Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-08-26

Some observations ON Spanking.
From the Laramie Boomerang.
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 between the DAYS pain or
pleasure and the nights sleep. Send the
children to bed happy. If there is sorrow, pun
ishment or disgrace 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" shH
That's all right, of course, to some extent
We used to talk that way before we were q
parent We knew 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 MAIN
tain now, after several years study of the pri-
mary biped, that there is a style of child that
cannot go to sleep at night unless spanked
We have In our mind little child Of the mas
culine style OF architecture, who will lie and Sob
and kick the clothes off and be mean and rest
less for two hours If you forget about him. but
If you 60 and turn down the coverlid and fan his
person with an Overshoe he will quiet down
and be asleep in five minutes.
He Is not to blame for being the victim to this
habit, but he is that way, and he can't help It.
ITO 10 Ilcu W LIS spank just as you, gentle
reader, are tied to your maturer habits
Strange freaks do often grow into confirmed
habits that are almost impossible to shake of.
Children are often the victims of strange and
unnatural customs like older people.
This child, for instance. did not at first appa-
rently care whether he had his spanking at s o.
m or earlier, but later he was SO regular in his
demand for corporal punishment that YOU could
set your watch by him. He was also so attached
to q certain style Of arctic overshoe that you
couldn't accomplish anything by padding him
with any other style OF chastisement. Love is
a good thing, and we often wish that more of it
nad Deen lavished on US during our past life,
put after all there are children who do not yearn
1or affection half SO much as they do for armed
aggression. or course your conscience smites
you at Intervals when you go past the little bed
aitef Inc c0nf1ict Is over and peace and sumber
are the yictors. 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 q little tear on his
eyelashes. You feel, perhaps, as though It
looked like taking an undue advantage for a
SOO-p0und man to catch q siX-year-old boy when
ne Is unprepared and paddle him with an over
shOe, and yet sometimes it has to be DONE
We know that in our own case corporal pun
ishment 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 all that promising collec-
ZION OF boys whose. prOmissory notes have
gained world wide circulation to-day. While
the other boys were eentented to pl0d along and
run up little petty accounts at the stores we
struck out boldly toward fame and insolvency.
You can encourage q Child with q prsssboard
sometimes and thus, gtve him an impetus which
WIN AID him all through bis life.