The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-08-29

tive Land.
State Motto-"Be Strong and Of Good Cour
age" ;,, r,.o,uou, ~=.,.a p,nc,te oreanize
Pledse-
God helping me. I promise not to buy
drink, sell or give
Intoxicating liquors while live;
| From bad companions I'll refrain
And never take Gods name IN vain.
What Lies Back Of Corporal Punishment.
Irving, Dear-Come home at once.
Won't whip. Lovingly, Mama.-Press
Dispatch.
There is only one country in
which this advertisement could
have appeared, and that is
America. There is only one per
iod of our history when a moth
er would seek to quiet the fears
of her runaway boy in this man
ner, and that is the present. A
widespread revulsion of senti-
ment has taken place respect
ing the rod which once hung be-
hind every kitchen door. The
entire setting of life has chang
ed since pioneer days. So rough
and ready was the life in the
cabin in the clearing, so tough
ened was the pioneer boys
frame, so modest his temper, per-
haps so slow his wits, that he
submitted to corporal punish
ment as a matter of course.
But the twentieth century; ah,
that is a different story! He
lives in the city, wears knee
pants, carries a watch, visits the
barber, and is not averse to
gloves and a stiff collar. What
his muscles lack in girth his
nerves make up in activity, dane
ing in tune with his busy brain.
To apply the rod in the old
fashioned, wholesome manner to
such an up-to-date creature,
would be like belaboring a Ken
tucky t thoroughbred with a
"black snake" whip. And the
attitude of.parent has shifted, if
possible, still more. We now see
in the light Of child study and
psychology that in times past
the rod was often misapplied
and that temper in the parent is
quite as serious a factor as cul-
pability in the child. Indeed, the
pendulum has now swung far to
the opposite extreme and many
seriously question whether a
child should under any circum-
stances receive corporal punish
ment. Even now our people are
divided into two opposing camps
on the question.
One class says: Away with all
corporal punishment! way
with enforced obedience and the
show Of authority of any kind!
The child has ''rights, "''person-
al liberty" and an individual
ity" Of his own too sacred for
even father or mother to invade.
Entice the child. use tact and
sweet-meats, but compel obed-
ience-never! Thus has that
which was once deemed a duty
become little short of a crime.
The Christening rod has become
a meaningless stick. All sorts
Of theorizers, including college
professors and lecturers, have
made the discovery that the av-
erage child is naturally angelic,
and if only you pull the right
stringat the proper moment, and
if only you stroke the fur the
right way, it will demonstrate
it's heavenly origin. And it is
precisely those parents who be-
lieve in softness and fnesse in
raising their children, who find
most fault with the eXactions Of
teachers and curfew law.
The fact is that at bottom the
modern boy has just as much Of
the sold ADAM in him as the
toughest lad of pioneer days.
Fine feathers do not make fine
birds. The dometic anarchy and
laxity Of the present day endan-
ger the very existence Of the re-
public. Back of the question of
corporal punishment lies the
whole outlook of life and it's in
terpretatioa in terms of charac-
ter and goodness. We are com.
ing to see that this split upon
corporal punishment arises from
two radically different views Of
life, the one reverent, far-seeing,
deep. going Christian; the other
hippant, shallow, selfish, world
|ly, in a word representing what
may be termed ''yelloW" child
nurture.
I charge yellow child culture
with being content with fine
spun theories instead Of probing
the child's nature in the light Of
moral and spiritual ideals. I
charge yellow child nurture with
first permitting the child to de.
velop abnormal nervous condi-
ditions and great wilfulness and
then weakly vacating the field
by claiming that the child is too