The Tussle with Freddie—How the Child Is Spoiled by the Mother's Lying—The Manufacture of Criminals
By Mary Alice Hare Loper, M. S.
Fairy tales are not the only source of deception that affects the childhood of the twentieth century, nor are they doing the greatest amount of harm in destroying confidence in humanity. Very many children are taking lessons daily in deception, in their own homes, with their parents as teachers, and it is little wonder that many of them are becoming proficient in the art—are learning to deceive their parents in return.
Many mothers who really love their children, and who desire them to be obedient and truthful on all occasions, scarcely permit a day to go by without telling them that which is not true, though seemingly quite unconscious of the fact. The practice may begin in the morning, something like this:
“Freddie, get your shoes on right away.”
As Freddie is not accustomed to mind until he gets ready, he keeps on playing. Presently his mother, knowing his dilatory manner—she would be surprised if he should mind her first command—exclaims in a harsh tone, “Freddie, did you hear me?”
“Yes,” faintly replies Freddie.
“Well, then, get your shoes on. I'm not going to speak to you again about it.”
Freddie leisurely draws on one shoe, and continues to play. After a while, his mother takes in the situation again, and says: “Freddie, why don't you mind when mother speaks? I don't know what I shall ever do with you”—and Freddie doesn't know either. He knows his mother has broken her word, and so he does not know what to expect next. Presently there is another echo:
“Freddie, have you your shoes on yet?”
Discerning thunder in her tones, and fearing a storm, Freddie meekly answers, “Yes,” imitating his mother's untruthfulness, and hoping to complete the task before she appears on the scene.
“Well, then, why don't you get ready for breakfast?”
In another minute his mother's temper gets the better of her, and she rushes in where Freddie sits on the floor. Seeing that he has told her an untruth, she begins a vigorous assault with a rod.
Of course Freddie wails loudly, and presently the whole house is in an uproar. If Freddie is compelled to sit at the breakfast table, he is in no condition to relish or digest properly his food. But his mother wears “a consciousness of duty done,” and saves her rod for the next struggle, which is sure to follow.
No More Swing To-Day
“Freddie, you must bring in some wood,” is the next command.
“I don't want to,” replies Freddie.
His mother, still angry, begins the rod process, and again Freddie begins to wail. His mother gets the wood, and ejaculates, “You are a naughty boy, and the bad man will get you.”
“Children are imitators. They learn from babyhood to follow whatever example is set before them.”
But Freddie knows that although he has heard this same threat many times before, the “bad man” has never “got him” yet, and so he has small fears for the future.
Presently there is a scene, perhaps in the back yard. Freddie and a little neighbor boy are quarreling over a swing.
“Freddie, get right out of that swing, and don't let me see you in it again to-day,” says his irascible mother. Freddie remains out of the swing only a few minutes; and although his mother is in full view when he again resumes the pastime, she says nothing about it, and Freddie feels that he has conquered—which he has.
“I Would Skin You”
“If I just had the energy, I would skin you,” said a mother to her little son one warm summer day. But the small boy knew his mother so well that there was no call for special fear from the barbarous threat.
Children cannot be always deceived. They learn, when very young, just how much dependence can be placed upon their parents' word. One little boy asked another if he was not afraid to disobey his mother since she had threatened him so severely. “O, no,” he replied. “Ma has told forty lies already.”
Too Visionary to Realize
It is a deplorable thing for a child to have his confidence shaken in his parents' word. But somehow it is so easy to seek to extort obedience by means of threats—threats which are entirely out of harmony with the possible offense in view. There are persons whose ordinary language is so profuse with superlatives, that when they wish to describe something really worth while, they are at a loss to find words to meet the case. So there are parents whose punishments for trivial offenses are so severe that when they encounter something really deserving of correction in their children's misbehavior, they are at a loss to know what to do, and their threats are often too visionary to be capable of realization.190
They Learn Not to Fear Bears
There is no true obedience except that which is rendered through love. No “rod of correction”—the rod which really corrects a fault—is ever wielded except by the hand of love. That mother who keeps her children in sight by telling them that if they go out of the yard the bears will eat them, will find later on that her children have learned better, and that along with the knowledge of the non-presence of bears has come distrust in mother's word, which distrust is fatal in its results.
