The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-10-06

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Mr.. Gray said it was too much
money but he had to take it. He
needed it in his business and wished,
of course, that he had his whole
farm in the same crop.
A FATHERS MARROW ESCAPE
How do you get along with your
boys? Are they tired of the farm
and wanting to work for wages some
where else? If they are there is
probably something wrong with the
farm management, but If they merely
want to get away from the farm and
have a change that is nothing to be
alarmed about, for they can visit
some city and have good time and
come home happy. If they are not
interested in the farm, then see II
they have been given any interest in
it. Do they have colt apiece when
they are little and do you, Mr.. Daddy,
sell their stock and pocket the
money, consoling yourself with the
idea that you have to pay the taxes?
That isn't a square deal and you
are not satisfied with it yourself.
Neither are the boys. There should
be mutual interest and mutual own
ership If the boys are ever going to
amount to anything or have anything
to work for. And father should
remember that boys are not anxious
for just the same things that father
u.s. They want some fun of the kind
that appeals to them, and 1t should
be placed in their way. Trying to
make a middle aged man of a 16-
vear-old boy is sure to bring failure.
We visited a farm one day where
father tried that scheme for just a
second or two and then saw his mis-
take and changed his plans. This
is what he said to us about 1t after
wards:
eve all went to town one day and
the boys were spending their time as
they chose, the same as | was.
was talking a little politics and a
little business, and chatting a little
with men of my age, and as | was
going up the street l met two of the
boys coming down. They stopped
and one of them said, Father, don't
you think we ought to have a couple
of single seated buggies?' And |
said, why I don't know. No, not
this year. l want to send you to
school next winter and
"That was as far as l got with my
excuses, and l saw his chin twitch,
and he said, All right and dropped
the matter, but that little twitch
around the mouth showed me that
he was disappointed, so / said, oh,
guess we might as we'll get them
now but he said, No, that's all
right, We'll wait and they went on.
81 was troubled about that, and |
analysed it like this: The boys want
to go to that celebration tomorrow,
and they want to take girl apiece
likely as not. OF course, we have
two automobiles, but what boy that's
worth a whoop wants to take his
best girl in a car along with the
family! He wants to take rig
and make the trip with her and her
alone. He doesn't want to take her
in his mind tomorrow and wait till
next year to take her in reality. By
that time the wish will grow old
and maybe sour. Or maybe some
other fellow will be taking her and
sroil a good time. The witch around
nv boys mouth meant something
and it stung me as it ought to.
"Well, | knew where the boys must
have been looking at buggies, and
I went there right away and asked
if they had been there and what
buggies they were interestd in. l
was told which ones they had said
they liked best and bought two of
them with the understanding that
the rigs should be at my place by
Z o'clock the next morning. OF
course, / didn't have the price OF
two buggies in my clothes, but |
fixed it, just as l would have liked
things if they had been going to
get married or as if there was going
to be funeral or as If the boys
had been in trouble and had to have
my help. Under any of those cir
cumstances any father would come
to the rescue regardless of expense,
and | just concluded that the way to
keep the boys out of trouble, the
way to prevent funerals or something
gloomy like funeral, the best way
to promote happy marriages at the
right time was to come to the rescue
and let the boys carry out their
wishes at the time the wish was born.
The dealer got the rigs to the farm
some time in the night, and when
the boys got up in the morning, and
looked them over they were the best
pleased boys anybody ever saw. And
I think there were two happy girls
at the celebration that day. Every
time I saw the young folks felt
repaid for the price of two buggies
| think my whole family felt about
100 per cent better, and we were all
glad to meet and visit around with
those girls and their beaux. 1t was
an awfully close call the day before.
If I hadn't noticed that little twitch
around his mouth I might have miss
ed all the joy of doing the right