Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-09-28
w. G. r. u COLUM ~
PAPER BY MRS. MARTHA CLARK
OF NEWPORT.
TRAINING CHILDREN FOR CHRIS
TAN CITIZENSHIP.

what the world does for the child OF
TODAY. Yesterdays children will soon
be in the grave: The children Of today
will he the world tomorrow" The
citiz of tomorrow, then, are in our
homes today. What are we going to
do with them? How can we best
train them that they may be prepared
| for the duties and responsibilities
which await them? The home, the
school and the church Iuust unite their
efforts to bring about the best results
The home affords the best oppor-
tunitv for this training because here
the character of the child ls largely
! formed. The first few years of a
| child's life are the foundation on
wbiC b rests the building of later
years. If during those years he Is
! taught TO love God, obey his parents
and to be considerate OF the rights OF
others. especially Of those weaker
| than himself, it will he comparative
w easy to continue the training when
will develop him into Christian cltl-
zen The greater part or the nrsC
! four years Of the child's HE are spenF
| in close companiOnship with tie
mother and it is during those years, [
| believe. that Just what that child Is to
| Dt', Is Ut
right and wrong, of truth and hon
tv are formed by watching mother
! and listening to conversation carried
on between her and those with whom
! she comes in contact. A mother's
words count for very little il she can
not herself live up to their teaching.
For instance. Of what value is IL for
mother to tell her child not to beself-'
ish when she thinks Of no ones COM
fort or pleasure but her own?
Too little ia said Of fathers part
in the training of child. There mas
peen so much's said about mother and
her influence and training that the
poor father begins 10 think his only
share ia this life partnership ls to
furnish a certain number of dollars
per week, but this should not be 81.
The ideal home is where father ana
mother are agreed as to the great es-
sentials of life and together strive to
guide their children along life's path
way. In the February number OF
Success, there is a short article el =
titled. "Neglect Your Business but
not Your Boy" in which it save,
"every boy is going to have a confid-
ant-someone t. whom he can tell his
secrets and whisper his hopes and
ambitions which he would not breathe
to Others. We take it for granted
that his mother will stand nearer to
him than any other person but every
boy will have some male friend who
will stand in peculiar relation to
him This friend, this confidant,
should be the father. Gan it be pOsei-
BILE that we parents have become so
thoughtess in these busy days tat
we are actually neglecting our chill
dren for the sake of anything else?
This is work which we cannot pick
up and lay aside at will, we must be
always be on duty. "Precept must
be upon precept, limo uron lie, here
a little, there little" The training of
our children for future use guinness
SHOULD be our chief concern; but alae,
in many cases it receives less atten
ton tnan does the food we eat or the
clothes we wear. Fifty years from
now who will know or care how N any
nav dresses we had or how manv
times year we did up our lace Gu =
UainA? Our house on which we spend
so much money and in which we take
80 much pride may then be burned CT
torn down buG not that which We have
Quilt inro the character OF our chill
/ 4
training or lack of it will live on and
on. Can we afford 70 neglectao great an
opportunity? "The fact ia, our lives
are taken up with so many things that
there is little room in them for the
life spirit, and no woman is a true
mother who allO VS. the care of these
materia things to crowd out the high
er spirI ual activities which make her
| truly mother" The world needs
citiz ms who have firm convictions Of
right and wrong and who have cour
age TO stand up for those convictions.
We need men and women who have
the spirit Of self sacri fee for the sake
OF others, who wilt give up personal
gain for the welfare of the masses
The world is al large as hungry for
honesty in Individuals IS it is for
food Mr.. McVeagh of PRESIDE n,
TatJ's cabinet recently said, 1--WE
need greater development OF chardC
Ser III young and Old. There must be
a higher national and A higher person
Al regard for honesty" We need not
more la ws but men who " ill see that
they are enforced. We also need
citizens who see their relationship and
responsibility to the great questions
J which are to be settled only at the
ballot box. Where ere the future
voters Of this country? In the public
schools and it il only through the
public schools that the entire alton
nan be reached. In this section al
t country men only have the p iv =
lo2e of the oaIlot buU We musu remem
Der that this is not true 10 all sections
and our girls may see the day wher
this right will De theirs; if NOT, they
must continue 70 go the roundabout;
way of the past, strive to train ut
their boys to vote for the right anC
influence their husbands. La either
case they need to be trained and in.
formed on tht SO subjects equally with
e their brothers. How important ther
y that something along this line shoulc
be taught in our pubic schools More
important still that the teacher:
themselves shO uld be so impressed by
these high and lofty ideals thst they
can inspire such ambitions in the hives