The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1882-07-20
A Theory on Spanking.

An Eastern exchange, edited by an old
maid, says:
''Never whip children just before they
retire to rest Let the fathers caress,
the mothers kiss be the last link be-
tween the days pain or pleasure and the
nights pain or pleasure and nights
sleep. Send the children to bed happy.
If there is sorrow, punishment or dis
grace, let them meet it in the day time;
and have hours of play and thought in
which to recover happiness. Let the
weary feet, the busy brain, rest in bed
happy"
That's all right, of course, to some ex-
tent. We used to talk that way before
we we're parent. We knew a good deal
more about children anyhow before we
had to grapple with them than we DO
now. We used to be greater stickler
for moral suasion and love and parental
gush than we are now.
Our theory now in relation to children
is changed from what it was formerly.
We maintain, now, after years study of
the primary biped, that there is style
of child that cannot go to sleep at night
unless spanked.
We have in our mind child of the
masculine style of architecture, who will
lie and sob and kick the clothes off, and
be mean and restless for two hours if
you forget about him; but if you go and
turn down the coverlid and fan his per-
son with an overshoe, he will quiet down
and be asleep in five minutes
He is not to blame for being the VIC
tim to this habit; but he is that way, and
he can't help it. He is tied to his spank
just as you, gentle reader, are tied to
your maturer habits.
Strange freaks do often grow into con-
firmed habits that are almost impossible
to shake off. Children are often the VIC
Tins of strange and unnatural customs
like older people.
This child, for instance, did not at
first apparently care whether he had his
spanking at P. M, or earlier, but later
he was so regular in his demand for COR
poreal punishment that you could set
your watch by him. He was also so at
tached to a certain style of arctic over
shoe that you couldn't accomplish any
thing by padding him with any other
style of chsstisement. Love is a good
thing, and we often wish that more Of it
had been lavished on us during our past
life, but after all, there are children who
do not yearn for affection half as much
as for armed aggression. OF course
your conscience smites you at intervals
when you 60 past the little bod after the
conflict is over and peace and slumber
are the victors. Something may come
up in your throat when you see the little
rebel lying with his feet on the pillow
and his head down at the foot of the cot,
and little tear on his'eyelashes. You
feel, perhaps, as though it looked like
taking an undue advantage for q 200
pound man to catch q six-year-old boy
when he is unprepared and paddle him
with an overshoe, and yet sometimes it
has to be done.
We know that in our own case corpo-
real punishment was resorted to while
all the other boys in the family escaped
with moral suasion. The result is just
what might have been expected. We
are the only one of that promising col
lection of boys whose promisaory notes
have gained worldwide circulation to-
day. While the other boys were con-
tented to plod along and run up little
petty accounts at the store, we struck out
boldly toward fame and insolvency.
You can encourage child with press
board sometimes and thus gives an i'm
petus which will aid him all through his