoes. Plain pudding. + +Friday. Soup and bread. Rice pudding. + +Saturday. Stewed meat and two vegetables. + +This menu is theoretically repeated week after week throughout the year, +but in practice it is not always strictly adhered to. + + + (5) London. + + +_Dinners which may be supplied by the Alexandra Trust._ (_See Minutes of +the L.C.C., Dec. 17, 18, 1912._) + + + WINTER MENU. + + +1. Haricot bean soup; bread. Treacle pudding. + +2. Fish and potato pie; bread. Baked raisin pudding. + +3. Pea soup; bread baked in dripping. Fig pudding. + +4. Stewed beef or mutton; dumplings; steamed potatoes; bread. + +5. Beef stewed with peas; dumplings; potatoes; bread. + +6. Mutton stewed with haricot beans; steamed potatoes; bread. Suet +pudding. + +7. Meat and potato pie; bread. + +8. Meat pudding. + +9. Toad-in-the-hole; potatoes; bread. + +10. Rice pudding; two slices of bread and butter. + + + SUMMER MENU. + + +1. Rice pudding; two slices of bread and butter. + +2. Toad-in-the-hole; potatoes; bread. + +3. Meat pies; potatoes; bread. + +4. Meat pudding; potatoes; bread. + +5. Cold meat pie; fruit roll. + +6. Meat sandwich; piece of cake. + +7. (For Infants) Hot milk and bread; fruit roll. + + + DINNERS FOR INFANTS + + +1 Liquid part of winter dinner menus, Nos. 4, 5, 6. + +2 Rice, tapioca, macaroni or barley pudding, with two slices of sultana +bread and butter. + +3 Stew--very fine mince. + +4 Baked custard, with bread and butter. + +5 Savory custard, with bread and butter. + + + (6) Grassington (Yorkshire) + + + SAMPLE MENUS[545] + +Footnote 545: + + There appears to be no fixed dietary, the dinners being varied each + week. + +Monday. Haricot bean soup; bread. Steamed suet pudding and treacle. + +Tuesday. Meat and potato pies with crusts on. Rice pudding. + +Wednesday. Onion soup; bread. Steamed ginger pudding; sweet sauce. + +Thursday. Meat and potato pie with crusts on. Sago pudding. + +Friday. Yorkshire pudding; gravy; mashed potato. Marmalade pudding; +sweet sauce. + +Monday. Potato soup; bread. Steamed ginger pudding; sweet sauce. + +Tuesday. Meat and potato pies with crusts on. Cornflour pudding. + +Wednesday. Pea soup. Plain plum puddings; sweet sauce. + +Thursday. Meat and potato pies with crusts on. Rice pudding. + +Friday. Shepherd's pie (minced meat, mashed potato). Sago pudding. + + + + + APPENDIX II + THE PROVISION OF MEALS IN SCOTLAND + + +The Provision of Meals Act of 1906 applied only to England and Wales. As +we have seen, the attempt of the House of Commons to extend its +operations to Scotland was defeated in the House of Lords, and it was +not till 1908 that the Scottish School Boards were granted power to +utilise the rates for the provision of food.[546] By the Education +(Scotland) Act passed in that year it was enacted that a School Board +might, either by itself or in combination with other School Boards, +provide accommodation, apparatus and service for the preparation and +supply of meals.[547] Where it appeared that a child was unable by lack +of food or clothing to take full advantage of the education provided, +the School Board should, after due warning, summon the parent or +guardian to appear and give an explanation of the child's condition. If +the explanation was not forthcoming or was insufficient or +unsatisfactory, and the condition of the child was due to neglect, the +Procurator Fiscal should prosecute the parents under the Prevention of +Cruelty Act.[548] If, however, it appeared that the parent or guardian, +through poverty or ill-health, was unable to supply sufficient food or +clothing, the School Board, if satisfied that the necessities of the +case would not be met by voluntary agency, should make "such provision +for the child ... as they deem necessary" out of the school fund.[549] +Temporary provision might be made by the School Board pending completion +of procedure against the parents, and the cost of such provision might +be recovered.[550] The powers conferred upon Scottish School Boards thus +differed in several respects from those conferred on English Local +Authorities by the Act of 1906. The School Boards were granted power not +only to provide food but also clothing, and no limitation was placed +upon the amount which might be spent out of the rates on the provision +of these necessaries. Moreover, the Act was not permissive. In England, +when in any area school children are suffering from lack of food, and +voluntary funds are not forthcoming to meet their needs, the Local +Education Authority _may_ provide food out of the rates; in Scotland the +School Board _shall_ make such provision. + +Footnote 546: + + See ante, p. 48. + +Footnote 547: + + 8 Edward VII., c. 63, sec. 3 (2). + +Footnote 548: + + _Ibid._, sec. 6 (1). + +Footnote 549: + + _Ibid._, sec. 6 (2). + +Footnote 550: + + _Ibid._ + +No report has yet been published by the Scottish Education Department as +to the action taken either by the School Boards or by voluntary agencies +in the work of the provision of meals. As far as we can gather from the +reports of the Chief Inspectors, though several Boards co-operate with +voluntary agencies and provide apparatus and service, in only some +half-dozen towns, _e.g._, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Govan, Leith, Perth, has +the system of providing food out of the rates been adopted to any +extent.[551] The increase in expenditure on the provision of meals, +etc., for necessitous children under the Act of 1908 is shown by the +following table:--[552] + +Footnote 551: + + During the coal strike in the spring of 1912, some Boards in the Fife + district took action under section 6 and provided free meals. (Report + of the Chief Inspector for the Southern Division for 1912, p. 11.) + +Footnote 552: + + Report of the Committee of Council on Education in Scotland, 1912-13, + p. 4. + + Providing Food, Clothing or Total. + Accomodation other expenditure + for Meals, (for necessitous + Sec. 3(2) children) Sec. 6 + + 1908-9 (Part of £ 67 £ 11 £ 78 + year only.) + + 1909-10 290 921 1,211 + + 1910-11 3,777 3,768 7,545 + + 1911-12 4,586 3,172 7,758 + +In Edinburgh, the necessity for feeding underfed school children was +recognized[553] very soon after the passing of the Education Act of +1872. The Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor early +undertook to deal with cases reported by the Attendance Officers. In +1878 Miss Flora Stevenson started a scheme for feeding and clothing +destitute children, on condition that children so assisted must attend +school.[554] Towards the close of the nineteenth century numerous other +voluntary organisations appear to have been established.[555] As in +other towns the provision by these voluntary agencies proved inadequate +and unsatisfactory. Meals were supplied only for about ten weeks in the +year. They were served in eating-houses, where the food was poor and the +arrangements of the roughest description. The children were selected by +the teachers and attendance officers, and there was no adequate +investigation into the cases. In the autumn of 1909 the Lord Provost +summoned a conference to discuss the question, and a scheme of +co-operation between the School Board and the two chief voluntary +agencies, the Flora Stevenson Committee and the Courant Fund, was drawn +up, by which the voluntary funds were pooled, and cases were decided by +a committee consisting of representatives of the three bodies concerned. +In the following year the School Board undertook the entire +responsibility for the provision of meals, though it still relied on +voluntary contributions. It decided to establish a cooking centre of its +own instead of entrusting the supply of the meals to caterers. Care +Committees of voluntary workers were to be appointed for each group of +schools to investigate all cases of destitution, and to "keep in +continuous and sympathetic touch" with the families. Cases were to be +recommended by the medical officer, school nurses, teachers and +attendance officers, in addition to applications made by the parents; +the Care Committee was also itself to take the initiative in searching +out cases of destitution. To secure uniformity of treatment a Central +Care Committee, composed of representatives of the School Board and the +voluntary agencies, was appointed to give the final decision on all +cases; this central committee was also to supervise the collection of +the necessary funds, and to rouse general interest in the problem of +school feeding.[556] The Courant Fund declined to act with the Board +under this scheme, but the Flora Stevenson Committee co-operated +cordially. + +Footnote 553: + + For the following account I am mainly indebted to the kindness of Mrs. + Leslie Mackenzie and Mr. I. H. Cunningham. + +Footnote 554: + + Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills + (England and Scotland), 1906, Q. 4211; Report of Royal Commission on + Physical Training (Scotland) 1903, Vol. II., Q. 2396. + +Footnote 555: + + Report of Special Sub-Committee on Meals for School Children, in + Minutes of London School Board, July 25, 1889, Vol. 31, p. 382. + +Footnote 556: + + Edinburgh School Board, Memorandum on the Feeding of School Children, + 1910, pp. 5-6. + +The cooking centre was opened in January, 1911, and by the end of the +year the system of Care Committees was in working order. Voluntary +subscriptions rapidly decreased, however, and in May, 1912, the Board +resolved that recourse must be had to the rates. The Central Care +Committee thereupon ceased to exist, its duties being transferred to the +Attendance Committee. The local Care Committees, of which eight had been +appointed, were continued for a time, but at the beginning of 1913 the +duty of investigation was entrusted to the Attendance Officers,[557] and +the local committees also were given up. The system had not worked +entirely without friction. The method of investigation was cumbersome +and slow, and the local committees were not in sufficiently close touch +with the Central Committee. The committees were too large; from one to +nine schools were allocated to each, and the membership usually numbered +about twenty-five. But it is to be regretted that the system has been +entirely abandoned. Apart from the work of investigation, which, as we +have shown elsewhere, is not a task which can suitably be entrusted to +voluntary workers, there are many matters connected with the welfare of +the school child in which the volunteer's services can be of the +greatest value. + +Footnote 557: + + Two special officers have been appointed to make enquiries. + +The meal given is always dinner, though in one of the poorest districts +breakfasts have recently been started; for these a halfpenny is charged, +except to those children who are on the free list. Till lately two +courses were supplied at dinner, but now usually only one is given. The +meals are served ordinarily in the schools, but in one or two places in +halls hired for the purpose. From reports that we have received the +arrangements seem to compare very favourably with those obtaining in +most English dining-centres. The teachers frequently take a great +interest in the question and supervise the meals. Some of the elder boys +and girls help to serve the food and wait on the children. The infants +are served at a separate table or, perhaps, in a separate room. +Attention is paid to cleanliness and tidiness, and the children's +manners are very good. + +Provision is made not only for necessitous[558] children, but for those +who can pay part or the whole of the cost. Non-necessitous children may +obtain a dinner on payment of 2d., while the "semi-necessitous" may pay +1d. It is noteworthy that the number of free dinners is decreasing, +while the number of penny dinners is on the increase. Of the 413,000 +meals supplied during 1912-13, nearly 50 per cent. were supplied to +"semi-necessitous" children on payment of 1d.; about 25 per cent. were +given free, the remaining 25 per cent. being supplied to children whose +parents were receiving relief from the Parish Council, children in +Higher Grade and Special Schools, and the elder girls who helped in +serving the meals.