Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1911 — BOYS! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BOYS!

Bob McAdoo, the hero in our latest serial, “The Man Higher Up,” reminds us of boys,— ? And speaking of boys,—there is nothing quite so inspiring as the one who comes up through his teens and raps at the doorway of manhood, clean, capable, and untainted. The teens are his ultra-suscep-tible years and we have seen so many go down under the temptations that beset them that when one pulls into dock unscathed by the storm we cannot avoid a feeling of admiration for his safety. We say safety, for if a boy is clean when he steps out of his teens into the maturity of manhood he’s almost as secure as a deposit in a postal savings bank. There are three important sev-en-year periods in the life of every boy. The first seven are spent with his mother, an atmosphere akin to the divine. His second seven are used to break away from this influence and mingle in a company of fellows whose atmosphere is not so wholesome. His third seven are the ones in which invites, the green cloth appeals, when late hours are enticing, when self-respect has the tussle of its life to avoid submersion. It is the danger period plus. It is the period when a mother’s anxiety whips itself into a frenzy—when her lonely vigils contrast strangely with the father’s stolid disregard and indifference. It is the -period which if invaded by a strong friendship, a la Bob HcAdoo, exhaltation comes boldly to the front assumes command and guides him injto the haven of upright manhood—and the yawning abyss that longed to engulf him goes unsatiated. Honestly we believe that the publication of our serial story, “The Man Higher Up,” will be applauded.