Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-03-02
TOrturing the Little Ones.

Two kinds of cruelty to children are so
common, that to speak Of one and not the
other would leave the subject half han
died. You have children, perhaps. IL
not, your neighbors have. And this mat
ter of caring for children is becoming so
much a matter of business, that we have
a society in this city to prevent them from
being cruelty treated. 1t is an excellent
society. Good men, and all sorts Of good
men, favor it. None but bad men, and
very bad men, would hinder its useful
ness.
And the two kinds of cruelty to chill
dren will be brought to your notice by
the fact that there is treatment Of chill
dren never complained of by the society,
that makes more misery to children and
parents than beatings or hunger.
know a prominent member of the So
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children He is the father of one little
girl now about four years old He doubt
less loves her dearly He thinks that low
ing her is shown by letting the child have
her own way. She has il. She is never
restrained, never governed, never crossed,
always petted INDUCED, and Obeyed. The
child rules the house. Father, mother
|
of it? Is the child happy because she
lords it over the whole family. SO far
from il, she cries with passion or pain a
large part of the time. She is never con
| tented She goes from one thing to an
other in a constant series of searches for
something 20 do that she ought not TO do.
| And when she wants what il is impracti-
cable to get--as the boy who cried for the
/ o hn int
screams loud enough to split the ears of
! the neighbors. Thus the family are an
noyed the neighbors are annoyed the
child IL wretched, peevish, fretful, impa.
tient, passionate, dissatisfied with every
thing, and generally miserable.
And she is very disagreeabIe. Ii was
an ill-natured remark of Jerrold to a
| mother who apologized for her child cry
ing in the parlor: 90" said he, 81 like
to have children cry in company, for then
they are taken right out of the room ="
And whenever visit my friend, and his
child sets up n roar, | think of JerrOld,
and wish that his observation were in ac-
cord with my experience, which it is not.
But il is a most mistaken idea that in
diligence is kindness. Often it is the
greatest cruelty. To impress upon a
all lessons. 1t may be taught before the
child is year old; and without blow,
or the infiction Of any physical pain. 1t
must be taught in very early life, or it
will never be learned. To neglect it, and
10 put off government, until the child IN
old enough TO be reasoned with, is cruel,
wicked and silly. This neglect makes in.
fancy and childhood season of suffering,
sows seeds OF misery in after life, and per
haps of ruin here and hereafter.
DR.. Adams said on the platform, the
other night, that parental government is
the cornerstone Of civil government. And
when | see the streets of great city
thronged at night with wrecks OF young
men and young women, whose steps al
ready take hold on hell, know that most
of them are the victims OF parental in
diligence They come from households
where parents let them have their own
way, when they should have been gov
crned Read the story Of Eli and his
sons, and tremble as you read
III we must have society foreyerything
and we have a new one every year-let
il be an AMT. letting-children- always.
have-their-oWn-w way society. IL viii he
a mercy TO the children. Many will be
saved from tears and groans and cries, by
being made TO mind, and some will
be kept from that place of torment where
weeping and wailing have no end. In
diligence in wrong is the graYest cruelty
| to child. ! wish the new society would
| go for its own members who ruin their
children, as Eli did. He fell over and
! broke his neck when he heard that his