The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-09-05

is mere closet-production which can
not be produced on the stage of
everyday life. l am not an optimist
looking at the boy in the abstract,
considering him as the image of God,
friend of the angels, a potential
saint. The youth / have in mind is
not model boy such as some Sunday
school papers love to portray, one
who loves study, plays with his little
sisters, and detests the ordinary
rough and ready boy of the streets.
mean the average American boy, such
as l was and such as all my playmates
were. There was nothing sanity
about us, if by sanity you mean dis
like for play and all innocent amuse-
ments. We were always ready for
good joke, enjoyed good game, and
were not backward in defending our
rights, and preventing anything like
bullying or browbeating.
Now this is the boy who should be
spared the humiliation of the rod.
Mind, do not advocate the complete,
unconditional abolition of punish
ment; that would be foolhardy to say
the least. But what I do contend is
this: Parents should have another
means of teaching their children good
manners, besides by using brute force.
They should use their moral influence,
they should be educated to teach by
the good example they give their chill
dren; above all, they should be taught
to remember the God-given authority
they have, and the heavy responsible
ty which rests on their shoulders.
If they yield ever so little to the
petty whims of their child; if it's every
desire is granted; if it is humored by
sweetmeats when it sulks and pouts;
can we wonder that the child is spoiled
and grows up to be curse to it's par
ents. Such sparing of the rod is the
climax of absurdity.
No: parents should be firm in their
demands; strict in having their orders
obeyed and under no condition should
they yield to the child. For, once they
do so, the child becomes master of the
man, and takes hold of the other end
of the leading-strings
Such moral influence may seem
an impossibility and many parents
may laugh at the idea. 1t will be i'm
possible if you do not train the child
from the earliest days of his infancy;
it will be impossible if you desire to
pet him when he is young; and only
try to use your moral influence when
he has outgrown the plastic state of
youth. Others may claim that it is an
| ideal standard suitable to the rich and
the semi-rich; but will it serve among
the poor and lowly? Have any good
results ever been achieved among the
unfortunate classes who live from
hand to mouth?
A few years ago the poor home
less waits of Paris, street boys with
out any home training, and with little
knowledge of morality and goodness,
were subjected to the experiment of
such influence, and the results were
astounding in their unparalleled sue
cess. When Lord Palmerston visited
Don Bosco at Valdocco he examined
all the workshops of the boys, talked
to the little children, and saw them
at their play. Before leaving he con-
graduated the sanity priest on the
success of his undertaking, and in
quired how he managed to keep such
perfect order among so many boys of
6iffnrnnt fononnro GOEoVy
till evening and you will see" replied
the saint. That evening the lord went
to the chapel and heard the priest ad-
dress the boys. He listened to their
voluntary confessions of faults, and
saw how the priests kind words of
counsel encouraged them. When he
came out of the chapel he wrung Don
Bosco's hand, saying, "Now l under
stand. You have won all their hearts
and can mould them as you please"
This is indeed the secret to success
in the education of children. The
whip will make them cover and
cringe, it will make them hypocritical
observers of the law who sin not when
there is danger of being noticed, but
who indulge all their passions in pri-
vate, or among a coterie of select
spirits equally as preverse as them
selves. But teach them to love the
lawgiver and the law, teach them to
respect your person as their legal SUI
perior, and they will grow up to OBJ
servers of the spirit of the law, true
and loyal members of the family, the
Church and the state.