mental demoralisation. The process may be continued, perhaps, in classes
on "practical citizenship" for adolescents, who will be taught to say
"the operative principle for the amelioration of states is
democratisation." Great improvements in the teaching of domestic economy
have been made during the last few years in many places, but there is no
doubt that an enormous amount of waste is due to ignorance and neglect
in the choice and preparation of food.

Again, every possible effort should be made to encourage habits of
thrift, and to provide satisfactory modes of investment for small
savings. As regards this question, War conditions have positively had a
beneficial effect. The need for all classes to contribute to War Loans
has been recognised; facilities to enable the small investor to
contribute have been carefully arranged, and the War Savings Committees
have done admirable work in bringing the question home to the people.
The result has been on the whole most satisfactory. Not only has a very
substantial sum been provided towards meeting the cost of the War, but
habits of thrift have been fostered, and the sense of having a stake in
the country, a direct financial interest in the national funds, makes
for order and will form an element of stability in national life which
will be invaluable.

Notwithstanding the "ingrained prejudice against thrift" among the
majority of all classes, which is a marked characteristic of the English
nation as compared, for example, with the French, the number of holders
of national securities has increased enormously. Before the outbreak of
the War it appears that only 345,100 persons held securities of the
British Government. It was estimated that at the end of the year 1917
Government securities had been distributed among no fewer than 16
million persons, including 10 million holdings of War Savings