Bismarck weekly tribune., 1888-12-14

OUR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS.
"a QUESTION OF GREATER IMPORT
ANcE THAN STOCK RAISING.
Father Paxton's story-A Point from Her
bert spencer-The kindergarten system.
Parents Responsibility to Children-The
Biases Of Children's Minds.
Old Father Paxton used to tell this story
with great glee. It was in Egypt" and
forty years ago. He was then busy estab-
fishing Sunday schools in those sections Of
Illinois and Missouri that were, from their
peculiar stage Of civilization. famed as
Egypt and the "Pike Country Itwasfar
from common desire that schools of any
sort should be founded. OF one settlement
he had been forewarned to expect failure
The king bee of the town had sworn that
nothing of the kind would be tolerated. He
lived on a knoll in the only whitewashed log
house in that section. Paxton rode up, and,
seeing his rival sitting straddle Of a log in
front Of his mansion eating peaches, he
straddled the log on the other side of the
basket and Joined in. .How do, strangerl
lite in and welcomed" was, of course, the
southern style of greeting. A conversation
sprung up easily about weather, crops and
the kedntry in general ''That's fine lot Of
hogs over there" }" said Paxton. "Fine, stran-
gerl You might say it; as fine as this kedn-
try holds" "How many mout there bea"
"There mout be sixty there, stranger, and
nary one that isn't a roaster."
COUNTING HIS PROGENY.
Just then little chep ran up and seized
pouch 81 say" said Paxton, .be that chill
der yours" 'sYes, stranger, it be-" "And
how many mout you be after havinga"
"How manys How many children9 Well,
stranger, there's where you be after having
me, but I'll count up and see." Calling his
woman to the door, he ordered her to count
while he named them off. Finding that diff
cult, he changed the plan and did the count
ing himself, while she did the names. 1t
turned out that there were sixteen. Now
was Paxtons chance "An unnaterally fine
lot Of 'em, too," he said; ''but, stranger, it
seems to me there's something wrong about
it.n whats thatq' cried the old boss.
''Why, when axed you how many hogs you
lad, you told me right off sixty three; but
when l axed you how many childer you
had, you couldn't tell without both Of ye
countin,. Pears to me you reckon more on
your hogs round here than you do on your
children" 81 swan to Jericho, stranger, ef
that amt square hit; and I hold you must
be the Sunday school man. Give US your
han. Goahead; open next Sunday, and my
Sal and her sixteen will all be there sure"
suppose if this story were told to be ap-
piled to the average citizen Of an average or
even cultured community it would be re-
sented. Yet Herbert Spencer does not hesi-
tate to say: without calling in question the
great Importance Of horse training and pig
feeding, we would suggest that, as the rear
ing Of full grown men and women is also Of
some moment, the conclusions indicated by
theory and indorsed by practice ought to be
acted on in the last case as in the first" It
will hardly bear challenge that there is no
live thing about the novels Of the land that
secures SO little directive culture as child.
It comes up by kick and cuff and imitation.
BEGINNING OF EDUCATION.
The fact is the most important end of edu-
tion is the beginning It is when the mind
frst begins to observe that most wise teach
ers are needed. live in hopes that before
long kindergarten system will cover the
whole United States. Theoretically, the
child should be taught at home; and, when
parents are what they ought to be, the first
ten or twelve years should be rigidly home
years; but where the parents are incapable
or unwise, the child should have something
better than home can give him. The state
should see that he is taught on the best pos
sible plan. At present he is simply turned in
with rabble gathered alike from the slums
and from the cottages.
Father Paxton's hint that 'sa little more
care is given your hogs than your children"
Is applicable far more widely than at first
seems. If a man owns hog he intends to
make the most of it. believe it is true Of at
least one half Of the children born in this
country that the parent only thinks, not how
to make the most Of them, but how to make
most out Of them. Anything like an idea
Of responsibility to children is not felt.
It does not dawn on the average parent that
he is under obligation literally to bring
his children up to their very best power.
believe child has as good right to oc-
cupy himself in the line Of natural tastes as
other people have This will seem to many
absurd, or meaningless, in two ways In the
first place very large proportion Of parents
do not recognize the fact that children have
any natural bias toward very specialized en-
ployment. do not think they give the mat
ter any thought. They simply recognize the
essential difference between girls and boys;
but all boys are boys and all girls are girls
cut out Of common Jumps, with common
illnesses. The idea that boy, born on a
farm should be mentally unfit to do farm
work, does not enter the head Of average
fathers. OF course, IL frail in body, he is con.
signed to the law or the ministry. But itso
happens that an artist or mechanic or engineer
u often born where least looked for. It is
one Of the chief obligations Of the parental
relation to discover the stronger biases Of
children's minds, and encourage and aid
them set this down as one Of the chill
arens rights that must and win find empha-
sis in our better civilization M. Maurice,
II. D., in Globe Democrat.
: TEadesmen's Signs In Russia.
In Holland and belgium the names Of ths