The New York herald., 1922-12-03
BY H. E. HAWKES.,
Dean of Columbia College.

Dean or Columbia Soiiegc.
fTHE eternal controversy between
the younger and the older gen
i erations comes to a climax dur
ing the college years. To the Older gen.
Grafton youth often seems headstrong
and without fine moral sense. To
many a self-con hdent youth the whole
process OF education is device on the
part Of the older generation to pre-
vent the younger generation from
competing too soon.
both SIDES of the controversy often
fail to understand what the elders
may expect to hand down to their
sons. From the dawn Of Civilization
certain achievements of each genera
ton have been preserved for the next.
Generally speaking, material and
purely intellectual progress is passed
on in the form of wealth or of book
The inventions and discoveries of yes
terday are available for our use and
extension to-day. We know more
we can do more and we have more
than our fathers. This is bound to be
the case so long as human society
exists. Nothing short of a cataclysm
like ths fall of the ancient empires,
the French Revolution and the great
war are effective, in disturbing this
process. And apart from the actua
suffering and bloodshed, this disturb
ance OF a nataral process is the irrep-
arabic injury which such an upheayal
causes
Boys Learn Little
From Their Elders
But this is not the point about which
the conflict between the older and the
younger generation RACES. The fathers,
and more particularly the mothers,
unconsciously expect their sons TO
start their characters at the point
where the parents leave off. Would
God this were possible--sometimes
II tt were possible we would not to-
day be obliged to look back two thou
sand years or more to the Greeks and
the Hebrews for our models In char-
acter any more than we do in regard
to material things. But the world is
not made that way. Each boy learns
much from his own experience but
relatively little from his elders. by
precept alone not much can be accom-
plished for youth unless those pre-
cepts have barbs that catch and hold
in the actual experience of the boy.
One day after long conference with
a somewhat harebrai ned boy, in the
course of which INDUCED in a num-
ber of generalizations that sounded
very wise-to me at least--the en-
ba.rrassed youth brought the interview
to & close by thanking me FOR my IN
terest, concluding with the remark,
"You have certainly told me great
MANY basic truisms." This is almost
always the situation. The experience
of the older generation, which has
been gained by sweat OF the brow ana
travail OF the spirit, is little more than
basic truisms for our youth.
Not only in the standards OF Jude-
rnent. but in the standards OF morality
is the older generation unable to inn
press itself on the younger. We all
have a. kind OF blind faith that our
children are no worse than we, but
we are often completely unable to jus
tify this faith by observation o. the
social conventions OF our youth. Oc-
casionally some Illuminating event
shows us the truth. as when the war
proved to every one that American
young manhood had not relapsed into
a low order of moral fiber. And the
youth of to-day ID as fine as that OF
six years ago. But they certainly do
not take over without change either
the manners or the outlook on life OF
their fathers.
Nothing IS gained by iamenting this
condition. Neither tears nor impre-
cations can change it. Far better at
tempt to discover the limits of this
imperviousness in the mind OF youth
and to work with what we have rather
than to deal with a false assumption.
1 think that a good deal OF the lack
of patience that parents show toward
their sons is due to the fact that they
Judge them by standards OF middle
aged responsibility rather than those
Of hot youth. II parents could recall
wildly the storm and stress OF their
own youth they would understand half