Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-09-20
DAYS.

The sun is latest setting;
When wide-eyed Juno
Awskes too soon
The dawn with joyous shouts.
The longest day is that sad day.
When comrade. love forgetting.
We drift apart.
Somehow. in heart.
And face the world-at outs!
The shortest day is not that dsy
Which soonest wearies living:
When Nature signs
At frfendless skies.
And winters lips are dumb.
The shortest day Is that sweet day
When. dear. all in forgiving,
We feel i'm soul
That homes the goal
And bcckoning arms say: Come!
RALPH N. THOMPSON.
Sitting behind my vines gives me an
Insight into many things that the bust
ling housewife does not see. One that
has impressed me more than anything
else has been the total disregard for
the rights OF others. Boys. whose moth
crs a-e looking right at them. so into
yards whose owners are absent and
take whatever they want. 1 have seen
the same thing in Florida as well as in
Georgia. In the boulevards Of the we'll
so-do and the side streets. so I've about
decided that in their hearts some moth
srs are saying: i am going to let you
do what you win. as long as you don't
bother me"
Growing up with such habits. is IL any
wonder that reformatories and proba-
ton officers are necessary to keep the
children in order? There used TO be at
least one member Of a family with an
arm. or will. strong enough to keep the
small boy in order, but such doesn't
seem 70 be the case now. Theories are
all very me, but IL they do not turn
out the finished product they do not
really amount to anything. No two chill
dren may be governed exactly alike, but
all can be made 20 learn that there Is
a divine. as well as man-made law that
SAYS Thou shalt not steal" And to
take what does not belong TO one is
stealing, whether IL is the bow and ar
row OF the smaller boy or the dime on
ones own mothers table. or to go to
the store and buy just tribe less than
the order called for and pocket the
nickel or dimes difference. Later the
employer OF such a boy finds him tam
pering with the cash. often, instead Of
making an example OF him he lets him
90. and tries another. only to md that
IT'S as well 10 charge IL up to profit and
loss and keep the one that does the
best for the business. even If he should
steal. This is not confined to the man
in the store, nor the collector. the same
principle is at stake when goods are
bought that there is absolutely nothing
to pay for them. and no prospects Of
there ever being any.
Better a crust and self-respect." I
once said TO a girl who was telling me
OF one who owed all sorts Of bills and
was about TO lose her position because
the collectors were such nuisance.
But, Miss Thomas, her self-respect
has not received the slightest jar. She
is worried over the prospect OF losing
her position, but Il never has entered
her mind that she is doing the mer-
chants an injustice. She wasn't raised
right She came from a home run on
the same plan The money spent for
matinee tickets and at the fruit stands
would have paid a great many OF their
bills. but bills were only paid on the
instaIIment plan and 1 know they are
not all paid to this good day"
There are a great many like Mr..
Nicawber. who plan all sorts Of
schemes for money-making. and there
are plenty OF people who haven't an
Idea about saving the pennies. 1 once
lived next door to a woman who had
So a week to buy supplies for three.
and there wasn't the slightest proba-
bility OF any more The child was nine
years old and in many ways a perfect
baby. I have seen him lie on his back
and bAwl for a nickel TO buy apples, or
a quarter 10 buy a toy pistol, and he
usually got what he cried for. and the
table was cut down that much. She
wasn't one TO listen 20 others, in fact.
she often boasted Of her Individuality"
though her family called it stubborn
ness: but I often thought that If she
Rad talked to the boy, as to a reason
able being. had shown him her SIS and
had thrown him on his mettle. he would
have taken pleasure in helping her save
Just a little each week until IS would
have been in her hands to spend as she
bought instead OF having TO buy and
have IL charged until the money was
due her.
I must confess that / would have
gone distracted, for commonsense show
ed that unexpected things were continu-
ally coming to the front. and they were
20 be settled with right then. Such
women. or men. must leave small bills
unpaid when the time to move rolls
around. and that is why merchants fail
and milkmen have any number Of small
accounts unsolicited and can't pay their
own debts. OF one OF US lives in this
world for ourselves alone; we may be