The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-12
BOYS AND THE
SWEARING HABIT
A Correspondent Inveighs
AGAINST the Perniei0us
Practise.

Editor Advertiser: I want to say
word OF two about swearing, which
practice, [ regret to say, is far more
prevalent among the boys here than
one would suppose.
This practice, if confined TO the lower
classes, were bad enough, but when
we find boys addicted to this habit who
have every advantage of birth, educa-
ton and good environment, to say
nothing of homes of culture and re-
fnement, it is very much worse.
Now L do not want it understood
that [ am considering this habit from
a religious, or even from a moral point
but simply from manly point of view;
and | would hope that every boy would
want to appear manly. And L want to
say that though some great men have
been in the habit OF using this KIND
Of language, on great occasions, there
is nothing manly about it. Nor do l
want to see boys act like sissles; on
the contrary | like above all things to
see them display courage, even daring,
and to be lovers of all kinds of manly
sports. Indeed any boy that belongs
to a baseball, or a football team, or can
do anything on a surfboard, or in a
surf canoe, or Is an expert in any other
game, we consider that he is d boy to
be praised and admired. But il does
not matter how clever or expert boy
may be if he have this habit of swear
ing our admiration is not proof against
that. Indeed we do not consider that
any talent is bright enough, or any
achievement great enough to cover up
this defect. For instance, | met a
young man the other day. He was
fine, handsome, noble looking young fell
low, a perfect specimen of young man
hood. And besides this he is past
master in all kinds of sports; but sad
to say, he had this bad habit of swear
ing, and which spoiled everything. And
what is much worse, he, and such as
he, are setting bad example for the
boys who are only TOO quick to follow
the example OF any one whom they
admire. Now | want to say again that
there is nothing manly in swearing, or
in using still more Objectionable IAN
guage; but much that is low and de-
basing, and what is likely to exert a
bad influence over them all their lives;
nor can any good whatever come
from it. In fact, so common is this
swearing habit booming that it is diff
cult to prevent even the youngest chill
dren from hearing it. And only the
other day little girl that / know cleo
trifed her mother and friends by ask
ing what a d-n fool meant. And L
knew another little boy, or rather a
baby, that astonisiled his father by
saying d-n, and which was almost the
first word he ever used.
A friend of mine says that the
fathers of these boys are to blame tor
this, the fathers being SO busy chasing
the elusive dollar that they have no
time to rule their boys; in fact it is not
uncommon, he says, to see the boys
Fuling them! He also says that these
very advantages of high living, leisure,
ETC., IN creating energy has tendency
to make the boys bat; unless, indeed,
they are encouraged to use up this SUI.
plus energy in healthy, manly sports.
But / think it is partly because we do
not know their chief or principal char
acteristies, or cannot read the charac-
tiers of the boys. If we could do this
we could often warn them to beware
of their besetting sins. For instance,
if we could say to boy, Ny boy,
nature has been unkind to you in this,
or that particular, and you will have to
guard against that or this thing, as the
case might be, would he not be in a
better position to overcome that par
ticular failing2
Again suppose we were to say to a
boy, My boy, nature has been kind to
you for she has designed that you
should be very king among men;
| would he not most likely try to live up
to that reputationF Again, if it were
shown to him that he was born to rule
men; would he be likely to remain in
subordinate positions Would not this
knowledge excite his ambition, and
spur him on to greater effortss Again,
If our teachers could read character,
what a lot of trouble and worry it
| would save them For instance, they
would then know why boy can or
cannot do certain studies, and they
would have more patience with them
in those studies in which they SO often
| fail.
Even physicians, when a case is diff
| fcult 30 diagnose, would find knowl-
| edge of this art useful. Indeed in GER
tain diseases, it gives undeniable and
unerring proof.
The old saying that the proper study
of mankind is man, were, it seems to
us, of more use if it read, the proper
/ study of mankind is boy.
Very truly,
| GEO. OSBORNE.
|