The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1914-10-02
SOME NICE QUESTIONS

Your boy, on one of these fine eve
nings when he should be at home an
with you, goes down town, gets int
an automobile, and starts out ON 10y
ride" to nearby town. He takes witt
him another boy and two girls. The,
buy liquor and get drunk; and thei
conduct becomes boisterous The lit
tie girls-scarcely more than chill
dren-do not know what they are do
ing, and it is to be hoped, in charity
that the boys do not realize what they
are doing in getting drunk and il
making the girls drunk. Because it i.
your boy who has gone on the 10y
ride" you want the facts suppressed
and you urge that the case be dropped
Because it is your boy you think he
was ''enticed" from home and that he
did not plan to act SO shockingly. You
are crushed by the facts, and you ap-
peal rehemently to the attorneys an6
to the officers to keep the matter
quiet at any cost to yourself What
about the cost to society? Is it for
the good of society that these offences
should be hushed up, and that the Of
tenders should go unpublished, and that
they should continue to mingle with
their fellows as if they were decent
and law-abiding? 1t is a nice question
ttrh OIL he. oh, i
at the expense of society, whether your
little girls name should be protected
at the expense of the other little girls
who sit beside her in school.
Your son, in whom you take such
fond pride, breaks into cellar and
steals beer. He has committed a pen
itentiary offense. He has broken in
to premises and robbed them. But
because he is your boy, you think he
did not originate the plan. You are
sure it was not he who knew that
the beer was locked in that cellar,
sure that he has never touched beer,
that he does not like it. You know
that some other boy-a bad boy-put
your son up to breaking a paddock,
stealing beer and drinking it. You adj
nit that your boy was in the gang and
that, like his chums, he could be sent
to the penitentiary. But you are hor-
ror-struck at the threatened disgrace.
You implore the authorities to hush
the matter up, to conceal the identity |
of the thieves, to persuade the rob-
bed man not to bring action. Your |
of virtues is protected |
though he has committed the crime
twice. How about the protection of
society? Just how certain may society
be that your boy will not rob again,
hat he will not absent himself from
nome some other evening and break
nto mans cellar in order to get
liquor? Are the authorities justified
n letting your boy strut in freedom
md pride and society go unavenged?
t is nice question.
Your little girl, who looks so sweet
n her new dress and for whom you
he pretty fall hat and coat, goes to
he park in the evening and stays
here until late at night. She is very
oisy and very ill-behaved She laughs
md shouts. She talks in language
hat you did not know she was famil-
ar with. and she conducts herself
title girl you thought she was, but
ute like a tough, vulgar hoyden. You
hink she is spending the evening with
er friend, and her friends mother
links that her own daughter is with
ours, and you women both put in a
omplacent evening at home while your
tile girl is deceiving you, lying to
on, and sacrificing all the sweet,
,vable, and gentle qualities you sup
osed she had learned at church and
home to cherish Then one night
sr "crowd"-your daughters crowd"
arrested for misbehavior in the
ark. They have outraged decent
,ople until the long-smothered pro-
st breaks into a complaint. Your
tie girl is under arrest. Wild with
agrin. paralyzed by fear, you be-
ech the officers to protect your
lighter. She is such good girl
e has never done such thing be-
e, (no, only fifty times before) she
IS led astray; it was an accident that
> was away from home that eve