JUVENILE MORALITY

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23801, 21 November 1942, Page 6

JUVENILE MORALITY

Sir,—The discussion on juvenile morality at the Methodist Synod yesterday served to confirm what you had written in your leading articles. Anyone with knowledge of social investigation would be chary of accepting statements from sources that cannot be checked, while the evidence of a medical man who used the word "purer” in connexion with his girl patients (if he did) is immediately suspect. Might I suggest that it-, would’ help greatly if the committee would define precisely the terms and limits of the problem it is dealingwwith. The discussions seem to suggest,that the primary concern is not an alleged increase in delinquency and “moral laxity” among boys and girls but certain aspects of adult behaviour. Unfortunately there are signs that the activities are of the nature of a smoke screen in a campaign to dictate the sexual behaviour of adults and to combat the “menace of modern secularism."—Yoiirs, etc., L. A. EFFORD. November 19, 1942.