The Arvada enterprise., 1922-07-13
TAKE TO 'K|DD|ES'
Writer Corrects Misapprehension
Concerning Bachelors.
Really They Have a Better Under.
standing Of the Childish Heart
Than Have Many Parents.

l have long been convinced that the
people who have no children are Sc
cretly malinged and treated with in
justice by those who have and 1t Is
for the purpose OF defending them and
setting them right that these lines arc
written, Thomas L. Masson writes In
the New York sun. There is
kind of confraternity of those who
have children arruyed against those
who haven't.
The thing has gone far enough.
In the interests of good fellowship
and all-around sport, 1t certainly ought
to be stopped.
l frankly plead guilty myself to this
sort OF thing. l can recall the many
occasions in which l have remarked
to somebody else who had children.
speaking Of some one who had them
not.
you see, he doesn't understand. He
has no children of his own. Great pity.
isn't it,"
Yes, | have said this so often my
self, and | have heard 1t said so often
that 1t is now high time to record my
sense of contritlon. For 1t isn't true.
The truth Is that those who have no
children quite generally understand
them much better than those who do.
They have kind OF sense about chill
dren, very much like sixth sense. and
which appears to have been given to
them to take the place Of the children
themselves.
| could give many Instances that oc-
cur to me to corroborate this view. !
know two or three old bachelors who
have devoted their lives to the bring
Ing up of boys, and the astonishing
insight into boys that they have GER
tninly could not be eXcelled, II paral.
leled, by any parent. As for maiden
Indies. their perceptions about chill
dren are uncanny.
have seen boys considered thor
oughly bad and denounced and
trounced by their parents, and made
to feel quite worthless ind unredeem-
able crawl under the wings Of some
spinster Indy. and be Immediately re-
vived and mentally and morally set
upon their feet. merely by the fact
that the spInster lady was able to look
into their hearts and to have such
faith In them as to accomplish this
miracle.
For this IL the real miracle after
all-that one may touch II human be-
Ing, perhaps only by the pressure
Of the hand or an understanding smile
and II listening ear, and Immediately
restore him to moral health.
am free to confess that there are
so many things about those who have
Ority to those who have that l find
1t difficult to know where to begin.
They may be lost In every other way.
Owing to their freedom from re-
sponsIbilities of this sort. and Joy
BUSINESS the heart OF the crusty. In
their ways and cranks, and all that
sort Of thing, 1t Is nothing less than
marvellous the way they will let chill
dren upset them.
l have seen an elderly gentleman
who had lived In bachelor apartments
all his life. and who. II his newspa-
per was ten minutes late, or was fold
ed the wrong way. would fnll into n
profound rage. have seen this gen.
tleman submit to nny indignIty I'm
posed upon him by II small band Of
children at IA week.end-and cry for
more.
Thus, you see, there ARE two sorts
Of miracles: there is the miracle OF
the chIldless person understanding
and seeing into the childs heart when
the parent IL blind. md there is the
miracle OF the child bringing back to
responsiveness md joyousncss the
heart Of the crusty. chiIdlcss person,
who has become Immersed In the ina
chlncry Of his own scliisncss.
Then. again. have you noticed that
childless persons love all kinds Of chill
drcni Their impnrtiaIlty Is as wide ns
the world. A nice little girl with
Iinxcn hair blowing bnck of her M she
runs In the wind. and who sits on ones
knee In the twilight and asks for n
fniry story-such II divine creature M
this will appeal to any ciildlcss per-
son. no matter who she is or where
she comes from.
But the average pnrcnt Sniffs Mt any
other little girl like that who doesn't
belong to him. The prejudice and In
tolerance OF parents have never been
measured