[559] The work of investigation has been greatly +reduced by the introduction of the penny dinner, and it has been +suggested that the provision of a halfpenny dinner would still further +diminish the need for free dinners, and consequently the need for +investigation. + +Footnote 558: + + There is no fixed scale in determining which children are necessitous, + but free meals are usually granted if the gross income of the + household is less than 3s. a head. + +Footnote 559: + + For the week ending December 19, 1913, the number of children fed + was:-- + + Necessitous 442 + Paying children 1,389 + Parish Council children 207 + +For many years before the School Board undertook the responsibility for +providing for its underfed children, the Parish Council was supplying +meals to the children of mothers who were receiving parish relief. The +Report of the Royal Commission on Physical Training in 1903 had drawn +attention to the question of underfeeding among children, and the Parish +Council determined to provide meals for the children for whose relief it +was responsible, in order to ensure that no complaint might be brought +against it.[560] Hot dinners were provided every day except Sunday.[561] +They were intended chiefly for children whose mothers were at work all +day, but tickets were also given in cases where an increase of relief +would not have benefited the children, or where the children had a +consumptive tendency.[562] The dinners were served in eating-houses +where "the conditions as to the serving of the meals, and the manners of +the children--entirely without supervision--" were "anything but +civilising."[563] When the School Board took over the general +arrangements for feeding, it seemed at first as if the Parish Council +would still continue its own methods, but the superiority of the Board's +scheme was soon apparent, and the Parish Council made an arrangement +with it by which children whose mothers were receiving relief would have +meals at school, the Council paying 1-1/2d. per meal to the School +Board.[564] + +Footnote 560: + + Evidence before the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, Vol. VI., + Qs. 61553-5. + +Footnote 561: + + _Ibid._, Q. 61371 (12). + +Footnote 562: + + _Ibid._, Q. 55247 (31). + +Footnote 563: + + Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, 8vo edition, + Vol. III., p. 148. + +Footnote 564: + + "Administrative problems arising out of Child Feeding," by J. A. + Young, in _Proceedings of the National Conference on the Prevention of + Destitution_, 1911, pp. 339-340. + +In Glasgow, as in Edinburgh, the provision of meals was very early +undertaken by voluntary societies. As far back as 1869 the Glasgow Poor +Children's Dinner Table Society was founded,[565] and in 1875 another +philanthropic society established Day Refuges, which were intended +chiefly for children of widows or widowers who were at work all day, and +at which three meals were supplied daily.[566] The Poor Children's +Dinner Table Society continued to be the chief agency for supplying +meals till 1910, when voluntary contributions proved inadequate and the +School Board took over the provision of the meals. A central cooking +centre, with modern labour-saving appliances, was built, the food being +distributed to the different centres by motor waggon. The meals are +served either in the schools or in halls hired for the purpose. The +supervision is usually undertaken by the attendants; at some centres +assistance is given by members of the old dinner societies, but the +numbers are falling off. Only necessitous children are fed. Each case is +decided on its merits, but dinners are not usually granted if the family +income exceeds 3s. per head.[567] The children are selected by the +school doctors, nurses, attendance officers or teachers, and enquiries +are made by the attendance officers, immediate provision being made in +urgent cases. Boots and clothing, which up to 1912 were supplied by the +Poor Children's Clothing Scheme, are now provided by the School +Board.[568] In the special schools for the physically defective, dinner +is provided for practically all the children, and the parents pay. The +food is good in quality and served in an attractive manner, tablecloths +of some kind and flowers being provided. The supervision is undertaken +by the nurses and teachers. + +Footnote 565: + + Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills + (England and Scotland), 1906, Qs. 3075-8. + +Footnote 566: + + Evidence before the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, Vol. VI., + Q. 59728 (18); Report of London School Board on Underfed Children + attending School, 1899, p. 253. + +Footnote 567: + + See Dundee School Board, Report on the Feeding of School Children, + 1913, p. 31. + +Footnote 568: + + Report of Glasgow School Board for 1911-12, p. 13. + +Perth was one of the earliest School Boards to use its powers under the +Act of 1908 and to provide food and clothing out of the rates, the +system being begun in 1909. A Care Committee was appointed in 1911 to +assist the School Board in looking after the welfare of the children and +to take part in the distribution of the meals; the members visit the +homes, but apparently have no voice in the selection of the +children.[569] The dinners are mostly served in a Church Hall and are +supervised by the Care Committee and members of the School Board. Most +of the dinners are supplied free, only a small proportion being paid +for.[570] In the matter of boots, if a child is found improperly shod, a +notice is sent by the Board to the parents. If they do not provide boots +themselves, the Board supplies them and calls upon the parents to +pay[571]; about two-thirds of the money thus spent is recovered from the +parents.[572] + +Footnote 569: + + Report of Chief Inspector for Southern Division for 1912, pp. 11-12. + +Footnote 570: + + Perth School Board, Officers' Report on the supplying of Meals and + Boots to School Children, 1912-13, pp. 1-3. + +Footnote 571: + + Report of Chief Inspector for Southern Division for 1912, p. 12. + +Footnote 572: + + Perth School Board, Officers' Report, 1912-13, p. 4. + +In most towns, as we have said, the cost of the food is still borne out +of voluntary funds, whether the School Board itself undertakes the +provision of meals, or whether this is done by a voluntary society. + +In Dundee provision has been made by "The Free and Assisted Dinner Fund" +since the winter of 1884-5.[573] The meals are given usually in the +schools, but sometimes in coffee houses. The prevailing menu appears to +be soup. In view of the large number of married women who are +industrially employed at Dundee, the school meal is a great convenience. +A large proportion of the children, something like two-thirds in fact, +make some payment towards the meal.[574] But the price charged is very +low; a single bowl of soup costs a halfpenny, while the payment of a +penny a week secures a bowl daily.[575] At Paisley also a large +proportion of the children pay. Soup and bread, or, if the children +prefer, cocoa and bread, etc., is provided for the sum of one halfpenny, +the poorest children receiving it free. The balance of expenditure on +food is met from voluntary funds; the School Board pays all expenses of +administration.[576] In Aberdeen the work of providing meals, which had +formerly been undertaken by the Aberdeen Educational Trust, was +transferred in 1909 to the School Board, together with the income which +the Trust had devoted to this purpose.[577] At Greenock the School Board +have raised a voluntary fund for the provision of books, boots or food +for necessitous children, but it has not been found necessary to supply +any meals within the last two years. In Inverness provision is made by a +voluntary organisation, the children being sent to local eating-houses. + +Footnote 573: + + Dundee School Board, Report on the Feeding of School Children, 1913, + p. 11. + +Footnote 574: + + _Ibid._, p. 15. + +Footnote 575: + + _Ibid._, pp. 13-14. + +Footnote 576: + + In the special schools for defective children at Paisley a two-course + dinner is provided at a charge of 8d. a week. + +Footnote 577: + + Report of Chief Inspector for the Northern Division for 1911, p. 24. + +Turning now to the rural districts, we may mention an early experiment +somewhat similar to that at Rousdon, to which we have already referred. +In 1878 the minister of the small country parish of Farnell came to the +conclusion that the attendance at school would be more regular, and the +children would derive more profit from the education given if a hot +midday meal were provided. Accordingly a soup kitchen was instituted at +the school, the plant being provided by voluntary contributions. A +charge was made of a halfpenny per meal or 1d. per family, where there +were more than two children. Practically all the children availed +themselves of the provision. The effects were soon visible, not only in +improved attendance--the grant earned rose from £89 in 1878 to £99 in +1883--but in greater immunity from epidemics and illness than in +neighbouring schools, and in the greater buoyancy of spirits of the +children.[578] + +Footnote 578: + + "Can a sufficient mid-day meal be given to poor school children ... + for ... less than one penny?" by Sir Henry Peek, 1883, p. 13. + +In this matter of providing a midday meal for the children attending +rural schools, Scotland would appear to be, on the whole, in advance of +England, though the extent of the provision made varies considerably in +different districts. Thus, in the Border Counties, very few schools make +any arrangements,[579] while in Fifeshire, where the Inspector "has +consistently pressed upon managers" the necessity for providing dinners, +the attitude of most of the rural Boards is one of "stolid apathy."[580] +In Aberdeenshire, on the other hand, a cup of cocoa or a plate of soup +is provided in most of the country schools,[581] and in the county of +Inverness almost all the schools provide some sort of hot liquid.[582] +In Kincardineshire it was reported in 1906 that the soup kitchen was a +"universal institution."