Review of Revieics, 1/7/06. 



Leading Articles. 



61 



ARE SCHOOL MEALS A SUCCESS IN PARIS ? 



Sir C. a. Elliott Answers " No." 

 In the Nineteenth Century Sir C. A. Elliott writes 

 on the " Cantines Scolaires " of Paris. He challenges 

 Mr. Birrell's statement that that system of providing 

 food had been adopted for many years and had 

 worked exceedingly well. The writer says : — 



I hope to be able to show that, though the '' can tine • 

 system haa been effective in supplying good and cheap m^ a 

 to children in a rather indiscriminate way it has brought 



iS its train the grave evils o£ f'',V'^^''P''l.^H^? nirenta 

 Dublic monev and a lowering o£ the atandard of parenta^ 

 Responsibility, ajid that the adoption of any similar system 

 in London would be a serious disaster. 



The system began as a purely voluntar\- arrange- 

 ment in 1849, was recognised by law in 1867, but did 

 not receive the municipal subvention until 1879. 

 The writer shows how the municipal subvention 

 grew : — 



In 1880 the ratio was 33 per cent.; in 1886 it was 37 per- 

 cent -in 1838 it was 43 per cent. In 1902 it had grown to 

 66 per cent and in 1898 to 63 per cent., thus exactly revers- 

 i^g'^he proportion at starting, when free ^^^^^ Zt'fwZt 

 third of the whole, whereas now they were two-thirds. 

 Meanwhile the total number of meals was, growing with 

 ala^Xing rapidity. In 1886 thev bad been, in round num- 

 bers 4 lo.OOO and in 1888 5,640,000. In 1892 the total had 



risen to 6 970.000. and in 1398 to 9,230,000; that is, tbey had 

 Hres;°on^dTn1-rr-om^^«oT."f^;S?iis't-irV^ 

 in 1890, and to 1.017,000 in 1899. 



To sum up the financial position in ^„ff« --"""d fl|"^'=;^ 

 Th« "cantines" cost, on an average during the last nve 

 vil'rs. a little under' 1,400.000 f':»°-' ^.^^ "'^f, Af Vs'^'^eel?. 

 rather over 10,000,000 meals, costins on />° '^\"^S® "..^f Jh 

 times each. Of these, two-thirds "'^e tree i^oS^lrancs 

 naid for To meet t i s expenditure of nearly 1,400,000 irancs, 

 they received 1,000,000 (or £40,000) from the Municiixil Coun- 

 cl 360,000 from Payments tor men s, and about ^.000 (or 

 flOOO) from the voluntary funds held by the Oaisses. 



The increase is almost entirely in the free meals. 



Taking Mr. Blair's estimate that 156,000 children 



need to-dav in London to be fed on every school 



day throughout the vear at a cost of 2id. per meal, 



involving an expenditure of over /.^ooo, or about 



I 2-3d. on the rates, the writer asks, Will it stop 



there? : — 



Tlift knowledge that the cost comes out of the rates will 

 enormously increase the number of applicants, hundreds of 

 thoufandVof whom will claim that, as they contribute to 

 the rates, they have a right to .sli'^'-ein, any expenditure 

 which is derived therefrom. Inquiry into the realitj, ot dis- 

 tress teing made in secret, will necessarily be superficial 

 and inefficient. To save parents from the shame of con- 

 fessing poverty, the check of shame at being convicted of 

 making frauduent claims for relief will lie .abandoned. A 

 pros^^t of ever-increasing expenditure, pauperisation, and 

 destruction of parental responsibility lies before us. 



The L.C.C. and its Education Policy: Feeding the .Children. 



This picture shows how the question of feeding school children w^ ,J^ruUl1sed"VmiU'"o£''iu''IS?*coike^ 



^ttre^'Tor'th^e^ '^^^^^ '^rkZ^'^n'oi JLns"?o""c°l^ldSr\t^Cable-street School only one penny a head is 

 charged. 



