, 1925-01-07
Results of Past Neglect

The Reformed Church Messenger points out;
. "A c~ountry's greatest treasures are her SONS
and daughters, and no sin can be more Iar-reacn,
; ing than the neglect OF childhood Inc peru
of an unframed generation far surpasses all
other dangers threatening the welfare OF our
land .,on,d
recognize the utter insuftlclency OF = mereiy
secular education, or any sort OF training winch
merely involves the discipline of the intellect,
without the development Of the feelings ana the
-v;u the strengthening of moral sanctions, anu
the nurture of spiritual vision? Today Amer
leans pride themselves on their educational sys'
lem. but would it not be well to consider also
that such a heinous crime as murder has more
- than doubled in proportion TO the population
in the past twenty years, and that many OF inc
Tnr5ersrs are from the highly educated class.
l. this next year to produce its increasing muir
ders and are all the new years TO come TO go
on with their increasing quota? In thls last
wear no less than 10000 murders were com,
-i-ts5 in The United States. Is the year 1875
FOR Us as q people to bear that same marx oil
biood:
But what of the crimes of violence( Of rob
berv and so forth? What OF the utter con,
-s-n- for law and order which manifests ftseI
n times where it may least be expected ana cii@-
among the highly educated?
MANY persons who are not to be called Jer~
miahs, disclose in private what they co 70.
80 like TO make public) their fears for the futars
of American civilization, in view Oh le o1E
% Of crime, the contempt for law.
~ MANY OF our learned men have from time 70
. time called attention to the tendency toward
crime created by envy and Jealousy OF the newt!
rich. Since that day millions OF Americans
have been made rich by a war which resulted
in the death, by slaughter, disease and starya-
tion. of some thirty or forty millions oil their
fellow human beings, and accomplished little IL
any good that might not have been accomplished
Desceably if mems hearts had 'been clean
MANY of these warmade rich are bowling
about in costly motor cars, filling expensive
3. hotels, patronizing criminal bootleggers, indulg-
ing in all manner OF luxury and IN many ways
Haunting their riches in the faces of the less
fortunate. This is the cause of much OF the
crime. 1t is luxury and law defiance like this
that has overthrown the buried empires of the
past. Can this country expect 10 survive IL
such practices spread?
furthermore. the Bolshevistic doctrines, eff
YOU see what you want take il, 'tis yours" has
permeated the brains of more sapheaded and
brazenhearted youth in America than Is
I. dreamed of by most of our smugly c~ontented
citizens.
oliver Goldsmith, in comparing the humble
:. virtues Of Sweet Auburn in its early days with
its later luxury and indulgence, sang a song
which Americans can well consider;
O .Lupuryl thou cursed BY Heavens decree,
Hoo III exchanged are things like these for thee!
HoD do thy potions, toith instdioas JOY
Ditfusc their pleasures only to destroy!
Kingdoms by thee, to sickly greatness groton,
Boast of a tlorid Digor not their own.
4 epery drdught more large and large they groo
A blOdted mass OF rank, uHtctetdy p0ej
Tal, sappcd their strength, and cpery part IN
sound.
Dozen, doun they sink, aud spread a ruin round.
The disposition to live without work is getting
to be u contagious disease with us.
And euery rant to Injury allied,
And every pdng that folly pays TO pride
4
But the long po,np the midnight masquerade,
With all the freaks Of todnton Uedtth ar
rdyed-
In these ere tritIers half their toiSIr obtain,
The toiling pleasure sickens into pain;
And cen Chile fashions brightest arts decoy,
The heart, diStrustiRg, asks II this be joy.
sr Above all they recognize a fact which should
b. galvanize a nation into action, that eighty.five
per cent Of the crimes of this country are com
mitted by boys and young men from sixteen to
twenty-five years of age. This shows clearly
that the discipline Of the intellect which an ed.
vocational system gives is not sufficient. 1t re
veals the miserable truth that America is not
giving to the boys the religious training they
ought to have.
4 Presbyterian church paper speaking on the
subject says;
"Nhen parents give their boys the religious
training they need, this nation will no longer
have the despicable reputation of having such
a large percent of criminals in its population"
Admittedly, the task of bringing about wise
reforms in this situation is not an easy one, but
most serious minded people will agree that The
Task alould be undertaken More than that, IL