ists grossly
exaggerate with regard to the number of underfed children. "It is
doubtful if half the children at present attending school are
physically fit to be educated, and medical men of eminence have
unhesitatingly expressed the opinion that the alarming increase of
insanity, which is one of the most terrible characteristics of modern
social life, is largely, if not entirely, due to the attempt to
educate those who are too ill-nourished to stand the mental strain
that even the most elementary school-training involves. As a remedy
for this, the Social-Democratic Federation advocates a complete system
of free State maintenance for all children attending school. This is
an essential corollary of compulsory education. Only complete free
maintenance will meet the requirements of the case."[821] "All
children, destitute or not, should be fed, and fed without charge, at
the expense of the State or municipality. We propose that the regular
school course should include at least one meal a day. Thus only can
we make sure that all the children who need feeding will be fed."[822]
"To cram dates into the poor little skulls of innocent children when
you ought to be cramming dates down their throats is not a right thing
to do, especially when you remember that the most precious thing in
this world is a human life, and when you realise that you are
murdering systematically thousands of children every year because they
cannot get proper food--they cannot even get pure milk in the great
cities of our land. One of our first duties in this nation is to see
that every child has a right to the best and most ample provision for
its physical needs. That should be the primary charge upon the nation.
I am not here to-night to discuss the great question of the State
maintenance of children. Personally I am absolutely in favour of
it."[823] Experience of other nations has taught that the institution
of free meals for necessitous school-children is immediately and very
grossly abused by unscrupulous parents easily able to feed their
children. From Milan, for instance, we learn that "When in 1900 this
service began, meals were given on only 133 days out of a possible 174
days of school attendance. The outlay was then set down at 98,300
francs. During the second year, however, free meals were served on 153
days and cost 149,337 francs. In 1903 the free meals cost the
municipality 247,766 francs and 277,603 in 1904. The outlay will now
exceed 300