Evening star., 1939-08-20

something for James that her dlsapproval
could never have done. He went back to
school, and that was the beginning of career
that led to the Presidency.
Is your son lazy? That was what Abraham
Lincolns father thought about him. Abe
hated to work in the fields. He much preferred
telling funny stories while group of admirers
gathered around him. When he powed, a
book went with him; when he stopped to rest
his horse he would snatch a few minutes for
reading. No wonder Tom Lincoln, who col
lected his sons wages until he was twenty
one, sometimes grew provoked.
But back in the Lincoln cabin Abe had
remarkable stepmother She knew he was not
lazy, that his energies were only being driven
along the wrong channels Though she herself
could not read, she recognized genius in her
tail, awkward stepson. At times nine people
lived together in the humble, room house,
but she made everyone keep quiet when Abe
wanted to study She persuaded Tom Lincoln
not to interfere. Without her encouragement
Abraham Lincoln might have remained a
backwoodsman to the end.
1t may be that Junior has an annoying
hobby. Well, he's probably no more exasper-
ating than was the boy Theodore Roosevelt,
whose room was usually strewn with form
aldehyde bottles and parts of recently
dissected animals On one occasion the young
naturalist put two dead field mice away for
safekeeping in the cebox, but his long suffer
ing parents were amazingly patient. They
were careful not to quenCh that driving enthu-
siasm that one day was to make him famous.
John Coolidge was showing the same wis
dom when he said, Il never made any rules
for Calvin to follow. If there are rules it gives
boy chance to break them"
Most of the boys who grew up to be Pres-
dent were fortunate in not being hampered
bytoo many restrictions nor were they harshly
punished. True. Lincolns father often
thrashed him, but so far as the records show,
most of the Others grew up in homes that
spared the rod. However. they were not
spoiled and they developed their full quota of
backbone. Many of them had chores to do.
Several helped support their families. Even
those from more well-to-do homes knew what
it was to have responsibility - in their studies
if nothing else. Taft. Wilson and jefferson
all had fathers who saw to it that they learned
to use their minds.
These boys also were fortunate in having
sympathetic older persons to guide them.
This fact, more than any other, probably
accounts for their success. Sometimes a big
brother or sister. an older friend or uncle
dominated their childhood. Surprisingly
fathers seem to have been the chief influence
in bending our Presidential twigs. though -
as might be expected - some of them had
both parents to thank for their later achieve
ments But invariably it was an older person
whose wise understanding helped them over
the rough places and set their feet upon the
path to the White House
But to come back to your boy! Whether
he will ever live in the White House is some
thing you must leave in the laps of the polit-
ical gods What is more important, he will
probably be better citizen if you take few
tips from some of the parents whose sons
actually did become President. Then one day
perhaps - just perhaps - you will be saying,
as Mrs Mckinley once said:
After all, don't believe did raise my
boy to be President. tried to bring him up to
be good man and that is the best any
mother can do"