The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-11-25
-PARENTS--------------
 Your Children
By Olive Roberts Barton

DO you believe in fairies?" Pete Pan asked his audience. And tho audience with one accord yelled "Yes."
 Do YOU believe in fairies? It's either ives" or "no." If the first, you are an idealist. If the second a realist. This is the best eX- planation I can give of the differ erce between the two much dis cussed schools of thought today.
 What is a fairy? Put to it, could you give a definite answer? I think not. If Q thousand people answered, no two definitions would be precisely the same. Pos- sibly the majority would say something good" personified in beautiful form. Others that it was power always higher and better than we are. Still others would maintain that a fairy is imaginary creature" endowed with supernat- ural powers. Perhaps that would came first. Who can tell what the popular idea of a fairy is?
 Only Science Would Be Left
 Remove the idea of all three premises from human life and let us see what is left. Tn the first place no imagination. Oh yes, imagination of creative genius, the imagination that found the radio, that will discover the se- cret of the cosmic ray, that will learn to split the atom. In other words, the vision of science. Sci- ence is based on facts however. The imagination of discovery is different from that of sentiment.
 Shear us of sentiment and we are realists. We don't respond to beauty because beauty is an appeal to the emotional rather than the factual. We don't believe in sym- pathy or kindness or appreciation or gratitude or any mysterious power for good because they are not based on intelligence. The mechanical part of the mind will rule us and all pleasure in life, except the sensual and passionate (the physical part played by the endocrines and hor- mones) will eventually be paralyzed. Life will consist of impressions transmitted by a fiat eye. an ear from which all music nerves have been removed and hand that re- fuses to deal with color.
 De-emotionalized Existence
 Drama will consist of pain pas- sion mixed with economics. Books will deal with the mechanics of fact alone. Concerts will be pure ly intelligent and analysed by the relation of musical theme to tech- nical harmony.
 We shall have no religion be- cause the power of the unseen will be laughed at. Yes, by those very ones who still consent to listen to radio. Mercy will not be in us because our creed will be justice based on intelligence and not in- sight into human weakness or for givable motive. w eshall give no quarter and expect none.
 I inquire; won't it be fine to be a realist someday and not believe in fairies? I wonder if those mothers who proudly proclaim that they won't allow any fairy nonsense in their homes and add that nothing but realism shall dominate their children's lives, realize what such a plan will do to a race? In time, of course.
 Sentiment must never be con- fused with sentimentality, or com mon sense with purely intelligent theory The so-called realists of today do not seem to be able to discriminate.
 DO I believe in fairies? Yes. Copyright, 1885, NEA Service, lnc'
 Counterfeiters are flooding parts If ecotIoy,d with SniiriOllS coins.