The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-11-01

AAnI uAu OF yOurBg TO this the BOY
replied, his face In smiles: why. dad
Is under the hay"
For the past two months some 5000
rural and small town schools have
been in session, but with less than 10
per cent OF those boys in the upper
grades that ought to be there. Where
are they? Playing s'l1ookey," while
hunting? No, that would not be half
so bad as 1t is. They are out doing
the work Of full grown men. threshing.
blowing and marketing grain with
bodies OF growing boys soft of bone
and tender OF muscle. They have been
caring nearly one-fourth of the money
needed to carry on the activities of
family and state. which is only mat
ter Of something like s6,000,OO0; but to
the boys drudgery. heart-ache and
back-ache, and to the great puissant
state, shame and disgrace for blood
and life of school boys coined into cents
ar1dSdollars, that laws enforced would
prevent.
All Hard Work.
1t is all work. hard work, no play,
and no pay In either money or scholas-
tic training. Not long ago county
official, not q county superintendent Of
schools. 1 am glad to say, spied one Of
these little men blowing in a nearby
field. Assuming an overbearing atti-
tude he said: "Say kid, how do you
md the greatest common divisor?" to
which the youth properly replied: "Ad-
vertise for it, Mr. Smarty, advertise for
it." Then assuming a patronizing air,
the ofi1cer wanted to know why he
wasn't in school, which the boy plain
" resented in manner and speech
when he said: Because / must work
to get money to keep the town guy and
the courthouse cook on his easy job
with little work and much money"
This incident simply shows the
heartless attitude of some regarding
the claims of the country boy to de-
cent treatment, and that this boy re-
piled so promptly and aptly could only
mean that some day soon he would
land in the country town high school
to prepare for law or politics When
Sept. z comes he must stay on the Job.
He may give the team a breathing spell
provided dad is not too close, while he
watches the dudes whirr by with dogs
and guns, or meander through the
stubble fields while the dogs shuttle
back and forth: or the double quick
from the rig to the dogs at point, the
discharge Of firearms and fall Of birds,
and then the meaningless gestures.
He vows then and there that 1t is the
town for him IL he is ever TO enter
these enchanted happy hunting
grounds. He had hoped that a real
cold rainy day would come before the
town guys" would find that covey;
for then the governor would not let
the team out, and he with his rusty
single barrelled hammer gun and mon
grel cur would surely get one chicken
and possibly two. Even that would be
heaven compared to this heat, and dust
and1Onely vigil with team and plow.
Within the past year 1 saw a sight
that would make even a stone man hot
and cold by turns and mad clear
through. The rain and sleet came
down from the wintery north. Three
boys were just returning from a duck
hunt. They were cold and wet and
hungry. With q second hand gun
among them, one playing duck dog in
the icy waters, they had bag of seven
mallards. On being questioned, one
answered for all when he said: well,
YOU see the old man thought II too
cold for the teams to go out this aft
ernoon, and so we got the chance to
hunt; but some day soon we are going
to live in town, and then we will hunt
In fine weather with autos and maya
zine guns. and dogs and tents and
wooden ducks and rubber boots"
No Qnnr+a
For the country boy there is no foot
ball and baseball, though the home
paper has nothing else much, for weeks
at time. Then there Is the spring
and summer camping crowds from the
towns; and the boy scouts that go
marching by so grandly in their sinar.
soldier suits: and he wonders why he
can't have some OF those nice times:
and II ne must go to the city to get In
the game.
am not here to decry these activi-
ties Of the town folk in the country,
but rather to commend them. as will
the country boy himself. even at his
worst moments. But / am here to say
that play is the birthright OF all chill
dren, and the lonely overworked coun-
try boy In particular. I know more
than score OF fathers who kept on
the farm families of boys ranging In
number from two to seven, by taking
q day Off with them now and then to
hunt to fish. to camp in Gods great
out-of-doors, and several teachers that
kept boys in the country by so doing.
All this physical hardship has nearly
made q physical wreck of the country
boy as q class. He should stand up
right IS an arrow, full Of chest, square
of shoulder. strong Of limb, and clear
Of eve. But. look at him. the product
-or rather. the by~product 81, our
boasted twentieth century civilization.
He lie 16, but his body is nearly wreck
ed for. IL he not stopped. hollow
chested, round shouldered, shambling
In hin rs.nlls .d..a.a ~ Z,