Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-08-31
A WILL OF HIS OWN.

One OF our best local preachers
preached sermon on children. and
the way to bring them up. and
speaking of the old idea that a
stubborn child, or a child with a
will OF its own, was a nuisance. the
elder said, II wouldn't give u d
for child that had not will of his
own,' or words to that effect. 1t is
but justice to say that the good
man used the word "dime" where
the blank is in the above extract.
But the remark is the key noto to
the situation. The time has been
when a child with will OF it's own
has been looked upon by the whole
neighborhood as terror, and moth
ers have sighed and endured sorrow
when they have noticed the spirit
shown by such a child. But when
they, in later years, have loo-ed
around and seen that the most sue
cessful men and women Of the land
grew up from children that had wills
OF their own, the sadness and sor-
row of the mother has given place to
pride. We do not like to see chill
dren have wills of their own that are
80 strong that they cannot be con
trolled oy parents, but few children
who have the right kind of parents
have such wills. Take child with n
will of its own, and guide that will
properly, and not knock the backbone
out Of it with barrel stave, and the
child will grow up to be a success in
business. Children with wills Of
their own may turn out to be pirates
or highway robbers but it will be
because parents try to break that
will by severe punishment. They
may partially break it. but it will
assert itself sometime in the wrong
way, while if it is guided properly
the will may be u mountain Of
strength. The successful men in all
branches of business are men who
had "'wills Of their own in youth.
They were not pet children who never
said their souls were their own.
Such children become milliners or
dudes. The successful men look
with pride upon their children who
have wills Of their own, because they
know by experience that such a will
is worth millions in the battle OF life.
A man who had no mind OF his own
as boy, may be good enough to
carry shawls to matinee, or baskets
to picnic, or he may stand on a
corner and chew a cane, but he conld
not build a railroad through vii
derness or across mountain, and
rather than face a picnic he would
sit down and cry. He could not in
vent anything, unless it was a patent
corset or self fastening hair pin
while his brother, who had a will OF
his own, would invent n telephone
or locomotive. The child with a
will OF his own may be harder io
raise, and he may cause some heart
aches and anxiety, but when tina,
will which was no hard To han
die in youth, gets hold of q
difficult problem of business in later
years, and clinches itself around th,
problem. and begins to squeeze. il
will never let up until success is
achieved. Tho stubborn. "Bo sur,
You are right and then go ahead
boys are in demand. and are wortl
their weight in gold. while the milk
and water, baby mine fellows hay'
to be done up in lunches like rad
ishes. and got rid Of in a lump. an,
half OF them turn ont TO be pithy an,
no good. II you, good mother, hay,
a child with will Of it's own. don
worry about the child. hut thanl
God and bend the will by kindness
and when that child grows mp nm,
succeeds where others fail. write n
a postal card All Of the succcssfu
men in the country had Wills of thei
own, and that was all the capita
they had. When we see n child witt
a will OF it's OVID, we always want :,
take it one side and tell II the goo'
news, that the will is more valuabl
than n rich relative
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