Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1882 — Brother Gardner on liaising Boys. [ARTICLE]

Brother Gardner on liaising Boys.

“If I had a boy to bring up I wouldn’t bring him up too softly. Ebery day ob my life I meet men who are brung up softly. As boys dey air kissed and petted and stuffed wid sweet cake and cried ober. As young men dey hab nuflin’ to do but to spend money, dress like monkeys, loaf on de street and look down on honest labor. As men dey am a failure. People who doan’ hate ’em and avoid ’em feel to pity •’em, and dat’s jest as bad. When I sees a man whom eberybody dislikes, I realize dat he was brung up on de goody-good plan as a boy. “If I had a boy I’d rub him agin the world. I’d put responsibility on his shoulders. If he got sugar he’d airn it. If he got time fer leafin’ it would be only arter his work wus done. Jf he wus ugly or obstinate I’d tan it outen him instill of bpyin’ him off. If you want to make a selfish man humor de whim of a boy. If you want to make a coward, forbid your boy to. defend his rights. I’d teach my boy dat all boys had rights, and dat while he had no business to trample ou de rights ob odder boys, no boy had de privilege ob takin’ him by de nose. Las’ night an ole man libin’ up my way wus turned out ob doors by his boy. He has been tryin’ de goody-good plan on dat youth fer de las’ twenty y’ars, and dis am de legitimate result. He didn’t want him to work, kase work am hard. He didn’t want him to dress plain, fer fear people would look down on him. De boy am to-day a loafer, neither grateful fer what has bin done in de pas’, nor carin’ what happens in de fucher. Ten y’ars ago he wus cried ober, run arter and coaxed and bought off* and his mudder libed to see him a loafer and his sadder has found him a ingrate.”