[583] The meals may be paid for by the children, +these payments being supplemented by voluntary contributions in money or +in kind. + +Footnote 579: + + Report of Chief Inspector for the Southern Division for 1911, p. 27. + +Footnote 580: + + _Ibid._, pp. 27-8. + +Footnote 581: + + First Report on Medical Inspection of School Children in Scotland, by + Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, 1913, p. 51. + +Footnote 582: + + "The Diet of Country Elementary School Children," by Dr. Gordon A. + Lang, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. E. Hecht, 1913, p. + 116. + +Footnote 583: + + Report of Chief Inspector for Northern Division for 1906. + +But even where it is the rule to find cocoa or soup supplied, it is +inadequate for the wants of many of the children, who require a more +substantial and nourishing midday meal. Moreover, the provision appears +as a rule to be confined to the winter months, a limitation patently +absurd, since the _raison d'être_ of the meals is not so much the +poverty of the parents, a condition which may fluctuate according to the +seasons, but the fact that the distances are, in many cases, too great +to allow the children time to return home at midday--which condition is, +of course, constant the whole year round. + + + + + APPENDIX III + THE PROVISION OF MEALS ABROAD + + +We have not been able to make any original enquiry into the systems of +school feeding existing in other countries. The following history of the +"Cantines Scolaires" in Paris and brief notes as to the provision made +in other foreign towns may, however, be useful for purposes of +reference, and as showing how widespread has been the movement for the +feeding of school children. The information as to foreign towns other +than Paris is derived mainly from _Prize Essays on Feeding School +Children_, 1890; _Report of London School Board on Underfed Children +attending School_, 1899, Appendix ix., pp. 255-272; _Feeding of School +Children in Continental and American Cities_ (Cd. 2926), 1906; _The Free +Feeding of School Children_, a reprint of the reports by the Special +Sanitary Commissioner of the _Lancet_, 2nd edition, 1907; while fuller +and more recent information is to be found in _School Feeding, its +Practice at Home and Abroad_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913. + + + (a) France + + + (i) The Cantines Scolaires in Paris + + +Paris has long offered to other cities an inspiring example of an +efficient and uniform system for feeding poor school children. She was +the first to make systematic provision on a large scale. She had a basis +of organisation ready to her hand in the _Caisses des Ecoles_. These +bodies correspond in some degree to the English Care Committees, though +with a far wider sphere of action. The original object of these school +funds was to encourage school attendance by rewards to industrious +pupils and help to the needy. The first _Caisse_ was established in 1849 +by the National Guard in the second _arrondissement_, and gradually the +system spread. In 1867 a law was passed encouraging the formation of +_Caisses_ in every _commune_, and directing that their revenues were to +consist of voluntary subscriptions and subventions by the commune, +department or state.[584] This law was merely permissive, but in 1882, +by the Compulsory Education Law, the establishment of these +organisations was made obligatory.[585] A _Caisse_ was accordingly set +up in each of the twenty _arrondissements_ of Paris. Attendance at +school being now compulsory, and it being therefore no longer so +necessary to provide incentives to attendance, the _Caisses_, though +they still continued to grant prizes, turned their attention more and +more to the physical needs of the children, boots, clothing, food, +country holidays and, later, crèches, Savings Banks, skilled +apprenticeship and medical treatment. The _Caisse_ was a voluntary body, +but was officially recognised by the municipality. The General Committee +was composed of the Mayor, the members of the Municipal Council, and the +school inspector for the district, together with from twenty to +twenty-four persons elected by the subscribers.[586] + +Footnote 584: + + "The Free Feeding of School Children," a reprint of the reports by the + Special Sanitary Commissioner of the _Lancet_, 2nd edition, 1907, p. + 7. + +Footnote 585: + + _Ibid._, p. 8. + +Footnote 586: + + _Ibid._, p. 9. + +As in other towns, the early attempts at feeding poor school children +were due to private initiative; meals were provided by the _Caisses des +Ecoles_ or other voluntary associations or by philanthropic individuals. +These attempts were unco-ordinated and inadequate to deal with the evil +of underfeeding. In 1879 the Municipal Council made an enquiry into the +whole question. As a result a scheme was drawn up to place the work on a +more satisfactory and uniform basis under public control. The provision +of meals was entrusted in each _arrondissement_ to the _Caisses des +Ecoles_, and a grant of 480,000 francs was voted by the Municipal +Council to aid them in this work.[587] + +Footnote 587: + + "The Cantines Scolaires of Paris," by Sir Charles A. Elliott, in the + _Nineteenth Century_, May, 1906, pp. 834-5. + +It is interesting to note that it was seriously considered whether the +meals should not be supplied free for all children attending the +schools. The Council, however, came to the conclusion that, "in freeing +the parents of all responsibility with regard to their children, and in +accustoming them to evade their duties, they would be running the risk +of weakening the family spirit, to the great detriment of the morality +both of the children and of the parents."[588] It was, therefore, +decided that free provision should be limited to necessitous children. +At the same time it would be difficult to exclude children who were +willing to pay for their meals, hence provision should be made for these +too. + +Footnote 588: + + "Organisation des Cantines Scolaires à Paris," a manifold manuscript + report issued by the Direction de l'Enseignement primaire, 3me bureau, + 1912. + +The voluntary subscriptions which had supported the work before 1880 +continued in theory to be the chief resource of the new _Cantines +Scolaires_. These voluntary subscriptions rapidly decreased, being +either withdrawn altogether or diverted to the other objects of the +_Caisses_. At the same time both the number of meals provided and the +proportion of free meals increased no less markedly. In 1880, the first +year in which meals were provided under the new system, only 33 per +cent. of the meals were supplied free (the remainder being paid for by +the parents); in 1898 this proportion had nearly doubled, being 63 per +cent. The municipal subsidy rose correspondingly, and in 1899 amounted +to 1,017,000 francs. The Council took fright and appointed a Commission +to consider the question, with the result that the grant was restricted +to 1,000,000 francs.[589] This limit has been fairly strictly adhered +to, for the grant amounts now to only 1,050,000 francs, though the +proportion of free meals has continued slowly to increase.[590] + +Footnote 589: + + "The Cantines Scolaires of Paris," by Sir Charles Elliott, in the + _Nineteenth Century_, May, 1906, pp. 835-6. + +Footnote 590: + + According to the latest figures 70 per cent. of the children for whom + meals are provided receive them free. + +Each _Caisse_ is allowed a free hand in the actual details of +administration, hence the arrangements vary in the different +_arrondissements_. The want of uniformity has obvious disadvantages, and +a proposal was recently made that the system should be centralised, but +this would have necessitated the appointment of a large and expensive +staff, and it was felt desirable to leave the initiative and +responsibility to voluntary workers.[591] Everywhere the meal is served +on the school premises, a kitchen being established for each school or +group of schools. The meal is cooked by the _cantinières_, and is +sometimes provided by them at a fixed price per head; more often the +_Caisse_ prefers to purchase the materials itself, a more economical +method, and one which ensures a better quality of food.[592] The dinner +may consist of one, two or three courses. The food is plentiful and +good, well-cooked and well-served, and the menu sufficiently varied. The +meals are made as attractive as possible to encourage the better-class +parents to make use of them. The price charged varies from 1d. to 2d.; +in almost all the _arrondissements_ the charge appears to be below the +cost price. No difference is made between the children who pay and those +who are on the free list. The teachers do not assist in serving the +food, as in England, but are always present to supervise the children, +and, in some schools at any rate, they eat their dinner with them. At +first the supervision was undertaken voluntarily, but since 1910 the +teachers have received an extra remuneration of 1·50 francs a day for +this duty.[593] This sharing in a common meal by all classes alike, +together with the presence of the teacher, has had a marked influence on +the children's manners. Besides the mid-day meal, which is given by all +the _Caisses_, breakfasts of soup are sometimes supplied to the children +who are receiving free dinners, while in some _arrondissements_, _e.g._, +the eighteenth, a small meal is also given at four o'clock to these +children if they remain at school for the "classe de garde."[594] A +further extension has recently been made in the seventeenth +_arrondissement_, where it was decided in 1912 to try the experiment of +a "classe de garde" till eight o'clock in the evening, with a supper, +for children of widows or widowers who were at work till late, or for +other especially poor children, or children with bad homes, the object +being both to secure them adequate nourishment and to remove them from +the temptations of the streets. For this purpose the Municipal Council +voted a sum of 10,000 francs.[595] Weakly children have codliver oil +given to them in winter and syrup of iodide of iron or phosphate of lime +in the summer. + +Footnote 591: + + "Organisation des Cantines Scolaires à Paris," report by Direction de + l'Enseignement primaire, 3me bureau, 1912. + +Footnote 592: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 593: + + _Ibid._ + +Footnote 594: + + "Caisse des écoles du 18e arrondissement," Exercice de l'année 1911, + p. 34. + +Footnote 595: + + Proposition tendant à l'ouverture d'un crédit de 10,000 francs en vue + de permettre à la Caisse des Ecoles du XVIIe arrondissement + d'organiser, à titre d'essai, une classe de garde prolongée jusqu'à + huit heures et une cantine du soir, déposée par M. Frédéric Brunet, + conseiller municipal, Septembre 19, 1912. + +The methods of enquiry vary in the different _arrondissements_. Usually +the enquiries are made by a paid investigator, but the numbers of +children on the free list are so large that the investigation is as a +rule very superficial. The necessity of keeping secret the fact that a +child is receiving the meals free also militates against any effective +enquiry into the parents' circumstances. The meals are granted for a +school year, hence it frequently happens that a child continues to +receive them long after the need has passed away.