South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-06-05
South Bends First MIXED Jury
Decides Against Mother Who Asks
$4,000 AS Pay For Rearing Son
Twelve Men and Women mpaneled By interviewer Return
Verdict That Monetary Value Can Not Be Fixed For
Trouble Parent Has in Rearing Chid-Rated
Among The 'Intangibles.

mothers plate az the breaEfast
table and when his mother found
&c. she got the IS cents for Tommy
and took his receipt in full for the
account rendered But at noontimo
Tommy found another bill which
read az follows.
Tommy smith 10 his Mother, DIR.
For giving Tommy life and
a sound body. .......fO0
For weeks OF worry before
MS birth .....-....... 90
For suffering when Tommy
was born ..........-.- 90
For sleepless nights when
Tommy was sick...-... 90
For washing and mending
Tommy's clothes. ....... 90
For cooking Tommy's
breakfast. dinner and
sumner 90
Received payment IN full in love
and kisses - Caroline Smith
tTommy's mother)
When Tommy found this re-
ce.pted bill upon his plate his paltry
IS cents lost all its value. He had
learned his lesson on payment Of
intangibles."
James J. Boughlin. student, eighth
member Of the jury. gave his opin-
ion that the mother Is bringing dis
grace upon herself for asking pay
for rearing her child and likewise IS
disgracing her son.
Qualified with IL Children.
Adam Schmidt. farmer OF stark
county. impaneled while in South
Bend. is certainly qualified to serve.
He is the father OF IL children. He
quoted from the Bible the fourth
commandment, Honor thy father
and mother"
LAS long as my children observe
this commandment" Schmidt said,
they pay me as much as 1 think
any parent should expect. The value
Of a parents sacrifice TO children
could not be figured in gold and sill
YER"
w. w. Borden, superintendent Of
public schools in South Bend. said
children could not and should not
be expected TO pay in money for the
training they receive from the father
and mother.
Ralph Newman, formerly an in
structor in the manual training de-
partmeut of the high school, be-
lieves. with the others, he said. that
the only way child can pay q
parent is by being as dutiful TO his
own children.
The twelfth member Of the jury
is Stella Starr, formerly Of St. JO-
seph county and now a charity
worker in Denver, Colo. She de-
clared she can scarcely believe that
any mother would be so foolish as
TO expect pay for care of her child.
Even though the mother might not
be Lleased with her children the
iurywoman said. "she can only hope
to be repaid by her child being as
dutiful to his own children"
Would Fare Poorly Here.
From these opinions Of our mixed
Jury it would seem that Mrs.
Brooksheld would not do very wei
in a South Bend courtroom. only
one case in which a mother is in
need of money and who is forced to
provide "A home for her son after
ne has reached the age Of a. was
mentioned 10 be worthy of consid-
Grafton.
Most OF the judgments are OF the
opinion that paying mother in re-
spect and honor is the only possible
way of trying to cancel the debt
and others say there is only one way
Of repaying the kindness shown
by giving ones own children the
training one has received.
To be sure you are repaying the
debt YOU owe 10 your children it
would be better TO do everything
possible for them. these opinions
suggest.
This was an exceptional mother
and she made an exceptional case.
AT least not one out of Il persons
in South Bend believe that she