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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by Paul Thompson 



GOOD NEWS FROM THE FRONT, TO WHICH THEY MAY NOT RETURN 



These wounded soldiers on the steps of a London hospital have recovered sufficiently to be 

 sent to a convalescent home, for which they are to leave in a few days 



given the ballot. The monarchic de- 

 mocracy of England has reached the goal 

 of universal suffrage several laps ahead 

 of America. 



TWO HISTORIC SESSIONS OE THE HOUSE 

 OE COMMONS 



The organization — it can hardly be 

 called a system — for public education in 

 Britain is notoriously inadequate. Many 

 people knew that before the war, and the 

 war's shock aroused the nation to action. 

 I have sat through two absorbingly in- 

 teresting sessions of the House of Com- 

 mons. One was on a day of political 

 crisis, when some innocent souls thought 

 Mr. Lloyd-George was in danger of be- 

 ing driven from power, and when, with 

 the eyes of the world focused on West- 

 minster, with the benches and galleries of 

 the Commons packed, the Prime Minister 

 in a great speech drove his enemies from 

 the field in utter rout. The other was on 

 the day when Mr. Fisher, Minister for 



Education, presented and explained in 

 much detail an ambitious but dry-as-dust 

 program for educational reforms. 



The one occasion saw a tremendously 

 dramatic political spectacle; the other, a 

 three hours' explanation of a complex 

 piece of constructive legislation. Yet I 

 am not sure that Mr. Eloyd-George's 

 was the greater triumph. To a House of 

 Commons that had already voted away 

 something like a quarter of the national 

 wealth in war appropriations, Mr. Fisher 

 calmly made his demand for $75,000,000 

 to inaugurate a complete new educational 

 organization — and was enthusiastically 

 applauded ! 



ONE OE THE MOST COMPLETE EDUCATIONAL 

 SCHEMES EVER DEVISED 



That applause was the testimony that 

 Britain intended to help the munition 

 girl who aspires to be more like a lady ; 

 to help the farm boy who, while digging 

 trenches in Flanders, has learned to see 



