OCR Text |
Show PARENTS SPOIL YOUNG CITIZEN " ' : ' ' i By OLIVE ROBERTS BARTON The other day I met a woman I Unew-j at the telegraph office. She was sending money to her son at College. He had heen home for the holidays and had gone hack with his regular months' allowancf in his pocket. Besides that his ticket had cost his parents anywhere any-where from $20 to $30. That was'a litrle over two .weeks before the i episode of the telegraph office and there wasn't a doubt thttt he had telegraphed that he already needed more' funds. 1 1 had seen him at Christmas, a fine looking boy, as proud as Punch in his coon coat and derby hat. He had had a jolly good time, going to fire and ten dollar dances. He was Very popular and anyone could see that his parents lived in a beatific-haze beatific-haze of vicarious glory. His -father didn't -mind his shiny coat, nor his mother her indifferent clothes. They boasted of the way they managed to give the boy bis chance. Tney gloried glor-ied in their sacrifice. . Now everyone knows the price of an education." And I made a menta! calculation that over' half of the yearly income of that couple was spent on the boy. I knew they had it figured so fine that whatever allowance al-lowance they made him for spending money it was about their Inst "nickel. Any extra . requests" from him meant their necessities! Yet hero was the mother, her face beaming with soft joy, in spite of the shadow of wonder I thought I saw there. What more could she do without to make up for it at hoineV - What: the boy should have had. at this psychological moment was a. sharp pull-up -on the reins instend of more money. Children have to be taught unselfishness. The best of thorn will make door-mats of their parents if allowed to grow up accustomed accus-tomed to having their own-way. It i$ si matter of training, largely, 'unselfishness 'un-selfishness is.' ; If parents wish to live on insufficient insuffi-cient food and in a house that is never o,uite warm, that is their business. busi-ness. YVhnt concerns society is the parents right to ruin a good citizen. Feb '4. "' |