The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-17

Patrick Henry's mother was eloquent.
that is the reason that every schoolboy
from New York to San Francisco
knows. GIVE mi liberty or give me
death" Phillip Godrich's mother taught
him Biblical history in h old Dutch
fireplace and tho pictures in front OF
1t. Home authority and home exam
pies are needed.
] have Travelled mp and down this
land and / have met every beast upon
the arena and Lam co1yinSed now that
NEITHER Raw or AEospe, .cAnemaRo u ma
tion great without home authority and
home example. Parental neglect 10 one
OF the principle causes for the failure
OF boys. Judicious control and moral
training are absolutely indispensable;
neglect Is not less fatal.
That f~oof-dotfng parents who cannot
hear to correct that boy, may be COM
eiied to see him corrected In the re-
~formatory and by the sovereignty OF the
power of the state. I know a good many
peopfe go around n sneer at the boy
and say. 20, he is tied to his mothers
apron strings" But that Is an actent
term of reproach and II Is designed to
separate youths with pink hair from
the last vestige of self restraint and
from self-respect, and that sneering use
OF that phrase win convert a fairly de
cent boy into a loud -mouthed. swagger-
Ing tough. with the vocabulary of q
Bowery bum IN all h refined tastes
of a wharf rat and the symptoms are
False Aspirations
Ability to absorb more hne-cut than
a two-story cuspidor can hold: q lie
on his tongue that would make old IN
nanias o like a chrome OF truth
crushed to earth. and when q boy be-
Pins to hang his hat owe m ear and
hit the cigarette, In the booze, and
calls his father. "the old man" and puts
In n good share OF the night chasing
with some chicken down the White
way. and trying to win n jackpot on
two fours, n lays up against q quart
of Red Eye In some suds parlor. and
erawls into the hay from the asst dance
with a three-step headache, It's dol
skate OF a sport has called upon him
to assert his independence OF that
string dangling from hts mothers
But, say. the young fellow who al
lows himself TO be laughed into a
tcheap imitation OF a three carat sport,
is a weak sister. take II from me. And
the Indifference of some fool parents
helps the game along.
The father who cYawfs under the
blankets at 8 O'Clock and allows his
son to give the cops a merry chase
until the cocks grow. will need a four
section fire ladder to get a look into
heaven.
Some parents are 80 darned afraid
that their boy will be called a milk sop
that they let the bars down so low
that there is nothing TO stop him in
his mad. wild rush to hell Sui ! have
noticed this, that The boy who IL tied
to his mothers apron strings. who can't
tell four aces from a load of alfalfa
when there are forty applications for
the fob. he goes home with. the blue
ribbon and tagged number one-fn
other words he comes home with the
bacon, He Is the fellow, yes; now. oh
the sporty guy. with a green vest and
spats. a silk lid. puffy eveltds, he looks
as good to a hnrd~headed business man
as a counterfeit dollar. You bet your
life.
I would rather be a hundred times
over. and ! would rather have my
boy. n l know wiuld yours)
tied to his mothers apron strings
than hooked up 70 an appetite for
sire to steal the next Jackpot on a
pair OF fours> Gee Whit Amt II
ferce3 Can you beat itr
Anarchy In not born In Hay Mar
ket riots of Chicago, right Oft the
reei-no. sir, Whether a boy win re-
srect laws is determined by whether
he will obey at home or not. We've
got forty-nine million farmers In this
country who are being taught
hog-how TO put a few more pounds
on his avo.rdupois and another kink
in his tail. And we've got one In
stttuston that has a department for
the American hov-how 70 raise him.
One college shatAs got a department
for the American boy NV friends,
o~utlawisyn Is not settled by the street
mob: the question OF obedience Is set
tied In the home, and IL they will not
obey their fathers or mothers they
won't obey the social or moral or civil
power.
One OF the danger SIGNS o. our time
.s the curse Of Idle mothers who tuss
board around. They never darn a
sock. they never patch a pair Of
pants. they never hemstftch a hand
kerchinef or put any insertion-what
do you call those? They inst kind OF
drag themselves down to their meals
and II they ever go out u Is to some
entertainment, 20 some opera to Some
fashionable dressmaker or mfllfner;
and II they die and you keep 1t out
of the Papers nobody will miss then,
Except their husbands when they
get the milliners bill.
We are n~eglecting the home life to-
day for the club. for the lodge. for
the literary. for society. and a thou
sand and one things, SIR. Fit your
self TO be The intellectual companion
of your children. The learning at the
school and college will soon fade from
their minds. hut what they learn al
your nee win stick after they have
to hobble on the crutches OF decrepi-
tude. taking their teeth out and
cleaning them at the sink.
There are mighty few things more
important than conversation. Oh!
the good you car do with your
tongues or the evil and pain you can
give! A loving conversation Is a
great ranacea. Many homes have
none. No arectfonate greetings when
they return from school and the
store. no. regrctfui goodbye when
they 60 away. no. Areeide chatter,
Meals are eaten IN silence and the old
man never speaks unless ne grunta
for somebody to pass him the grub,
and you'd think You were In q deaf
and dumb asyium.
Don't Hcnld-
The perpetual scolding. don't don't
tDON.T. "A child should never he told
that they were to be seen ard moi
heard. OF all sentences that crawied