[596] The enquiries +are, as might be expected, the least satisfactory part of the Paris +system. In granting the meals the _Caisses_ usually take a generous +view; it is held, for instance, that a man earning up to 30s. a week +cannot adequately feed and clothe more than three children, and if his +family is larger than this the _Caisses_ are prepared to assist him; +while widows' children are invariably fed if application is made.[597] + +Footnote 596: + + "Organisation des Cantines Scolaires à Paris," report issued by + Direction de l'Enseignement primaire, 3me bureau, 1912; "Necessitous + Children in Paris and London," by George Rainey, in _School Hygiene_, + November, 1912, Vol. III., p. 198. + +Footnote 597: + + _Ibid._, p. 198. + +An interesting feature of the Paris system is the provision of clothes. +The municipality insists that the children shall come to school properly +clothed; it is ready to provide the requisite garments, but it insists +that they shall be kept clean and tidy. Frequent inspections are made +for this purpose. The result is a notable raising of the level of +cleanliness and tidiness in the schools, both the parents and the +children themselves learning to take a pride in their appearance.[598] +So far, indeed, from the work of the _Caisses_ having undermined +parental responsibility, it would appear that the reverse is the case, +the parents responding to the higher standard demanded of them. + +Footnote 598: + + _Ibid._, pp. 198, 200. + +What strikes one in comparing the Paris system with that obtaining in +English towns is the thoroughness with which the problem is tackled in +Paris and the widespread interest taken by the citizens generally in the +work of the _Caisses_. No half measures content them. From the first the +work has been educational, the primary object of the _Caisses_ being to +encourage school attendance rather than to relieve distress. The +educational progress of the children, the improvement in their physique, +the raising of the standard of manners and cleanliness, all show that +the results have amply justified the expenditure.[599] + +Footnote 599: + + For the above description, see, besides the references already quoted, + Report of London School Board on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, Appendix IX., pp. 262-5; "The Cantines Scolaires of Paris," by + Marcel Kleine, in _Report of Proceedings of the International Congress + for the Welfare and Protection of Children_, 1906, pp. 65-82; "Feeding + School Children: The Experience of France," in the _Manchester + Guardian_, February 22, 1906; "Children's Care Committees in Paris," + in the _Morning Post_, March 19, 1909; "School Canteens in Paris," by + Miss M. M. Boldero, in the _School Child_, July, 1910; _School + Feeding, its History and Practice at Home and Abroad_, by Louise + Stevens Bryant, 1913, pp. 77-93; Conseil Municipal de Paris, Procès + Verbal, June 25, 1909, December 31, 1909, March 23, 1910. + + + (ii) Provision in other French Towns. + + +Paris was not the first municipality in France to interest itself in the +provision of school meals. The pioneer town in this respect seems to +have been Angers, where as early as 1871 the Société de Fourneau des +Ecoles Laïques was founded with the support of the municipality, to +provide hot dinners, either free or at a cost of 10 centimes, during the +winter.[600] Towards the close of the nineteenth century many +municipalities were providing meals, either directly or indirectly +through voluntary organisations. + +Footnote 600: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 93-94. + +Thus at Havre, in 1898, the municipality was making a grant of £500 to a +voluntary society; meals were provided for 10 centimes, or were given +free in cases of poverty; about five-eighths of the children who +attended paid for the meals.[601] + +Footnote 601: + + London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, p. 265. + +At Marseilles Cantines Scolaires were organised by the municipality in +1893. Prior to this date meals had been provided in some three or four +schools, but only in a haphazard manner by voluntary agencies. By the +bye-law of 1893 a committee of twenty-two was to be appointed by the +Mayor, and presided over by him or his representative; this committee +was to investigate the demands made for free meals. In 1905 about 8 per +cent. of the children in the communal schools were dining at school, +about half this number paying for the meal; in the infant schools the +proportion fed was much greater, viz., 18 per cent., while only about +one-sixth of the parents paid. As in Paris, no distinction was made +between the paying and the non-paying children. Dinner tickets could be +bought at all the police stations; if the parents wished to receive the +meals free, they had to make application personally or by letter to the +education department; if on investigation they proved to be unable to +pay, the municipality provided them with tickets.[602] + +Footnote 602: + + _Lancet_ Reports, 1907, pp. 50-56. + +At Nice also Cantines Scolaires were established by the municipality +about 1896. Here the object was not so much to feed starving children as +to provide a suitable meal for children who came such distances that +they were unable to return home at mid-day. The municipality built +kitchens, provided all the necessary apparatus, and paid the salaries of +the cooks. A penny was charged for a dinner of soup, the meal being +given free to those who could not afford to pay. Any deficit was +supplied by voluntary subscriptions. In the infant schools, on the other +hand, the municipality assumed the entire responsibility, and a hot meal +was provided for all the children without payment.[603] + +Footnote 603: + + _Ibid._, pp. 41-43. + +By 1909 Cantines Scolaires of one kind or another had been very +generally established. It appeared that at this date something like +three-fifths were supported entirely by public funds, the remainder +being so supported indirectly and partially. In many towns where regular +cantines had not been instituted, the teachers or janitors served warm +soup to the children at a nominal sum. In country districts or smaller +towns, the children would bring the raw material for soup and the +teacher would prepare it; the children would also bring their own bread, +and sometimes wine and cake. Whether any organised provision was made or +not, the great majority of the schools everywhere had a stove on which +the children could warm any food they brought with them.[604] + +Footnote 604: + + _School Feeding_ by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 80, 94-97. + + + (b) Switzerland + + +Switzerland was one of the first countries in which provision for +necessitous school children became the subject of national legislation. +The question early attracted attention. The long distances which many of +the children had to walk to school rendered the provision of a mid-day +meal of the greatest importance, while clothing and especially boots +were little less necessary. After 1890 the system of providing food and +clothing was greatly extended. The provision was everywhere made by +voluntary societies, but assistance was given from the cantonal and +communal funds. The cantonal contribution was derived chiefly from the +alcohol monopoly profits and was devoted to this provision for the +children's wants on the theory that their misery was in most cases the +direct result of parental insobriety![605] This method of administration +by voluntary societies, subsidised but not controlled by the municipal +authorities, proved most extravagant, and led to much abuse, while it +aroused sectarian jealousies. The municipalities began, consequently, to +take over the direct management of the school meals.[606] In 1903 the +Federal Government issued an order making it _obligatory_ for cantons to +supply food and clothing to necessitous children in the public +elementary schools. Three years later it authorised the use of state +funds for this purpose, on the understanding that in no case should the +cantonal or city support be lessened because of this federal +support.[607] + +Footnote 605: + + Report of London School Board on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, pp. 271-2. + +Footnote 606: + + _The Bitter Cry of the Children_, by John Spargo, 1906, p. 277. + +Footnote 607: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 133. + + + (c) Italy + + +As in other countries, the early attempts at school feeding in Italy +were made by voluntary agencies. In many towns, towards the close of the +nineteenth century, Committees of Assistance and Benevolent Funds were +instituted to assist poor pupils in the elementary schools, chiefly in +the matter of books and clothing, but in several communes of Lombardy +and Romagna meals were also given. A small grant, which in 1897 was +raised to 120,000 francs (£4,800), was made by the Department of Public +Instruction to the school authorities in the large cities, and +especially Rome, who provided a mid-day meal for their children.[608] + +Footnote 608: + + Report of London School Board on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, p. 267. + +The first town in which the municipality undertook the provision of +meals was San Remo, in 1896. This policy was inaugurated by the +Socialist Council. It was temporarily abandoned in 1898, when a +Conservative Council was appointed who preferred the subsidising of +voluntary agencies to direct municipal action, but was re-introduced on +the return of the Socialists to power some four years later.[609] + +Footnote 609: + + _Lancet_ Reports, 1907, pp. 31, 33. + +In Milan an agitation for the provision of meals was set on foot in the +last decade of the nineteenth century. The municipal authority declined +to undertake the work themselves, but advocated the formation of +charitable committees to raise subscriptions for the purpose, offering +to supplement these voluntary funds with a municipal subvention. This +grant amounted in 1897 to about £400.[610] It was soon found that this +system did not work satisfactorily, and the municipality was obliged, +though somewhat reluctantly, to assume the responsibility.[611] + +Footnote 610: + + Minutes of London School Board, May 26, 1898, Vol. 48, p. 1810. + +Footnote 611: + + _Lancet_ Reports, 1907, p. 20. + +But it is in the small rural town of Vercelli that we find the most +remarkable experiment.