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Show lAKEIT By FROM DAD Sy I'm Going to Quit School and Go to Work Bob was all boy, every Inch of him ! To call til m an animated Interrogation Fl point would be putting It mildly; alive from head to toe, eyes open, ear open; his mind an endless sensl-tlve sensl-tlve movie film ditching ditch-ing everything that came his woy ; a grow-iLg grow-iLg unfolding young modern American (of which there are aome twen'y-flve million more or less In this iana or ours). Above everything else Bob was a never-ending array ot questions. No sooner would Dad have his dinner and get comfortably settled with his paper than Bob would appear, a.fter twelve hour of busy activity, as fresh aa a lily and loaded with a n? perplexing juery for Dad. It got to be a regular game at the Smlthhoughs, this question and answer an-swer mutter, until Dad Smlt (though often found himself wondering through the day or aa he relaxed a bit on the way home, what fool question Rob would have concocted for him that day. Ols dad bad alwaya been too busy for qneatlona and he often recalled as he pondered some of the "stagger era" bis Bob handed him, bow different dif-ferent he might have been If bis father uad only talked things over wlt!i him So, after Bob Smithhnugh had floored his dad few times with queries that were too deep for the old gentleman, be began to prepare himself. him-self. Tonight, obviously, something wns wrong. Bob was quiet, almost melancholy melan-choly ind noticeably Irritable. Something Some-thing had gone wrong I In due time It wonld come out and it did. When both gravitated to the living room, without much ado and no Introduction to the subject. Bob seated himself half dejectedly and askefl bla question by way of an ultimatum. "Pop, I'm going to quit school and go to work." "That so," said Dad, without looking look-ing up. "Been elected president of an oil company or director of the United States Steel Corporation? Congratulations, Congratu-lations, n.' boy, I didn't suppose you bad sufficiently trained your mind as yet for so great a responsibility. Now If you had said you were going to work on a road gang or had a job delivering de-livering milk, I would have understood." under-stood." There was a friendly twinkle In Dad'a eye and a humorous tone In his voice. "When 1 was your age. Bob, rd have given anything I possessed to have gone to school and I didn't have any modern university like your new school to go to either, but I had to work to help the old folks make ends meet. The thing which I knew best waa that I didn't know much. I read a good deal and waa Just sort of half conscious of a great marvelous world about me and I was hungry to learn. 1 didn't want to live In my little world always. 1 wanted to know about science and Invention and travel. I was hungry to be in the midst of the big things of the world. I was earning twenty dollars a month and my room and board and lived twenty miles from enywhere. I longed to be In 'be midst of things; to be a somebody and do something beside bard manual labor all the time. I had to fight for my chance. Bob. Tours came without a fight, that's why It seems worthless to you. "What's wrong teacher ridden you a bit, perhaps oawled yon out? Per haps you blufTed and got caught I Yes well take your medicine like a man, my boy, but listen, remember you're a Smlthhough the only male descendant Dad's counting on you to do at least some of the things he wanted to do and dreamed about but never could. Quit school? Nonsense 1 Listen, the only thing In the world they give away today is an education. A regular boy who n.enns business can have all of It he'll take. Think of It, all the education that you'll accept, ac-cept, free; high school, college, and then on and on If you dps I re. It's simply up to you. The big stick of modern achievement Is In your head, hey. See thnt little stnhhy red volume vol-ume there on the shelf. That's the latest 'Who's Who In America. Bob. There are about thirty thousand brief biographies of American men ami women of accomplishment in thnt book the folks who have led out In every single realm of constructive thought and action only twenty-seven of them stopped school In the eight n grade. "The other day I saw a very Interesting In-teresting query. 'When Is a man educated?' edu-cated?' and the answer was. 'When he can look Into a mudpuddle and see more there than mere mud !' Bob. education Is the knowledge of how to use the whole of ones self.' and no boy In the eighth grade has ever approached thnt point. "It's true college doesn't make fools. It Just develops them. If you're a dumbbell you haven't much chance, but Bob. you're no dumbbell You have the physique and the mind In the making, hut It takes effort and struggle. Now get at your lessons Know a little more history than your teacher tomorrow. And Boh did! (ffl. It WMtfrn Newspaper Pnlon l |