The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-12-21
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discriminating logic of the editor.
Yesterday, however, noticed evil
dence of an ethical slant that should
not pass without comment, for local.
publications have large influence in
moulding public opinion.
This moral obliquity consists of the
PRONUNCIATION of the philosophy that
infants should go armed with deadly
weapons, and that early proficiency
in their use is social safeguard.
Without going into details, / wish
to deny both the validity and the pro-
priety of that view of things. Pistol
toting furnishes not only the oppor-
tunity for murder, but also the inn
pulse to murder, and the small boy
with target 1ifie, picking off song
birds with a deadly accuracy, should
be the special detestation Of every
right-minded citizen.
Lester Warner.
The Star regrets to say that it will
have to accuse its respected friend,
Judge Warner, of either mental or
physical obliquity when he took a
slant" at the article he refers to. The
Star has not promulgated the doctrine
of arming infants, upheld pistol
toting" or advocated anything else
contrary to the laws of the nation or
the dictates of common sense.
We are afraid that Judge Warner,
in this instance, has Joined that class
of extremists who can see only two
sides to every question, whereas ev-
erything has at least six sides, all of
which should be observed before rem
dering decision.
The Star thinks citizen has a
right to keep a gun or pistol in his
home if he wants to. The Star be-
lieves it would be best for him to do
so. The Star believes that if the av-
erage boy mot ,<infant) is carefully
instructed in the use of a gun or pis-
toll he will not misuse it; and it knows
boy nature well enough to know that
if a boy is told he mustn't handle a
gun at home, he will try to handle one
elsewhere.
It is the natural right of country
boy to be instructed in the use of a
gun. Boys so instructed seldom have
accidents. A boy in town has no OPP
portunity to shoot at game, but if his
father keeps revolver in the house,
the best safeguard against an acct
dent is to teach the boy how to
handle it.
If Judge Warner will look over the
Star file, he will find an article print
ed some months ago warning parents
to keep their boys from shooting song
birds or other protected birds, and
giving a list of the birds for their
guidance.
Judge Warner may not be aware
of the fact, but the boy with his air
rifle shooting at songbird is actual
ed by the same spirit of sport that
has impelled the Judge to catch so
many fish. The difference is that the
Judge has had a chance to catch fish,
and the boy with the air rife has had
no chance to hunt real game. IF the
boy with the air rifle was first in
formed why he shouldn't shoot song
birds, and then taken out of town
where he could shoot some real game,
he wouldn't think of shooting at a
mockingbird or robin in town. Most
boys will go right if you show them
the road. In fact, most of them
blunder right anyhow, for the ten
dency to repress is greater than the
disposition to instruct them.
The boy is father to the man, and
the boy instructed in the proper use
of machines is the one least liable to
misuse them. We have not heard
anyone argue against teaching boy
how to handle an auto, and the prin-
cipal difference between a gun and an
auto is that an auto is the biggest and
generally does more harm in an acct
dent than gun.
The Star wants to see the men of
this nation keep their arms, because
if they do not do so their liberties at
home and their national existence
will be subject to the will and power
of other people; and any man who has
read history and studies human ma
ture should be able to figure how this
will result.
The American nation was built and
its liberties won by men who had
guns and knew how to use them. They
taught their sons how to use guns as
matter of course. They had among
them some fools and some criminals,
and they had accidents, same as we
do now; but these were little things
compared with the great principle
they gave US that "the right of the