Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-04-29

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! | wish tne-IaW Knpsd make the
/ Man who digs ditch across the
| street, complete the job In
| Course of time; that when you
I Crossed with motor car 1t
I Wouldn't jar your eye-teeth out
/ or make you feel that suddenly
The seat on which you cast your
1 Frame did drop away and leave
| You there And as YOU started to
/ Descend. did rise again and meet
You. Biff' with all the recoil
or the springs. II | could
Find the man in charge Who left
This ditch across the street. Id
Like to kick him round the block
And having kicked him round the
Block to turn and kick him back
Again; and round lgL'n and back
Again and son on al infin'um.
was not found worthy OF repeated
chastisements. the parents trembled
for his fate The whole system rested
on two errors ideas which were char
ncteristic Of the sentiment Of the time
the first being that piety was not a
voluntary matter hut something TO be
irCulca'od and maintained by force,
and the second that young people
were by nature sinful and could no.
he permitted under any circumstances
to use their own Judgment or volt
tion. 1t has not been so many years
ago that we have known parents who
still maintained that whatever was
prompted by the mind of a child was
necessarily inspired OF the devil and
that the only road to righteousness
lay thru a constant and consistent re-
precision. Everything the child IA
vored must be ruthlessly crushed and
his life hedged about with a catalog
OF don'ts.
But the pendulum swings and Wa
are swiftly drifting to the other ex-
treme. We long ago came to the con-
yiction that the childish mind was in
the main clearer and more guileless
in motive than that OF grown folks.
We have learned that the mission OF
parents and teachers was education"
"a leading out OF the child nature TO
things that were better. instead OF the
old way OF damming up the stream Of
youthful motives and accommodating
power Of resentment that in later
years resulted in producing either col
orless beings without the courage to
have minds OF their own. or else
breaking Of tho dam and the rushing
out OF flood OF pent-up recklessness.
That the old way tended to produce
"mollycoddles' or bad men," accord
ing TO the strength and spirit OF the
chllds intellectually. has been too
thoroly demonstrated to be any longer
a subject for argument SO far. so
good. but We have gone farther than
this We have given the child the
rcins Of his own destiny and sent him
out into the sea of life without rudder
or compass. We have been too busy
with making money or discharging
our social obligations to get ac-
quainted with our children and give
them the benefit OF friendly advice
or companionable direction. Many OF
US have never boen introduced to our
children. Rather than take the time
90 give direction to their motives. we
have lot them run themselves. and
many n wrecked life is such because
those who should have been advisors
and instructors have loafed on the Job
Solomon may have been wise. but
Jepus Christ was wiser. He taught us
that little children were tho nearest
90 moral perfection OF any human be-
ings. II Is not the child nature TO
sock tho wrong. Sin is not planted In
the heart AS "A fundamental principle.
They are not born bad. The child ac-
quires binfuiness, not from within, but
by Initiating the acts and the IDEAS OF
| others, parents first, and later other
associates. Boys are not naturally bad.
but II the good seed 10 not first
planted and takes firm root, the
weeds OF sin viii soon take possession
and hold II. Most boys get 10 be bad,
not because they want TO. but be-
cause they have not been shewn how
20 be good, Morality and religion
have been presented to their minds
AS systems Of prohibitions, rather than
motives of action. The boy is pent-up
energy psrsonified, II given profit
able outlets for that energy hs Will
not seek out the improbable and the
dsieterious,