[612] Here for some years a charitable committee +had been providing meals for children who lived too far from school to +go home at mid-day, and the municipality had granted a small subsidy, +but it was felt that this provision was entirely inadequate. In 1900 it +was decided to provide a meal for all the children attending the +elementary schools. The object was not the relief of distress but +education in its fullest sense, as distinct from mere instruction. It +was argued that the mid-day recess furnished an opportunity for moral +education which could not be imparted in the class-room. The teachers +would be brought into more intimate relation with the children, while +the joining of richer and poorer alike in the common meal and in +recreation afterwards would instil sentiments of brotherhood. The meal +was to be free to all and attendance compulsory, for rich and poor were +to be treated exactly alike. With the same object of preventing class +distinctions, clothes were supplied for the poorer children, the +municipality providing the material which was worked into garments by +the sewing classes. The teachers were to have the same food, though they +were allowed a double quantity, and were to eat it with the children. +For this extra duty of supervising both the meals and recreation they +only received an additional £2 a year. Since the moral rather than the +physical welfare of the child was the primary consideration, too little +attention was paid to the actual food that was given. The parents, it +was argued, could in the great majority of cases amply feed their +children at home, hence all that was needed was to supply sufficient +food to compensate for the waste of energy during the two and a half +hours of morning school. A cold meal of bread and sausage or cheese was +given. This did not satisfy the more prosperous children, who would have +preferred to pay for a hot meal, and some 10 per cent. of the children, +chiefly the richer ones, obtained a medical certificate exempting them +from attendance. Nor was the meal sufficient for the poorest children +who were suffering from lack of food. To provide a really adequate meal +free for all would have been too expensive an undertaking. Accordingly, +after some six years, the general free provision was abandoned. Instead, +hot soup was provided, which was given free to the poorest children, any +others who wished being allowed to receive it on payment of 1·50 lire a +month.[613] + +Footnote 612: + + [Footnote 5: For the following account, see _Lancet_ Reports, pp. + 24-30. It is interesting to note that this scheme for making universal + provision was introduced by the Conservative party.] + +Footnote 613: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 141; Il Patronato + Scolastico Umberto 1° in Vercelli e la sua Opera al 31 Dicembre, 1912, + pp. 5, 6. + +The "School Restaurant" seems to have been established in Italy to a +greater extent than in any other country. A very large proportion of the +children attend, and a great number of these pay for the meals. In +1908-9 it was found that in forty-three cities the average attendance +amounted to 37 per cent. of the total school population; while in +several towns the attendance rose to over 70 per cent.[614] + +Footnote 614: + + [Footnote 2: _Ibid._, p. 140.] + + + (d) Germany + + +In Germany little attention appears to have been paid to the question of +feeding school children, apart from their parents, till the closing +years of the nineteenth century.[615] In some of the large towns, at any +rate, the arrangements that were made were quite inadequate. In Berlin, +for instance, there was in 1890 no society whose chief object was the +provision of school meals. A society which provided food for the poor +generally had a branch which devoted special attention to the needs of +school children, and gave a small sum, generally only 15s. or 20s. a +year, to the committee of each parish school, to be used at the +headmaster's discretion. Generally milk and bread were given in the +headmaster's house.[616] About 1890 the subject began to attract more +attention, especially in connection with the vacation colonies for +school children; it was found that the children who were sent to these +colonies, on returning to their homes, lost the benefit they had gained, +owing to lack of food. On an attempt being made to continue the work of +the colonies by feeding some of the children, it was found that +thousands of others were also underfed.[617] In 1897 a Bill was +introduced in the Reichstag by the Social Democrats to make provision +for school meals in the cities. The Bill was defeated on the ground that +it would increase the migration to the cities from the rural +districts.[618] Some ten years later the agitation for national +legislation was renewed, as a result of the discovery that from 44 to 46 +per cent. of the conscripts for the Imperial Army were rejected on +account of physical unfitness.[619] + +Footnote 615: + + "Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 65, 212-4. + +Footnote 616: + + _Ibid._, p. 65. + +Footnote 617: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 17-18, 104. + +Footnote 618: + + _Ibid._, pp. 18, 105. + +Footnote 619: + + _Ibid._, pp. 99, 106. + +In 1909 it was found that out of 189 cities from which information was +obtained, in 78 meals were being provided by voluntary societies, +without any subsidy from, or control by, the municipal authorities, +though these latter usually co-operated in the supervision and service, +and often supplied rooms, gas and cooking free; in 68 cities, meals were +provided by voluntary organisations, but the city governments +subsidised, and usually exercised some control over, their work; while +in 43 cities the provision of meals was undertaken entirely by the +municipality.[620] + +Footnote 620: + + _Ibid._, pp. 114-5. + + + (e) Austria + + +In Austria school meals are provided in most of the large towns. + +In Vienna the Central Association for feeding necessitous school +children was founded in 1887, with the help and approval of the +municipality, the Mayor acting as President and the Municipal Council +being represented on its Administrative Council. Meals were given from +November to April, occasionally at the schools, but more often in +restaurants. All the meals were supplied free. The children were +selected by the School Managers and the headmaster, and enquiry was made +by Local Committees with the help of voluntary workers. The teachers +supervised the meals.[621] In 1888-9, the Municipal Council made a grant +to this society towards the provision of food;[622] by 1896 this +municipal subsidy amounted to 50,000 frs. (£2,000), while 52,500 frs. +were granted for the supply of clothing.[623] In 1906 the food subsidy +had risen to £3,350.[624] The provision made was, however, inadequate. +Meals were only given during the winter, and were not obtained by all +the children who needed them. It was felt that the city ought to assume +direct control. In 1909 kitchens and dining-rooms were built in four new +public schools.[625] + +Footnote 621: + + "Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 66-70, 181-7, + 197-8. + +Footnote 622: + + _Ibid._, pp. 138, 198. + +Footnote 623: + + London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, pp. 258, 260-261. + +Footnote 624: + + _Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, 1906, + p. 6. + +Footnote 625: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 143. + + + (f) Belgium + + +In most of the Belgian towns in the last decade of the nineteenth +century voluntary organisations were to be found whose object was to +provide food and clothing for poor school children. This provision was +made to enable them to attend school instead of begging in the streets, +since education was not compulsory.[626] In Brussels the chief society +was "Le Progrès" Club, which in 1888 commenced the provision of soup +dinners in the schools. The Town Council assisted by providing tables +and undertaking the carriage of the food to the different centres, and +in 1891 by granting a subsidy of 5,000 frs. An application was very soon +made for an increase of this subsidy, whereupon the municipality +undertook a detailed enquiry into the whole question of the food, +clothing, lodging, cleanliness and health of the children in the +communal schools. It was found as a result that 16·89 per cent. were +badly shod, 25·04 per cent. badly clothed, and 25·55 per cent. +insufficiently fed.[627] The work of medical inspection and treatment +was very early undertaken by the local authority. At the date of this +report (1894), a doctor and dentist were attached to each school; +frequent inspections were made by the doctor, and preventive medicine, +_e.g._, codliver oil, was provided from public funds.[628] The provision +of meals continued to be undertaken by voluntary organisations, aided by +a municipal subsidy. In 1903-04, this subsidy amounted to 10,000 frs. +for the communal schools, and 5,000 frs. for the clerical schools. In +addition large quantities of clothing were supplied from public +funds.[629] + +Footnote 626: + + London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, p. 256. + +Footnote 627: + + _Ibid._, p. 255; Board of Education, Reports on Educational Subjects, + Vol. II., 1898, p. 682. + +Footnote 628: + + London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, p. 256. + +Footnote 629: + + _Lancet_ Reports, 1907, pp. 14-15. + +At Liège, as early as 1883, the municipality organised the provision of +soup for all children in the kindergartens who wished to receive +it.[630] The dinner was only given on condition that the children were +clean and tidy. Each child was expected to have clean linen twice a week +and also to have a pocket handkerchief. A teacher was present to +supervise the children, and share the meal with them. Each child brought +a basket of bread and fruit to supplement the food provided, and at the +end any bread that remained was packed in the baskets by the children, +to prevent waste and to inculcate habits of thrift.[631] The whole cost +was borne out of municipal funds. In 1901 a voluntary committee was +formed for providing soup in the communal primary schools. This +committee placed at the disposal of the municipality a sum of 10,000 +frs., in order that general provision might be made for the first year's +scholars in the primary schools, on the same lines as in the +kindergartens. In other classes in the primary schools soup was given +only to necessitous children, or to those whose parents were at work all +day; this provision was at first limited to three months during the +winter, but in 1905 the municipality voted a grant of 7,000 frs. in +order that it might be extended to six months.[632] + +Footnote 630: + + _Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, 1906, + p. 2; London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending + School, 1899, pp. 259, 260-1. + +Footnote 631: + + "Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 204-5. + +Footnote 632: + + _Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, 1906, + pp. 2, 4, 6. + + + (g) Holland + + +Holland was the first country to enact national legislation for the +provision of school meals. The law of 1900 enforcing compulsory +education authorised municipal authorities to provide food and clothing +for all school children, whether in public or private schools, who, +owing to lack of these necessaries, were unable to attend school +regularly. This provision might be undertaken directly by the +municipality, or by means of subsidies to voluntary organisations.