Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-04-14
TnAEIY eERMos

I At~ TX -tAL44 Has lAAciA D--H d5hE1-
Chow do you account for the immoral
indulgences Of our yonths2'' The ques-
ton, though very simple, mas a CORE
spondingly simple answer which any
person upon second thought would be
able to ferret out. The answer: The
environment is wholly mpro pc -
What mean by environment is there
! are not the proper influences brought to
bear upon the minds of the young bows.
There is an utter lack of confidence be-
tween parents and children. They are
not taught the evil that MT st ultimately
accrue from the unceasins indulgence
IN Ubiquitous recreations which produce
chaos among themselves And above
all, soma of the parents of these youths
have disregarded in every detail the
laws o. morality in that they themselves
Wi |, indulge in recreatlons which have
not the least semblance of morality and
perhaps with an absolute knowledge
that their boys are also indulging in
the same recreations.
Now comes the question, "Wk0 is to
blame, who is responsible for the coz
rupt conditions of the morals of our
community" Shall we lay the blame
at the feet of the boys who visit these
places where they, through constant
indulgence, have come to believe that
playing poker, using tobocco, snuff and
such, are the paramount requisites of a
true, honest, upright and honorable
man, or are we to lay all the blame to
Mcpherson or persons who run and op-
era these places. No. Being, as it
is, throughly acquainted with existing
conditions and knowing whereof speak
to both questions | must answer in the
negative. While | do not by far totally
exonerate the parties who operate such
dens, yet there are those who cannot
be exonerated of any deeds of their
boys, and they are the parents. IL <
Is impossible for you parents to keep
your offspring from defamng the name
which you gave them, then wherein
does the power of restraint lay? You.
who have brought them into this world:
you, who have perhaps watched over
them day and night since they drew
their first breath; you and We who have
watched the bud Of youth blossom into
full blooming rose of manhood, only
to fade away into oblivion, and all be
cause CT the care essness of their par
ents. AS it Is, some of you parents,
being to busy with other cares, have
forgotten that your boys need careful
watching while they are yet tender in
years, if you would have them follow
strictly the principles of morality
There are no established schools where
IN are taught morality, honesty, honor,
and simplicity of life, except in the
home, and if this school contains not
the proper instructors or those who do
not care, what else is to be expected
from the boys of such household than
that they would be unable to cope with
the temptations which come their way,
and ere they are aware of the fact,
they are being dragged down the hard
heated path which leads to crime and
iniquity, and their downfall can in
variably be attributed to the lack of
proper instruction, or more likely, no
instruction whatever.
1t would not be necessary for us to
visit our larger cities to enable us to
secure the view of the interior and
workings of gambling den; we have
them here in our very midst, and while
it is not necessary to mention any
names, we know of their presence and
of them being in operation.
When we see the down fall of some
young man whom we have all reason to
believe has ability 70 become other than
a gambler, we are compelled to remark
what an inglorious enr ~ for what
might have been a brilliant career; but
it is an oft repeated story, gilded youth
like the rest of common humanity, when
it enters the arena against the spark
ling cup, witty companions, and fasci-
mating games of chance must finally
suceumb. 1t is time TO take a decided
stand against such immortality and in
decency, for time is feeting and the
day is not far OFT when it would be i'm
possible to drive the desires to indulge
IN these immoral recIeations and to
visit these dens, from the minds of the
young boys of our Community. Teach
the boy or young man what the ultimate
must be from visiting these places where
deception, lying and every immoral plot
has it's origin and birth. Make the home
so that any visitor can say, as one of
our greatest orators has said as he
stood within an ideal home, as he stood
within that home, that haven of age,
that sacred panoply of youth, and be-
held with emotion the simple virtues
nourished there, the soul of the great
orator rose in homage as he exclaimed,
''surely here in this home is lodged the
ark of the covenant and of my country
Provide suitable environment for your
boyns edhS lAtSHL ilto y |uI SolhuSiieC,
instruct them in the ways OF honesty
and uprightness and when they have
arrived at the age where their minds
become mature, they will not heed the
tempting invitations to enter places of
vice and immortality. but will spurn
them and follow the path which grows
brighter the more you travel
For fear that this is getting too long,
| remain,
ONLYA PEPPLE UPON THE BEACH.
Esofea, March 10th.