Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1954-01-22

On their birthday, many a father
will be shopping around for a dog
or a rife to give to his son. The
typical American boy wants both,
and both, since the days of our
first Colonial ancestors, have been
his traditional companions.
The boy who gets dog for his
birthday seldom has to be told
how to care for him properly. It
is fair assumption, however, that
many more parents will spend
many more hours telling him to
feed and train and handle the dog
than they will in teaching him
how to care for and handle the
gun they give him.
In giving a rifle to any boy, his
parents assume an obligation to
him and a responsibility to their
community which go far beyond
few Dos" and "DOn'ts". For we
must admit that a rife can be
dangerous if placed in the hands
of an eager, unframed and care
less boy. On the other hand, if par
ents will assume the moral Obliga-
tiOn of seeing to it at the very be-
ginning that the boy is properly
taught the rules of safe gun hand
ling, their gift will bring to him
untold hours of welcome recrea-
tion in the field or on the range.
1t is when this obligation has
not been met that tragedy some
times follows the gift of a rife.
Unfortunately, the general reac-
ton when this happens is to
blame the rife instead of placing
the responsibility where it really /
belongs.
One of the most popular tele- |
vision and radio shows is Jack !
Webb's "Dragnet". As an annual !
event this coast-tO-coast program /
features the story of a nine-year-
old boy who accidentally shoots /
his pal with a rife which he was
to receive as a birthday present.
1t is a story of tragedy, dramatieal-
ly and effectively presented.
The theme points up the fact
that the tragedy need not have
happened While we agree with
the theme, we emphatically reject
"Dragnet's" concluding slogan
Don't give your boy a rifle.
as the right solution.
In reaching his conclusion, the
author fails to face the realities
of life. Sooner or later almost
every boy will be numbered among
the fourteen million people who
obtain license to hunt each year.
If that boy has been denied the
privilege of owning a rife and the
opportunity of being taught how
to use it properly, he is indeed a
menace to himself and his fellow
hunters when he takes to the field
unacquainted with the weapon he
Every boy today, upon attaining
the age of eighteen years, must
register with his Selective Service
Board, liable for service in one of
The Armed Forces.
Over a million of our youth en-
tered the Army, the Navy, the Air
Force, the Marine Corps and the
Coast Guard during the past twelve
months. Approximately the same
lumber will enter the Services in
he year ahead. Each one of them
will have a rife placed in his
lands. How well he uses it in de-
ense Of. his own life, as in Korea.
)r in the defense of our country.
depends in large measure upon his
having owned and learned how to
Use a rifle as a boy. In the trying
lines in which we live, the owner
ship of a rife and the knowledge |
If how to use it are part of the
of our way of life.
The "Dragnet" program is recOg-
lized for the good it does in alert
ing citizens to the social and NOR
Al problems which exist in the
United States. It's program on auto
mobile safety is so widely acclaim
ed that the National Safety Coun-
I'll distributes prints of it's TV
version.
Both the boy and his rifle story :
and the automobile safety story
are told in a similar fashion. Each
S a tragedy caused by the ignor-
lnce and carelessness of the per-
son involved. But there, is this diff
.erence-"Dragnet" does not end
he automobile story with a slo-
gan, Don't give your boy an auto
mobile. Instead, it emphasizes
he necessity for driver education,
80 that every boy and girl will
handle car intelligently and with
safety to himself and to others.
"Dragnet" should reach a similar
conclusion in it's boy and rifle pro- |
gram. The rifle, like an automobile.
Is an inanimate object incapable
within itself of harming anyone.
Each can be safe, or dangerous.
depending entirely upon how we'll.
Or how poorly trained. is the ner-