The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-12-15

good Christian often uses a contrary
influence with a boy. 1t is in these
hours that such things as drinking
are commenced. whatsoever putteth
the bottle to his neighbor's lips, gives
him hell fire. The natural grist of
the saloon of today is the American
boy, just as the natural grist for the
big -four mills is the wheat from
the western plains.
No man can have correct un-I
derstanding of boys of today unless
he has an accurate remembrance OF
his own boyhood. The finest inter
prefer of boylife today is James
Whitcomb Riley, who is bachelor.
When asked how he had such
vivid knowledge of boys thoughts,
Riley said that he had a perfectly
clear memory of his boyhood from
the time he was three or four years
old Whenever you lose your ability
to transport yourself back to your
own childhood, you lose your ability
to understand the boy of today.
A boys life is divided into three
periods, the unconscious period, the
self-conscious period and the man.
conscious period.
Creature of Fancies.
During the unconscious period the
boy is a creature of passing and fit
ting fancies. In the morning his
teacher is an angel, and perhaps by
night she is the meanest and harsh
est creature living. His mother at
one time is the best woman on eartn
and again is stingy old thing. The
boys father is all that is good at
one hour and in the next is unrea-
sonable and cruel. The boy during
these years is a jack-of-all trades.
He makes up his mind to take up
every profession and trade he knows
of at different times during these
first years.
He goes to school for two reasons,
because his parents push him there
and because his teachers pull him
there. If a boy is great student
and loves books he is not normal.
The average normal boys is an in,
corrigible lover of holiday, and
goes 10 school regularly only be-
cause he is made to go.
The Biggest Robber.
There is no bigger robber in the
world than the man who robs a boy
of his boyhood. 1t is tragedy
when anything hurries. a boy into
manhood, for boy never comes
back from his manhood, no matter
what circumstances may have forced
him into it. There are now 2,00O,O0O
little children in America who are
being cheated out of their childhood
by being forced to work in facto.
ries. But ] confidently believe that
the day will soon come when any
man who encourages child labor will
, not be allowed admittance to any
branch of Gods house.
The second period of boyhood, the
self-conscious age, is that in which
the boy is constantly aware OF his
own presence. Awkwardness is a
characteristic of this age, and his
feet serve only as interference in
stead of all aid to locomotion. A
boys hands, too, are all out Of pro
portion and are constantly IN the
way. No meaner thing was evel
done to a boy of this age than te
buy a suit which was too large for
him SO that he could grow into it
And what healthy boy of the grow
ing age ever kept suit of clothes
long enough to grow into them any
way?
About this time the youth decides
that he wants a job, and that will
keep his hands and feet busy. But il
you drop out of school and get q
job all you will ever have is just 9
Job. In the state of Indiana there
are two girls graduating from high
school to every boy. Pretty soon
! our girls, if they marry at all, viii
have to marry ignoramuses. 1t is
| a mean father who wouldn't mort
gage his house or his farm if neces
sary, rather than mortgage a boys
| life by allowing him to become a
wage Garner.
The girls Of this age are older
socially than the boys. If the boy
has had girl friends he now sees
himself being "cut out" by older
boys, who are perfectly at ease.
Every break or breach of etiquette
that a boy makes, hurts him to the
| quick He has terrible fear OF
teasing. 1t is then that a boy needs
support ana comfort.
When the Boy Is Awkward.
A boy then is not only physically
mentally and socially awkward, but
he is spiritually awkward as we'll
But too much religious form at this
time is apt to make a boy sick, SO
sick that he may not recover for
years. 1t is then that a boy is apt
to think that he doesn't count with
older people and he may begin to
have the idea that he doesn't count
with himself, either. That is not
lack of conceit, it is lack of self
respect Conceit is looking down on
! other people; self-respect is looking
up to yourself. 1t doesn't take re-
ligion to cure a man from swearing,
| it takes refinement.
TIL third period is the man-con-
scious period. Then the boy Is
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