The Topeka state journal., 1908-03-05
FRON OTHER PENS
BOYS AND PADDLES,

If boys must be hogged, the paddle
seems to be an almost divinely appoint
ed implement to do it with. That area
Of the body which it must aptly fits is
not very susceptible to mortal wounds !;
it has merely a sufficiency of nerves to
unlock penitentfal tears by their ting
ling when temperately f1agellated; and
the bones which it contains are so
abundantly swathed about with mus
cular tissue that there is no danger of
breaking them. It is fashionable in
these degenerate days to deny the hand
Of Providence in arranging the affairs
of the world; but If there Is one piece
Of evidence more convincing than an
other that the Almighty actually did
fit this and that together and adapt
one thing to another in our mundane
sphere, 1t is the perfect adaptation of
this portion OF a boys body to re-
ceive impulsive stimulation from a pad
die.
But must boys be fogged? What is
the ultimate effect Of padding upon the
boy himself and upon the teacher, upon
padd1er and paddlee, to borrow q legal
terminology? In the opinion Of the
Oregonian, the paddle is distinctly and
unequivocally a means Of grace. 1t
edifies not only the physical and intel
lectual parts of the boy, but also his
soul. Many an unruly youth. apparent
Iy foredoomed to perdition and pre-
destinated to wrath, has been plucked
d
generative padding. The world is full
of men of light and leading whom
Satan thought he had bought and paid
for in their early youth, but who were
redeemed and washed Of their sins by
a good, sound whipping. Marvellous are
the virtues of the paddle; salutary is
the smart thereof, and the parent who
rails against it is not wise.-Portland
Oregonian.
d A IT
While one school of politics, not con-
fined to either party, teaches that the
| octopus chase is just begun, the coun-
| try is admonished by practical men that
| 1t is imperative that $4,000, 600 be
raised by the railroads now In operation
| for improvements, for repairs, for ter
ninaIs and for additional rolling stock.
| In this estimate is no provision for ex-
| tensions, though 1t is purposed to ex-
| pend a large percentage of the stupen-
dous sum for double trackage.
A railroad Is but an instrument OF
| commerce, just as plow is a utens1!
| Of agriculture or a saw or adz TOOL OF
architecture. Railroads are tndispensa-
| BILE to our civilization. We cannot get
| along without them, and the better the
road the better 1t is for every patron OF
| the road, whether he be producer or
| consumer. and most men are both Not
| to allow a railroad to earn enough to
improve its physical condltion artei
paying fixed charges is as foolish and
as wasteful as to withhold fertilizer
| from the field or deny adequate cultiva-
| ton to the crop.
The best railroad in the United
| States is now spending millions In the
| Improvement of its physical properties
| and that too when freight rates are
| lower than in any other country In the
world. Many of our railroads are daily
| impaired for lack Of funds with which
/, to mend and darn tracks, bridges ano
rolling stock. But the octopus chasers
| cry out against adequate rates to pay
| interest on bonds and beggarly divf-
! dends on stocks, and pronounce as IN
| iquity any surplus that is boarded fo1
improvements It is time for the PUBIC
to look on a railroad as business en-
terprise and not as an issue In politics
l-Washfnkton Post