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are becoming a nation of hypochondriacs. Yet, whether
we like it or not, it is our duty to realise that the
difficult ' times through which so many people are passing,
not only aggravate the physical imperfections but set
into motion a chain reaction which can and very often
does result in actual ill-health. How true is it that
chain-reactions are by no means confined to the explosion
of an atom bomb'.
How can the Urban District Council as a local
authority make a worth-while contribution to what has now
become a truly gigantic problem?. The treatment of
disease of the mind does not primarily concern us,
although, as we know, we have in Friern Barnet one of the
largest mental hospitals in the country. It must never
be forgotten that prevention is infinitely better than
cure. Our task must surely be to ensure that conditions
which disturb the life of the community are reduced to
the absolute minimum. Friern Barnet, of course, has
done a groat deal in this direction. The Urban District
Council has provided more than a liberal share of parks,
open spaces, playing fields, and trim, pleasing and wide
pleasant streets. But although these amenities are
literally invaluable they are still not enough. It is
here that we return once again to the stark and menacing
problem of housing. I have already said that there are
still families within the Urban District living under
conditions which encourage the onset of mental illhealth.
When one uses the expression "mental ill-health",
one does not refer to actual insanity, but to that
unhappy state into which so many people are plunged when
the conditions under which they live are sufficiently
unpleasant to render life unhappy, unfruitful and beset
with innumerable problems. The alarming increase in
mental ill-health throughout the country, severe or even
slight, the break-up of families, the work of our divorce
courts and juvenille courts, bear witness to the fact
that more and more individuals are still living dangerously
often through no fault of their own. The problem may
not be as great in Friern Barnet as in some other areas.
It is truly a national problem, a problem which cries
aloud for consideration as a matter of first priority.
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