El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-17

Sk"HOUGHTLES and unfeeling
conduct" says Mrs. Mary F.
Lowell, which rapidly de-
velops into downright cruelty. is ex-
ercised first and most largely toward
the brute creation. because of the help
lessness and the larger opportunity 1t
may begin very early An innocent
baby will, in his exuberant happiness,
squeeze a poor kitten nearly to death,
and try TO put-his fingers into its eyes:
but the baby's innocence is no reason
for allowing him a pastime which gives
pain to a living creature The kitten
has rights which even a baby can De
taught TO respect; and the baby has
the right TO an early training which
will make him. by and by, beneVo-
lent and humane member of society,
and not a selfish and thOughtless one
From the societies for the Proven
ton of Cruelty TO Children we can
learn how often little children are cru
ely treated by those who ought to pro-
t@ct them. 1t is but natural Sc
auence When the father was a baby
he tormented the kitten; as boy he
abused the dog; as larger boy he bul-
lied the smaller one. and as husband
and father he tyrannizes over wife and
children. He has never learned 70 con-
troll his temper; he has never known
what 1t was to protect the weak; he
has never learned 10 regard the feel
| ings of others-what can you expect
of him now? The child's sense Of JUS
tice is keen. and he knows when he is
punished simply because father or
mother IS in a temper and must vent
it upon something. Is it any wonder.
then. that the child grows surly and
| rasentfuI: that he learns readily 10
deceive. and that the life of the father
| n
MANY a mother. gives all unconscious
! " 10 her child his first lesson in cru
| city. Baby is seated upon the rock
! ing horse a whip placed in his little
! hands and he is told. Now. whip the
| oil horse and make him GO" Katie is
! teasing the cat and making her cry.
! and the mother says. Don't pull the
! pussy. she will scratch YOU Tommy
! is pinching the dog to see him squirm,
! and she says. Don't hurt Rover. Tom
my he might bite you" Oh, mother
do YOU realize that you are teaching
your child that there is no harm in
/ inflicting suffering upon anything
| provided he is not himself hurt by II!
| Johnny starts to run across the room
! trips over chair and bumps his nose
| on the floor. Johnny cries and his
! mother saws. Naughty cnaIr. to make
/ Johnny hurt himself: beat the old
chair" and she Immediately proceeds
to administer cOndign punishment to
| the unoffending chair. She is teach
| ing the child that instead of control
| ing his temper. he must give full vent
| to it. and that if he is hurt, instead
of bearing it like man. he must re-
| venge himself upon something.
whether innocent Or guilty. What will
be the result of such training?
! A little 4yearold tOddler was pull
! ing at his mothers skirts and teasing
| her to play with him. ooh. don't bother
me now" I'D the mother; run away
| and chase the old lame hen round the
! garden" and the little one ran on
! eager at the prospect of his fun, Fiji
teen years later when this same moth
er was enfeebled from sickness. she
was bemCaning with wonder why 1t
was possible that her boy. for whom
she had done and sacrificed so much.
! should be so unfeeling in his treatment
of her The seed she herself had
pla nted and watered had sprung up
and was bearing abundant fruit, and
she did not even recognize that 1t
was from her own sowing
When the thaw came after the great
| blizzard and the water was running In
i rivers in the cutters. two little girls
/ of eight and nine We're seen holding
\ tiny kitten under the water until
| she was almost drowned; then lifting
! her out to revive. when they would
again put her in the water. These
were children Of families of good so
cial position in the church and in So
ciaty. but what home heart training
could they <ve had. and what kind Of
mothers will they make in the years
to come?
Another writer says: II know of a
baby IA months old who has been
! taught not TO touch flowers. but only
TO smell them: and not TO touch the
! cat. although he is perfectly delighted
| with her After a while. when he is
old enough to understand. he Will be
allowed TO touch her very gently: and
he will be much more likely to always
| treat animals kindly and gently than if
| he had been allowed to handle the cat
| or other pets as he would a toy that
| squeaked when it was pinched-'
Most children do not mean to be IN
| kind TO their pets it is thoughtless ig-
| norance that makes them treat them
as they do. To be sure they have been
told that they must not pull the cats