Evening star., 1938-01-29
The Problem
OF Growing
Children
Situation Is Serious
For Those Lacking
Any Security.
BY ANGELO P.ATRI.

THE darkest shadows OF the unem-
ployment blight fall on the chill
dren and young people. The young
people in their late teens are hardest
hit. They are at the age when per-
| sonal and family pride are at their
full. They want to be proud of them
selves. of their people and of their
homes. Home relief kills all that.
I am not complaining about home
relief, Children must be fed and
clothed, roof kept over their heads
They must be sent to school and to
church. Life for them must 20 on.
MANNED and broken though it be- Re
lief is just what its name implies, but
oh, how the children hope that the
need for 1t will soon be over!
They suffer many times day. For
them there is no freedom Of association
such as youth delights in. They can
not say, Come over to my house. for
the simple reason that there is nothing
AZ VIII iiouSCo " ltlVlUt IINIlCS 10
enjoy. The atmosphere is heavy with
dread; the food is scarce. the enter
tainment, talk. The talk usually is A
concern about the plight OF the poor,
work, wages, social injustice and how
to cure it. Sad talk for youngsters.
Especially as much Of it Is and must
be futile talk.
These youngsters have no solid
ground to their hopes and ambitions.
If they could get to college; if they
could get job in machine shop: if
they could marry. they would do this
or that, and SO fill an honorable place
in the world 1t is this lack of hope of
filling an honorable place now and
tomorrow that is killing the spirit of
the young folk
All that We can do to help them
encourage them. provide ways and
means for their future usefulness and
present growth. must be done. (
know we have camps. and movements,
and classes, and relief: and people
are working hard at them in an effort
to lift the load off youth Nobody can
do that, All our movements are arti-
floial aids, and that is precisely what
troubles youth and causes the best
schemes to fall short of success. Only
a normal life OF work and play, the
individuals own expression and expe-
rience, born of the individuals keen
desire, can satisfy the individual soul.
God created us one and one He did
not wave His hand and say let youth
be born. He sent each child out, per-
fected by His divine hand, to live his
life on his own responsibility. Some
thing has gone wrong with mans in
terpretation Of living nobly. and the
mistake has about wrecked q genera
tion of children.
My suggestion for remedy I am
teacher. I deal with children and
young people as they come from society
to school, 1 know how the children
suffer. and how they enjoy, and how
they grow. People like me must turn
to the leaders Of industry, TO the
leaders Of economics, Of law, tell them
the story and ask for help.
What youth needs Is hope.
What it must have is a feeling Of
security, not in details OF fundamental.
human, physical need. but security Of
aspiration. spiritual living. They must
feel that It Is good sense to hope and
plan and work for the day to come.
Just now they have no such hope We
must put our heads together, pool our
resources and unite our strengths, not
for ourselves, but for the sake Of these
young folk who must carry on after We
let 60. The situation Is serious.
Copyright, 1889