The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-10-22
SAM JONES ON CHIIDREN

|
Talk on The Dangers OF the Pre-.
sent Day.
Sam Jones in Atlanta Journal.
| Civilization as history show it Is
like road in the hill country, up and
down, born In poverty and Ignorance.
and dying In uilluence and peasure
thus tho history Of the past is but tho
| history OF the rise and fall of nations.
However, from the high tide of each
n ,tion something has been preserved
t. add to our permanent progress. The
| question often arises, will our magni-
ii1cnt civilization go on to perfection
ar rot Vt the top, like Other civiliza-
ons. The hope Of u country is in her
succeeding generations. Tho boys and
girls OF today are the mon and women
OF Q next generation. w , may read
/ a GU. children the future Of our nation.
AS my children begin to take position
as citizens, this question becomes moro
Interesting to mo.
When [ begin at New Orleans on
the gulf, J. find the steps Of the foreign
part OF the city crowded with French
and Italian children, as distinctly
foreign in looks, language, and habits,
as II born in Franco and Italy. When
come up into the cities and towns OF
Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi,
quarters jammcd together and as full
OF negro children as cheese is of
skipprrS and when | find tho old farm
residences Of ante -bellum days deserted
by tho whites, who have moved into
the towns and cities, and literally full
| OF negro children, all of whom are
growing up almost Us ignorant as If in
| the heart OF Africa when | 20 to the
northern and eastern cities, and find
| ,,n lad
made up OF foreign population, with
foreign languages and habits, and
almost every homo crowded with chill
drcn when add to this fact that the
saloon gets its heaviest patronage from
these classes and consequently these
children arc born into the world part
drunkards by horcdity; and when |
add the other fact that these children
are without homes, with no religious
training, turned loose in streets and
> alleys ai acavengers Of all tho impure
things about them, drinking, stealing,
CANT bling and lewuness. on every hand,
, confess The picture ls not enCOurag.
ing to me.
; In the face of this picture Is another
fnct, that in tho homes OF the moro
i cultured Americans there arc few
children to be found, and to what is
;; called high society, child bearing Is
becoming reproach, and children are
an accidcnt ana " nuisance, guarded
, against by Internal medical skill. [
ask you as a thoughtful citizen to get
into your buggy, and drive down the
back streets, and count tho children
Then look forward 20 years and count
citizons and voters. But as dark as
this picture looks, am candid to say
have as much hope in tho lower classes
as have in what is called the highest
~ Bf i.,t,,
| hope in either. My hope is in the
middle class. So far as making useful
citizens Is concerned, | had about rs
soon risk the ignorance and neglect of
the slums rs the card table, wine sup
per, dance and theatre OF the upper
| class.
The United States is taking some
interest in stock raising and in amuse-
ments. We are raising we'll bred
horses, cows, hogs and dogs. We have
Journals on horse breeding, journals
on dog breeding, and on cattle breed
ing. | think it would be we'll to have
some more good literature on the
breeding OF children. | do not think
our ancestors came from the monkey,
but do think we had better block up
the road that leads to tho razorback hog.
| The country seems to be headed that
| way.
| notice from the papers that all our
schools and colleges are fuller this
year than usual. This is u good ind ict.-
tion, but the boys and girls are located
in college boarding houses and private
families, away from the kind and salu-
tnry influences Of tho mother. The
bad our children got away from home
AT school, mixed with the good they
got, makes in many cases a doubtful
compound. The higher colleges are
going TO seed" in amusement "clubs"
and teams" and secret societies.
College yclls" are becoming more
prominent than college honors. The
average college boy who can wear
toOthpick Shoes, part his hair in tho
head, bolong to ~ team and give the
college "yell," seems to be satisfied
with himself provided his daddy foots
the bills. In many cases the daddy
had better foot the boy. Thank God
there are many schools where girls and
boys may secure the very best training
OF head and heart. 1t seems that
every fad and new invention is bidding
for our boys and girls. The ballroom
Moonlight balls aud moonlight bicycIe
parties bid for our purity. Sunday
bicycle xcursi"ns, str cot cars, parks
Iakc5 and EaviiOns bid for our Sunday
school boys and girls. Social clubs.
dances and cards take our boys from
home at night. The various tricks of
trade arc bidding for the honesty of our
boys, the cigarette, the saloon, the
card table, the bicycle clubs and ball
teams bid for their health and morals,
and the boy who runs the gauntlet to-
day and makes a clean, honest business
or professional man Is the rare excep-
ton. The hope of the country lies In
tn" lew homes, where, by the family
altar and proper restrictions aud care,
tne boys and girls are raised for God,
; life.
| ------------sEzi-. <naoa-----
An OratOrical contest will take
place in Nam nninl nnn Gla...l.> G.l