Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 149, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1910 — Papers BY THE PEOPLE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Papers BY THE PEOPLE

PROBLEM OF THE YOUTHFUL CRIMINAL.

By Thurde Rayle Brace.

The problem of the youthftH criminal is one that every big city is facing, and It is a most difficult one to solve. There is no experienced detective in the United States that cannot recount score? of instances where lads of tender age have perpetrated deeds which at the outset seemed the work of seasoned experts. I have encountered any number of such cases and my experience with the juven-

lie malefactor is that he is often bolder and harder to round up than the veteran. He will fool you by hla slippery methods and hiß cunning in making a Quick Escape. It is the plain truth to say that the indulgent and lenient treatment of children by their own parents is chiefly responsible for the wrongdoing that converts the youngsters into lawbreakers. Boys of this generation are given far more money than they should have to spend for their pleasure. They get the habit of extravagance and when sufficient cash is not forthcoming are ready to steal, usually beginning by pilfering from their father or mother, as that seems a less sin than to take what belongs to strangers. I have repeatedly known lads of 15 to steal their mother’s jewelry and to go through their father’s clothing at night while he slept Many a mortified parent, to save the honor of his family has given it out that his home has been invaded by sneak thieves rather than admit that a degenerate son has' entered the role of a criminal. INFLUENCE OF THE MIND UPON THE BODY.

By Dr. H. Cradle.

The only parts of the body directly controlled by the mind are those muscles which serve the purpose of the will. There are, besides, many other muscular movements going on in the interior of the body which, too, are in part governed by nerves, but cannot be Influenced by the will, such as the circulation of the blood, the action of the stomach and of the intestines. While this activity of

interior organs does not depend in any manner upon the consciousness of the individual its regularity is at times disturbed by mental emotions. Examples of such transient interferences with the normal action of different organs by mental influences are blushing, blanching and fainting, or, on the other hand, tumultuous beating of the’ heart. While the mind cannot change the course of a disease or cut short its duration, it can modify greatly the suffering felt. For the pain, the distress, and even the disability caused by a given disease are not a fixed and invariable quantity, alike in all instances and at all times. As well as we can detect faint noises otherwise unheard by “listening,” we can make ourselves conscious of the slightest discomfort produced by disease by watchihg for it The concentration of attention upon the diseased part, aided by fear and anxiety, will not only intensify all suffering, but may even perpetuate It occasionally after its original cause has partly or wholly ceased. But the mind can lessen the inconveniences of disease as viell as exaggerate The physical condition itself, the actual disease, continues its course lndepend-

ent of and not influenced by the patient’s frame of mind. But if any mental impression lessens the annoyance of an ailment the sufferer is apt to speak of its curative effect, even though it did not really alter the course of the disease. v * CHILDREN THE GREAT CONSERVATIVES.

By Mary O’Connor Newell.

We dilute books and elaborate toys for children, we give them wished out editions and hand wound playthings, but nothing pleases them like the old, whether it be in books or toys—rhymes and fairy tales that began when the world was new, toy's our antediluvian ancestors might have played with., Children are the eternal conservatives. Elaborate toys, like three ringed circuses, en-

tertain the elders more than they do the children. You can’t say they do either harm or good to children, for the little ones resolve them finally to their simplest elements and play therewith most contentedly. The avidity with which children swallow the originals of stories which we may have been doling out to them in "simplified editions” causes constant amazement, and reminds one of the remark of the old woman with whom a book agent had left a commentary on the Bible. “Sure it’s a fine book, and the Bible do make it wonderfully clear.” In spite of the floods of new books that are yearly poured forth for his supposed pleasure, nothing goes so straight to the heart of a child as the old tale and the old rhyme—and yet we call them simple things. Eternal vitality makes them one with time and life and all that is mysterious and impossible to explain. t ' ____ MAN NEEDS RELIGIOUS FELLOWSHIP.

By Prof. George Burman Poster.

iSo long as there are religious men, so long must there be religious community. The man who possesses inner possessions is thereby driven to communicate them to others. A soul with a living conviction must seek likemlndqd souls, and thus be first truly Bure and glad by their common fellowship of faith. The plan and organism of life is a giving and receiving. Most of all is this true of the re-

liglous life. We must find ourselves again in the center of us. Then we can attain to a unitary and powerful purpose and will. There is a new yearning after God. a demand for a new love, a more beautiful, a more noble relation of man to man. There are so many to-day that want to loose themselves from their Individualism and isolar tion, gather together Into something greater, truer, sweeter, nobler. The thing that is deeply going on in the soul of man to-day will be better understood and more highly valued. In a word, something of the brotherly sense, of the spirit of love, of the fire and enthusiasm of the first Christian community must break forth again as from hidden fountains in the high hills of God. There will be life and truth from the spirit in all the forms and usages of life. Then the estranged brother will return. The best, the freest, the most reverent will be with us again. The yearning is prophecy of the coming day.