The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-10-23
BY RALPH ROGERS

SVtoenee TOE rAmfiy Living.
Prov. 4; $50 =; H:l; ls:lal4;
31:10-I3
If parents and adults would read
and heed the wise counsel contain
ed in the lesson today they should
have little fear of the conduct and
behavior of our youngsters of this
generation.
Solomon was a great and good
man largely due to the counsel
of his father David who said, $50
lomon my Son, know thou the God
OF thy father, and serve him with
a perfect heart and willing mind:
for the Lord searcheth all hearts.
and understandeth all the magma
tons of the thoughts: if thou seek
him, he will be found of thee: but
if thou forsake him, he will cast
thee Off forever. Il Chron. 28:9).
Heed Parents Counsel
The accumulated wisdom of the
past is worthy of consideration.
Too often our children look upon
their parents as being old fogy'
and not applicable to modern
thought and life. They frequently
pay the heavy price with a sad ex-
perience. In the typically Jewish
household the father acted as the
house priest and directed the wor-
ship of the family. The modern
family which has discarded this
worthy practice can expect from
his youngsters behavior which Of
ten brings reproach upon the fam
lily.
j. Edgar Hoover who has been
In a position to study the cause
of crime in these United States
costing the American family an
average of $495 per year has this
advice to give. He says, Juvenile
delinquency has grown to alarm
ing proportions in comparison with
the adult rate :. Instilling moral
responsibility in a youth must be-
gin at home -. In all too many
cases the parents have utterly fail
ed to carry out their responsible
ties. They have failed by neglect,
bad example, excessive drinking.
quarreling and pickering in front
of the children. The files of the
FBI show that many delinquents
have had no religious training
whatsoever. They have never learn
ed the value of prayer to solicit
divine help. In times of tempta-
ton they succumb, for they have
never learned to rely upon God
and to obey his teachings"
The parent is the one to be an
authority. In far too many homes
it is not the father, but the child
who decides what he will do. The
parent is Sinking a responsibility.
The father should pass on to his
children what he had learned from
his father. ''Let thy heart retain
my words" The child learns more
readily in the young and impress
Sionable age things he will not
forget later in life. If the parent
does not 60 to Sunday School or
Church, it is not likely that the
child will be impelled to 60. Par
ents who allow their children TO
choose what they will do will later
rue their neglect.
The Foolish Son
Proverbs tells that a foolish son
is the calamity of his father"
prov. 1919. An indifferent and
parent is the foolish one
who allows the son to grow up
without good counsel. Indulgent
parent is really the criminal par
ent. Most of us are familiar with
parents whose hearts are broken
because of the behavior of their
children. The boy or girl may be
in jail paying penalty for a crime
against society. The boy or girl
may be reformed in time, but the
stain cannot be erased from the
conscience of the parent. The son is
the fathers calamity.
Many of our problem children
are the product of a broken home.
Proverbs seems to lay the blame
on the wife although we may dis
agree. The RSV translates it, "a
wife's quarreling is a continual
of rain" II is true that
the chattering, hen-pecking wife
can drive a man to distraction or
to drink. That situation can be
avoided or corrected il the hus-
band takes over his position as the
head of the house. Most wives will
go along with a good husband who
assumes his responsibility in a
manly and Cody manner. Proper
home adjustment should be made
for the sake of the children.
Carl Sandburg tells the story of
Joe Elser in his always The
Young Strangers" It seems that
Joe had a wife who ragged and
nagged him, just a natural-born