[633] + +Footnote 633: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 130. + + + (h) Denmark + + +In some of the cities of Denmark meals were provided by voluntary +agencies in the 'seventies. In 1902 a law was passed allowing municipal +authorities to subsidise these organisations. This system, however, +proved unsatisfactory and, in 1907, a campaign was set on foot for +compulsory national legislation.[634] + +Footnote 634: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 146. + +In Copenhagen the municipality from 1902 made a grant of 25,000 kr. +(about £1,400) to the "Society for Providing Meals to Free School +Children," the voluntary contributions to which were rapidly +diminishing. This society, though a voluntary organisation, was directly +connected with the municipality, its Executive Board consisting of the +seven municipal school inspectors and four private gentlemen, while the +municipal school director was _ex officio_ president. More than half the +total expenditure was met out of the municipal subsidy, the balance +being made up by voluntary contributions. Dinners were given three days +a week to all the children in the free schools who wished to attend. No +charge was made and no question raised as to the economic circumstances +of the parents. About 33 per cent. of the total number of free school +children availed themselves of this provision.[635] + +Footnote 635: + + _The Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, + 1906, pp. 3, 5, 7. + + + (i) Norway + + +Christiania was the first town in Norway to make municipal provision for +underfed school children. The system was started in 1897. A proposal was +made to distribute food free to all elementary school children, but this +was, at the time, rejected. In the winter of 1897-8, applications were +made on behalf of 25.92 per cent. of the pupils in the school, the great +majority of the meals being given free.[636] The children made such +marked progress as a result of this experiment that the system was +extended and in Christiania and several other towns a good dinner was +provided by the school authorities for all school children who cared to +attend, the entire cost of the system being met by taxation.[637] It was +soon found that the advantages of this free provision outweighed the +expense. At Trondhjem, when the proposal was first made by the +Socialists, it was bitterly opposed, but by 1906 the system was +unanimously supported by all sections.[638] + +Footnote 636: + + London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, p. 268; _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 145. + +Footnote 637: + + _The Bitter Cry of the Children_, by John Spargo, 1906, pp. 114-115, + 275. + +Footnote 638: + + _Ibid._, p. 276. + + + (j) Sweden + + +In many towns in Sweden schemes for feeding poor school children were +started in the 'eighties, these voluntary schemes being later subsidised +by the local authorities.[639] + +Footnote 639: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 143-4. + +In Stockholm several voluntary organisations were formed for supplying +meals, the provision being usually limited to necessitous children. In +order to preserve the self-respect of the children and parents, some of +these societies adopted the plan of allowing the children to contribute +to the expense of the dinner by performing some manual work, the making +of baskets (which were sold), the mending of clothes, the sweeping out +of the rooms, etc.[640] Towards the close of the nineteenth century the +School Boards of the several parishes resolved to build kitchens at the +schools. The kitchens generally contained several fireplaces, at each of +which dinners for a certain number of children were prepared by the +elder girls.[641] Each child only received a dinner three times a week. + +Footnote 640: + + "Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 71-75. + +Footnote 641: + + London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School, + 1899, pp. 270-271. + +At Jönköping the free distribution of meals dates from 1887. The funds, +which were derived from voluntary contributions and proceeds of +concerts, were administered by the Board School Inspector, and the +distribution of the food was supervised by the School Board. The +children were usually sent for dinner to the houses of private ladies +who undertook the catering.[642] The poorest children were fed twice a +week, those who were rather less poor only once. + +Footnote 642: + + _Ibid._, p. 270. + +At Gothenburg, besides the provision made by voluntary agencies, the +Board of Education distributed bread to certain children who were +selected by the School Board.[643] + +Footnote 643: + + _Ibid._, p. 269. + + + (k) United States of America + + +In America[644] the movement for the feeding of school children is of +comparatively recent date. It is true that in the numerous Day +Industrial Schools which were instituted in the nineteenth century by +voluntary organisations, _e.g._, by the Children's Aid Society, meals +were always given,[645] but it was not till 1904, when Mr. Robert Hunter +in his "Poverty" stated that probably 60,000 or 70,000 children in New +York City often arrived at school hungry and unfitted to do their school +work well,[646] that public attention was seriously directed to the +question of under-feeding among school children. + +Footnote 644: + + See for a full description of the provision made in America, _School + Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913. + +Footnote 645: + + "Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 225-35. + +Footnote 646: + + _Poverty_, by Robert Hunter, 1904, p. 216. + +In New York in 1908 a School Lunch Committee of physicians and social +workers was formed with the object of ascertaining if a three cent lunch +could be made self-supporting. This idea of making the meals +self-supporting seems to be characteristic of the provision made in most +of the American cities. Two schools were at first chosen, and the +experiment proved so successful that two years later the Board of +Education gave permission for lunches to be supplied in other schools. +The Board provided rooms, equipment and gas; the cost of the food and +service had to be met by the sale of tickets. The meals are served +sometimes in the basement in the schools, and there does not appear to +be always adequate accommodation. The meal itself is well cooked and +served, the elder children helping the staff. A physician draws up the +dietaries. These include one main dish such as soup, stew, rice pudding, +etc., costing the child about four cents. There are besides "extras," +such as dessert, cakes or other delicacies, which may be bought for one +cent, but only by children who have had the main dish. The meals are not +quite self-supporting, as a small number are given free.[647] + +Footnote 647: + + _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 147-50. + +In Philadelphia the Starr Center Association undertook school feeding in +some schools over fifteen years ago, but it is now managed by the Home +and School League. Several of the schools provide a meal, some at 10.30 +a.m., others a fuller meal at midday. The cost is one cent for lunch and +three to five cents for dinner. There is one hot dish of soup or rice +pudding, etc., and the children may spend another cent on the "extra" +dainty. The meals are self-supporting. The teachers co-operate +enthusiastically, and sometimes eat with the children. The food is +served on japanned trays in enamel bowls and a paper napkin is provided. +The washing up is done by the children under supervision, and everything +is carefully sterilised. Both the superintendent, who is responsible for +planning the meals and purchasing the food materials, and the home +visitor are trained dietists.[648] + +Footnote 648: + + _Ibid._, pp. 151-164. + +In Boston the Hygiene Committee of the Home and School Association began +to organise school dinners in 1909, at a school with a kitchen attached. +By 1911 meals were being supplied at twenty-two schools. Equipment was +given in the first place, and the meals are now self-supporting. In +schools where there is a kitchen, the cooking classes prepare and serve +the meals; here one cent amply covers the cost of the food. In other +schools outside help is hired, and an extra cent per meal ticket meets +this expense.[649] + +Footnote 649: + + _Ibid._, pp. 164-8. + +Throughout the rest of the States the system is gaining ground. By 1912 +some thirty cities had organised the provision of school meals, while in +at least twenty others the question was under consideration. Everywhere +this provision was made by voluntary organisations.[650] Public funds +could not be utilised, but there was growing anxiety that the question +should be made a national concern. The nearest approach to legislative +action was taken by Massachusetts, where in 1912 the Committee on +Education of the Lower House reported favourably a Bill to allow School +Boards to spend part of the school funds on the provision of meals.[651] + +Footnote 650: + + _Ibid._, p. 19. + +Footnote 651: + + _Ibid._, pp. 20, 182-3. + + + + + INDEX + + + + + Aberdeen, 246; + county of, 247 + + Acton, 68, 90, 104, 114, 234 + + After-care, 139, 140, 145, 227_n_ + + Alexandra Trust, 155, 157 + + Angers, 255 + + Anglesey, 125-6 + + Arkle, Dr., 171, 181-2 + + Aston Manor, 51_n_ + + Attendance, effect of meals on, 8, 123, 188, 195-6, 198-9, 246 + + Audit by Local Government Board, 56, 102, 103, 104-5 + + Austria, 262-3 + + + Badger, Dr., 175, 176, 182 + + Barnett, Canon, 220 + + Barnsley, 54_n_, 55, 121_n_ + + Bedfordshire, 123_n_ + + Belgium, 263-5 + + Berlin, 261 + + Bermondsey, 210_n_, 211 + + Bethnal Green, 76_n_, 191-2 + + Birkenhead, 58_n_, 66_n_, 67, 68_n_, 69, 71_n_, 80, 83, 95-6, 120, 121 + + Birmingham, 12_n_, 13_n_, 19_n_, 35_n_, 36_n_, 42_n_, 43_n_, 44_n_, 64, + 66, 67, 68, 71-2, 73, 86_n_, 101_n_, 109_n_, 210_n_, 211 + + Birrell, Mr., 46 + + Blackburn, 115, 179 + + Blake, Dr. Sophia Jex-, 8 + + Board of Education, xvi, 40, 48, 60, 91, 101, 106. + See also _Newman, Sir George_ + + Board School Children's Free Dinner Fund, 13, 15_n_ + + Bolton, 42_n_ + + Bootle, 67, 68, 70, 71, 78-9, 82, 85-8, 98_n_, 106, 111, 118, 175, + 196_n_ + + Boots, provision of, 145, 244, 245, 257. + See also _Clothing_ + + Boston, 270 + + Bournemouth, 59, 65, 68-9 + + Bowley, Professor A. L., 205 + + Bradford, xvi, 36_n_, 42-3, 51_n_, 56, 57, 58_n_, 59, 66, 67, 68, 78, + 81, 83, 92-3, 98, 99_n_, 100_n_, 103, 105, 108, 112, 115, 120, + 121-2, 127, 130, 180-1, 184-6, 193, 195, 197, 199, 200_n_, 210_n_, + 211, 213, 216-217_n_, 226_n_, 231-2 + + Breakfasts, versus dinners, 76-9, 128; + dietary at, 82; + attendance at, 76, 77, 228; + a test, 76-7, 159, 200, 222. + See also _Meals_ + + Brighton, 61-2, 66, 69, 104_n_, 115, 191 + + Bristol, 41_n_ + + Browne, Dr. Crichton, 10 + + Brussels, 263-4 + + Brynconin, 123_n_ + + Burgwin, Mrs., 6, 17_n_, 23_n_, 201 + + Burns, Mr. John, 44, 46, 104 + + Bury St. Edmunds, 58, 