LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3193, 18 September 1917, Page 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LONDON'S POOR

Sir,—l am writing to ask you to allow mo to put a matter of grave importance before the charitable; people of Wellington, as my long connection with Wellington I feel gives mo'a right to do so. It is, of course, recognised by all that our babies are our greatest national asset; but so many of our babies in London have such a poor chance. Women at all times, and especially now, havo to work so hard and to live under such bad conditions, that there is but a slight chance of their babies being , born strong and growing up Healthy in mind anil body. To endeavour to remedy this state of affairs there ia a growing work amongst the poor, known as "baby care work,' in which prospective and actual mothers are regularly, helped with advico ami practical assistance by paid and voluntary workers qualified to give this. We have a joint centre in iliis and an adjoining parish, and we work amongst alitmt IiO.OOO of the poor and h'arcl manual working class. We find the work so good and acceptable that we havo to raise a lot more money to develop and extend it, and for this I appeal to those of your readers who nro only too ready to help if they know that 'their monev is wolf spent. I beliovo that their knowledge of me will give them confidence in entrusting me to sea that anything sent is well spent. Women who live in crowded tenements of four and five storys high, in bad ' air and often evil smells; who have to work lens hours right up to within a few days sometimes of the birth of their child; who have , to trudge up and down these, endless stairs, and go long .distanced to work, and stand at work in crowded factories, etc.; who have to go to work again as soon as possible after the- child is born, and leave their children often to an aged neighbour to.look after, and who cannot buy the necessary nourishing foods—such women, aaid babies bom under thoso conditions, stand but a poor chance. And our baby care work deals with these. It would be a proud moment for mo if I could announce that We - lington was providing mo with enough to help many of these mothers. Any contributions can be sent to mo direct, or to Mr. H. E. Evans, c/o Bell, bully, Bell, and Myers, LWherston Street, Wellington, who has kindly consented to receive them for me.—l am, etc., C. COLERIDGE HAiiJPEK. Newington Rectory, .. 53 Kennington Park Road, London, S.S. July 21, J917. :