they are worlds apart. Attempts to get men in Leeds to go to a workshop established in Bradford have met with no

success.

Another point in connexion with the mentality of convalescent wounded is of great importance. The period of convalescence in hospitals is sometimes long and tedious. During this period the men have little to occupy their minds. Everything possible is done for their physical comfort and wellbeing, and much for their amusement. But we have not developed in this country the idea of re-education which in France is an essential part of the patient's cure. We have paid attention to the body, but we have neglected the mind. Many weeks and sometimes months are wasted which might be used for the preliminary stages of vocational training. During those weeks or months of enforced idleness there is a liability to progressive mental deterioration, which may well react upon the patient's physical state and retard his cure. When he is at last discharged he has grown so unused to the idea of work and of mental application that he is seriously handicapped in starting. It is hard to say that we are too kind to our wounded; that, indeed, we cannot be. But it is possible that our kindness has been something lacking in thought for the morrow.

III

It is difficult to offer anything like a complete survey of the work that has been done in this country for the restoration of the disabled, inasmuch as it consists of a large number of unrelated experiments from which at present no final system has emerged, though the sum of the experience thus gained indicates clearly enough the principles upon which future action should be based. In one instance at least these principles seem to have been most admirably anticipated. The care of the totally blinded is, in a sense, a separate problem. The comparatively small number involved and the terrible completeness and finality of the disability are factors which have made it possible to do something more than experiment in this connexion. The work at St. Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Sailors and Soldiers, Regent's Park, owes its initiation to Sir Arthur Pearson. Part of its success is due to the

excellent system of communication between the military authorities and the Hostel which enables a representative of the Hostel to visit every blinded man while he is still in hospital. As a result the patient is brought into touch at the earliest possible moment with the means to be taken for his future welfare. The visitor discusses his prospects with him and kindles at once the sparks of hope and ambition. Some little task is immediately given him to occupy his mind and encourage him in the effort to acquire a new form of usefulness. On discharge from hospital he proceeds to St. Dunstan's, where everything that ingenuity can suggest and generosity provide is done to lift him from the mental gloom of his affliction. For his amusement, there are concerts, dances, and entertainments. The house and the grounds are so arranged that he can move about freely without danger. The subjects taught are Braille reading, typewriting, leather work, basket work, rug making, and poultry keeping. The men remain until they are proficient, and are then assisted in various ways to make the entry into their new life. One young man who was visited on his return home had received the gifts of a typewriter, a set of boot-making tools and a stock of leather for repairing work, and a grant of money to purchase the goodwill of a small boot-repairing business. Even a blind man's watch had not been forgotten. He was intensely cheerful, and described himself, his treatment, and his prospects as 'champion.' St. Dunstan's has accommodation for about 140 patients, and is supported partly by private contributions and partly by a grant from the National Relief Fund.

The

Men who have suffered amputation of one or more limbs receive some industrial training at Queen Mary's Auxiliary Hospital at Roehampton and at Queen Mary's Workshops at Brighton. The supply of artificial limbs has been centralised at Roehampton for England. There is a similar institution at Kelso for Scotland, and there are two in Ireland. procedure adopted is for the men to spend a period of convalescence at Brighton-generally six to eight weeks-during which they may attend the workshops. Here there are courses of instruction in electrical work, carpentry, and the mechanism and management of the motor-car. In the electricity shop,

men learn the fixing of bells, lights, telephones, and the

management of a switchboard, and should become competent to execute repairs in ordinary domestic installations.

The men proceed to Roehampton for the fitting of artificial limbs, and here there are further courses of instruction on similar lines, with, in addition, some general commercial training. Book-keeping, typewriting, and business correspondence and office methods are taught. There are spelling and writing classes for those who wish to brush up their general education. Leather bag making is taught by a firm which guarantees to give employment at a starting wage of £1 a week after one month's training. An employment bureau has been started at the hospital, and employers willing to take partly disabled men are invited to apply. Some hundreds of men have been placed by the bureau. On leaving the hospital after acquiring some facility in the use of their new limbs, the men are advised to continue their education as far as possible. The hospital is in close co-operation with the Polytechnic Institutes in London and with Clark's College, and these institutions make special provision for continued training. Queen Mary's Hospital has also received subsidies from the National Relief Fund.

