Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1917-02-08
Recreation for Young
People in Rural Life
BY Mrs. virginia G. Meredith.

was IN columbus, ONO, DUR
ing that great meeting, 1.-THE Church
and Country Life" People were
there from all over the United States.
There were some wonderful talks
made. This emerged:
Gods great purpose for mcn is
the development in the highest posi-
bio way of each personality and the
human race as a whole. Therefore,
the function of the church, especially
the country church, iC to create, main
tain, enlarge the ideals of the indi-
vidual and the community and to help
each person incarnate these ideals in
his personal life, his family life, in
his industry, in the relationship of the
whole community, the social rela-
TONS"
Now, that is a great big program.
But this woman can help to bring
to pass such program.
suppose that the very first diff
Guilty that will confront us when
we endeavor to do anything for our.
community is recreation. There is
where we will disagree. We will
agree on everything else, but when
we talk about the recreations of the
young people we will disagree. One
will say:
"oh, it is Mary's birthday next
week; shall give a dance party for
Mary"
And everyone says: "Oh, how
could you do such wicked thing!"
And then say:
"Oh, don't care about dancing
party I would just as soon have
card party for Mary on her birthday"
And then another set of friends will
say:
"Oh, that is the wickedest thing you
could do"
And then 1 say: "Well, 1 don't
care for cards and 1 don't care for
dancing; believe 1 will take Mary
and her friends on a little theatre
R"AbJ up " 81 Lculb.
And then another friend will say:
well, that is the straight road to
perdition."
Now. what shall l do for Mary?
l want to do something for her and
her friends. What shall ! do? Well,
we will never agree on these partic-
ular forms of amusement, but we will
agree on this: If say to you that
no amusement, no recreation will 20
very far wrong in the home Of a good
woman, we will agree, won't we?
So then I say this home must be the
center and starting place of the rec
creations of the neighborhood. They
ought to be under supervision, under
the guidance of mature women who
sympathize with young people.
You know this matter of recrea-
ton we have not half appreciated.
Lord Alverstone, the great Chief JUS
tice of England, died only last week,
and he said this:
81 have been on the bench for for
ty years engaged mostly in the trial
of criminal cases. and 1 find that
second to drink, and second only to
drink, as cause of crime is the diff
Guilty of providing innocent amuse-
ment and harmless recreation for
young people,"
Isn't that a shameful arraignment
Of the home and the mother in the
home, that the most difficult thing is
to provide innocent amusement and
harmless recreation for the young
people? Why is it so important? This
is why: We must all have recreation
and play. If it is not harmless, If 1t
is not innocent, then tomorrow morn
ing we arise just little below par
for the duties of the tomorrow. If they
are in the factory, in the bank, in
the office, we are not quite up to the
mark, and so our efficiency is lowered,
lour salaries are not so good, we
lose out. And so this matter of
health and recreation and efficiency
are all bound up together and they
are bound up just as much for the
country boy and girl as they are for
the town boy and girl. for my part
recognize no difference in human ma
ture, whatever the environment may
be.
| / had a most interesting invita- ton
to address the alfalfa Club" in
city of the North, and thought
what fascinating name for a
club, the Alfalfa Club?' will 60"
/ went, There were one hundred mem
bers-and not one Of them lived on
a farm. They were men in town,
bankers, owners of factories, mer-
chants who owned farms and quite