59, 116 + + Buxton, Mr. Sydney, 10 + + + _Caisses des Ecoles_, 249-55 + + Camberwell, 153 + + Canteen Committees, 47, 58-9, 68, 70, 73, 74. + See also _Children's Care Committees_. + + _Cantines Scolaires_, 249-55, 256, 257 + + Care Committees. See _Children's Care Committees_ + + Carlisle, 12_n_ + + Casual Employment, 204, 205, 211, 219 + + Caterers, supply of meals by, 83, 128, 157, 229. + See also _Alexandra Trust_ and _Restaurants_ + + Centres, service of meals in, 91-6, 160-3, 229; + inspection of, 60 + + Charity Organisation Society, 1, 4, 11, 53, 58, 75, 96, 203, 220 + + Chate, Dr., 174 + + Chelsea, 165 + + Chesterfield, 53_n_ + + Children, numbers fed, 16, 55, 137_n_, 143; + underfed, numbers of, 16, 29, 170-1, 205_n_, 264, 268; + underfed, effect of education on, xiii, 2, 6, 8-10, 179-83, 208; + numbers attending school, 55, 226; + neglected, 24, 25, 32, 43_n_, 69, 75, 112-3, 119, 129, 215-6, 237; + necessitous, report on home circumstances of, 138-9; + physique of, at Liverpool, 171-2; + industrial employment of, 172, 192; + effect of meals on, physically, xiii, 3-4_n_, 5-6, 7-8, 29_n_, 30, + 82, 157, 184-197, 201, 224, 246-7; + mentally, 7-8, 31, 188, 197-9, 201; + in point of manners, 22, 23_n_, 199, 201, 253; + in matter of taste, 97, 199-201; + morally, 76, 202. + See also _Attendance_, _Day Industrial Schools_, _Infants_, + _Malnutrition_, _Meals_, _Selection_, _Special Schools_ + + Children Act (1908), 112, 118_n_ + + Children's Aid Association, 53, 58, 66, 96. + See also _Canteen Committees_. + + Children's Care (Central) Sub-Committee, 137_n_, 140, 144 + + Children's Care Committees, in provinces, 65-6; + in London, 138, 139, 140, 142, 143-54, 165, 166; + in Scotland, 240, 241, 244-245; + constitution of, 144; + membership of, 145; + functions of, 65, 139, 145, 148, 149; + secretaries of, 139-40, 148-9, 227_n_; + organisers of, 138, 140, 148-9; + advantages of, 145-7; + disadvantages of, 147-53; + diverse policies of, 151-3; + overlapping of work of, 152-4; + local associations of, 140, 141, 157, 158. + See also _Canteen Committees_, _Relief Committees_, _Voluntary + Workers_ + + Children's Country Holidays Fund, 145 + + Chorlton, 42_n_ + + Christiania, 266-7 + + Civic Guild, 53_n_, 66_n_ + + Cleanliness, relation of, to nutrition, 174 + + Clothing, provision of, 145; + in Scotland, 237, 238, 244; + abroad, 254, 257, 258, 260, 263, 264, 265. + See also _Boots_ + + Cocoa Rooms. See _Restaurants_ + + Cod Liver Oil, provision of, 144, 155, 159, 254, 264; + effects of, 191-2 + + Collie, Dr., xii, 30, 31 + + Conference, on State Maintenance, 32; + on School Feeding, 225 + + Congleton, 176 + + Cookery Centres, preparation and service of meals at, 83, 90_n_, 124, + 126, 130, 135-6, 155, 157, 158, 160, 270 + + Copenhagen, 266 + + Council for Promoting Self-supporting Penny Dinners, 12, 15_n_ + + Council of Social Welfare, 141_n_, 165-6 + + Crewe, 58, 114_n_ + + Cripple Schools, 143_n_, 155-6, 190-1_n_. + See also _Special Schools_ + + Crowley, Dr. Ralph, 105, 180-1, 184, 186 + + Cumberland, 174_n_ + + + Darlington, 120_n_, 198 + + "Day Feeding School," at Manchester, 14_n_ + + Day Industrial Schools, 15_n_, 32, 117-9; + provision of meals at, 15_n_, 51, 57, 117-9, 196-7; + in America, 268 + + Defective Children. See _Special Schools_ + + Denmark, 265-6 + + Derby, 98_n_ + + Derbyshire, 125 + + Destitute Children's Dinner Society, 3-6 + + Dewsbury, 114 + + Diet, at home, unsuitable, 78, 79, 128, 172, 174, 178_n_, 189, 223; + effect of school meals on, 201, 224; + of working classes in Glasgow, 177-8; + minimum amount necessary, 177, 205_n_ + + Dietary (at school), xv, xvi, 5, 19, 50, 79-82, 157-8, 252, 269; + at Bradford, 78, 81, 185; + planning of, 60, 79-80, 128, 229; + for Infants, 82, 229, 236; + at Restaurants, 80-1, 88, 89, 90, 160; + at Day Industrial Schools, 118; + sample menus, 231-6. + See also _Cod Liver Oil_, _Milk_, _Porridge_ + + Dinners. See _Meals_ + + Disfranchisement, 39_n_, 41_n_, 42, 48 + + Distress Committee, 64, 73 + + Divisional Superintendent, 149_n_ + + Dukes, Dr. Clement, 28_n_ + + Dundee, 245 + + + Eastbourne, 120 + + East Ham, 56, 106_n_, 173 + + Eating Houses. See _Restaurants_ + + Ecclesall Bierlow, 42_n_ + + Ede, Canon Moore, 19_n_ + + Edinburgh, 45, 226_n_, 238, 239-43 + + Education, compulsory, 2, 6, 11-12, 239; + effect of, on underfed children, xiii, 2, 6, 8-10, 179-183, 208; + provision of meals a corollary of, 9-11, 32, 33 + + Education Act (1870), 2, 6, 203; + (1872), 239; + (1902), 27, 57 + + Education (Administrative Provisions) Act (1907), 203 + + Education (Administrative Provisions) Bills, 54, 105_n_ + + Education (Provision of Meals) Act, xii, xiv, xvi, 3, 61, 109, 110, + 112, 200, 237, 238; + debates on, 44-7; + provisions of, 47-9; + adoption of, xiv, 50, 51-8; + should be compulsory, xv, 127 + + Education (Provision of Meals) Act Amendment Bills, 101_n_, 105_n_ + + Education (Scotland) Act (1908), 48, 127, 237-8 + + Eichholz, Dr., xiii, 29, 30, 134 + + Elementary Education Act (1876), 15_n_, 118_n_ + + Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act (1899), + 57_n_ + + Elementary Education (Feeding of Children) Bill (1905), 39_n_ + + Enquiry, 65-8, 242; + by whom made, 37, 65-6, 67, 132, 133_n_, 240, 241, 244, 254, 263; + inadequacy of, 133, 149-50, 239; + from employer, 66-7, 149; + not suited to voluntary worker, 149, 241; + deterrent, 74-5, 220; + proposed abandonment of, 220-1, 225, 229 + + Erith, 64 + + + Fabian Society, 25, 52 + + Farnell, 246 + + Farquharson, Dr. Robert, 9_n_ + + Feeble-minded Children. See _Special Schools_ + + Fenton, 80 + + Finch, Dr. George, 123_n_, 125, 126 + + Finchley, 108_n_ + + Fifeshire, 238_n_, 247 + + Foreign Countries, provision of meals in, 24, 249-70 + + Foster, Captain, 172-3 + + France, 3_n_, 249-57 + + Frere, Miss Margaret, 40_n_ + + Fulham, 41_n_, 164 + + + Gateshead, 12_n_, 13_n_ + + Germany, 261-2 + + Giffen, Sir Robert, 20-1 + + Glasgow, 119, 173, 177-8, 205, 238, 243-4 + + Gorst, Sir John, 33, 39_n_ + + Gothenburg, 268 + + Govan, 238 + + Grassington, 124-5, 236 + + Greenock, 246 + + Greenwood, Mr. Arthur, xii, xiii, 171, 193_n_ + + Grimthorpe, Lord, 47 + + Guardians. See _Poor Law Guardians_ + + Guernsey, 3-4_n_ + + Guest, Dr. L. Haden, 187-90, 192 + + Guild of Help, 63, 66_n_. + See also _Civic Guild_ + + + Halifax, 121_n_ + + Hall, Dr. William, 30 + + Hammersmith, 165 + + Hampstead, 141_n_, 165-6 + + Hartlepool, 56_n_ + + Hastings, 12_n_ + + Havre, 256 + + Hay, Mr. Claude, 33, 38, 39_n_, 46_n_ + + Henderson, Mr. Arthur, 38 + + Heston and Isleworth, 62 + + Holidays, provision of meals during, xiv, 50, 56, 101-6, 141-2; + loss of weight during, 185-6, 187; + necessity for meals during, 105, 128, 227-8, 229 + + Holland, 265 + + Home, provision of food at, 90_n_, 96-7, 141_n_ + + Hookham, Mr. George, 35_n_, 36_n_, 109_n_ + + Horn, Miss, 45 + + Hornsey, 176 + + Housing, 204, 219; + relation of nutrition to, 172-3 + + Huddersfield, 115 + + Hugo, Victor, 3_n_ + + Hull, 35_n_, 51, 197 + + Hunter, Mr. Robert, 268 + + Hutchison, Dr. Robert, 29 + + + Industrial Schools, 29_n_. + See also _Day Industrial Schools_ + + Infants, special provision for, 82, 92, 94, 128, 158-9, 167, 168, 169, + 189, 229, 236, 241; + provision for, abroad, 256, 257, 264 + + Inverness, 246; + county of, 247 + + Iselin, Rev. Henry, 204_n_, 210_n_, 220, 222_n_ + + Italy, 258-61 + + + Joint Committee on Underfed Children, 26, 131-4, 137 + + Jönköping, 268 + + Jowett, Mr. F. W., 43, 46_n_ + + Juvenile Employment. See _After-care_ + + + Kensington, 198 + + Kerr, Dr., 79, 80 + + Kettering, 42_n_ + + Kidderminster, 176 + + Kincardineshire, 247 + + + Labour Party, 52, 53, 54, 56_n_, 105 + + Lambeth, 165, 187-90, 195_n_ + + Lancaster, 63 + + Larkins, Dr., 179 + + Leeds, 30, 58, 59, 66_n_, 67, 68, 69, 83, 93-4, 98_n_, 99, 103, 110, + 119_n_, 196-7, 233-4 + + Leicester, xiv, 52-3, 54_n_, 58, 64, 66, 67, 69, 72-3, 74-5, 96-7, 114, + 120 + + Leith, 238 + + Liège, 264-5 + + Liverpool, 13_n_, 52, 55_n_, 57, 58_n_, 65-6, 67, 69, 74, 90-1, 98_n_, + 115-6, 118, 120, 121, 146, 171, 181-2, 195-6, 205 + + Local Education Authorities, power of, to provide meals, 3, 23-6, 28, + 31, 32, 38, 46, 47-9, 56-8; + adoption of Provision of Meals Act by, 51-4; + numbers making provision, 54; + different policies of, 50; + co-operation and overlapping of, with Guardians, 41, 51, 113-7, + 129-30, 139, 163-6; + provision of meals by, abroad, 249-70. + See also _School Boards_, _State_, _Voluntary Agencies (co-operation + of, with Local Authorities)_ + + Local Government Board, xiv, 39, 40, 56, 102, 103, 104, 164, 165, 209 + + London, xvi, 3-7, 10, 12-3, 13_n_, 15-27, 29, 35, 41, 55, 65, 103_n_, + 110_n_, 111_n_, 131-69, 190-1_n_, 194, 195, 197-8, 199, 205, 213_n_, + 235-6 + + London County Council, xvi, 41, 104, 131, 134-5, 136-41, 144, 150, 151, + 152, 153-4, 156 + + London School Board, 13_n_, 137_n_; + committees of, on underfed children, 16-26, 29, 131 + + London Schools Dinner Association, 16-7, 134_n_ + + London Vegetarian Association, 142-3 + + Lough, Mr., 46 + + + Mackenzie, Dr. Leslie, xiii, 172, 179 + + Macmillan, Miss Margaret, 100 + + Macnamara, Dr., 33 + + Malnutrition, extent of, 34, 170-1; + causes of, 45, 172-9, 221; + signs of, 170, 221; + effects of, on physique, xii-xiii, 29-30; + effects of, on mental capacity, 31, 179-83, 198; + relation of, to family income, 177-9. + See also _Children_ + + Manchester, 14_n_, 29, 40_n_, 51_n_, 58_n_, 63, 66_n_, 69, 83, 91, + 117_n_, 176, 181, 193 + + Marseilles, 256 + + Massachusetts, 270 + + Meals, School, motives for provision of, 2, 4, 6, 8, 27; + public provision of, 2, 3, 23-26, 27-49, 202-18, 249-70; + a corollary of compulsory education, 9-11, 32, 33; + cost of, 4_n_, 123_n_, 124_n_, 156_n_, 226-7; + price of, 108, 109, 123_n_, 124, 125, 135, 156, 226, 245, 246, 253; + expenditure on, 54-5; + time of, 76-9, 128, 222, 253; + number of, per day, 78-9, 159, 227, 228; + number of, per week, 5, 16, 35, 36, 133, 157, 267, 268; + continuance of, throughout the year, 6, 23, 35, 36, 50, 97, 106, 129, + 133, 229, 239, 247-8, 263, 265; + preparation and distribution of, 82-3, 128, 157, 229, 240, 244; + service of, xv, xvi, 28-9, 45-6, 50, 83-101, 122, 126, 128, 156-63, + 167-9, 199, 229, 241, 252; + in Day Industrial Schools, 118-9; + in Special Schools, 85, 100_n_, 121-2, 244; + service of, by Poor Law Authorities, 43, 243; + provision of, at home, 90_n_, 96-7, 141_n_; + a form of relief, 61, 96, 127, 151, 219; + a preventive measure, 219; + provision of, deterrent, 220, 222; + provision of, not universally known, 74; + reasons for granting, 138, 210-11; + necessity for, 138, 218, 219, 224, 228, 229; + provision of, for all necessitous children, 220, 222, 223, 228; + general provision of, without enquiry, 25, 126-7, 223-8, 229, 251, + 258, 259-61, 264, 265, 266-7. + See also _Centres_, _Children_, _Cookery Centres_, _Dietary_, + _Holidays_, _Local Education Authorities_, _Parents_, _Payment_, + _Poor Law Guardians_, _Rates_, _Restaurants_, _School_, + _Supervision_, _Voluntary Agencies_, _Wages_ + + Medical Inspection, 10, 24, 54, 208, 221; + in Brussels, 264; + and Feeding, Inter-Departmental Committee on, 34-8, 44, 