May 2, 19 18] 



NATURE 



77 



PHYSICAL WELFARE AND PUBLIC 

 LIBRARIES. 



THE fourth annual report, that for the year ending 

 December 31 last, was submitted to the trustees 

 of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust by the Execu- 

 tive Committee on February 26, and some of the 

 matters dealt with in it are here summarised. The 

 administration of the trust during the year was not an 

 easy task. Restrictions of various kinds arising out 

 of the war have militated against smooth and rapid 

 progress, but the record of work done is, both in 

 quality and amount, satisfactory. 



The new developments opened up by the Executive 

 Committee, with the approval of the trustees, are de- 

 scribed in the report. The normal income of the trust 

 in 1917 amounted to 124, 419^., and the grant promises 

 made by the trustees in connection with these new 

 developments reached for the year the total of 122,174^. 

 For the last three years, during which, the trust may 

 be said to have been in full operation, the average 

 amount of grant promises per annum has been 

 127, 517!., and the average normal income for the three 

 years in question 11,528^. less than that sum. The 

 income for the year 1917 may, however, be regarded 

 as the minimum income available in the future, but 

 even that figure is slightly less than the average grant 

 commitment for the last three years. 



Infant Welfare Centres. 



The physical welfare of mothers and children, with 

 all that is implied in that comprehensive phrase, has 

 occupied public attention largely in recent months, and 

 the committee's labours have also been directed towards 

 furnishing, within the limits of its powers, some 

 assistance in the solution of this national problem. 

 The elaborate surveys referred to in the last annual 

 report have been completed and published. 



The committee has determined to erect and equip 

 buildings for six infant welfare centres in urban areas 

 in the United Kingdom. Broadly speaking, the centres 

 will comprise an infant clinic, pre-natal clinic, school 

 for mothers, and nursery, and the necessary accom- 

 modation for the staff. These buildings will be main- 

 tained by the local authority concerned by means of 

 local rates and Imperial grants, and will be given oa 

 the following conditions : — That a suitable site 

 is provided, and that the plans and estimates 

 for the building prove acceptable to the trustees ; 

 that the authority undertakes the efficient main- 

 tenance of the centre as a part of its comprehen- 

 sive system of physical welfare approved by the Local 

 Government Board for the purpose of Imperial grants ; 

 and that full reports of the work of the centre are 

 submitted to the trustees annually. 



In selecting the urban areas to which the oflfer de- 

 scribed above has been made, the committee has been 

 influenced in the main by the likelihood of the local 

 authority affording to the experimental institution the 

 best chance of permanent success. The following 

 towns have received and accepted the trustees' offer of 

 assistance : — Birmingham, Liverpool, Rhondda, Shore- 

 ditch, Motherwell, and Dublin. 



Central Institiutes. 

 Representation has been made to the committee that 

 it might be extremely useful to Government Depart- 

 ments, local authorities, and voluntary organisations 

 if a central institution were created the activities of 

 which might serve to assist the movement generally. 

 Under suitable conditions and with fully representative 

 management such an institute might be of great value 

 not only to voluntary workers, but also to authorities 

 throughout the country. Its main functions would in- 



NO. 2531, VOL. lOl] 



elude the following : — (a) To form independent opinions 

 in regard to the desirability or need of certain courses 

 of action or policy, which could, when necessary, be 

 presented to Government Departments or local bodies 

 with the weight of recognised authority behind them ; 

 (b) to encourage, and to some extent direct and co- 

 ordinate, experimental work by voluntary agencies 

 which, if shown to be successful, could be recom- 

 mended for official consideration; (c) to organise a 

 thoroughly efficient information bureau by means of 

 which inquirers could obtain full, accurate, and up- 

 to-date knowledge of arrangements made both in this 

 country and abroad for maternal and infant welfare, 

 in addition to assistance and advice in regard to any 

 investigation or personal work they desired to under- 

 take; (d) to provide an adequate library of reference 

 of English and foreign literature bearing on the sub- 

 ject; (e) to organise conferences, meetings, lectures, 

 etc., for the instruction of those interested in infant 

 welfare and for the education of public opinion in 

 matters relating thereto ; (/) to consider the training 

 desirable for workers in maternity and infant wel- 

 fare centres, health visitors, etc., and to formulate 

 conditions of training which might be accepted as the 

 standard for the country as a whole. 



Accordingly, the committee has decided to provide 

 the necessary accommodation and equipment for two 

 institutes of this character — one to be situated in Lon- 

 don and one in Edinburgh. The trustees will be 

 responsible only for the capital outlays involved, and 

 will not be concerned with the provision of the income 

 required to maintain the institutes, although they will 

 need to be satisfied that proper financial support is 

 forthcoming. It is not contemplated that the function 

 of the institutes will, in any way, supersede or en- 

 croach upon the proper spheres of the various volun- 

 tary and statutory bodies, and funds for their efficient 

 administration ought not to be difficult to find, having 

 regard to their wide sphere of usefulness. Preliminary 

 consideration has already been given to the organisa- 

 tion of the two institutes referred to, and there seems 

 every prospect that the suggestions will prove accept- 

 able. 



Travelling Welfare Exhibition. 



In connection with the valuable report for Scotland 

 received from Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, the committee's 

 attention was directed to the useful work undertaken 

 by the Travelling Welfare Exhibition inaugurated by 

 the National Union of Women Workers of Great 

 Britain and Ireland. The work consists essentially in 

 preparing the ground and educating public opinion as 

 to the necessity for higher standards of domestic 

 hygiene as applied to mothers and children. In order 

 to extend the opportunities afforded by the exhibition, 

 the committee has agreed to render financial assist- 

 ance to the National Union of Women Workers in 

 order that a second travelling exhibition may be set 

 on foot in Scotland and two similar exhibitions estab- 

 lished in England and Wales. The need for propa- 

 gandist work of this nature ought to be only tem- 

 porary, but it is important that it should be undertaken 

 immediately in order that public opinion, particularly 

 in the less advanced communities, may be prepared to 

 welcome the larger ideals of national service to which 

 Imperial and local effort will presently be directed. 



Flay Centres. 

 Another aspect of the problem which has engaged 

 the attention of the committee is the question of the 

 fuller provision of play facilities for children. The 

 Government Education Departments have realised the 

 possibilities for good which might arise from the 

 efficient administration of centres, where children may 

 have recreation after school hours, and grants are now 