Such deception on the part of her whose duty it is to be the personification of truth to her children, is worse in its results than the reading of such a story as “Jack and the Beanstalk.” If a child has sincere confidence in his mother,—if she has never deceived him, never told him anything but truth,—he will believe her when she tells him that fairy stories are not true, and not profitable to read. Blessed is that child who believes implicitly in his mother, whose confidence can never be shaken in her word!
Mothers Training Criminals
But the mother who constantly tells untruths, who seeks to secure obedience by means of deception, becomes to her child as unreliable as a fairy tale. He learns to believe one just about as much as the other—he learns to believe neither, and to disbelieve the world in general, and perhaps the great truths of inspiration and salvation.
Children are imitators. They learn from babyhood to follow whatever example is set before them. If parents seek to deceive their children, their children will seek to deceive them in return. Lying and stealing go hand in hand. When a child has learned to tell an untruth, it is easy to take that which does not belong to him; and when a child has learned to lie and steal, he has taken a long step toward becoming a criminal.
The lengthened criminal list of to-day attests to the gross neglect on the part of parents, for generations past, to give to their children the training which it was their duty to give, and which it was the right of their children to receive. Our multiplied jails, penitentiaries, and asylums have within their gloomy walls to-day many poor souls who would be enjoying the sunlight of freedom were it not for the fact that they did not receive the proper training in childhood.
The Beautiful Mother Character
Parenthood carries with it the greatest responsibility ever committed to mortals. But those who bear it wisely, will have the joy of achieving the greatest success of which mortals are capable. Ah, it pays to be true to the cooing infant, the prattling baby, the trusting child, the ambitious youth; for time can never obliterate the blessed influence of the beautiful lives that help to mold one's destiny.
Imagination spans the distance of two thousand miles, and I am again beside the lowly resting place of her who was to me a bright example of Christian piety for more than forty years. From the depths of a grateful heart there wells up this blessed epitaph in memory of my sainted mother: “She was always true to her children.” Whittier has beautifully said, “Truth should be the first lesson of the child, and the last aspiration of manhood.” Truly, “great is truth, and mighty above all things.”
Do you realize
how extensive and varied our line of foreign publications is?
In German alone we carry thirty bound books on evangelical, educational, and health subjects, at prices from 35c to $5.50 a volume.
The fourteen pamphlets, thirty-two tracts, and several periodicals, all in German, cover a wide range of topics, such as appear in the SIGNS OF THE TIMES from week to week.
Don’t forget your German friends and neighbors.
Nor your Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Roumanian, or other foreign neighbors. We can supply you with books, pamphlets, and tracts in any of the languages named.
Sample copies of the periodicals or a catalogue free upon request of
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSN.
College View, Nebraska
Do You Lack Confidence?
By Editor
Those who understand the Bible prophecies best are strongest in faith. Don’t be in doubt; better bolster up your confidence in the Word by studying the prophecies.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES SUPPLEMENT
For March is a prophecy number. All the articles in the four pages are prophecy articles. Read it; circulate it widely. Note the low prices: 25 copies, 15c; 100 copies, 50c; 1,000, $4.00.
Yearly subscription price, 25c. Please order through our depositories.
Healing the Deadly Wound
By Editor
One of eight April “Signs Magazine” features
Benedict XV has told the nations that their Hague tribunal is inadequate. He says it is composed of men interested on one side or another, and never can be impartial in its decisions, and this is surely true. He therefore tells them that a return to the good order of the past is the only way out of their dilemma.
The foregoing is a good reason why you should secure and read a copy of the Signs of the Times Magazine for April.
SEVEN OTHER GOOD REASONS
1. The United States in Prophecy
Divine prediction concerning this nation—What it will do in future days, and the terrible results that will follow.
2. Dream of a New World Empire
The president asked to begin a world federation and proclaim the United States of the World—Is it wise?—The Bible answer.
3. The Coming Church-Established Empire
4. The Eastern War Storm
Is it the time of trouble foretold in Bible prophecy?—A clear explanation of the Turkish question.
