Arizona republican., 1917-01-05
The "Destructive Age"


 We are glad to note Phoenix house. owner has shown a tendency break the ice in favor of prospective tenants encountered with children. The line has been by of advertisers only against children of destructive age" Hitherto a rather rigid rule has been in effect by many land lords against children of all ages One afflicted with children, disease other disability drawback has found himself handicapped in his search for house. If he had cough he had to labor desperately to keep the muffer during the period of negotiations Though might keep his children in the background until after the execution of the lease he could not keep them there forever, and when they dis closed the claim was likely to be made by the land lord that he had been defrauded
 Now, that a sensible householder has recognized that there an age in which children harmless and should be provided with shelter suppose de- string will have somewhat easier time locat ing themselves. But we should like be definitely informed the period of destructive age" When does it begin and when does it end? Is possible fix the limits of the period of de- structveness? The infant in arms, of course Is paratively harmless furniture and window and door castings. windows and doors baseboards and other woodwork. including buit-in features.
 But once the infant begins to toddle he becomes engine at destruction. His inroads first ap parent the walls, and he increases in stature and strength his ravages spread with seadiness and rapidity of those of the boil weev The ceiling above is alone immune from his depredatons At his greatest stage of destructiveness he is a house. wrecker.
 Ordinarily at age of ten, his destructive actiy- ities begin to abate. He is away from home in his waking hours either school in the company of other children destroying the property of neghbors campaign in which his parents landlord has no 
 If the child is girl she is absolutely harmless household pest until she attans the of four teen or whereabouts. On the contrary at the of twelve she begins be constructive. The house the furniture the woodwork is made the presentable because of her presence. During a brief period of say two years, she is positive asset to the land lord He could afford to reduce the rent during this period but he would later be sorry that he had done so, for there is girl when she becomes attraction the young untamed males of the neighborhood and calls them from the scenes of their door destructive activities and the interior of the house again theater of bang This of things lasts until the girl has attained young womanhood and her suitors have become serious minded and orderly She is longer a child and longer falls under the inter- diction of the landlord.
 Thus in the case of girl children, there is be- tween the ages of two and, say, eighteen, period of hardly more than four years when she might not be classified as being of the destructive age"
 We hardly know what the landlords going do about it. Some provision must be made for the shelter of children those of destructive age for all must pass through that inevitable phase of adolescence If all rgidy against children as some landlords there would be future gen. eraton. There would be tenants and, of course there could be no landlords. The course pursued by those of them who prescribe children is therefore of class suicide.
 The thing for the landlords is either to rec rates as insurance companies do for extra hazards else attach to every residence an ndestructible annex where children shall be kept during the de- structive the boys until they reach the age of ten, when they may be turned loose to prey upon the community. The girls after that age may be ad- mitted to the residence until they are say fourteen when they should again be immured in the annex for four years In this way the rights of landlord and his property will be conserved.
 Railway and other transportation compaes. while they admit children of all ages mingle with human beings on their and vessels draw the line at dogs though they do not exclude the latter but require that they shall be separated passengers in tran su, recognizing the principle we have suggested for destructive age"
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