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Show lAKEIT By FROM DAD y The Bojra of Today and of Yesterday. Dad Smlthhoogh laid down bla railing ra-iling paper and turned rather sharply to Bob who waa busy ! ' f r 1 with fala leaaona In nla accuatomed corner. "Bob, wbat alia yoo I bora at achoolt Seama ' to ma the papera era Juat full of one fool escapade after another. anoth-er. Here the council la advocating mora policemen and a nine o'clock curfew to keep jrou young rowdtea going go-ing atrafctit A half dzti expelled last week j three stolen autoe the night of the concert and now two more of yon have tired of the restraints of borne" and have atart-d atart-d to aee the world on Ova dollars apiece." ' Bob looked aheeplab In spite of him- aelf. The principal had had several re- cent special assemblies. The chief of police had talked to the atudent body , and tbinga were badly npaet "Dad, It's not so good I know. 8eeit Co come In atreaka Ilka dog . days. Those kids aren't bad. They Juat get crasy. Tbank goodness I missed U an tnia time nut dont know bow tt baitiencd. Dad. are modern kids worse than old fashioned kids) I've been wondering. I know from what Mothers Moth-ers told me and Uncle Ed that you were no aalat yourself, but thlnga do sort of seem to get a bit raw at tlmea." Dad Stalthhoitgh considered while he pursed his lips a bit "It's Just a bit complicated and bard to understand. under-stand. Bob. Just wbat baa happened. Tbinga are different no doubt about it and whether for better or worse seems quite debatable. Ton know mighty well I'm not one of theae old foglea alwaya sighing for the 'food old days.' The old daya that we bear so niucb about food or bad. are gone never to come again because we live In a totally different world. Ail down the line there has been a sort of stripping strip-ping off of the superfluities: a return to the almost primitive In every realm. People, even yon boys, have been do-log do-log a lot of thinking and yon seem to be challenging s food many old Ideas, customs, conventions and prejudices. Certain It la, too, there Is a new freedom, free-dom, less convention, lees prescribed ways, lees respect for super-Imposed authority and ao It Isn't strange that youth which for thousands of years waa to be seen and not beard baa suddenly sud-denly emerged to be both aeeo and heard, much to the discomfort and wv.. Wl VUI "XAJICI I1UCUI Ing with conduct much as yon do with chemicals In your chemistry to see Just what will happen when tbta Is mixed with that "Purenta and society, Bob, first t startled, dismayed, concerned, are now looking on with not a little fear In their hearts st the outcome but helpless help-less to stay the new day. The news-taper news-taper with Ita never-ending array of out-of-the-ordlnary crime and Immorality, Immor-ality, the stage, the modern magazine, the movie, fashion, have all made otter ot-ter frankness their program. Boya are belag forced to aee and bear a lot that waa forbidden before and then there Is the autompblle. Reserve has been cast to the four winds sod we modern parents are a good deal like the hen who, when she saw ber adopted adopt-ed fumlly of ducka sailing serenely away on the water, screamed and cackled and scolded for them to come back, but they would not for they were certain they could both swim and By and that by themselves. "Bob, your Mother and I know full well that you and ail like yon have escaped permanently from the art!-... art!-... flclal, superficial props and barriers ' of 'yesterday.' You are on your own a a we never were. The question Is: Will you be able to atand your freedom free-dom and liberty T Will you, with auch help and encouragement aa we will be able to give you from the shore,' be able to develop new resources re-sources of reliance and integrity which will stabilize your characters. "Youth today and youth of yesterday yester-day are fundamentally the same, no better, no worse. It Is the TIMES which have changed. Essentially all boya are Inherently good, bealthy, vigorous, vig-orous, active. "Avoid being cheap; keep yourself hard with vigorous activity and determine de-termine to accomplish the Impossible In every realm I "The youngsters of yesterday did not dare to even think the things that are your common thought because of fear. To have acted aa many of yon now act would have been a family disgrace dis-grace and could not be tolerated. The boy of only two generations ago waa personal property belonging body and soul to bis father whose one object In life wss to conform bis son to social so-cial custom snd standard. Today yon are a free Individuality, a great privilege priv-ilege and a ireat responsibility I The future will bold you responsible for your heritage. Yon live In a new and daring and terrible but epic age. Your - world la a neighborhood. In many many waya you are wonderful. We believe be-lieve In yon. We expect great thlnga from you. Yon have the raw material. Do not disappoint us." "Why Dad, then you think we aren't sncb a bad lot after alL Why the chief of police said" "Bob, be true to the best that la In yon and you'll moke us older men seem like a lot of pikers. I'm for yon boy, and you know It!" (, Its. WaaUra Nawspaptr Onioa.) |