The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1928-01-19
THE PATHOS OF IT

No man cared for my soul" 1t ma,
be doubted if within the range of al
literature, sacred or profane, a more
pathetic expression could be found. I
reads like the last message of expir.
ing hope. It's echo is like unto the
dirge Of despair.
As this is written, two young men
mere children-are in the clutches OF
the law, awaiting the stern sentence
of the district judge. They both con-
fessed having committed the crime of
burglary and they both come from a
town in this county, that for high
minded, public spirited, law abiding
people, ranks high; it has excellent
schools, fine homes and Christian
citizenship, after which many other
towns and communities may well
pattern.
The children in that town are no
worse nor no better than are to be
found in any other town in Carbon
county or Montana. The crime may
have been committed anywhere, but
that isn't the point.
No one cared for my SOUL" Those
words We're uttered by the psalmist
David many years ago. David touched
the extremes of human experience. He
knew the gloom of the valley. He
knew the glory of the mountain top.
1t was in one of the earlier chapters
of his career that the above words
fell from his lips. He was in the
midst of dark days. He was beginning
to feel the pangs of contrition. He
had sown to the wind and the whirl-
wind harvest time had come. He look
ed about him for comfort, but found
none.
The experience Of the psalmist
finds a parallel in that of hundreds
and thousands that are in the world
today. Young men, talented, ambitious
it may be, with futures before them
rich with promise, are confronted
with temptation. Bad habits are form
ed, bad company sought, and insidious-
ly the tempter get in his work. Slow
ly, perhaps, but surely he YIELDS the
letters about his victim. At last the
young man wakens to find himself
prisoner.
A sad blow to our vanity as peo-
pie is administered by recent survey
showing that the average age of our
criminals is now between eighteen and
twenty-five. These cold statistics sum-
marily knock out some of our pet
theories. The great mass of our peo-
pie are not corrupt by any means
Whatever follies and sins the minor
ity may follow, the majority of our
people, thank God, still preserve, on
the average, high standards of life
and sane ideals.
No one, however, will deny that
crime among the young is increasing
All sorts of excuses-all kinds of
causes-are given for this sad state
of affairs and possibly my own pet
theory is wrong but here it is.
Parents are paying too dam much
attention to other peoples affairs and
not enough to their own. 1t isn't en-
tirely mother love that has failed. 1t
is father love also. How can children
be expected to go along in the straight
and narrow path when their parents
are out at night raising hell them
selves.
We have entirely too many molly
coddle fathers and mothers, who do
not see to it that their children are
home in bed at night instead of
gadding the streets or frequenting
dives seething with every form of sin
and corruption.
We have entirely too many up-lift
societies and too many members there
of who should stay at home and in
struct their own children instead of
trying to get their names on the
front page as "sassiety" leaders and
community guardian angels.
How can boy with all the town
diseases or girl that has been
slobbered over by every lounge lizard
and libertine in the community, ever
be expected to grow up and amount to
anything?
We need fewer radios in our homes
and more hickory clubs. We have too
many children, who, when the hand of
the law grips them, can paraphrase,
mo one cared for my soul"
Nothing less than decadence can be
expected of that class. Assuming no
responsibility incident to parenthood,