Review: Lads' Clubs
| Date | 01 October 1932 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3200500415 |
| Published date | 01 October 1932 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS
which the reader can gain a thorough understanding of the Indian Police
and its arduous duties, and of the why and wherefore of many of the events
which from time to time bring India into prominence in the columns of the
English press.
The
author gives a history of the development of the Indian Police
Service, a description of its present organisation and duties in all its branches
(very comprehensive, though he himself classes it as ' a sketch in the merest
outline '), and narratives of many interesting and sometimes thrilling cases
of conflict, detection and capture, told with a commendable freedom from
embellishment.
Though
it is in its associations with revolutionary disorder that the
Indian Police has encountered the most severe tests of its quality, instances
of which are narrated in this book, the author shows that this is far from
being the only line in which the courage and tenacity of the Service are from
time to time demanded and proved,
but
he is careful to point
out
that excite-
ment and adventure are in most districts only incidental to an often monoton-
ous routine. Political controversy is carefully avoided.
Here and there those intimate with the Service may find minor points
for disagreement with
Mr.
Curry,
but
these are few and far between, and the
book is instructive and interesting throughout.
The
author's attention may
be drawn to an unimportant inaccuracy on page 329, where he has included
in the list of Knighthoods earned by the Imperial Police Service the name of
one officer who does not hold that distinction.
Some critics may consider that
Mr.
Curry passes too lightly over the
alleged faults of the Indian Police. He admits there has been a good deal of
truth in the evidence that has been given on various occasions of the existence
of corruption among the subordinate police.
To
this he might have added
that'
the
itching palm ' is epidemic in the subordinate ranks of most services
in India.
LADS'
CLUBS.
Their
History, Organisation and Management. By
CHARLES
E. B.
RUSSELL,
M.A., and
LILIAN
M.
RUSSELL.
5s. net. (A. &C. Black.)
WHEN
the late C. E. B. Russell first produced his book on Working Lads'
Clubs in 1908 it immediately became the standard work, and nothing has
since appeared to challenge its position.
The
present volume is a new and
enlarged edition of that work, and is certain of a ready welcome.
It
is an
essentially practical book and offers to all who are interested in the organisa-
tion of Lads' Clubs the most useful advice on their foundation and manage-
ment. Many pitfalls lie in the way of the uninitiated, and it is only by
studying the successes and failures of their predecessors that they can hope
to make a successful beginning. Perhaps the best piece of advice given by
the authors is that the boys should all have to pay a subscription of some
sort towards their
club;
the fact that they have contributed something,
however little, tends to arouse in them a feeling of responsibility and will also
deter them from risking the loss of the privileges and use of the club.
The
authors quote from a number of letters received from Chief Constables and
others testifying to the value of such organisations, and clearly indicating
that the police appreciate the great work they are doing. In many centres
the clubs have been started by police officials, and are still helped in numer-
ous ways by members of the Force.
'Prevention
is better than cure,' and
it is widely realised that the opportunities which these clubs give to those
who live in crowded areas to join in healthy exercise and to learn useful and
profitable hobbies are responsible for keeping thousands of boys
out
of serious
trouble.
It
would be unwise to
try
and manage a Lads' Club without the
help of this book, behind which lie years and years of experience.
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