LAND A JN D ^V. A T E R. 
April 10, 1915. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
MILITARY HONOURS. 
To the Editor of Lakd and Water. 
Sir, — If rewards for valour only are taken into account 
(V.C'.'s, D.S.O.'s, and Military Crosaes), I think it will be 
found that the regirneatal officer has his share. More of these 
could not be given without cheapening them. 
Such ro.wardi as are given to the Staff — f.g., C.B.'a, 
C.M.G.'s, and brevets — are naturally not obtainable by 
junior regimental officers. Tho proportion of Staff to regi- 
mental oflicers who receive these appears at first sight, there- 
fore, to be high, tliough it ia not really bo. It must also be 
remembered that the Staff are selected men, and are, thora- 
fore, likely to do better than their regimental brothers. — 
Yours truly, 
A Regimental Offickb. 
BLI.\DED SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. 
Arrangements for their Comfort and Occupation. 
LIFE AT ST. DU.NSTAN'S. 
To the Editor of Land and Wateb. 
Sir, — The vast number of letters which have reached us 
during the last few weeks with regard to sailors and soldiers 
who have been blinded in the war shows bo keen a public 
interest in and .sympathy with these brave fellows that I feel 
I may ask you to permit me space in which to acquaint your 
readers v/ith what is being done to comfort and to help them. 
So far as we know at present, there are in thia country 
nearly fifty soldiers who have lost their sight at the front, 
including three ofEcer.i, and three Belgians, whom we are 
glad to treat on an equality with the British soldier. 
Wo know of only one blinded sailor — a midahipmaa. 
After we had settled in our minds the best stops to 
pursue, we called into our counsels some of the leading 
experts among those who spend their lives in the care of the 
blind. We were gratified to learn that in the main tba 
arrangements v.e had devised met with the cordial approval 
of this gathering. 
This spacious house, with it? fifteen acres of grounds, 
which lead direct iilto Regent's Park, and which has been 
so generously placed at our disposal by Mr. Otto Kahn, is 
an ideal place for our purpose. An arm of tha large Regent's 
Park lake runs into the gardens, thus rendering easy rowing, 
an ideal form of exercise for blind people. 
The premises are well adapted for the purpose of tem- 
porary training-rooms and workshops. 
The occupations which are being taught here aret 
1. c'.\.rpentuy. 
2. Boot Repairino. 
3. Mat Making. 
4. Basket Making. 
5. Telephone OpERATiNa. 
6. Massage. 
7. Poultry Farming, Market Gardsnino, &o. 
These arrangements cover tho industrial field which will 
be, for the present, open to the blinded soldier. In the 
majority of instances we do not expect to complete the train- 
ing at St. Dunstan's. Our function hero is to diecover tha 
pursuit for which a man is best fitted and give him pre- 
liminary instruction in it. 
Tho grant which has been made by the Prince of Wales's 
Fund for the purpose will enable us to arrange for completion 
of training and to settle the men in life. The cost of running 
tho Blinded Soldiers' and Sailors' Hostel is borne by tha 
National Institut-^ for tho Blind, the Red Cross Society, and 
the Order of St. John. 
A special fund has been started from which to supply the 
men with typewriters and other apparatus, and also to pay 
the travelling expenses and board and lodging of near rela- 
tives who live in the country and who are invited periodically 
to spend a few days close to their husbands, sons, or brothers. 
Wo invite contributions to this Fund. 
Further, the National Institute for the Blind has placed 
at the dispersal cf the Committee a seaside home, which it has 
lately established at Brighton. This comfortable and com- 
modious home will be used as a convalescent resort for men 
who require a period of repose after being discharged from 
hospital. It will also be used for week-ends and brief hoiidavs. 
The training of the blinded Bo'dier is not confined "to 
industrial pursuits. All the men are learning to read and 
write Braille, and in most cases are making remarkably quick 
progress. They learn typewriting, too, and are given lectures 
on interesting subjects by the leading experts of the day. 
