Evening journal., 1911-07-01
The smsE5oy's 18th
BY The RENR. L. JACKSON


People claiming to be interested in
the preservation of the anatomical in
tegrity of that ubiquitous persistent
species Of the genus homo known as
the small boy have beap laboring to
have the one institution nearest his
heart declared insane ana bundled off
to a padded cell. What tn tse self-elect-
ed alienists are proposing to give him
as substitute for the privilege Of
banging OF his little fingers and burn
ing out his eyes and Killing himself
generally, they do not tell us
It is a pity the eleventh edition of
the Encyclopedias BriHsnica will not
be issued by the Fourth for he could
amuse himself with its India paper
pages Maybe some gentle reader who
is also something of(an alienist, will
muster up enough emerity to write \
letter to some sympathetic editor sug-
gesting as a nice substitute a quiet
morning with mother in some sofa
pillowed corner over the pages of st.
Nicholas and a gentle afternoon with
father in the park to hear the grass
grow, followed by an early retiring.
What comfort to the parents to real
ize when the day was over that their
boys anatomy was positively intact.
To those who needlessly suggest that
the boy may have something to say
about it, it may be replied that IL will
quite suffice to say to him that such a
program as this is the one he would
formulate were he a father with
small boy to preside over and precious
little fingers and eyes to protect. His
Imagination will at once kindle TO this
way Of putting 1t and the innocuous
program will be enthusiastically car
ried out.
BY the way, before these alienists
discharge themselves IL would be we'll
for them to examine some of our other
holidays notably Thanksgiving Day.
To be sure the casualties of the day
are not as horrifying as those of the
Fourth, but this is largely because
they are OF the noiseless, smokeless|
variety but they are often quite as
fatal. The overdining done on this day
issues in no flying fingers and burnt
out eyes and frightful lockiaN. but
it gives rise to internal disorders
whose net result were Il fully known
would provoke as much horror as the
damages Of our insane Fourths have
provoked
II is we'll for the alienists to con-
fine themselves to our holidays for
we're they to turn their attention TO
the other days some Of the more fussy
would not stop until they had the
whole calendar in a padded cele. These
are topsy turvy times when it hon
estly looks as if that was where IL
belonged for II seems a thing Of bad
ness all compact but not so Is It in
reality. The insanity IS not In the day,
all its topsy turviness to the contrary
il is in the imagi-
nation of men and women who from
long self-pampering have grown TO
dainty and delicate to stand up to the |
sock Of a hard-hitting fight for what's |
real and vital
By all means let us preserve the !
small boy by insisting upon a Fourth !
that is minus the murderous madness !
Of the past But let us not substitute IN
placs of the traditional self-slaughter- |
Gus program such a numby-pamby one |
as will give him an incurahle taste tor /
the thing that gets on the nerves Of |
the fighter for truth and righteous
ness, namely a soft sheltered self-in- |
dulgent life