The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-11-08
A Bad Habit.
So you want to run out O. night.

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is that of running around a Village.
town or city % nights. Aifthe had
in human nature begins to hubble as
soon as the sun goes down. You
wouldn't dream of doing a mean act
to your neighl ors by daylight, but
after dark it seems good joke lug
off gates, upset outhOuses, steal fruit
or raise a false alarm of fire. Ittnay
seem fun to you, but when you come
to sit down and think it over you
can't help but admit that it is small
business. Any action ofyours which
puts any one else to trouble and ex-
pensesApay hea 10 yszlarsde-
trffmetit.
Find me a murderer, burglar or
thief-pOint out To me the biggest
lOater in your town and | will show
you man who began his career by
running out O nights. | don't say
that George Washin ton or Thomas
Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln didn't
throw down lumber piles or rob fruit
trees at ten o'clork at night, but if so,
they started out just right to become
bad men.
Don't | want hoy to have fun?
l do! and, by and 10y, Pm going to
put you up to dozen iffprent things
in that line. But this grabbing your
hat after supper and sneaking out
over the back fence is a mean piece
of business when you come to figure
it down. Down on the corner you
meet Jim this or Tom that. You go
"oYpr town" and are seen hanging
around this or that place. You may
me k INTO a saloon to see a game of
billiards, but you hate yourself for it.
You may sit in Smiths grocery and
hear lot of old liars spin their yarns
and abuse religion, but you go out
feeling that you could kick any one
of them who dared bow to your
mother.
You'd 60 home and go to bed if it
wasn't for jim or Tom. He wants a
little fun" and he drags you into it,
What he calls fun is stringing a rOpr
across the sidewalk. 1t dUsen't occur
TO him that some person. may break
a limb and be put to several hundred
dollars expense, or even be killed
outright. He thinks it cute thing
to roll off barrels of salt, barricade the
bridges, set an oil shed on fire or stop
up the chimneys on a widows house
When you have played such tricks it
comes very easy to play others which
the law won't look at in the funny
light.
There is to day in a State Prison a
boy whose career / watched for two
years. | first saw him prowling
around ~ nights. He had an honest
face and a OOd heart. hut his father
had seemingly never been a boy him
self. He let this lad go and come aS
he wilIed, and within three months
the police had to caution him. Inside
0f six months he belonged to a gang
Of juvenile thieves. Within two
wears he was a burglar. When he
stood up in court TO receive his five
years. sentence women wept to see
that one so young had drifted so
rapidly to the bad.
What can you do O. nights if you
remain at home?
There are dozens of good boy-books
to he had, and your father had better
buy you two or three per week than
turn you over TO the town. There's
no end of mechanical tops and toys
and games.
And suppose you learn how to draw
or paint? Look at watch and you
will realize that all the wheels and
.prings and shafts and Jewels 90 to
make up perfect-time peace. Just
% with a man. There are lots of one.
wheeled men il this wOr d. They
can sell goods, make boots, run an
nngine or keep a butcher shop, hut
outside Of that one thing they are all
It sea. 1t is the handy man who is
helping this world aIOng-the man
who is full of wheels and springs.
DON'T be afraid because you have
planned to study law, to read up on
philosophy and science, to learn how
to handle tools, TO analyze steam, t"
post yourselves on whatever is worth
knowing.
You will discover as you grow up
that the man who knows the least is
the greatest bigot to argue with and
the meanest man with whom to trans
act business. Not one in twenty OF
our high-school pupils knows how a
mason mixes his mortar or painter
his cOlOrs. They never saw tin
smith at work or grainer initiating
the various woods. Now, then. when