The Republican journal., 1914-12-03
Our Duties to Childhood.

MS STORY u IepOItei VI tue AS Z" AssO's
Maine, Journal. This little urchin, who
never knew the pleasure of sitting down
to we'll prepared dinner, has been de-
prived of the God-given sunlight since
last June and will be held under these
circumstances until the middle of Mo-
vember by our professedly Christian
civilization before they presume to de-
eide what our Christian laws direct to
be done with this class of children.
Shame on such civilization or Chris
tianity that can rest until different at
mosphere is created for the tender years
of childhood.
Though this little boy has not been
outside the barred windows of the jail
but twice in four months the reporter
finds him better cared for than ever be-
fore in his life. 1t is reported in the
boys home community that the family
had nothing but fried cat for supper,
there being nothing else in the house
the last meal he was at home. Being
present at little boyish escapade in
which one of the boys lost his life by
drowning, this boy says, "We didn't
know what we was caught for" The
family of children from which this boy
came have attended school very few days
and it is claimed that the school officials
did their best and the parish priest inter-
ested himself in their case. But no
school officials have done their full duty
until the hungry are fed, the naked
clothed and the children placed under
wholesome restraint.
There is a measure of brute instinct in
the child nature which prompts him to
throw stones at the windows of the va
cant house or throw bread in the flre
when half the human family is suffering
for the want of the necessities of life.
Despite the claims of modern Psychology
there are within every child of the hui
man family inherited germs of good and
evil If the good is neglected and the
evil fostered by associates we can eX-
pect nothing else than to see the child of
nine behind prison bars, if society pro-
vides no more suitable place. Thanks
to an enlightened public sentiment near
iy half the States of this nation have
during the past few years taken steps to
avoid such occurrences as that related
above.
The people of the home community of
these boys say they should have been
locked up long ago This is true, if they
could not be controlled by milder means.
But the stihed good in a boys nature
can never be brought TO light by confin-
ing him in idleness, without anything to
occupy his mind. If five months of this
kind of confinement behind prison bars
in a sunless cell does not forever blight
the soul of nine years old boy, he is far
above the average in soul vitality. The
physical body has limit of endurance
beyond which it can not survive. Would
not analogy lead us to believe that the
good in man is susceptible of being eX-
tinguished But the boy above mention
ed has not had a fair chance. The oc-
casional influence of the parish priest is
not sufficient. The child should be placed
under control at the first appearances
of evil, if not before. Man is largely
creature of habit. The crooked limb
must be held in position until the proper
position becomes matter of habit. The
crooked character must be held in posi-
ton until it becomes fixed. Even then
it may be lured away by evil associates.
There are those who cannot trust them
selves to take a glass of wine, while
others can take it or leave it as they
choose.
To say that the school officials had done
their best, or. the community had done
their duty by the nine years old boy of
this sketch, is little short OF falsehood.
When society sees boy going wrong, as
the community declared this one was
going, it is cheaper financially to provide
him a suitable home than to allow him to
pursue a life of crime and spend the
money on jails, courts and prisons.
1t is the first duty of the nation to see
that every child born within its borders
has fair chance among his fellows
Society owes to the child more than food
and clothing; it owes restraint, repress-
ion of the brute instinct which is found
in every human being. The ancient Ro-
man delighted to see his fellows torn,
limb from limb, by wild beasts in the
arena. 1t is the same spirit in milder
form which causes the school boy to de-
light in throwing dog into the river to
see him swim out We see the boy delight
in tormenting his schoolmate, and the
grown up in time of war delighting in
the discontinue of the enemy. We
see the outcropping of the lower nature
in religion and education. Though both
denominations may have black sheep as
we'll as white, they each see only the
good in their own and the evil in the
other denomination. The college presl-
dent thinks his institution is teaching all
that is good and nothing that is bad.
Though lecturer may warn of the
danger of being satisfied with present