5. The Downfall of Civilization
Demoralization in sports, in dress, in conduct—Does it mean moral degeneracy?—A sign of the times.
6. The Final End of Sin
Prophecies, relation of how sin is to be removed from the universe—Sin and sinners to be no more—No eternal burning hell—No eternally tempting Satan.
7. Enmity Between Man and Satan
Satan’s efforts to deprave human nature interrupted by an antagonism specially interposed by God—This explains why the human family does not become united in opposition to God.
YOUR SPARE TIME
Hundreds give some time each month to selling the Signs of the Times Magazine. We want more representatives. Will you be one? Little expense, little time, little money—all you need to sell the Signs Magazine.
The magazine to your home every month for $1.00 a year.
Agents’ rates: five to forty copies, 5¢ each.
Fifty or more, 4¢ each.
40 per cent commission on all subscriptions taken.
Orders should be sent to our depository in your state.
Signs of the Times Magazine
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA
COOPERATIVE CORNER
WANTED—All who can to order from the publishers back numbers of Signs weekly or Signs Magazine and Watchman to be sent to me for free distribution. 2557 A Hebert St. (Rear), St. Louis, Missouri. Emma Kincaid.
Sister Kincaid has used thousands of copies of the Signs, and we will be glad to mail them to her at the rates of one half cent a copy for the weekly and one cent a copy for the magazine. Send your remittance to the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Cooperation Corner, Mountain View, California, and mention this call.
Z. S. Arey, Brenham, Texas: a continuous supply of literature, to distribute free—English, German, Bohemian, and Polish. Little Friends especially requested.
Mrs. Anna B. Olson, Lake, Nebraska; a continuous supply of clean S. D. A. papers, magazines, tracts, leaflets, etc., for free distribution.
Mrs. Tim Shore, of Jonesville, Yadkin County, North Carolina, would like to get in touch with Mrs. W. I. Camp. Mrs. Camp was last heard of in California. If either Mrs. Camp or any of her friends see this notice, please communicate with the above address.
FOR SALE
Alfalfa honey in five-gallon cans, $4.00 per can. It is light colored and fine flavored. Sample free. Satisfaction guaranteed. Correspondence solicited.
M. S. Dickinson, Los Banos, California.
FOR SALE
At Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California, a large, modern, five-roomed cottage in good condition. Well lighted and with all modern conveniences. Three and one half blocks from railroad station, and ten minutes' walk from Seventh-day Adventist church and church school. Lot 75 x 150 feet. Inclosed on three sides by high board fence. Cement walks to all parts of town. Over twenty citrus and deciduous fruit trees in bearing. Address Box 346, Mountain View, California.
The Bible or Redwood
By Josef W. Hall
IT was in one of the lumber camps that nestle in the mighty mountains of the great Northwest. The colporteur was endeavoring to place some good literature in the hands of the loggers, that they might have something other than their vicious talk to take up their spare time. There are always some men in a camp whom the others look up to as the chief argumentators,—usually the worst braggarts and bullies. As the colporteur mentioned the Bible, one of these men challenged him.
“You say you are from California,” said he, “where the giant redwoods grow. Do you mean to tell me that those forests cannot be more than four thousand years old?”
The colporteur smiled. “The Bible,” he said, “to which we owe all our modern civilization; which keeps us from ancestor worship, like the Chinese, or from burning our widows, like the Hindus, or from offering human sacrifices, like the civilized nations of ancient times — the Bible that has been the forerunner of all modern advancement and all human kindness — is worth more to me than a stick of sequoia.”
And those rough lumberjacks saw the point.
JOSEF W. HALL.
Preventing Books from Becoming Musty
An effective way to prevent books from becoming musty and possibly moldy in moist weather is to place a few drops of oil of lavender and Canadian balsam in a back corner of each shelf. This will not injure the bindings of leather books as sulphur compounds do, but helps preserve the bindings. The two substances are easily obtained.—Scientific American.
