Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-08-08


on such grounds. The confusion
comes OF supposing that every indi.
vidual is either good or bad, or once
bad is always so, and once good must
SC remain-instead Of the truth that
ali good people have some faults, and
even very bad people have some good
in them; or OF supposing that every
individual through life lives in one
ard the same moral groove. A boy
may be a proper subject for the peni.
Tertiary, II not the asylum. and the
rounded life of the same individual be
III to canonize; or the reverse may be
the case. For example, take the out.
landish behavior of some children of
good people. The boys are rowdies,
bandits and thieves; they are abusive
TO everybody at times and wholly un.
manageable; into all manner of mis-.
chief, and always aping the boys that
are most worthless and reckless. They
are barbarians and show how most of
us have not advanced much. Girls
sometimes in, their sphere and circle
exhibit traits that prove they are the
same race as boys. Let any such
children happen to carry these traits
irto adult life. and they are socially
ruined. That they do not usually car.
ny them through -..e is because II is
part of the evolution of their natures,
their hereditary tendency. to change
with each half decade up to full adult
responsibility, and they mostly arrive
4
impulses in control Of them that make
decent members of the community.
People often wonder how Ger.
tain inCorrig.Jle boy could be born to
such superbly balanced parents as he
has: and declare that there must be
some hitch in the heredity, or that this
Is case wnere heredity failed to
work. Neither is the case. There is
sevcnty-fiye rer cent. OF certainty that
his parents. one or both OF them, pass.
&C through the identical moral phase
III his time OF life. and some day his
neighbors may wonder how so exem.
parry citizen as he will become could
ever have such hoodlums OF boys as
his sons, in spite OF their mother, will
Perhaps be. And do you think any
amount OF training would change this
order OF things and make the fif.
tCenth.year trait appear at the tenth?
| Did you ever see training avail In
such cases? True II Is that, the boys
| improve while the training Is going
on. but we ought to be fair to the cvo.
lutionary changes. and not attribute
TIER results to the drill.
1T is the birth OF wholesome self.
consciousness, and the passing out Of
tie period of carelessness and rebel.
lien against refinement into one or nor.
nal self.respect. that produces the
change in most of these boys-it Is the
march Of time more than any training
as such. that is the determining influ.
ence. would not underrate or dis.
credit training of a whole some sort
for any child. But training to be
wholesome must be both necessary
and useful; and much of that bestowed
on unbecoming and hayward children
Is useless.-lt is useless to nag child
rem to keep their clothes clean, when
a period of life Is coming soon that
will make them desire to do this.
During the clown period your boy
may not keep his room in order, nor
turn down the bed-clothes when he
gets up in the morning. nor behave
himself In polite manner in company
or at table.-But what is the use OF
wasting all your energy over these
things when he will normally evolve
himself ont of his loutishness and
that quickly as the years fly by"
The old theology and the old train
ing-both lacking in common-sense
and sympathy. Rigid, unreasonable
and often perniclou9. God is unre-
lenting, Furnishes even the ignorant
with eternal suffering Yet he is a
just God. and fathers must pattern
after him. So the poor boys catch II.
And the mednest parent could take n
good deal Of credit to himself In the
community for the way he brought up
his children Cfor the way he "whaled'
them when he felt like indulging in
that parental privilege. He had force
but not necessarily force OF character.
Now force OF character is rather a
latent quality, reserve power which
preserves character from unusual as
saults; enables II to withstand the
tests that are applied to II in an or
binary course OF life. and overcomes
Its trying emergency. But gruffness
asperity, absence OF polish, want OF
, courtesy, gentleness. love. charity, tol.
erance; the ignorance OF one who
does not understand the deeper forces
OF human nature, the superficial judg,
ments OF the dogmatic. the quick, ill.,
considered punishments of impatient
fathers, the energetic, spark-like acts
peculiar to n temperament. are not tC
, be credited to strength OF character
\ They are the reverse; evidences Of
+. weakness. A father or mother who
b. spanks a child every day for some fan,
cied wrong-doing, may be very pool
parent; a person OF action no doubt
, but one Of impulsive and unreposefu
temperament Force OF character
|. reaches throughout lifetime ant
Z exerts its influence in quite diffusive