The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-04-22
THE AMERICAN CHILD.
"kids'' in Our Congress and in
RrS< SsI, ~

"Kids'' in Our Congress and In the
British House of Commons.
Kansas City Star: A Washington CORE
spondent in speaking of the differences
in the ways of the British house of COM
mons and the American house of repre-
sentatives, notes that in the house of COM
mons children are neither seen nor heard,
while in our own house of representatives
it Is not uncommon for a member to
bring his little boy or girl upon the floor.
One little fellow Of six or seven years
of age, this writer goes on to say, was
accustomed to visit the recent congress
quite frequently, and found the great hall
day he found his way to the neighborhooE
of the speakers chair, and the big man
who presided over the deliberations of the.
house was radiant with smiles as he fon-
died and chatted with this young person,
who finally rushed away to the house
lobby to play with the telephone, calling
up his friends at several hotels. 1.-THE
American mind and the American heart"
says this writer, "are very easily domi-
mated by a child"
This is all true, and this is one of the
reasons why the American child-boy or
girls one of the most independent and
intelligent of human beings. The young
American is appreciated, and is not, as
rule, snubbed for youthfulness, nor
made to feel a sense of shame or guilt
for not being born earlier. Thus the
American boy and girl of average condi-
tons, lacks the shyness of sullen and
reticent stupidity to be-found in children
of the same age elsewhere. The Amer
lean man usually speaks to boy as if
he were a man, and receives mans re-
ply. The characteristic OF youthful Amer
leans is self possession, which is one of
the requisites of good breeding.
The general principles of the Declara-
ton OF Independence are acquired by
American children, rather than instilled
into them That all men are equal in
political sense is a matter with them of
observation. American children hear no
man called lord and so call 10 man such.
They hear nothing about being respect
full to their superiors, or being content in
the state or condition where God has been
pleased to place them, and so servile rev.
erence for anything that walks about on
two feet is not a dis tinSuiShing character
istic of American children
| The 81 eat mass Of American boys and
| girls are travellers By the time they
| reach the age of ten or twelve they have
taken extensive, Journeys within the linn
it's of their own country, and perhaps of
foreign lands. They acquire familiarity
| with the ways of travel. The youth of
five who observed that in travelling be
generally took a sleeper" wa a specimen
of common type.
The American child is the production Of
the institutions of his country. He is no
villager. He is the youthful citizen Of a
great and wide country. The first he
hears Of that country is its immense ex-
tent, and he soon learns the fact by
travelling about it. Quite early he hears
that his father and himself are the equals
of any two male persons they may meet;
that they are not required to give more
than half the road to anybody, or to pull
their caps or and 'lowly bow to any,
thing born OF woman. There is probably
no other country where SO many boys are
on terms OF friendship with men or girls
with women as in the United States The
American learns in his earliest years to
occupy his place as a sovereign citizen in
a free country. Youth Is a prelude to
manhood and its duties and responsibilf-
ties are prepared for beforehand.