The Best Route to and from California
Two Great 1915 Expositions
At San Francisco
February 20 to December 4, 1915
At San Diego
January 1 to December 31, 1915
There will be no postponement for any reason
INQUIRE OF ANY AGENT, OR
MR. C. S. FÉE
Passenger Traffic Manager
Flood Building
San Francisco, California
SOUTHERN PACIFIC
Book Notice
The American Standard Revised Bible has now been printed for some fourteen years, and has steadily grown in popularity. It is now, in little more than a decade from its appearance, enjoying a more general use than did the King James, or Authorized Version, after fifty years in print. It has been authorized and recommended for church and literary use, by over twenty great religious bodies or their official publishers, and by hundreds of authors, schools, etc. The American Bible Society, engaged since 1816 in the circulation of the King James Version, has lately amended its constitution to enable it to circulate this other one. The verdict of Christian scholarship generally, is that it is the best version in any language. The occasion for our making these remarks is the receipt by us of a copy in a particularly attractive and practical style,—stiff morocco covers, 12mo size, round corners, red under gold edges, India paper, brevier type, cover index, and maps. The publishers are Thomas Nelson & Sons, Fourth Avenue and Twenty-seventh Street, New York. No Christian worker should be without a copy of this version; and for some people, this new style will do better than the prevailing limp-backed volume.
SANITARIUM COOKING OIL
“The Oil of Quality”
Pure Cotton Seed Oil direct from refinery. Sweet, Wholesome, and Delicious.
THOUSANDS have been attracted to Christian Science. Is it all that its name implies? This 112-page pamphlet is one of the strongest Bible arguments against it to be found. 15c, postpaid. Order from our depository in your state or
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSN
Mountain View, California
The Response of History
Every Bible student and historian knows that Babylon was succeeded by Medo-Persia; that Greece overcame the latter; that Rome conquered the Grecians; that Rome fell.
They know that Jerusalem was destroyed; that it was rebuilt; that it was destroyed again.
They know that Jesus Christ came to the world and was rejected by His own people.
These are only a few of the many prophecies which have been fulfilled.
May we know from prophecy about the great world movements of our day and the immediate future?
Yes; Daniel and John have shown what would take place in the last days.
Their prophecies form the basis of that remarkable book “Daniel and the Revelation,” a verse-by-verse exposition of these two great and important books which shows the response of history to the prophetic Word, answers those questions of eternal import that people think and talk about nowadays.
Published in English, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, and German, in several bindings, at from $2.00 to $5.00. Our depository in your state will promptly fill orders or furnish you with our catalogue of publications.
Pacific Press Publishing Association
Mountain View, California
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA
COLLEGE VIEW, NEBRASKA
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
PORTLAND, OREGON
“Shiloh, the Man of Sorrows”
Many who have read this story, or parts of it, as it appeared in serial form in the SIGNS, will be glad to order a copy for their own library, or for a beautiful and useful present to a friend.
The volume should stimulate a desire for Bible study, and is just the book for aggressive missionary work among the Jews and the unconverted. It is beautifully bound in cloth, gold stamped, 377 pages. Eight full page illustrations. $1.50 net. Agents wanted. Author’s portrait suitable for framing. Let the orders come in.
Fourteen cents postage extra
Address the author, Mrs. L. D. Avery-Suttle, 1215 Vermont Avenue, Lansing, Michigan.
The War in Europe, and Changes That Must Soon Follow
FOR some two weeks past at this writing, the allied fleets have been bombarding the forts along the Dardanelles with the determination, so it is reported, of eventually reducing Constantinople and thus taking possession of those strategic grounds. It is said to have been agreed that Russia will be permitted by the allied powers to possess the conquered territory, so that she may have a southern outlet for her fleet. This has been the age-long desire of Russia, and she has been strenuously opposed in it, particularly by England. It has been held that Russian possession of that territory must not be permitted, so that the balance of power could be maintained.
Whether Constantinople will fall during this conflict is not yet determined, for the reports say that the people are riotously clamoring for peace, and their war party is very severely threatened. They desire to break their alliance with Germany, and make terms of peace with the allies, and thus save their sacred belongings in Constantinople, Adrianople, and elsewhere in the little space left them on the continent of Europe.
