The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1913-05-15
Where Is Your Child AfterD lark?

Iyouf home after dark9 We
fear that in only too many cases
the parents must answer, I'VE
do not know" They NAV be
at a neighbours. they may be at
church, they may be at a moY-
ing picture show. or they may
be on the street but the parents
do not know. They may be
learning something of what
true manhood and womanhood
is, or they may be taking lessons
in youthful depravity from pre-
cocious butall too capable teach
ers, but the parents do not
know. Where are the horses
'and cattle, or even the chickens?
All safe in well-fenced pasture
or secure buildings, for we can
not afford to run any risk of
losing them. But the children?
Well! we don't know just where
they are. And yet, if anyone
on earth is responsible for the
welfare of those children 1T Is
the father and mother. And il
damage comes to those children
because of thoughtlessncss or
carclessness, those parents will
stand condemned in the sight of
God and man. And yet there
are children, little children Of
six and seven, and older ones of
thirteen and fourteen. who are
roaming the streets at night,
unattended by any save the
ignorant, the foolish, or the
vicious, and their God ordained
guardians, the parents, ire seat
ed comfortably at home, quietly
reading the newspaper OF it
may be the Bible, or pleasantly
visiting at a neighbors, while
their little children areignorant-
ly wooing destruction. In re-
gard to this matter VIC may lay
down one or two things as alb
solutely certain.
The first is that the father
and mother arc absolutely re-
%sponsible for proper oversight of
their children. Itmakes 10 DIFF
ference whether the father be a
distinguished preacher or an Or
binary artisan, nor whether the
mother be a woman of genius
or simply an ordinary house
wife, they ire absolutely respon-
sible for exercising Il proper
Oversight over their children,
and if they fail it is only too
probable that as word will pierce
their hearts, for which no sue
cess outside Of the home shall
have any healing balm.
And this means that the faith
er and mother, have a right to
know and ought to know. where
and with whom, their children
spend their time. This is not so
easy as it used to be. but the
parent should find out in some
way or other.
And then the young children
should always be at home after
dark, unless accompanied by
some responsible party or under
the care Of some one who is
wholly trustworthy. 1t not in
frequently happens that we
sing Where Is My Wandering
Boy Tonight!' just a few years
too late. If we know where
the boy is during the first fiji
teen years it will not usually be
hard to find out for the after
years. Every little while our
police courts see sad-faced faith
ers and mothers whose boys
have been arrested for criminal
offences, and the broken hearted
parents didn't even know that
the boys were bad until then.
Many a ruined bow has been
ruined not by the criminality
of his young comrades. but by
the awful blindness and we'll
nigh incredible carelessness Of
his own Christian parents, and
no bitter tears can ever blot out
the sin and the shame of a pa
rents failure to keep faith with
his God and with his child The