Th> fear of occupying too much of your valuable spaos 
prevents my dwelling upon the happy conditions under which 
our comnuiuitv here lives. A cheerier set of fellows it ha^ 
never been n:y good fortune to meet, and the kindness of many 
friends in providing them v/ith flowers, fruit, and other 
luxuries in unendir.g. 
The ladies belonging to Voluntary Aid Detachment* who 
look after them do much to make their lives bright and happy. 
It is not for me to express an opinion as to the perfection 
of the plans which have been made, but I do venture to saj 
tliat no blind men have ever been given so grand an oppor- 
tunity of making good in the world as is afforded to these. 
W^ho will deny that no trouble or expense can repay them for 
the sacrifice which they h.ive made in defending our homei 
and ui)holding the honour of tho British Flag?— Yours faith- 
fully, 
C. Arthur Pearson, 
Chairman Blinded Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Care Committee. 
St. Dunstan's, Regent's Park, N.W. 
THE SMALL FIRXf. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Dhar Sir, — V.'ill you permit me to thank " One of thi 
Principals of Another Small Firm " for his kind appreciation 
of my letter, and also for his interesting remarks as to the 
procedure of the Government when dealing with small firms I 
I quite agree with all he says about prices, and I think the 
Government would, as ho suggests, find it very advautagecue 
when obtaining tenders to state the prices usually given for 
the work, and to allow tho firms tendering to put in their 
quotations, if these prices were too low to enable the firm* 
to undertake the job. One of the chief difficulties of a small 
fir.m which has not previously undertaken Government work 
is to know at v/hat price " about " it would stand a chance of 
having its tender accepted. Often a great deal of time which 
might be much more usefully employed is needlessly wasted 
in getting out estimates at which the Government officials do 
not have to glance more than once to know that they are 
hopelessly "out"; on the other hand, firms frequently do 
not feel justified in quoting for work which they could well 
do because their machine tools do not happen to' be epecially 
designed to do that particular class of work, and consequently 
they could not do it quite so cheaply as a factory constructed 
solely for tho job. A good definite " lead " from the Govern- 
ment as to prices on each piece of work required would save 
much time and mousy and prove to be a real economy ia 
the end. 
With the latter part of your esteemed correspondent'! 
letter I am in entire agreement. 
Lord Kitchener has said that the need for munitions ia 
urgent; the Times has had a leading article on " ShsUs "; on 
all sides we hear a loud chorus condemning strikes and dis- 
putes, and all delays in and hindrances to output; and in the 
daily Press we are repeatedly told tliat the winning of the 
war depends just as much upon tho workshops of tho ceimtrj 
as upon its brave soldiers. 
Well, for our part, we should only be too delighted to be 
doing our bit. Let the Government give us the work and tell 
us to go ahead. We would do our level best, and I can assure 
you that among the small firms strikes are not likely to inter- 
rupt output. 
But the great and apparently almost insuperable obstacle 
in the way is the reluctance of the Government to give us the 
orders. For three months now tho firm with which I am 
connected has been attempting to obtain Government work, 
and all they have given us up to the present is one small 
sample order. The majority of the departments sent polite 
acknowledgments of our letters, and to one we have had tha 
pleasure of submitting some tenders, but so far nothini^ Las 
materialised beyond the sample order above-mentioned." 
Yours faithfully. 
One of the Principals of a Small Firm. 
OUR AMBULANCE APPEAL. 
At the moment of going to press our Fund totals £530, 
and it is our very pleasant duty heartily to thank all those 
who have been so generous as to assist us m such a prompt 1 1 d 
substantial manner. Further subscriptions are still needed 
to form a small fund for the upkeep of the motor ambulancei 
Next week a full list of subscribers will be published. 
PriateJ by Tiia VicaoaiA Uoi73£ Peintinq Co., Liu.j Tudor Street, Whitefriars, London, E.C. 
