The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-10-25
Judge Would Restore
OLd-Fashioned Discipline
If Parents Would Lick" More at
Home They Would Have
Fewer HeartaChes.

NEW YORK, N. Y.-Sparing the
rod has spoiled the American boy,
That is the solemn conclusion OF a
good many persons who have had I'M
fortunate experiences with cur young
hopefuls.
An Englishman once wrote book
on The American Boy" He publish
ed it in 1870, and it is curious to OBJ
serve that the harsh things he said
about the little tyrant in the American
home are being repeated almost to the
letter by critics of the boy OF the pres
ent day. He is noisy, irreverent, will
full, undisciplined The English writer
attributed these dire things to the same
cause-absence of a birch behind the
door
There is just one kind OF discipline
that does the work" said Judge Alfred
J. Talley, of the court OF general SEES
sions, in discussing speech he deliv-
cred recently, wherein he analysed the
causes of youthful crime, land that is
corporal punishment. Lax parents make
boy criminals, and it is general truth
that modern American children are not
brought up with the proper respect for
parents, law and order or constituted
authority The parents are to blame.
What | said in my speech was
strictly impromptu although the idea
previously had occurred to me to give
my views on this subject. | stand by
all that | said however. II the stern
discipline our forefathers enforced were
restored to the American home it
would kill a great deal OF crime at the
source.
"Whatever a boy does, provided he
escapes the police, may be censured at
home, but he is not punished for it.
! Moral suasion' has taken the place OF
whipping What does ne care about
moral suasion? He would care a good
deal about a sound thrashing.
I 1T is one thing to encourage a good
understanding between the boy and his
father and quite another thing for the
iather to give up all authority over his
/ son at an early age. It's just the dit
ference between liberty and license. Ny
/ Experience in the criminal courts OF
( New York has made this difference
very plain to me, and l feel strongly
on this as being a great American fail
ing.
If a boy isn't taught to obey at
home before he is years old he will
never learn obedience to law and order
in after life, and without this ingram
ed knowledge he is weak before temp
tation.
Every day I see the results Of this
wrong way OF bringing up children.
Youths under p are brought before
me on criminal charges who feel to-
ward the law like hardened criminals.
They began by doing what they liked
at home and +defying their parents. At
II they tell their parents they are not
going to school any more and they
don't go. They become loungers on
street corners, mingling with older
boys who are already on the way to
/ becoming criminals And the fathers
say they cannot do anything to pre-
vent this association.
In a couple of years these youths
have fallen foul of law and order; per
haps they appear as prisoners in the
children's court where in the lighter
cases they are remandcd to the father s
care. But it is too late; he cannot do
anything with his hayward boy be-
cause he abrogated his authority sew
eral years earlier"