HAPPIER LONDON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21267, 23 February 1931, Page 14

HAPPIER LONDON.

NOW AND FORTY YEARS AGO. • AN ECONOMIC SURVEY. London is happier to-day than it was 40 years ago. Better health, better education, better pay for shorter hours, fewer deeds of violence are some of the improvements. As against this, fraud is increasing, there, is a lower sex morality, less repugnance to draw from poor relief, and a far higher risk of street accident deaths. The new London Survey, at present incomplete, has been undertaken by the London School of Economics. It is intended to afford material for comparing the London of to-day with that surveyed with such extraordinary assiduity by Charles Booth, shipowner philanthropist, between 1889, and 1903. It has been made under the direction of Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith, formerly chief economic adviser to _ the British Government. The first of'eight volumes embodying the results is published today, under the title of “London Life and Labour.” One tendency of the 40 years has been a general levelling-up process, removing class distinctions. It has been attended by the slow disappearance of the Cockney dialect and the spread of the Cockney twang to other classes. The visible signs of class distinctions (says the survey) are disappearing. Chokers, Derby coats, and ostrich feathers are rarely to be seen. HALE THE ALCOHOL. The workmen can actually buy onethird more goods with labour that is one hour a week less; notwithstanding that; the cost of living has risen from 80 to 90 per cent, (clothing over 100 per cent.). He consumes only half the quantity of alcohol, drinking six glasses of light beer, as against ten of heavier quality. Beer expenditure, however, is still over 2s a head a year. He smokes twice as much, and spends four times the amount of money on tobacco; travels about four times as much, reads four times as many books, has four times as many kinemas and theatres. The Londoner, however, stands ten times as much chance _of _ being killed in the street as he did in the more leisurely ’nineties. He is a little more honest, and less inclined toward crimes of violence. The war has definitely not made him readier to kill and wound or to rob. With men the pipe has given way to the cigarette. THE KINEMA. “The extent,” says the survey, “ io which the kinema now fills a gap in the lives of the poorer classes is shown by the statistics of six typical ‘ workingclass ’ boroughs with a population of about a million. In 1891 this huge area had within it only 18 theatres and music-halls, or one such place of entci - tainment to 58,000 inhabitants. In 1929 the total number of khiemas was 59, together with five theatres and music halls, i.e., one place of entertainment for 14,000 inhabitants, more than ninetenths of this provision consisting of picture palaces.”