The Delta independent., 1907-05-10
TWO TEACHERS TALK.
BY PHRONSIE.
CHAPTER ONE.

Miss Hortensia Battles laid the last of
a set of Latin papers on the pile of those
already corrected. helped herself to q
bit of fudge, and leaning back in her
chair, looked across the table, and four
sets of English exercises, at her friend
Sophronia Ladd.
my DEAR" she said, honestly, now
that you are in the privacy of our own
room land the transom is shut don't
you think Colorado children are, as
they themselves would put it. the
worst ever?' Now don't wrinkle up
your forehead and look at that pile of
papers still to be corrected. You have
got to stop long enough to give me
civil answer, anyway!
Sophronia laughed, rubbed her tired
brows ruefully and reached for the
plate of fudge, before she answered
slowly.
mo, honestly Hortensia. don't.
Hortensia threw herself back in her
chair with a gesture of impatience.
"Oh well." she said, Il might have
known! What particular illusion is die
tating the cut of your cloak of charity
just now? Is Jim Baxter destined to
be president of these United States be-
cause You have just discovered that he
was born in log cabin; and is Eva
Morse the ten thousandth cousin of the
g, eat INVENTOR
ITO answer you in kind" said So
phronia lightly. Are all YOUR young
charges imps of evil, because John
Drew makes faces; and are there NO
ladies' in this town because Maggie
Kent said HER mother said that school
teachers were. nothing but skinny
old-maids anyhow The sort of thing
that makes you. Hortensia, think Colo
RADIO children the worst ever is not
by any means confined to school chill
dren, or to school children in Colorado
either: tho III admit it is especially
noticeable here, for the reason that
everybody is more out-spoken in the
West than they are in the East"
Hand me that letter OH my desk,
Hortensia, and I'll read you something
that will convince you that even the
far East suffers from careless and ir-
reverent youth, It's letter from my
old Latin professor at " college.
She has been speaking of some changes
in the rules there. which the restless
ness of the students under the old code
seemed to make necessary; and she
goes on to say
The fact is that some twenty years
ago the American parent adopted the
view that the best way to bring up
children is not to bring them up at all.
but to leave them from earliest infancy
to their own judgment and impulses,
and to obey all their behests. Hence
we have now in our colleges a set of
young men and women who have never
been subjected to any control, from
their birth, and have scarcely even re-
ceived any advice or instruction as to
conduct. And it is useless for US, the
college authorities" (?) to try to con
troll them. 1t is too late. even try
to avoid expressing an opinion in their
presence, because when do they look
at me in blank amazement, as much as
to say, Who is this strange being who
seems to fancy that age and experience
can give youth valuable counsel or cor
rect its Judgment" And their position
is perfectly logical. If their judgment
is not the soundest, why have their
parents left them to its guidance?
Last summer I saw young girl Of
fifteen in company of older persons,
calmly seat herself in the midst, in the
largest chair in the room and proceed
to give us the benefit of her views on
things in general. BY and by she pro
duced some powders and began to take
them for headache which might nat
urally result from some of the dissipa-
tions which she had been describing
saying, Papa does not like to have me
take these powders. He thinks they
are very bad for me. At this, I sum-
moned courage to say, If your father
does not wish you to take the medicine.
why does he permit you to do so?
You should have seen the uncompre-
hending look upon her face! The idea
that an old father was u person who
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