Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1907-06-07
Our Bows.

"What will become of our boys?" is
what an old friend asked me the
other day. "They are getting more
worthless every year and If they keep
going on at the present rate of speed
much longer they will all go to the
devil"
Nov hold on old chap is what
said. "Do you think the orldis getting
worse, and that our boys are more in
corrlgible than when you ard l were
boys? Don't you remember hew it used
10 be in the days of long ago when
there was barn-raising or a big pub
lie sale in the neighborhood?
"The living questson wasn't who
had the best education or who was the
finest penman, but who was the big
gest bully and could drink the most
whisky. Now if a young man gets
runk and fights and gets into all
kinds of scraps, he is ostraeized from
good society and the girls will give him
he mitten.
Do you remember when the whole
leighborhood turned out to raise Sam
my Holders new barn and how drunk
you became on that occasion, so that we
had to lead you home? OF course you
don't remember anything about it, you
were too drunk"
This was keen home thrust for the
old chap and it put the quietus upon
him.
This blowing by some of these old
fellows how good they were when they
were young is all hot air.
don't remember of any of these eX-
tra good boys growing up in the old
Texas settlement or Chewink Corner.
/ think they all died young
The vital question of the hour is
what will we teach our boys? We
ought all to teach them wholesome
lessons by precept and example. 1t
behooves us to study their nature and
learn to understand them.
If you have little boy on the farm
that will gather the yellow flowers
from the mullen stalks in the fence
corner, and put them in bottle and
hang the bottle up in a sunny place
to extract the oil by this process for
medical purpose, he ought to learn the
Doctor trade.
If another one can tell by the manure
pile if the horses get sufficient quantity
of oats in their feed he ought to become
a veterinary surgeon, or if he can sue
cessfulIy avoid parental chastizement
wher in all kinds of devilmeat by tell
ing little white lies he will make
good lawyer, if you have boy that
can get along peaceable on small
amount spending money, the preach
ing trade should be his calling, and if
you have one in the bunch that is too
weak and delicate fora farmer, and too
dumb for preacher, and too honest
for 8 lawyer, he ought TO learn the
printiEg trade.
These signs will nearly always hold
out one way or the other. l once knew
ola man that had only one son and he
wanted to get him started right. In
order to read his horoscope correctly he
locked him in an empty room into
which he had placed the family Bible,
a rambo apple and silver dollar. lie
made up his mind if he ate The apple
he would make farmer; if he read the
Bible he WIS born to become a preacher.
if he took tie silver dollar he would
become a banker or bank examiner.
The father left him alone in tae room
p short tim9 and then unlocked the
dc or and went in and he found his
boy sitting on the Bible, eating the
ample and had the silver dollar in his
pocket. And that boy turned out to be
a first class politician.