Gunnison news-champion., 1924-02-22

lady reader oil the WofranS
Page recently handed US an inter
esting clipping, and we are here
with publishing il. There is d lot
of sound advice in il.
Not long ago young man was
observed using n towel bearing the
name of n certain railway Pullman
car. At the look of surprise given
him, he remarked with a careless
shrtg of his shoulders: 'oh, they've
got lots of them" A day or so later
another young man placed linen
napkin in his pocket after hotel.
dinner. For a souvenir" he said.
These are small items, it is true, but
the lack of honor manifested in
these minor incidents is identical with
that of certain public official, who
when accused of misusing large sums
Of public money, replied indiferently:
They all do it, why shouldn't ?"
To what strange pass has youth
come that il despises the old ideals of
honesty, uprightness and integrity?
In land where public schools flourish
at every crossroads shall we stand
meekly by and witness the corruption
Of all that we hold dear, simply be-
cause our boys and girls have not
learned to be honest
Parents Responsible
The public school is not altogether
responsible. Training in ethics ana
the elevation of our young people to
a higher plane of morality must be-
gin at home. Parents must see to it
that the fundamentals of honesty and
moral courage are inculcated into the
minds of their children at the very
start. The early lessons of childhood
are those that shape the character and
mold the expanding thought.
II is self evident that parents can
not teach their children to be honest
unless they themselves are so. 1t is
must be truthful il the parents in
dulge in fibs or white lies."?
II grown folks lie to their tax as
pany out of a nickel, or beat the gro
Ger down a few pennies on. everything
they buy, how can they expect child
rem to walk in the straight and mar
row path of honesty? And you can't
fool the children very long either.
II is dishonest to ride on street
car without paying your fare. 1t is
dishonest to take spoons, napkins,
towels, etc. from public places. 1t is
dishonest to use company or office
stationery for private correspondence
without permission; it is dishonest to
stop work as soon as your employers
back is turned.
II is not honesty that makes people
poor. Honesty implies candor, fair
ness, straightforwardness; sincerity is
a genuine heartfelt desire to conform
to the truth; honor is honesty plus
gh-mindedness and nice sense of
allegiance to the standards of ones
profession or calling; integrity signi-
fies incorruptible uprightness, while
probity means tried integrity. Give
US but one generation of absolute ad-
herence to these qualities and Judge if
it does not spell the millennium.
Teach the children these basic rules
of conduct from the time thy are able
to talk. If baby reaches for costly
vase or picture, say "No, no that is
mammals vase" then remove him or
the vase to a safe position. When re-
fusing the child such things be firm
but not unkind. Let your decision be
final. Do not change your mind a
few minutes later and give it to him
to play with "if he will be careful"
Do not expect that children will
know how to do things without being
taught. When a child is first asked
TO carry wood to the woodbox go with
him and show him just how you wish
the task to be done and insist that
it done that way. Do this several
times or until you know that he under
sands your directions and can carry
them out. Then never accept any
thing that is not up to standard. Only
his best effort is an honest one
whether to an employer or to himself.
If child carries papers, runs err
rands, delivers milk, or is otherwise
engaged in working for others. insist
from the first on scrupulous exactness.
A strict accounting for every penny
intrusted in his care should be an in
flexible rule. Lead the child to the
habit of keeping his own change en-
enirely separate from that in his
trust. Often carelessness in handling
money is responsible for later inten-
tional dishonesty.
If you say at is only a penny, it
doesn't matter" you lay the founda-
tiodn for lax habits. Whether it is
one cent or one hundred cents, if it is
his, it is dishonest for him to use it.
If money held in trust for another is
lost, this also should be made good.
There are many small children who
never carry money without closing"
some part of it. These children early
learned that if money was reported as
"lost" no further account of it need
be given. 1t was convenient to lose
it and the neighboring candy store
was benefited thereby. Had these
children been required to earn and pay
back the first coin that was lost, it is
safe to say that the losses would be
much less frequent.
SHE WANTED THE SCALES