109_n_, + 126_n_, 134_n_ + + Medical Officer of Health, 81 + + Medical Treatment, 65_n_, 139, 145, 203, 208, 227 + + Mental Capacity, relation of, to nutrition, 31, 179-83, 198 + + Mentally Defective. See _Special Schools_ + + Meyer, Lady, 201 + + Middlesex, 174-5 + + Milan, 259 + + Milk, provision of, 97, 144, 155, 159; + effects of, 191-2 + + Monitors, 92, 94, 101, 121, 128, 161-2, 168, 169, 229, 241 + + Morten, Miss Honnor, 201 + + Mundella, Rt. Hon. A. J., 8_n_, 9, 10, 11, 12 + + Municipality. See _Local Education Authorities_ and _State_ + + Mutual Registration, 117, 152, 166 + + + National Food Supply Association, 19 + + National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 53, 58, 113 + + National Union of Teachers, 32 + + Nether Alderley, 125 + + Newcastle-on-Tyne, 102 + + Newman, Sir George, xii, 60, 63, 80_n_, 88, 170, 175, 183, 184, 221, + 224, 227 + + Newport, 201 + + New York, 268-9 + + Nice, 256-7 + + Niven, Dr., xiii, 30 + + Northampton, 105, 186-7 + + Norway, 266-7 + + Norwich, 35_n_, 121_n_ + + Nottingham, 58_n_, 93_n_, 103 + + + Open Air Schools, 57-8, 85, 120-1, 227 + + Outdoor Relief. See _Poor Law Guardians_ + + Over-pressure, 8-10. + See also _Education_ + + + Paisley, 246 + + Parents, application for meals by, xv, 63-4, 71-5, 144, 150, 256; + withdrawal of children from meals by, 70, 216-7; + dislike of, to accept meals, 73-4, 217, 222, 223; + co-operation of, 76, 77, 146; + effect on responsibility of, 2, 23-4, 28, 45, 47, 76, 135, 202-18, + 226, 254-5; + abuse of provision of meals by, 42, 216; + obligations of, increased, 11-2, 217, 226; + neglect of children by, 24, 25, 32, 43_n_, 75, 112-3, 119, 129, + 203-4, 215-6, 237. + See also _Payment_ and _Recovery_ + + Paris, 24, 249-55 + + Parish Council, provision of meals by, in Edinburgh, 242-3 + + Payment, by parents for school meals, 4-5, 19, 25, 33, 37, 46, 47, + 50-1, 62, 69, 106-12, 129, 136, 142, 154-6, 159, 223, 225-6; + for children at Day Industrial Schools, 118; + for children at Special Schools, 109, 120, 121, 129, 155, 156, 225, + 244, 246_n_; + in rural districts, 38, 109, 123, 124, 125, 225, 247; + in Scotland, 241, 242, 245, 246; + abroad, 251, 252, 253, 256, 257, 261, 268-9, 270. + See also _Penny Dinners_ + + Peek, Sir Henry, 7, 9, 15, 124 + + "Penny Dinners," 11, 13, 15, 19. + See also _Payment_ + + Perth, 238, 244-5 + + Philadelphia, 269 + + Physical Deterioration, 3, 27, 32, 33, 134, 262; + Inter-Departmental Committee on, xi, 27, 29-32, 33, 38 + + Physical Test. See _Selection_ + + Physical Training (Scotland), Royal Commission on, xi, 27-9, 33, 242 + + Poor Law, Report of Royal Commission on (1834), 203, 214 + + Poor Law Guardians, inaction of, 14-5; + inadequacy of relief given by, 14, 17-18_n_, 113-4, 116-7, 129, 165, + 166; + the authority for the provision of meals, xvi, 33_n_, 39_n_, 45, 46, + 47_n_, 141; + service of meals by, 43; + no co-operation between Voluntary Agencies and, 14, 17; + prosecution by, 14-5, 43; + overlapping of, with Education Authorities, 51, 113-7, 129-30, 139, + 163-6; + representation of, on Canteen Committees, 58, 114_n_; + payment for school meals by, 108_n_, 115-6, 130, 164, 165; + payment for children in Day Industrial Schools by, 118_n_; + provision of meals by, at Manchester, 14_n_. + See also _Parish Council_, _Poor Rate_, and _Relief (School Children) + Order_ + + Poor Laws, Royal Commission on (1909), 113, 119, 197_n_ + + Poor Rate, provision of meals from, 32, 39. + See also _Poor Law Guardians_ + + Poplar, 164 + + Porridge, 78, 200, 201; + effects of, 82, 190; + as test, 200, 222 + + Portsmouth, 60_n_, 81, 83, 98, 103 + + Potteries, 195 + + Poverty Test. See _Selection_ + + Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 237 + + Prices, changes in, 20-1 + + + Ragged School Union, 5 + + Ragged Schools, 2, 3, 4 + + Rates, expenditure on provision of meals from, 3, 28, 31, 34, 48, 54-5, + 134, 135, 136-7, 141; + in Scotland, 237, 238-9; + limitation of amount to be spent from, xiv, 48, 56, 127, 238; + provision of meals during holidays from, 56, 102, 103-5. + See also _Education (Provision of Meals) Act (adoption of)_ and _Poor + Rate_ + + Reading, 205 + + Recovery of Cost, 38, 39, 43, 47, 107, 109-12, 129, 238 + + Referee Fund, 6-7, 13, 15_n_ + + Reformatory and Industrial Schools, Departmental Committee on, 119 + + Relief, deterrent policy of, 203, 208-9, 220, 222 + + Relief Committees, 26, 37, 132, 137_n_. + See also _Children's Care Committees_ + + Relief (School Children) Order, xi, 39-44 + + Relieving Officer, 114, 117, 166 + + Restaurants, service of meals at, 43_n_, 53_n_, 88-91, 96-97_n_, 160, + 229, 239, 243, 245, 246; + dietary at, 80-1, 88, 89, 90 + + Ricardo, 214 + + Rome, 259 + + Rousdon, 7-8, 12, 38_n_, 123-4, 246 + + Rowntree, Mr. Seebohm, 152, 205 + + Rural districts, 122-6; + provision of midday meal in, 7-8, 12, 109, 123-5, 225; + in Scotland, 246-8; + abroad, 257; + need for provision in, 37-8, 51, 122, 125-6, 130, 224-5 + + + St. George's-in-the-East, 151_n_, 153_n_, 159, 164, 200, 210_n_, 211 + + St. Giles'-in-the-Fields, 141_n_ + + St. Pancras, 210_n_, 211 + + Salford, 42_n_, 66_n_, 69, 106 + + San Remo, 259 + + Scale of income. See _Selection_ + + Scarborough, 52 + + School, service of meals in, 84-8, 89_n_, 128, 159-60, 167-8, 229, 241, + 244, 245, 252; + fees, abolition of, 203 + + School Attendance Officers, 53_n_, 59, 63, 72, 117; + selection of children by, 63, 239, 240, 244; + enquiry by, 66, 67, 70, 139, 241, 244; + supervision of meals by, 90, 98 + + School Attendance Officers' Association, 33_n_ + + School Boards, powers of, in Scotland, 127, 237-8; + co-operation of, with Voluntary Agencies, 238, 240, 245, 246. + See also _Local Education Authorities_ + + School Medical Officers, proposed responsibility of, for putting + Provision of Meals Act in force, 53-4; + part taken by, in provision of meals, 37, 60, 63; + _ex-officio_ members of Canteen Committee, 59; + selection of children by, 60-3, 112, 143-4, 219, 221-2, 223, 228, + 229, 240, 244; + milk and cod liver oil recommended by, 143-4, 159; + planning of dietary by, 60, 80, 81, 128, 229; + testimony of, as to effect of meals on children, 192-3 + + School Nurse, 62_n_, 63, 121_n_, 240, 244 + + School Restaurants, 37-8, 107, 129, 261. + See also _Payment_ and _Cantines Scolaires_ + + Scotland, 48, 225_n_, 237-48 + + Secondary Schools, 57, 92_n_ + + Selection of children, xv, 59-75, 127-8; + under voluntary agencies, 18-9, 35, 210; + by physical test, 59-63, 143-4, 219, 221-2; + by poverty test, 59-60, 63-5, 68-9, 75, 127, 143-4, 220, 221, 222-3; + based on scale of income, 68-9, 75, 151-2, 242_n_, 244; + final decision in, 68; + revision of cases, 69-70; + want of uniformity in, 50, 70-1, 75, 151-4; + disadvantages of present system, 70-5, 220; + suggested schemes of, 221-8, 229. + See also _School Attendance Officers_, _School Medical Officers_, + _School Nurse_ and _Teachers_ + + Senior, Mr. Nassau, 214 + + Sheffield, 66_n_, 82, 121_n_, 190 + + Siddington, 38_n_, 125 + + Sims, Mr. G. R., 7 + + Slack, Sir Bamford, 33_n_, 38 + + Sleep, want of, 172, 192 + + Smith, Mr. S., 9-10 + + Social Democratic Federation, 25 + + South African War, xi, 2-3, 27 + + Southampton, 78 + + Southend-on-Sea, 66_n_ + + Southwark, 6-7 + + Special Schools for Defective Children, 144_n_; + provision of meals at, 22-3, 31, 51, 57-8, 85, 100_n_, 109, 117, + 120-2, 129, 155, 225, 244, 246_n_. + See also _Cripple Schools_ and _Open Air Schools_ + + Spectacles, 145 + + State, provision of meals by, 2, 3, 23-6, 27-49, 202-18; + abroad, 249-70. + See also _Local Education Authorities_ + + Stevenson, Miss Flora, 239, 240 + + Stockholm, 267 + + Stoke-on-Trent, 42_n_, 56, 58_n_, 66_n_, 67, 69, 80, 89, 210_n_, 211 + + Sub-Committee on Underfed Children, xvi, 137, 141 + + Sunderland, 54_n_ + + Supervision of Meals, 85, 95, 97, 157, 161, 162-3, 167, 168, 169, 201, + 244; + at Restaurants, 88, 89, 90, 91. + See also _School Attendance Officers_, _Teachers_ and _Voluntary + Workers_ + + Supper, provision of, in Paris, 253 + + Surcharge. See _Audit_ + + Surrey, 179 + + Sussex, East, 122-123_n_, 125 + + Sweden, 267-8 + + Switzerland, 257-8 + + + Tate, Dr., 175 + + Teachers, provision of meals by, 36, 103, 123_n_, 124_n_; + selection of children by, 18, 37, 63, 64, 68, 70-1, 127, 132-3, 139, + 144, 219-20, 239, 240, 244; + urgency tickets given by, 64, 67-8, 72; + enquiry by, 37, 67, 132; + members of Canteen and Care Committees, 58, 59, 138, 144; + supervision of meals by, 36, 48, 87-8, 92, 93, 97-100, 121, 122, 125, + 128, 161, 167, 168, 229, 241, 244, 253, 260, 263, 264, 269; + testimony of, as to effect of meals on children, 188, 194-5, 196, + 197-8 + + Teachers, National Union of, 32 + + Teeth, defective, malnutrition due to, 174 + + Toxteth, 116 + + Trondhjem, 267 + + + Underfeeding. See _Malnutrition_ + + Unemployment, 204, 209, 211, 219 + + United States, 268-70 + + Urgency tickets, 64, 67-8, 72 + + Utensils, insufficient supply of, 101, 156-7, 162 + + + Vercelli, 259-61 + + Vienna, 262-3 + + Visiting of homes, 45, 59, 65, 138-9, 145-6, 147-8, 150. + See also _Enquiry_ + + Voluntary Agencies, provision of meals by, xiv, 2, 3-38, 40, 50, 51-3, + 54, 96, 131-6, 141-3, 209-10, 237, 238, 239, 243-4, 245-6, 250-1, + 255-6, 258, 259, 261-70; + the best agency for provision of meals, 28, 49; + disadvantages of provision by, 15-9, 22, 35-6, 44, 49, 142-3, 209-10, + 239; + number of, 34; + expenditure of, 34-5; + organisation of, 15-27, 34, 36, 131-4; + discontinuance of, 44; + co-operation of, with Local Authorities, xii, 3, 13, 24-5, 31, 36, + 47, 51-2, 58, 238, 239-40, 245-6, 250-1, 255-7, 258-9, 262-4, + 265-6, 267-8, 269; + co-operation of, with Guardians, 14, 17, 40 + + Voluntary Contributions, amount of, 54-5, 137, 141-2, 251; + provision of meals during holidays from, 103, 104, 141-2 + + Voluntary Workers, utilisation of services of, 65-6, 144, 263; + organisation of, 139; + Canteen Committees composed of, 58-9, 68; + supervision of meals by, 90, 95, 98, 161, 168, 244, 245. + See also _Children's Care Committees_ + + + Wages, effect of provision of meals on, 45, 212-4; + low, 204-5, 211, 219 + + Wandsworth, 41_n_ + + Ward, Mrs. Humphry, 190-1_n_ + + Waugh, Mr. Benjamin, 14 + + West Derby, 116 + + West Ham, 58_n_, 64, 69, 72, 77_n_, 78, 83, 94-5, 102, 104, 110-11, + 116-7, 234 + + Whitechapel, 142, 154 + + Winder, Miss Phyllis D., 71-2 + + Wilson, Mr. W. T., 44_n_ + + Wolverhampton, 175, 182 + + Women, married, employment of, 76-7, 97, 107, 108, 223, 245 + + Workington, 56 + + Wyatt, Mr. C. H., 14_n_, 40_n_ + + + York, 67, 69, 78, 82, 111-2, 115, 205_n_ + + + + + * * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Missing or obscured punctuation was corrected. + +Typographical errors were silently corrected. + +Spelling and hyphenation were made consistent when a predominant form +was found in this book; otherwise it was not changed. + +One unpaired double quotation mark could not be corrected with +confidence. + +One unpaired curved bracket could not be corrected with +confidence. + +Tables have been reformatted to a manageable width where necessary. + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57313 *** |