Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-13
interested in what is being done for

III Wlctt 10 DttllSo QOic ~.
the youngest young men.
Il remember some years ago hearing
DR.. Payne, then secretary of the Edu-
cational Society of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, say that the 10Th CEN
fury had been the most wonderful CEN
fury OF all the ages; that it had been
an age of iscoveries-discoveries of
physical, mechanical, moral and intel
lectual forces, and that the greatest
discovery OF the century had been
woman. That statement will bear an
alysis. Relatively speaking, she was
an unknown quantity. at the beginning
! of the century. He then expressed the
| hope that the goth century would dis
cover the boy.
1T may always have been so, but 1T
| is specially true. today, that the world
| is producing a higher type of woman
hood than of manhood In the towns
and cities where you gentlemen live,
you know more young women whom
YOU would welcome to your homes as
daughters-in-l law than young men
whom YOU would welcome as sons-in-
law. There are reasons why this is so,
but there is no excuse that it is so.
| you will bear with me that there
| is nothing in the world so we'll worth
looking after as the boy, and l think
YOU will agree with me that there is
no being in the world so much neglect
ed as the boy. There is little place.
scant room for him. He is welcome in
the home as a baby, and he is welcome
as a man, but there is scant welcome
| for him as Il boy. The attitude of the
world toward him is too nearly eX-
pressed by the mother who said to the
nurse:
"'Where is Johnny
HE is out in the yard
"'What is he doing?'
"I don't know
"Well, go and see, and tell him to
stop it,
so long as he wears curls there are
birthday parties for him, but not aft
erward. There are parties and teas
and seats at the table, when guests are
at the home, for girls, and l am glad
of it. / wish there were more for boys
We chaperon our girls, and not too
carefully, but we leave the boy to
choose his associates and his environ
ments, with much advice and with very
little guidance. Girls are naturally
winsome, gentle, companionable, and
they win their way, too, and are well
come in all homes, but I do not know
of many homes where boys are invited.
About the only door that swings with
sure welcome to the boy, about the
| only chair that is showed near the fire
especially for the boy, about the only
place where he is sure of welcome is
where you do not desire him to go.
1T is about the hardest thing in the
world to get hold of a boy-to get a
sure grip on him. I remember a faith
or whom I once knew, who had spent
most of his life in being a companion
! for his son. He went skating with
him. He went everywhere with him.
| They were always together. They
| were companions. The old man never
amounted to much himself, but his
boy did. The product justified the ex-
pense Most of you gentlemen are
/ fathers. and think you viii agree with
me that it is pretty hard to win the
companionship of your boy.
You think you know something
about him. Perhaps you do, and per-
haps that is very little. Very likely he
knows more about you than you do
about him. Yet that boy is hungry for
comoanionship, and he will have it,
He wants the companiorship of boys.
Nothing will take it's place. There is
no substitute. AS a rule, l think you
will agree with me that boys-I am not
speaking now of young interpreter
boys schools. If permitted to they will
quit the public school. if given moth
ing but young girls as teachers. They
may remain under the tuition of ma
tronly women, but not under the tut
ton of girls. 1t isn't question who
is the best teacher. 1t is a question
of companionship.
Il have done more or less Sunday