The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1912-03-15
G. L. Carlson Gives Lecture

About COO Norfolk people, includ.
ing about TOO school children, packed
the Auditorium Friday night and
heard G.. l.. Carlson give for the first
time bits If the subjects he will de.
liver on the Chautauqua platform at
the rate of 800 per day next Summer.
The Value of the Child" was the
subject of Mr.. Carson's address and
his audience was very attentive and
appreciative one.
After several selections by picked
high school chorus of about 100
voices, Supt. NJ. T.. Crosier introduced
County Supt. n. A. Housed, who brief.
~ told of the wave of industrial edu-
cation which has reached this part of
the country and for which he made a
strong plea. Supt. Crosier then in.
troduced Mr.. Carlson, who voiced ap.
probation for the efforts of those as.
sisting him. The proceeds of the lect-
ure go to the benefit of the Norfolk
Corn and Tomato Growing club.
After declaring that it was possible
to pick out twenty horses or COWS
every respect" the speaker said that
if he should try to pick twenty men
who would be exactly alike physical.
ly, morally and similar in every re.
spect-do you think you can fill that
order in Norfolk"
Mr.. Carlson then plunged into his
subject. starting with the economic
value of the child in our country it's
worth in dollars. He had two ways
of arriving al this conclusion. One
was to show the cost of the child and
its earning capacity. We in America
are paying two billion. two million
dollars annually for children.
Mr. Carlson then showed the cost of
the child in all the progressive coun-
tries. The several states of this
country were also mentioned and ii
was shown that the cost of the child
from its birth up to the age of rs
years was over $1,000. The average
American children are capable of pro-
ducing $72G,000,000 annually.
The speaker made a careful analysis
along the lines of criticisms made by
other countries of the American peo-
RE. One of these criticisms was that
we are not making the most Of our
opportunities and another is that we
are not progressing intellectually,
considering the entire mass.
Others declare we are not as moral
as we should be, and that our morality
is not as high as that of people exist
ing in the past. Mr.. Carlson then de
fined his meaning of morality. saying
that many American people do not
know what the word means. He cited
many instances of foreign countries
and showed that the morals of the
countries everywhere begin in the
home.
The lecture demonstrated wide
learning. deep study and a vast fund
of Information on ancient and modern
historical facts, and Mr.. Carlson held
his audience in closest attention from
the opening until the final word had
been spoken.
In Keeping with the criticisms OF
the American people, Mr.. Carlson
read a letter written by the late Gen.
Ii Huan Chang of China who wrote
the letter to an American friend, Civ
ing h,S description of our civilization
social fife.
Mr. Carlson also gave Paul Blouet.
known a, Max O-ReII's description o.
our social classes. II" referred to
the writing of prominent minister
of this country who says that eff
Jesus Christ was elected president of
the United States, 80 percent of the
people would take their money out
of the banks"
Our national laws and their en-.
forcement as well as our moral teach.
sized by the Illustrations of the things
we do and the things we teach.
I'VE tell our children they should
not do a certain thing. but we do the
same thing ourselves" he said.
Our Three Problems.
| Mr.. Carlson then took up the three
national problems of America and de.
Clared them to be our inefficiency,
our social irregularities and our pub
lie graft. These he demonstrated by
observations of his own and showed
that we can trace them all back to
the source in the American nome.
| After a brief touch about the daily
newspapers, a mention not made in
the way Of criticism, Mr.. Carlson
paid a tribute to the mothers. He
showed the need of much help to the
mother in America. The nationa
loss is the result of poor cooking anC
the death rate of children before they
reach their first year is generally
caused by inefficiency, because of the
want of proper training of the child
in the home, he said.
He showed the mothers place il
our public life was to shape the NOR
ais of our future citizens by makinl
themselves the ideals of womanhood
by taking care of their children, bu
more especially OF the boy.
Should Be Told at Home.
In taking up the sex relations il
the home, he told the mother that tn,
certain things the boy and girl SHOULD
know. should never be learned out o