=Source.=--_The Times_, December 13.
The question of providing penny dinners for the children of the
London poor has received pretty ample discussion. Everybody
can form an idea now of the difficulties which will have to be
surmounted by the central committee of School Board managers and
teachers.... The vital principle of the scheme is that the dinners
shall be supplied on a self-supporting basis. In some places the
work has been undertaken with more zeal than knowledge, and there
has been quick disappointment. The Vicar of St. Mark's, Walworth,
who seems to doubt whether the scheme can be carried out on purely
commercial lines, tells us how fastidious are the children of the
poor. They turn from macaroni; they dislike the flavour of cabbage
boiled up in a stew; they will have nothing to say to haricot
beans, lentils, or salads; they mistrust soup; and are generally
most attracted by suet dumplings and jam or currant puddings.