The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1886-08-04
A PLEA.

Fathers! Mothers! Guardians! You |
that hold the mighty future in your
hands, beware how you shape it! Do
you realize that it is in your hands
that daily, hourly, you are molding;
by the lightest touch in your hands,
by your smiles, by your frowns. by
every word, by every act, in the plastic
minds of the millions who are to con-
stltute the next generation of the
worlds workers? They are babes in
your arms; they are little ones toddling
at your side; they are boys and girls
seeking young companionship, form
ing ideas, forming habits, formin z
characters. DO you study the
tendency of the influence you
are exerting on those characters? Do
not underrate your influence, it is God
like or Demon-like. It's acting by day
and by night 1t is all powerful; you
can not block the wheels of its prog
ress, but you can control the direction
of it. Which way shall it gop What
do you wish your boy to become?
What do you wish your girl to be-
Gomez A good and grand mama
good and grand woman? Then speak
to them good and noble words. En-
courage them by all possible means to
do good and NOBLE deeds. If you kind
ly encourage them in all kindly ways
they will become kind and good,
and the truly great and
the truly good" DO You notice q
touch of selfishness or cruelty in the
growing mind, discourage it by kindly
admonition, by gentle instruction.
show the child the tendency of all
wrong doing.
Ahf This sounds like preaching, and
you are so much accustomed to that it
makes but little impression on you.
Then let AIS come to practice, and you
will appreciate the drift of these few
remarks:
You all hear the '.buzz," 'buzz'' in
this delicious summer air, and you
know the festive June bug is about.
Look ont! All the children know it,
| too; and it is. common amusement
| with the little folks to catch the jolly
buzzers, tie strings to their legs, let
them lily. then jerk them in, and so
torture the poor helpless creatures.
Do you, fathers, mothers, guardians,
persistcntly discourage the practice of
this cruelty in the innocent little chill
dren who yearly toddle out to this
chase? DO You say to them: ''Dear
child, the good God that made you,
made and cares for the little bugs as
well. De not hurt them, for God will
remember it against you if you doP"
Doubtless many fond and loving
Go
| amused smiles while their sweet little
children innocently begin these cruel
practices-innocently begin to make
heartless wretches of themselves-and
never. suspect that by few timely
words, now spoken, they may turn
their tender feet into ways of pleasant
ness and paths of peace; and so. fail
ing to speak the timely words, they
unknowingly permit their tender
darlings to enter the downward road
to spiritual ruin. These little ones are
| not responsible for the characters they
are about to build up. Responsibility
rests upon the parents who allow the
children right here and now to partake
of the poison of cruelty, if they do not
at once and always show them how
wrong it is to cause or allow any suffer-
/ ing they can prevent.
This poison. is deadly; it begins to
work in the tender soul at once. 1t
spreads continually and hardens the
heart 1t leads its victim to seek new
objects of torture. As the boy grows
larger he delights in torturing larger
animals, and one day he becomes so
much wretch as to pour lamp-oil on
a poor unfortunate dog and set it on
! fire. This is the bold, spirited, cruel
boy; the less bold, cruel boy laughs
and cheers, but shirks the responsibility
of the performance. What one would
| do to dog without considering its
pain, one might do to man; he does
not care, he thinks it does not hurt
himself. That is because he can not
see how his cruelties are soaring and
deforming his soul and covering it all
over with the accursed livery of hell.
So murderers grow-those worst of
men. They are not made outright; no
one is directly responsible for them,
they are not responsible for themselves;
their characters were shaped by sur
rounding influences. In the innocence
of infancy they were allowed to torture
bugs and flies and dogs and cats, and
naturally, later on, they torture the
hearts of the parents who loved them
SO fondly, and led them so blindly.
Dear parents. open your eyes! Lose
no opportunity to teach your children
the great law of kindness, epitomized
by our Saviour in the words: '.Do
unto Others as ye would that they
should do to you"
Children learn kindness as readily as
cruelty, and. o! the sweet fruits of it,
as compared with the bitter fruits of
cruelty. You will grow old and intirm
as your sons and daughters grow stall
wart and mature; they now lean on
you-soon you must lean on them.
What manner of staff are you training
for the support of your declining years?
Do you depend on filial love alonep
Because you have tenderly loved them
In the helplessness of childhood, will
they surely love and care for you in
the helplessness of ageP Did you
never see man or woman SO en-
crossed in personal cares as to neglect.
and even mistrust an aged and intirm
tparentp D! train your child to abhor
cruelties Of all kinds and then your