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Show Warning to Parents. WHEN John Axton was secretary of the Y. M. C. A. of this city, he presented to a ministerial meeting meet-ing a paper pointing out the number of places where liquor was sold, gambling gam-bling carried on and the social vice virtually legalized. His purpose was to open the eyes of clean people in this city to the dangers and temptations existing in their midst to entrap the young and giddy, so that some organized organ-ized action might be made effective either to abolish these evils altogether J or to modify and control them. Straightway the daily press began abusing Johnnie Axton for precipitating precipitat-ing what they called a sensation upon our heads, and the reporters were industrious in-dustrious in pointing out its alleged Inaccuracies. In-accuracies. It was gravely announced by the editorial Pecksniffs that Ax-ton's Ax-ton's published report would damage the fair name of our city abroad and the finger of the nation would be pointed at us in warning. As-a matter mat-ter of fact, Mr. Axton did not reveal half the wickedness of shall we say it? this modern Sodam. The report of Mr. Axton is verified every day in the reports which the daily press gives of crime in Salt Lake. If any damage dam-age to the fair name of our city results re-sults from publication of its crime and criminals, the daily press and not Mr. Axton is to blame. I were every saloon and every gambling gam-bling joint to be closed "and every licensed li-censed harlot to be banished, there would yet remain enough temptations to excite our youth to sin and mischief. mis-chief. The evils Axton mentioned are for the wicked pleasure of adults; they are found in all cities with a population popula-tion as large as Salt Lake. It is impossible, im-possible, or almost impossible, to eradicate era-dicate them: and the best we can do is to control them. But the evil of bad example, ex-ample, the danger resulting through the companionship of the sexes in our public schools, the danger to youth of both sexes through keeping late hours at the pleasure resorts and walking walk-ing the streets at night all these cannot can-not be governed by municipal ordinance. ordi-nance. Laws for the proper conduct of children must be instituted In the home and by the parents, and the penalty for disobedience should be the old-fashioned strap. Just now the Salt Lake papers contain con-tain accounts of crimes among youth. One is on trial for his life and another, a mere child, awaits trial on the charge of murder. A thieves' rendezvous rendez-vous was discovered the other day at Liberty park, and it turned out that the culprits were boys. Not long ago a messenger boy was arrested for embezzlement, em-bezzlement, and the person to restore the money was his wife! Such affairs prepare us for the escapade of a girl of 15, who drove out to the State street road house in company with youths not much older, and Is now the principal witness in the homicide which took place We feel sorry ror the poor mother of this girl, and. really believe she was sincere in saying 'that rather would she suffer the child to be brought in dead before her sight than have her name published. But who Is really to blame? We believe, with the New York Sun, that "a good sound strapping, switching switch-ing or spanking should be given to disobedient daughters inclined to go to beaches or elsewhere against their parents' consent. Young girls, sometimes some-times incredibly foolish and ignorant of danger, too often- have a scandalous excess of liberty. They go where they please, with whom they please, and stay till what hour they please. Vulgarity Vul-garity and coarseness of their natures and habits are the least detriment which they are likely to get in these pilgrimmages to anywhere with Tom, Dick and Harry. The 4fata of the Lawrence girl at Good Ground is not the darkest fate that may come to any one of these unschooled and unrestrained unre-strained children. Too often the parent is as foolish as the child. It Is rot the modern fashion, but a dose of oil of birch is needed by headstrong daughters plunging blindly toward the bad." ' |