The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-08-20
eY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.
This column called attention the
other day to the little-girlon-the street
nuisance.
Briefly and with particular relation
to the manner in which some of them
hang round the theatre entrances.
Theatrical people are bored to death
with them.
For most of the fascinating male
! beings girls see on the stage are mar
ried and are of more or less domestic
habits.
Besides they see ten thousand girls
and they all look alike to them.
AS once said of Jean de Reske, who
| was prosecuted into retreat by his
feminine admirers:
"A maiden by the parquet rim,
A silver dollar means to him,
And she means nothing more"
Girls have always been fools about
actors and perhaps always will be.
But actors aren't the only men about
whom they are silly.
At certain stages in a girls career
all men loom large on the horizon.
And, more infrequently than not, seem
of celestial origin.
Here is where home training comes
into play.
The average girl who has had a
careful mother and father and who has
been directed and restrained, tides
over this stage in her development in
a normal manner.
A girl who hasn't had this care is
apt to go off at social tangent and
devastation follows in her path.
And there are a lot more girls run
ming amuck for the proper parental
training than many people think for.
So says Mr.. l. A. German, chief of
police of this city.
Mr.. German talked to the writer in
terestingly concerning the difficulties
with which he had to deal.
He states that much reprehensible
conduct on the part of the girls is be-
cause of maternal neglect and worse
than that, maternal degeneracy.
That lot of little girls are trapsing
the streets and getting into all sorts
of trouble because their mothers don't
want them round the house.
| That what with the fathers hanging
round saloons and the mothers anus
| ing themselves in this peculiar fash
ion, the girls go to the demnition bow
vows and the whole fabric of society
! is tainted.
public cannot understand the situa-
| ton with which he is constantly con-
| fronted.
On the one hand he is denounced be-
cause the curfew law through
whose operations all children under
the age of sixteen are prohibited
the streets-is not enforced.
On the other hand when he tries
to see that it is rigidly enforced he
meets with complaints and denuncia-
ton from parents who assure him that
they know how to raise their child
rem and want no suggestions from the
police.
The whole difficulty lies-aside from
those manifestations of personality
governed by heredity and which multi
, fy the most careful rearing-in the
realize their responsibility toward
their children
Children are a lot of trouble and
often unendurably irritating.
But they come into the world through
no will or volition of their own.
Therefore they should be given ev-
cry chance at life that can be given
by their creators.
There are no doubt many worthy
and conscientious parents
In fact society is made up of these
they are in the distinct majority.
! If it were not so. social anarchy
would reign.
! But there is very considerable
minority who are not-and in all
classes
These unnatural beings irresponsi-
bly, bring children into the world, fling
them out to Craze at will. and pursue
their own selfish or evil courses with
out the slightest regard for their duty
toward their offspring or toward socie-
ty at large.
There is a lot of talk about the
neglect of mothers.
I NO doubt mothers Of this latter de-
scr1nf'cH - nFe'~0t tn~+~ children
cs~0'ialIV their fo,,o~+~rs.
Z Brit what 81 the 7a+hers7
I Isn't it just as much mans bust
ness to help train up his little daugh-
ter as 1t Is a mothers?
Isn't he just as responsible for her
lprsseace tn the woElAf