Evening star., 1953-10-02

ment. A boy who helps build fence
will less often take pleasure in tearing
down another persons fence. And one
who cultivateS vegetables and flowers
will be slow to destroy those Of others.
A youth who earns money will have
more respect for property.
Push aside short-Sighted labor lead
ers and misguided social workers long
enough to modify present laws and give
boys and girls every encouragement to
find such wholesome employment as
will not interfere with their school at
tendance, and thus provide an impor-
tant means Of coping with juvenile de-
linquency.
G.F.M.
I believe that parents are largely to
blame for their children's delinquency.
can tell you that when was young
ster Il am SOD was told that if
got licking in school I would get
another when got home. So knowing
how severe those lickings could be. I
thought it over long time before
did something knew shouldn't do.
was also taught to and made to go
to church and Sunday school. Today
I have a guilty conscience if volun-
tarily miss. I was strictly taught the
Golden Rule. If butted in while my
elders were in conversation, was dealt
a smack across my mouth. Next time
I waited until they were through
talking.
Talk all you please and try to put
the blame elsewhere. lay it mostly at
the door of the parents.
Reader.
I have just read the article on the
Federal Bureau of Investigators semi
annual Uniform Crime Reports and at
the bottom of the same page another
article about an embezzlement case in
Washington. Also on the same page
an article on the urgent juvenile de-
hnquency problem in our city
have a theory on the cause Of
some of these increasing crimes other
than bad environment, not enough
parental supervision, etc. Children
sense uneasiness, worry and hesitation.
They also react to these sensations
much as grownups do.
Being just an ordinary housewife
with an ever-growing anxiety caused
by the embarrassing value of the
dollar bill, think I can almost SYM
pathize with the teen-agers whose al
lowances or after school jobs don't give
them enough money to buy more than
a few packs of notebook paper, a few
cokes with the gang, movie on Friday
or Saturday night, maybe not this
much. After all. they see their parents
both working, as many are today, or
their father working two jobs in order
to make living, not fancy. just ade-
quate. What incentive do the kids
have to work for their spending
money? It's easy to say it's better to
work hard all your life and still have
nothing to show for your labor other
than personal satisfaction. but it is also
easy for a kid to imagine he won't be
caught if he makes more an easier, If
somewhat illegal way. Not only the
kids but the grownups are susceptible
to this erroneous conception.
All the good words and fine preach
ing in the world will not still longing
for better life or better things in this
life. Neither will it explain why clean
living and hard work are not rewarded
with these things. And the thing that
brings forth these ideas is a frustra-
ton or futility many people have today,
men, women and children. For the
more money one makes the more taxes
he pays and the higher the cost of
living goes. Even if one works more
than an eight-hour day in order to
CLEAN little more to balance the family
budget or happens to inherit some extra
money. it doesn't matter, after deduc-
tions there is not much left for the
piggy bank. Gone are the dreams of
the elevator boy of some day becoming
the president of the firm. Chief ele-
vator boy or head starter. maybe yes,
but even then he will be having the
same tough struggle in spite of an in
crease in salary that he had before.
Daily living is now struggle for