Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-11-05
HUGHES ON SPIRIT OF PLAY.
Governor Praises Playground System
and It's Work In Cities.

and Its Work In Cities.
Governor Charles Evans Hughes of
New York was the principal speaker
at recent session of the second an
nual congress of the Playground Asso-
cation of America, which has been
holding forth at the American Museum
of Natural History, in New York city.
He said the best way to train boy to
do right is not to lecture him into
tears about his wrongdoing, but to,
show him the delight of a noble and
happy boyhood
1.-The successful worker must have.
the spirit of play in his heart" said
Governor Hughes "and the successful
man is only a boy with a mans ex-
perience. He must have the zest, the
devotion, the spirit of comradeship,
the capacity of self forgetfulness, add
ed to the wholesome outlook of the life
of the boy, If he is to do a mans work
In the world. How are we in our
great congested population to make
possible the spirit of play, the oppor-
tunities which are essential to the de-
velopment of the normal manhoodf
l cannot aid you by expressing a sug.
gestion. but l can bid you godspeed
from the bottom of my heart.
I'VE are fighting with intelligence.
and, we hope, wisely, the great white
plague. But the dread disease of tu-
bercuosis must be successfully fought
by developing stamina. physical
strength. plenitude in all the physical
activities. We must nourish that
strength in childhood We do not
want simply hospitals and pavilions
and notices giving instructions to those
who are infrm. We want to save the
health of the country so that we may
develop Il strong, well nurtured com
munity.
IF we are thinking of nothing else
but the preservation of life and the
proper function of government in pro
tecting against the community expo
sure of the people to infection and the
inroads of disease, we would make 1t
one of our first objects to secure ade-
quate Fairgrounds for children in the
free air and give them opportunities Of
rescuing themselves from their over.
crowded abodes
I'VE want Fairgrounds to conserve
the morals OF the people. There may
be some who look upon human nature
as absolutely debased and yet recall 1t
as exhibiting here n very eXtraorlina-
ry illustration of spasmodic virtue, vir-
tue in spite of tendency. My opinion
Is that the average boy and girl are
good. l believe that every man and
woman would rather do right than
wrong.
And, knowing what makes for re-
duction of unnecessary temptation, it
| makes it easier to have wholesome liv-
ing that nourishes normal youth with a
fair chance for gratifying normal appe-
| tite. That is safeguard of the coun-
| try and of the institutions of our gov
ernmcnt
1--WE want Fairgrounds in order that
we may develop the sentiment of hon
or. In the playground the boy learns
without any suggest ton of rebellion
| against instruction and precept and
preaching. He learns 1t because he
does not want anybody else to cheat
| him, and he is down on the boy that
does not play fair Thereby he main
tains a standard which we must estab-
lish in the community and particularly
| in our great cities"
Governor Hughes said he did not be
lieve in making boys compete in sports
that ncccssitat2d training which they
lacked merely to encourage play. Rou-
! tine and schedules and a training
which smack of playground congress
! should lie lanished, he said, and the
! Fairgrounds should he for boys and
| girls who just want to play.