The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1884-05-01
THE DUTY or PARENTS.


Cincinnati Commercial Gazette: Nat
thew Arnold has his peculisIities, but he
il a man OF extensive observation. who
travels with his eyes and ears open, aad
In some respects is capable of giving
good advice In some respects his i'm
pressions are not favorable to our vanity,
bnt be is not 20 be hastily condemned
Tor this On the contrary, We should be
quite willing TO listPn TO ham, and, in
stead Of sneering at his utierances as
those of an egotisticsl English man, ask
ourselves whether these things which
he says about Us that are not compli-
mentary are true, for, If they are true,
the policy should be not TO condemn the
criticism, but u mend our ways and re-
move the cause.
Speaking If ir.everence Mr.. Arnold,
IN an Interview cabltd 10 this paper and
printed on the 23i inst, said:
In this he said, lies the prophecy
of decay. II grows out Of the republican
form of government. which is. however.
the only possible government for
ual form OF government for all people,
but no civilization can endure without
reverence. There should be an
acknowltdgmfn of It's lack by Ameri-
cans. A spirit of reverence should be
carefully instilled into the minds Of the
younger generation as they grow up.
The children are not familiar with the
symbols Of authority, as in England, and
50 are in danger of losing the reality F"
We may not be willing TO admit that
our form Of government necessarily en-
courages irrevtrence. but it is fact tina,
In no civilized country Is there so much
Of this as In America, aud especially in
American cities, aud particularly among
boys, though girls are by no means free
from 1t. 1t Is the root of an evil
that has obtained an alarming growth
and is still progressing. This is due
- the anxiety Of children - escape re-
s.raint and do as they please. There il
therefore q want of reverence for age
station or occupation. This b'gins in
the family. 1t has its root there. Il
can not be eradicated by law. II deYel
ops early in the boy, who speaks of his
father as boss, or old man, and ct an ear
ly age puts on The airs Of man; and II
the girl, who thinks she knows more
than the mother, and is far more ready
- give than t. receive advice. DisDbedi
ence follows as matter of course.
The command t. 'houor your par
eats" Is treated as obsolete, and for it il
substituted the prevalent belief that par
ents should obey their children. The
child of to-day is probably better edu
c tied than the parents, and this II
One cause OF disrespect for the latter
There can be no obedience without rever
ence, as q rule, and IN The absence 81
the latter the former are not to be expect
ed. For this parents are largely respOn
sible. They are mainly responsible
for where family government is omitted
street government comes in. and that il
followed by conduct which the state il
called upon to restrain OF punish.
would not be hard to trace the causes o
crime to the want of parental control
and t. the absence of that home govern
ment which is essential to morality
Tram up q child in the way he SHOULD
go, aud when he is old he will not de
part from it," This Is tru,
as a rule. There are exceptions, o
course. or one thing, however, we ma,
be certain-if child is allowed to grow
up without any training he may, as by
miracle, be saved from destruction, bu
az rule the bad boy or the reckless CIR
does not outgrow their youthful iodis
cretions. They may, by reason Of ad
versity, be brought to = resliEing sens
of their mistakes, and may be led to Sc,
the evil of bad training or a want c
training; but. IN the aggregate, it i
plain and painfully clear that crime In
creases in greater proportion tina
population, and that In the scale c
morals, each rising generation falls be
low that which preceded 1t.