Evening star., 1924-06-29

to what is mistakenly thought to be
great love is traceable today a
shrinking upon the part Of parents
because of q feeling of their own
incapacity from attempting to build
up the character OF their young. The
impulse OF the father and mother iB
to give the children a better chance
in life than they had themselves, a
better chance to know more and to
be more.
A personal reference at this point.
1 trust, will not be misunde rstood.
1 look into my own life and reveal
what I see solely to stir up the con-
sciences of fathers and mothers who
are anxious to give their children
had. My parents were no different
from those OF today. Among the pio-
neer5 OF the middle west they had
slight opportunities for accommodating
cultural knowledge. No sacrifice was
too great upon their part to give me
what they called better chance in
life. Statesmen of the past, scholars
and great divines sat, unseen guests,
at our table every day. Patriotism,
learning and theology were never
endinEly drummed into my ears and
lhuokEdlCu NY lHc CtkdI dSlCI VI ooulC
outstanding man in history Yet
come In these latter years to con-
template whether there was not some
thing else beside all this greatness
and glory that had to do with fixing
my opinions regardless of how so
ever short therefrom my conduct may
have been.
II have been fairly patriotic l really
wonder whether the attribute was de-
veloped out of the lives Of great patriots.
or whether 1t came to me from an in
cident Of my own boyhood days. My
las Democrat, yet when Sumter was
fired upon three uncles entered the
Union army. My father rendered HIM
self as a surgeon. and was rejected be-
cause OF a bad ankle brought about by
what was commonly known as white
swelling. During the long conflict he
never entered a fee for his services
against any member of a soldiers fam
lily. and through the remainder of his
professional career. which lasted until
age and sickness drove him out of ac-
tive practice. he never accepted a cent
Union soldier whom he treated. I find
myself wondering whether this concrete
example Of patriotism did not do more
toward impressine on my mind the idea
OF loyalty to my country than the alb
stract theories and high-sounding
quoted at our table.
+ 4
Although my father had. for his day,
a good professional education, he had
but slight opportunity Of literary train
ing. One Of the marvels at which I
never cease to wonder was his making a
public address. He would stumble along
in awkward Hoosier dialect for perhaps
fifteen minutes, and then strike his gait,
and speak the rest OF the time in Eng
lish as pure as Addison ever wrote He
had avaiIed himself of the travelling Ii
brary installed by the Owens family Of
Indiana and read all the great authors
Of English. His mind was saturated
with their language, and in the hour OF
need 1T would come to his lips. Out Of
his experience I learned that any one,
however hampered by fate and handi-
capped by fortune he may be, may put
himself in possession of the great facts
Of history and learn how to use them in
telligenty.
There can be no objection to the at
tempt OF parents to give their children
every chance in life; indeed, ii is lauda =
BILE. but parents should not be too hum
BILE. After all, what they say to their
children and do in their presence may
leave more of an impress than the
aphorisms drawn from the books. 1 can
pick out at any commencement the
young man who is safe for the future.
He is the graduate who is proud of
his father and mother, no difference how
poor and shrinking from public gASo
they may be. These are those parents
who have retained the respect Of their
children by supplementiHg knowledge OF
the worlds greatness with private con-
secration to character building.
copyright, 1924. by Twenty first Century
Press)