Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-28

should be exerted in the direction of thor
ough education.
* x
Bring me father who does not under
stand the value of education and l Will
attempt to impress it upon his mind by a
comparison. There is not a state in the
Union in which father is permitted to
cut off his boys arm, not state in which
he would not be punished crirninaily if he
attempted to send his boy out thus mu-
tilated to compete with the boys having
two arms. This is the law. and public
opinion supports it. And yet in this age
the father who would deliberately deny to
his boy the advantage of an education
and send him out half educated to COM
pete with boys Well educated would really
be more cruel to his son than the father
who cut off an arm.
It is sometimes argued that the boy
must be taken from school to assist IN
the support of the family. II such an
excuse is given to me / ask whether it is
the boys father or mother who needs his
support. If ! am told that the boy is
withdrawn from the school that the ia
ther may add his wages to his own, ask
what kind of father he is. whether he is
intelligent, Industrious and sober. Ii
learn that an intelligent, industrious and
for his family. l ask what kind of an in
dustrial system We have that SO unfairly
distributes the rewards of toll. Ii, on the
contrary, | find that it is not the fault of
the system, but the fault of the father: If
/ find that instead of spending his income
upon his family he spends II upon himself
and in such a way as to lessen his value
as a husband and father, | ask what
equity there is in our courts if they will
compel the return of a few dollars Dor
rowed from a neIghbor and will not re-
qure a man to live up to the sacred obi
cations of husband and father.
But suppose 1t is a widowed mother
who is dependent upon a boys wages,
what then? Should she suffer? No.
Neither should the burden fall upon the
child. The time will come II 1t has not
already arrived. when the able-bodied
men of community will be willing to
bear any burden that may be necessary
TO supplement the income of one so
situated-the time will come. if it has not
already arrived. when they will be
ashamed 70 throw such a burden upon
a helpless child, to the impairment of its
own future and Of its ability to meet
the responsibilities of life.
\
There is one other excuse. namely. that
the boy will not go to school. Before
giving him up. let US make one more
"ooA
pile. large wood pile, and put him to
work with dull ak. When he has la
bored long enough to know how hard it
is to accomplish anything with such an
ak, l would give him a sharp ak. and
then when he was thoroughly acquainted
with the difference between the two.
would tell him that the difference be-
tween meeting life's problem with
Trained mind and an unframed mind Is
even greater than the difference between
cutting with sharp ak and a dull one
But l apologize for dwelling SO long
upon the mind. AS I said in the be-
ginning, this Is not apt to be neglected.
1t only remains for me to remind you.
before passing to the third branch OF my
subject. that a body, however perfect
and mind, however thoroughly trained,
will not suffice. A man may be even
more dangerous to society because OF his
education If the energies Of body and
mind are not properly directed. An igno-
rant scoundrel can do less harm than an