Milford chronicle., 1883-01-19
DE-. EaIDlY, Ian. IaE, Isss.

Milford can show as large a crowd
of depraved children who are growing
MP 10 manhood and womanhOod, as
any other town Of like size on the At
lantie coast, What is the cause? Does
the cause rest with the parents, or is
Il the lax way our laws are admins
tered? Delaware certainly has made
plenty Of Flaw for this evil, but they
have never been enforced outside Of
% aitv Of Wilmington. Young bows
tnU ut, vN~rNr SrsJ v.-'N-r -r,c' ~
are allowed to frequent the reading
rooms of the hotels of Milford, and the
bar rooms are frequently crowded with
them during some boisterous outburst
of enthusiasm of some older patron
who has been imbibing too freely.
They smoke cigars with the noncha-
lant air Of an old habitue of variety
show, and are experts in the use of the
most blood stirring oaths coined by the
English language. A little later on
they step into another stage of their
street education. viz, gambling. 1t may
not assume very violent symptoms at
first; it may be an occasional bet OF
five or ten cents, but in a brief time
they acquire the full farce of the gamb-
ling excitement, and develop into full
grown poker, seven up, and billiard
players for cash. We ask ofevery par
ent in Milford, sis your son one Of
this class? ?7 You may not know it
bnt does he spend his evenings at home
or with friends Of your acquaintance?
Does he associate with boys whose in
tegrity is undoubted, or does he fail to |
account for his whereabouts ? You |
may think strange, but it is fact, we
have seen all Of the above with our
own eyes, in the town of Milford, and
we can but lay the blame to the fathers
and mothers who encourage their chill
dreu to leave home for their amuse-
ment, because they are not furnished
with the proper means to make home
life pleasant. We see young girls wal
king our streets flirting with the boys
long before they have reached an age
when they are responsible for their
acts. They go and come, apparently
as free as air so far as their actions are
concerned, and they not unfrequently |
make acquaintances that their parents
would not approve We do not sd-
voeate shutting children up in house
like prisoners; F.; or say that girls must
not 90 on the streets, or that they
must not look at or talk to the boys.
This is not our aim. We hope by cal
ling parents attention to this evil, to
have them look after the social welfare
of their children TO teach them how
TO become good citizens and how to
become ladies' and gentlemen. This
applies to the rich and poor alike, aud
It is of both that Milford,s -dePraved-
ildren-are~eornposed. Don't be
AFRAID to make confdants of your chill
dren they will soon learn to confide
in you, if you only give them the ex-
ample. They can understand when
once Informed, and every child is like
a piece Of ground ready to have the
seed sowu. Give the children home
amusements. Iii is cards, dOminoes,
backgammon. billiards, dancing or
social parties, let them have them
They are better for the child and will
be less expensive in the end. These
remarks apply to all children from ten
to twenty years of age, and we hope
that the parents of Milford will make
some pertinent inquiries into the hab-
its of their offspring.