Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-09
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 ''PiSe Country" twas far frrAs a 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 whltewashed log house in that section. Paxton rode up, and, seeing his rival sitting straddle of log Ill front of his mansion eating peaches, he straddled the log on the other side of the basket and joined in. "How do, stranger! lite in and welcomer' was, of course, the southern style of greeting. A conversation sprung up easily about weather, crops and the l1edntry in general. That's a fine lot ot hogs over there," said Paxton "Fine, stran- ger! You might say it; fine as this kedn- try holds" "How many mout there be!" ''There mOut be sixty there, stranger, diu nary one that isn't roaster."
 COUNTING HIS PROGENY.
 Just then a little chap ran up and seized pouch. II say," said Paxton, "be that chil- der yoursr' 'Yes, stranger, it be-" And how many mout you be after havlngE ''How many? How many children? 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 dlth- cult, he changed the plan and did the count ing himself while she did the names. It turned out that there were sixteen. NOW was Paxton's chance. "An unnaterally fine lot of 'em, too,' he said; but, stranger, it seems to me there's something wrong about it." "What's that(' cried the old boss. ''Why, when I axed you how many hogs you had you told me right off sixty-threc; but when I axed you how many chllder 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" II swan to Jericho, stranger eff that ain't square hit; and l hold you must be the Sunday school man. Give us your han. Go ahead; open next Sunday, and my Sal and her sixteen will all be there sure"
 I suppose if this story were told to be ap- piled to the average citizen of an average or SF6u CuIUulCu COL1Auulllg u "OulA bS AS- 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 i'll the first" It will hardly bear a challenge that there is no live thing about the novels of the land that secures so little directive culture a 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 first Segins to observe that most wise teach CTS are needed. I live in hopes that before long a 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 "a little moro care is given your hogs than your children
 
 seems. If man owns hog he intends to make the most of it. I 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 a very large proportion of parents 1 do not recognize the fact that children have | any natural bias toward very specialized en- ployment. I do not think they give the mat | ter any thought They simply recognize the l 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 a boy, born on a | farm should be mentally unfit to do farm work, does not enter the head of average | fathers Of course, if frail in body, be is con- signed to the law or the ministry. But it so happens that an artist or mechanic or engineer | is 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. I set this down as one of the chil- l dren's rights that must and will find empha- sis In our better civilization.-M Maurice, M, D., in Globe-Democrat.
 | Tradesmen's Signs in Russia.