The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-12-07
TAKE CARE OF YOUR
DAUGHTER
BY Amelia josephine Burr
of The Vigilantes

We hear much about the moral
menace to a community caused by
the neighborhood Of large camp. 1t
is unhappily true. The purveyors and
practitioners Of organized vice are on
the alert for such opportunities. But
that danger is not the greatest. Con-
scious and international lawlessness
may be met and fought with the
weapons, Of law; but there is sub
tier and therefore greater danger
that requires more imagination to
meet and more delicacy to combat,
because it is dealing with an evil
which has its roots in virtue.
A large camp was established near
a New England city. Of course it
became the central point Of interest
for all the neighborhood, and on WIS.,
iting days the young girls of high
school age flocked there with espe-
zial zest-such girls as one knows
well, with the warm, selfish, igno-
rant, curious heart Of youth beating
high under the all-but-absent blouse
and the eager joyous young feet
tottering in their gay silly shoes up
on the eternal quest. One of the
girls on a summer evening, saw
handsome officer standing alone,
summoned all her daring.
"Aren't you awfully lonesome?"
she asked.
THANK you, we would be if we
had time, no doubt" he answered,
pleasantly, "but we are usually too
busy to think much about our feel
ings."
Don't you want to walk with
mel"
care you going homer" She nod
ded. "Then I will take you there"
They walked together to her home,
she in great triumph at having Sc
cured so impressive an escort. When
they reached the house, the
officer expressed wish to meet |
her father and mother. What he had |
to say to them was very brief and |
was decided surprise to the girl.
'For Gods sake, take care of
you daughter. I am trying to keep
my boys staight,-but girls like this
make it difficult"
A cruel saying? Yes, cruel as a
surgeons knife. True? Yes, true as
the story itself,-which ends here;
I do not know the sequel. The con-
dition exists, and we must face it.
There are many boys in the army
well-schooled aaginst open vice, but
defenceless aaginst the most insid-
ious Of temptations-the temptation
that does not advertise itself as
one.
Do you believe that child was for
moment guilty in thought when 1
she spoke to the officer, though she
used the street-girls formula? Try
to get her side Of the little drama
that might so easily have been a
tragedy-that so often has. The SOL I
diers calling has always been in 6
vested with glamour Of romance l
in feminine eyes; and the present {
world condition, while exposing the I
horror and evil of war as never be- G
fore has paradoxically rather aug I
mented than lessened the admiration t
for the individual soldier. The man. i
tie of the Crusader is upon him l
each of these boys in khaki is l
young st. George, arrayed against d
the dragon in supreme war against
war. With our minds resolutely t
fixed upon righteous and enduring l
peace, today in America the soldier
is hero more than ever before.
What is more natural as a result
than heightened interest and
generous desire to make the last
days Of our boys on this soil as hap t
py as possible?
Youth is so sure of the integrity :
Of its own motives, so sure Of its t
own strength; and fhe youth Of our il
day is so sure of its own wisdom. c
Not without excuse Ignorance has F
40 armor so invincible as half s
Our young girls, thru t
! score of channels, know all the n
vickedness Of the world by sight and v
~ name. Familiarity has its usual a
'ruit of contemptuous confidence, b
md added to all this is, outwardly, s
he relaxing of former conventions, n
nd below the surface, the more c
,iolent and radical readjustments Of Ii