The period of training at Roehampton is necessarily very short. Large numbers are awaiting admission, and there is a considerable delay before gaining entrance. This delaywhen the time is spent at home with nothing to dois exceedingly bad for the men, apart from the trial of their patience. No doubt there are advantages in this centralisation, but the disadvantages are so serious and so likely to increase that the matter needs careful consideration. It is hard to see why arrangements could not be made in most of the big cities for the supply at least of artificial legs—which are considerably less complicated than arms. Local makers accustomed to hospital work would, no doubt, be ready to submit to the necessary inspection of the completed work by competent local medical boards.

An attempt is being made to provide training and employment on an extensive scale by the Lord Roberts' Memorial 'Workshops.' The first of these workshops was opened by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Help Society after the South African war. Funds are being raised to extend this work as a memorial to Lord Roberts. In addition to the factory in London,

branch workshops have been opened in Birmingham, Liverpool, Bradford, Colchester, and Brookwood. Others are in contemplation. The general plan adopted is to manufacture for the wholesale trade, principally wooden toys and dolls, furniture, basket work and household articles. On entering the workshops the men receive a starting wage of 20s. per week, irrespective of the amount of their pension. As they become more proficient their wages are increased. Women and girls generally soldiers' relatives are also employed in the workshops, and this is said to have a good effect upon the men.

The idea here is not to train men for re-entry into the ordinary labour market, but to set up a new industrial undertaking in which they will be permanently employed. Already a very considerable business is done in the sale of manufactured goods, especially toys-a trade which has hitherto been mainly in the hands of Germany and Austria. The various branch workshops are under local management, but the whole scheme is under central control with a view to complete co-ordination. Thus, while each branch manufactures and sells completed goods, there is also some degree of specialisation for the benefit of them all. Birmingham, for instance, would be a metalworking branch making leaden soldiers and other metal toys, and at the same time turning out hinges, bolts, dies, and the metal parts required for the completion of wooden toys and goods made in London. At the Bradford branch it is intended to do all the printing of catalogues, posters, etc., required by the other branches, besides executing outside orders. The main difficulty at present appears to be to secure the men. In the future, when economic conditions return to the normal and the undertaking becomes subject to trade competition, other difficulties will obviously arise. Apart from any profit on trading the institution depends solely on voluntary contributions.

At many if not at most of the military hospitals, voluntary effort has provided useful occupation, and in some cases definite training, for the patients. At Netley, for instance, where there are considerably over 2000 men, the services of a qualified lady instructor from the South Kensington School of Needlework have been obtained. The men are taught embroidery, worsted work, toy and basket making and leather work, and

are said to avail themselves very freely of these opportunities. Poultry raising and gardening are also taught at some hospitals. At some of the larger military hospitals it is hoped to erect workshops where carpentry and other trades, may be taught. Local Committees under the War Pensions Act are entrusted, among their other duties, with the provision of suitable training for disabled officers and men. It does not appear, however, that very much has yet been done, though many education authorities co-operate by offering instruction in technical classes, especially in the use of the lathe etc., for the purpose of enabling men to take work in munition factories.

The shortage of agricultural labour and the necessity of increasing the home production of foodstuffs point emphatically to the settlement on the land of discharged service men. The Departmental Committee appointed by the Board of Agriculture in July 1915 presented an interim report in the following September, recommending that a free course of training at an agricultural college should be given to fifty disabled sailors or soldiers. This was acted upon, and the selected men were sent to the colleges at Holmes Chapel and Harper Adams. The result of this experiment has been so far satisfactory that, of fourteen men who have completed their training, the majority have obtained employment on the land and one has been appointed a sub-inspector under the Board of Agriculture. The remaining men continue their training and are said to show considerable aptitude.

In their final report the Departmental Committee recommend the acquisition of land by the State for the purpose of establishing colonies of about one hundred tenant holders and their families. They point out the necessity of extremely careful selection of the men, and they do not overlook the fact that much depends also upon the suitability of the wife. They consider that inexperienced men may acquire sufficient knowledge by training to succeed as small holders. This training, they recommend, should be given in colonies, the men receiving weekly pay as employees until they are judged sufficiently experienced to succeed as tenants.

In the case of disabled men, the Committee say: We are 'strongly opposed to the segregation of disabled men, or to 'anything like the establishment of colonies for cripples. In 'our view it will be far better for the men themselves that

VOL. 225. NO. 459.

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