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is penalized in all sliding scales. It is true that some of the frames
supplied on these sliding scales are slightly better than ours, but
ours are adequate in every way.
Only recently a mother brought her child from one of the
schools because she would not wear any spectacles except some with
expensive artificial tortoiseshell frames similar to those worn by
another child in the class, whose parents were in.comfortable circumstances,
and who had obtained expensive frames costing 25/- from
an optician. The total family income in this case was just about
£3 and it needed a little fatherly advice to the child to convince
her that such an amount was thoroughly unjustifiable in the
parents' circumstances, and she must be content with more modest
frames. The fact that in 77.5% of our 392 cases nickel frames at
4/6 were provided, shows that where pressure is not brought to bear
by what we may call good salesmanship, children and parents are
in the main, contented with the satisfactory nickel frame of good
quality, and I am certain that this is one of the conditions which
materially assist the very satisfactory result with regard to the
conection of the visual errors amongst our school children.
Child psychology is such that if a large number of more
expensive frames are worn there is a demand amongst the other
children for the same kind. Only this last week, in an adjoining
district a boy of about seven got into the 'bus I was in, unkempt,
almost ragged, dirty and untidy—not merely boyish dirt but that
of poverty and neglect—he was wearing a pair of rolled gold frames
with artificial tortoiseshell rims ! I happened to know the family
circumstances, which certainly are not those that should have
afforded anything but the most inexpensive frames.
DENTAL WORK.
Secondly, with regard to dental work, the very satisfactory
percentage of attendances of those requiring treatment is shown in
the Dentist's report. This is, I am convinced, in part due to the
conversion from payment per attendance to the flat rate. We are
finding—as in all the other departments of the Council's activities
where a flat rate is in operation—that there is no longer the terror
of the unknown expenditure, and this is a very material assistance.
With regard to the orthodontic work, the extremely satisfactory
result of the first year's (or rather six months') work is
shown in the Dental Surgeon's report.