OUR LADS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16426, 21 January 1919, Page 8

OUR LADS.

TO THE EDITOR Of "THE PJUSSS."

Sir, —It is now soma few days sinc< you advocated, in a* most pertinent, ant excellent article, the need of better pro vision—mental and physical—for th« sntertaiwment and instruction of oui growing lads. I have waited in vaii : or 'some more able pen than mine tc leal with the question, and by re-echo ng the note that you so forcibly strucl irouse a discussion to interest anc lenefit tho community. Thus, failini ) 6 tter means, I take up my pen t< >ring before your readers the urgenl leed there is for provision, as you sug jested, for the mental and physical im jrovement of our "lads." Never was the time more opportune or such a movement, and never liai >een the need of such a movement mon jaramount. * The ex-school boy of tolay, unlike his predecessors in office mds the occupation or office he has ihosen a whole generation—if not a generation and a half of office iors swept away before him. Inc ,ffice staff now consists, of grey-haired ihiefs, and a staff of young men. Failng the chief, you find a boy—last yeai it a high school—deciding questions ;hat men of more than twice his age : tnd ten times his experience, bad been lsed to consider. Alas, there are ovei 5,000 positions to be filled —positions tc vhich their former occupants will.nevei igain revert. Of the thousands comng back, wonnds and shell-shock will let-ar, as the "wander Inst" will present, an enormous proportion from reiiiming their did avocations. Thest :he young man of to-day, without oxjerience, without special training, musl lo his best to fill, . He is thus endowid with a responsibility for which he it lot specially fitted by training, at the nost critical, and dangerous; period oJ lis physical and mental adolescence ;ime when success is as as lefeat is* demoralising. . In regard to his physical condition, it vas yon who pointed out the grave jodily unfitness of our lads. _ The phylical conditions of the training of ojn souths are lamentable m the extreme. Proportionately, I do not believe it K is sound as was the training giver ;wenty-five years ago. Then, at least, nanv of our schools had "gymnasia, and .he old volunteer system gave our lads, -specially the more ambitious, a chancc >f physical training which was freelj ivailed of. Private boxing classes were rreatly in vogue, and private and pubic schools had trapezes and horiaontal bars for all to practuei on. . But vifh the multiplication of the primary ichools, there has been no multiplica,ion of our gymnasia. Football-r-tai ;oo often —in itself only used in a specacular or theoretical . manner, hat teized upon the youth of our country to ■he detriment of other exercises, and ve find that our lads—our present subnanaeers and responsible, officers—are landicapped by - a physical unfitness Tom a military sense by one in two, But if a high standard is required from ,he military point of view, how mucfi nore—not how much less—is it desirible for our social life. We have to •epair the cruel, wicked, wastage oi var. and we have to repair it with in'erior material of the present genera;ion of our men, and from second-class :ources. So there is all the more "call or the utmost we can do m making out 'rowing and reserve manhood a great 31 camp, by which we can improve and Strengthen our boys. The futurt ! athers of our country should be enyouraged And induced, and even, if ne;essary> compelled to undergo a coursc >f physical training such as thq Governwent proposes. But to the State musl je added public opinion and civic., and private encouragement. This rests to the mental equipment wc lave given the boys, .who are taking the alace of their elders at big wagesr—nol iltogether, in some cases, a desideratun ve have colleges, technical and commer;ial public and private in plenty bul —proportionately to the numbers pf oui jopulation as oompared with whal should he —with an absurdly small num jer of boy pupils. And this at a tim< vhen everv effort in the way of concentration , of training of mind and body s needed in order to cope with the foui gears' dammed-up stream of competition. The wages we give in shop 01 jffice or industry depend on the effi; siency of all concerned. And we fine :he technical side but little improved at ;o the numbers taught. _ But there is a great increase in th< Iriftings from school; there is all round i keen demand foy immature boys anc rirls to fill gaps that even the returning 'oldiers cannot fill; there is a great in:rease in the young men that stand at -,he corners of our streets, that cluster >n Stanmore road or the Cashel street >r the Antigua street bridges, or in the jurlieus of our city. Greater numbers ;han ever throng the picture palaces, to ,'iew and gloat over the sexual play, vith its thm moral veil "or insignificant noral tag, that a desire to make it preventable has drawn over or attached to

it. • Some say: Where is the home influence? How can we ask, for our home influence has been sapped by the wretched homes in which far too many of our people live. Homes where there is not room to swing a cat —four-roomed hovels that repel and do not attract our youth. Home influence has been undermined bv picture entertainments and by church functions in so many instances, that it mav be counted as negligible, and negligible, for the purpose we have in hand, must we regard it. Where lies the cure? It lies to a. great extent in our own hands. Wo want gymnasia, we want educational nisbt schools, and we waifr healthy amusement to counter-attack other influences, and this requires money. Imagine such class-rooms in- every dis~

trict in the city, taking for convenience! 6ake the parishes of the Church of land or some more suitable distribution, and let there be behind it such a force of public opinion that men—our young men—will realise that it is their duty* to do their bit at these schools, as their predecessors did in the battlefield. Them I am sure we shall do good, and, in & physical and mental sense, do much tor our lads. , _ 0 Where is the money to come fromi' Many ways of subscription are now closing up. In every circle of trade andi business there is tho buoyancy of hope. Surely we can transfer to thia 6Cheme the monetary interest we have given to others, and to it add that personal interest which will make it successful!— I am, Sir, yours, etc., „_. lTrr ,„, T CECIL THORNTON. Fendalton, January 17th.