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Show CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUNDS ES USED to think public ply-IflJ ply-IflJ H grounds were a grand thing," WBl began tho workingman's wife, "but since we got one in our neighborhood well, I dunno." "Maybe ours isn't worked right but from what I hear I guess a good many of 'em are like ours, which Is in the school yard. Why, say! We livo right across from the school, and what with the noiso of the kids, it's no uso to go to bed early. The boys and girls keep it up till 11 at night, and when a man has to get to work early in the morning morn-ing he needs hiB night's sleep. Seems to me 9 o'clock's plenty lato enough for boys and girls to be away from home. They'd ought to be in bed by then, even if they're as old as fifteen. "Still, maybe ftiey'd be as noisy if they played in tho streets around their own homes. Some people ain't got no control over their children, or don't want to, and don't caro how they keep people awake at night If everybody stayed up till midnight it wouldn't bo so bad but 'twould be bad enough. My youngsters are all in bed by 9, you can just guess! But when they hear tho others outside they think I'm not treating 'em right, and they ought to have some fun, too. I wish to goodness good-ness thero was a curfew here like in my home town. "It's all just play, play, play, and fun, fun, fun for tho kids these days. And if you set any of 'em to work around the house, there's always neighbors or other kids ready to talk to them and tell 'em they ain't treated right I want my children to have fun, too, and the littlest ones play all day. But I guess when a boy or girl gets to be nino or ten years old, they're big enough to help with the dishes and tho. dusting and some of the other chores, and it's just -as good 'exercise as running run-ning their legs off playing. "The kids these days think their mothers and fathers ought to keep them like ladies and gentlemen. The mothers and fathers are good enough to do the work and buy their clothes and stuff their Btomachs, hut when it comes to helping with the work why nobody's got a right to ask their own children to help do the work. "They are not satisfied with Just ciean ciotnes, either. They want to doll up. That's another thing I don't like about this public playground. Tho big boys and girls have got to doll up when they go there. Then they come home dirty and maybe with their good clothes torn, and expect ma to wash and iron and mend extra for them. "There's something wrong about the way the kidB are being taught They don't care a snap what their mothers and fathers say to them any more What anybody else says goes with 'em' but not their own folks. We poor folks have to pay taxeB for somebody to put wrong notions into our children, it looks to me. If I saw any good coming com-ing out of It I wouldn't say nothing. I want my children to be educated and have their chance. But when I see them turning out good-for-nothings una omy out lor a good time and worse it makeB me feel pretty bad. "My grass needa cutting now. Pa's been so tired tho last two nights I mado him go to bed early. My oldest boy is fifteen and plenty strong enough to out the grass, but he'll BeQ mo pushing push-ing that lawn mower around myself and not offer a hand to help me unless un-less I make him. He says I ought to ?an " h? does aching "ko that I tell him when he earns his keep ho can talk about paying. And ho used to he a good boy beforo he got out with the bunch 1 " |