The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-02-04
AS THE TwIG is BENT.
By Geraldine Bonner OF The vigilantc

There IL saying -aecredited To ~
Jesuits, | think that give them a chill
20 the age Of eight and he will be THEN
forever, Trend of thought. habits q
mind, standards Of conduct, inculcate
in the early years, persist ON throug
the seven ages. As we advance on on
march we can look back and see hoy
the formative influences of our ehldboo
have stretched out from the past, hav
like invisible fingers, moulded MS int
our present shape. Our basic belief.
our inhibitions, our failures and sue
eesses 4 can be traced To what we alb
sorbed from the surroundings and tn
teachings of our first decade. Upon th,
foundations then laid we have buildet
up To what we are
The Germans, with their long sight
years ago grasped the possibilities %
tins moulding process and set about ere
ating the nation they wanted. They left
nothing 10 chance, but went at il witt
scientific thorongbness, building from
the bottom up, building through the chill
dren The school, the pulpit, the home
were all modified to assist in the great
plan. The plastic mind OF the child re.
ceiyed the suggestion. which slowly
seeped in and permeated the conscious,
ness. Thus the people were trained to
be the instrument their leaders needed =
the sword IN the hand of the war god.
As the twig is bent SO will its growth be.
Let us take lesson from our enemy
and begin To bend our twigs. God for.
bid that we should bend them in the
form he has--but one needn't waste
words on that All we want To learn
from him il the value of a concerted. con.
tinuous effort directed to the develop
ment of the young idea. One picks
pearls from diseased oysters, and wears
the pearl as jewel when the oyster has
gone the way of all dead things.
One Of the directions in which we
should bend our twigs is toward better
understanding Of economy, No children
in the world have as much spent on them
as American children. Among the we'll
TODD they move in an atmosphere of
carefully devised luxury, nothing is too
good for them, nothing too costly. They
are dressed extensively, large sums are
spent in the purchase of toys which they
break and cast aside with precocious en-
nni. One of the axioms among puryeyors
of childrens clothes and furnishings is
that mothers will deny themselves that
their babies may have the latest and
equipments. In the matter of
presents money is squandered on them
On Christmas and birthdays they are
with gifts, overwhelmed by
an abundance too great TO appreciate or
enjoy.
To start life amid such influences is 10
start under handicap. A child with its |
few treasured toys. loved and intimate, /
a child in clothes too simple to stimulate /
vanity is a child with a better chance /
than one trained in an appreciation of /
values, and satiated with /
plenty. II is not being treated fairly. /
nor being started right Its parents
wen though they may be able to dover
t richly-are not helping ii to that self
ienal and restraint which will carry it
% the high destiny they dream of. They
ire bending the twig in the wrong direc.
ion, neglecting their duty as the garden
II in whose hands its future lies
No matter how lacking in public spirit
uch parents may be, they have read
md heard a good deal lately of the ne.
essity for a curtailed expenditure and
conservation of our resources. They
now they must be careful of the coal
nd the food, and the general outlay.
20 doubt many of them have honestly
ried and experienced comforting sense
4 accomplishment as the bills grew
mailer and the house grew colder. But
his is only temporary; an effort to be
ustained It'll the war Is over" To
rake "A permanent change in the nation
character, TO implant and develop in
a new impulse, they must 90 deeper,
. the root-and the root is in the chill
rem
Early training can make thrift as in
-inctive as it is in the French, But the I
lildren must be educated to it, not only I
Y speech and precept, but by suggestion /
nd setting. Cease to surround them Z
it'll an unnecessary luxury cease to
oy their powers of appreciation with a
lperfuity, and the process is begun. If
le child understands that il must take
re Of and value what ii has, that what
lost or broken won't be replaced, v
nse of responsibility has been implant
|. Strengthen its will power by teach b
z it to do without. TO control its nat y
al primitive instinct to destroy and
mand Let it feel its share in the u
own-ups' burden, take its part in the
neral endeayor, see itself. not as an
tsider in the family's effort, but as
rticipant in its sacrifices and obliga
ms.
The government with its war saving 81
amps has given us an excellent medium d
tn which to start this training. In
lad of the penny box. which can be e,
ade to disgorge, try the book of 25- II
ut stamps. A child of seven or eight
lld understand this. that it represent
an investment of his pennies, TO re-
m to him eventually increased in val W
1t would start process in his mind @,
lugurate an interest, which would be =,
pit alive by the desire to save for an !.
Ter stamp. II has the value of a pro- I'll
,sson. of an advancement toward a
ii. As a game it offers the great in W
something to be won: as
lining ii establishes an idea and nour-
es the faculties that make for its ac.
nplishment. 1t teaches something
It in our easy-going haphazard way 20
left to chance or trusted to natural =,
lination. IN