St. Paul daily globe., 1896-04-06
MISTAKEN KINDNESS
Don't Allow the Youngsters to Waste
Their Pennies for Candy.


Nothing more thoroughly delights
the heart of child than the gift of
our smallest piece of national money,
but it usually burns a very large hole
in the pocket until it is spent for some
1ndigestible morsel to torture the deli
cate little stomach
The old proverb, Penny wise, pound
FOOLISH" should be made to read, "Pen-
ny foolish, pound foolish" in these days
when every child, no matter in what
walk Of life, has his constant supply
of pennies to do with what he will.
Living in large city and having the
opportunity of watching these little
tots In the various classes of society.
we know whereof we speak, and sum-
mer sojournings have led us to believe
that the unwise giving of pennies to
the little folks is as general among the
country people as those Of the city.
and the habit of spending them for
candy is the same.
Mother, take notice! Give Johnny a,
penny for some little service he has
performed for you. How quickly will
he scamper to the nearest place where
candy is obtatnable, and how rapidly
Will he devour the bit Of terra alba
adulterated with sugar and decorated
with paint that he obtains with his
legal tender" There may be model
children who will not buy candy when
they have pennies, but they are few
and far between.
Children Of intelligent parents are
often forbidden many nutritious arti-
cles of diet, such as butter and various
meats, for some fancied cause but who
are alioWed pennies without limit, and
are not restricted upon the spending of
the same; and it is always candy. can
dy candy that they buy, to the end of
the chapter We see the doctors car
rage before the various doors: we see
oecayed teeth in the little mouths
teeth that should be white and sound
until they drop out to make room for
the Dig new ones. What is worse, we
see SO much money thoughtlessly vast
ed, and the bad habit of careless snend-
ing encouraged. 1t is not only among
those who can spare it that the money
Is thus thrown away, for in the citv
no neighborhood is so Door but that
the candy store is there, and in rags
and dirt the children flock with the
pennies, the value Of which no one
teaches them, and which are robbery
to the household comfort
In a recent "festivaI' two small sna-
cimens Of boyhood took their hoard of
money which they had collected for the
occasion. They could easily have
CHOSEN some game or toy that would
nave afforded them amusement for a
long time, but their treasured pennies.
amounting to about 25 cents each.
quickly disappeared for candy. and
they brought nothing home with them
put bad taste in their mouths and
the cheerful possibility of a. wakefuI
night. misguided relative gave one
OF them 20 cents to angle in the manu-
factured fish pond for himself and
the small boy. Small boy returned
with a tin match safe.
What did you do with the othen ten
eents? the misguided relative in
ooh, I only fished for you; 1 spent
my ten cents for candy" replied the
young schemer.
Ihe proper value of money is an i'm
portant part Of child's education, and
is subject to which the attention of
mothers Is very seldom called. To
hoard for its own sake, for mere mon
ey-gettng, is not the proper motive.
put to save the little sums that are
earned or received as gifts that some
desired object may be purchased. will
teach not only thrift and self-deniaI.
put the habit of working with an end
IN view, and make living not only
mere matter of daily pleasure, but of
useful endeavor. 1t is a good plan to
nave small bank for the little ones
winch they cannot open, and encourage
them to collect all their pennies in this
until certain time, when the bank
Is to be opened, the money counted and
some greatly desired object purchased.