Mexico weekly ledger., 1908-08-20

rlAtBruunos Ana zheif Bene18
In sreosut address before The Moth
ers Club q Denver Oolnrado JAM
Addamk the famous Hull Hous.
vcrker, Of Chicago spoke upon play
grounds and their benehR
Il would Be well for tboss 10 MexicI
Eho have fr0sned upon The loca.
Fairgrounds through ingonnce t
rssda pzTtof Der address published
below and proEt thereby.
Although MEXICO ka "wee Bit
smaller than chicago Mis- Ad1Ami
points apply equally as well here.
Nov let Us consider the results
the value Of Fairgrounds a. ChicagoS
experience has shown. Records have
been compiled By the Juvenile court Of
juvenile delinquenoe and the effect
the Fairgrounds have had upon Il. The
figures have not ali been compiled,
but asurvey Of them shows that de.
lInquency has greatly decreased since
these recreation centers were estab.
lished. The juvenile officers are fore.
most in encouraging. them l know
Of officers who advise the parents Of an
unruly boy to move into a district
where there is q playground.
Fairgrounds teach self-government.
The boys VINO have their gangs always
choose the most able boy as their lead
er and under his guidance cd ust their
disputes. Who talks Of the country
boy being more able than the city
boyy He Is more able because be has
been taught to play unrestricted, to
become indiyidualistic, TO become 10.
itiatiye. We have no right TO pass
our child labor laws 50 r~estrictively
and not provide other means to teach
boys and girls TO use their muscles as
they would IN normal industry. The
school ought to have more manual
work, TO have more In It's courses 10
hold growing boys. 1t ought to have
associated with II companlonship.
The Rirl has benefited as much as
the boy from the playground. How
she may be protected from pitfalls is
the problem we have to solve. Once
8 young man brought to me bis Is.
year-old sister. He said he did not
know what TO do with her. She didn't
want TO stay at home because she said
it was stufy. He took her to lectures,
to missions and, In short, had Civ
en- her the influence Of the best Chris
tian people, and yet she was not Isatls-
fed. His use Of that phrase, "the
best Christian people, reminded me
OF the picture l used TO see in old cat
egory illustrated Of early Christian
ity.
"They made Christianity synon-
onous with gayetY and gladness. II
we have made our cities 50 forelorn, so
dull that our young people are rest
less and unsatished for pleasure we
have certainly failed in the receipts
of early Christianity. III we give our
boys and girls group life in school,
group life in onlce or factory, we
must give them group life in recrea-
ton.
II we do not want our boys 10 con-
tinus 70 gamble in stufy alleys, 10
test doct0Fed drinks, to steal junk, we
must give them something that real
~ and truly appeals them. Every boy
wznts 10 think that be can DO some
thing better than the other fellow.
That Is 3 natural desire for indiv-
6ualisu and the moment that desire
enters The boys or girls mind be or
sne has become inspired. Joseph Lee,
who studied The boy and girl in play,
Cnce said thai the boy without q play.
gro1nd was the father 10 the boy with
Szt 8 100. Totell . boy that be must
not play On street corners, TO check
ht& animal spirits, is to make him
stAnd still, tolose the Impulse 70 shine
among his fellows. When he enters
tie factory or store be hnos be can
not compete against the boy who en-
ioyed play"