The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1871-02-16
TRAINING CHILDaMH.
By MRS. JANE @. sN1ssHDlr.,


in quite proper in due time; bu: the
boy or girl who is brought up xittc-s
regular employment, daily s4ze Il
manual labor, will, in nine ess4s o.. II
ten, bring the mother to shame o;, at
least, give her cause of sorrow.
1t appears to be generally soae.dss
that New England b-;ngs up & largar
of useful, industrious me,
than any other portion Of this eoustry ;;
that communities there are in advance
Of those in other parts Of the world in
intelligence, morality, and religion ;and
to my mind, it is very clear that this
result is due to the domestic habits
which find employment for chiloreo,
much more than to the churches, col
leges, and schools. No truism contains
more truth than that which alirns thas
Satan finds mischief 70. idle hands. hs
native Of Pittsburg, Pa, and one whose
affections and interests center there, l
may be allowed to say that no city Of
its size ID the Union has so many baa
boys. There was at one time eight Of
them in her Jail on charges of murder
or murderous assaults. Yet no city Of
Its size in the Union has superior re-
lisious and educational advantages. L.
Louisville, KY, in the palmy days Of
slavery, when it was common for one
man to shoot another on the street IL
daylight, and the authorities scarce
thought worth while to ask why, there
was less crime among the boys than
there was in Pittsburgh; aud tho only
explanation of the mystery is that the
German element in Western Pennsyl-
7ania throws all the domestic drudgery
upon women, and leaves the boys to
get rid of their surplus vitality as bot
they can; while in any of the slave
States it was such a crowning family
disgrace for the women of it to do any
kind Of work that the middle class re-
quired their boys to do the greater part
of the house-work. A New England
boy milks the COW, makes the hr.s,
cleans the stoop, the yard, the shoes,
the knives, goes the errauds, ca, rles the
packages, and not untrequently washes
the clothes ard dishes for the family
and takes pride in doing 80, because hs
has been taught thai labor il honorable
and that it would be disgraceful for
him to permit his mother or sister to
do such work. A Kentucky boy does
likewise, because it is much less dist
graceful for him to do it himself than
have mother or sister so demeaned.-
1t is not until he becomes a man that
labor degrades him. But IN Western
Pennsylvania it is no uncommon thing
TO see the mother of family Of boys
carry a he'd If coal up from cellar,
and replenish the fire by which her
husband and sons sit, idly Jswnipg,
and quite at loss to know what to Do
with their brawny muscle. A hundred
times I have seen this done when the
mother was weighed down with disease
or years, or both. Young men aud
boys there are not ashamed to see their
mothers gray hair or sisters sunny
curls hang over washtub while they
amuse themselves or to know that she
strains her strength to the utmost lin
it, day after day, while they rest. Eot.
tunate'y there are many who work to
win their own bread, and many who
aid their mothers in supporting young
er children and this is esteemed high
ly honorable. From this worthy class
comes very large proportion Of her
| successful business men, while the sous
If her wealthy men and middle classes
furnish an undue share of criminals.
One Of these-the son Of az honest,
industrious mechanic, aud mother who
had prayed for him ..all his life-was
sentenced to state-prison before he was
sixteen, for three times ten-i. G,
thirty years-for arson. For years he
had been the leader of gang CT boys,
all younger than himself, Who burned
two hundred thousand dollars worth Of
property, and caused the less of two
valuable lives-one Of prominent,
greatly esteemed citizen, who perishcd
rescuing others from the flames kindled
by these young miscreants, who were
not checked in their dreadful amuse.
ment by this tragedy, which sent chill
of horror through the community, but
kept on starting fires until caught in
the act.
There was much sympathy for tho
pious mother of tho dreadful boy and
people said approvingly, "Sbe WAS =
perfect slave to her family" and fsls
that the poor boy was doubly srimf-
| nal for the crime against his exeellens
mother.
On the contrary, my sympathies
we're all with the boys, every one o3
whom had a slave for mother, and
must, Of course, have been deprived Of
all wholesome maternal influence.
Slave is not the relation . mother
should bear to her children and %
long as she is slave her prayers will
have little Influence iu guiding thera.
The mother who expends all her vitaG.
ty in menial labor, which she eonsid-
ers degrading to her soul, can never
taka the n1ac.. of ou;do n hor nh;l1,o>.