What the next few weeks will bring about in that section of the world will be watched with the keenest interest; but whatever may come out of it at this time, enough has already been done to show the mighty revolutions that can be produced in a very short time, and that the sentiments of strong nations like England, which have been held for years and years, may be overcome with whirlwind rapidity.
This war is making a profound impression upon the world; and men who have assured us so strongly that we are to have peace, will be more determined than ever to bring this about. The political power of the church, following this war, will stand higher than it has stood since the Middle Ages. Prophecies call for this, and the indications are clear that these prophecies are on the eve of a striking fulfillment. The prophecy is plain in saying that a world church power is to be formed as one of the closing events. The material is all shaping that is to produce this thing; and we may expect to see, when this war is over, among the revolutions and the upheavals that will result, the political supremacy of the church forces, standing up with a strength they have never possessed in the past.
One of the last great events to fulfill these prophecies is a clash between the allied forces of nominal Christianity and the Turkish or Mohammedan power; and no matter what may be the immediate steps taken by the Turkish forces either during this war or immediately following it, it is clear that the groundwork is being laid for animosities that must soon result in the final crash.
Men may have a disposition to deny or doubt this; but in view of what has already been accomplished, and the changes that, humanly speaking, seemed impossible, but which are taking place on the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, it is well that we be careful not to speak too positively concerning what may or may not occur. If there ever comes a time when men should be doubting human theories and human speculations, and giving themselves closely and carefully to a study of the prophetic Word, that time is now; for the spirit of revolution is rife. And be assured that the peace which will follow this war will be only an apparent peace, not a real or lasting one.
Condition of Mrs. E. G. White
IN a recent issue, we made mention of an accident that had happened to Mrs. E. G. White, one of our oldest and most esteemed contributors. Through her secretary she sends the following:
“I need the prayers of all God’s people. My courage is grounded in my Saviour. I want that peace that abounds in Christ Jesus. My work is nearly ended. Looking over the past, I do not feel the least mite of despondency. I feel so grateful that the Lord has withheld me from despair and discouragement, and that I can still hold the banner. I am very grateful that this is so. I know Him whom I love and in whom my soul trusteth.”
Mrs. White is in her eighty-eighth year, and has been very active as both a speaker and a writer. She has traveled over quite a portion of the earth, and her writings have been read by a multitude who rejoice in the soul-uplifting products of her pen. We are fortunate in being able to say to the thousands of our readers who look forward to her articles from week to week, that we have a sufficient number on hand to supply us for something like a year or more.
In the communication from Mrs. White from which the foregoing quotation was taken, she says, speaking of death:
“I feel the sooner the better; all the time that is how I feel—the sooner the better. I have not a discouraging thought nor sadness. I have hoped I should be able once more to speak to the people, but that is the Lord’s business, not mine. I have light and faith and hope and courage and joy in the Lord, and that is enough.”
Anarchist Plottings in New York City
An attempt was made in New York City on March 2 to blow up St. Patrick's cathedral. This, according to the reports, was to have been the signal for a general uprising among the anarchists in that city. They were to go forth with bomb and fagot for general destruction and rioting.
It is difficult to conceive how men become possessed with the idea that any good could come out of such work. But there is no denying the fact that there is a growing tendency in many parts of the world, in the direction of anarchy and violence. These anarchists in New York City who attempted this desperate deed represent one of the greatest extremes in the evil teachings and doings of men. But outside of openly avowed anarchy, there are sentiments of bitterness in the minds of men that on the slightest provocation break out into open violence.
The extreme anarchist presents views so repulsive to the majority of the human family that he is regarded with but slight apprehension. But the danger to the world lies not so much in the fact that we have the extreme anarchist; the greatest danger lies in the fact that we have many other men who, while not so extreme, nevertheless hold in their lives the principles of discontent and bitterness that will break out in riots and spread terror and destruction.
The greatest danger to the individual lies in his failure to recognize the facts that are presented in existing conditions. The world seems to insist on sleeping on, only to be aroused by some great cataclysm like the European war. There are other dangers bound up in the social conditions of the world that far outstrip anything that has appeared as yet.
This is said not from the standpoint of a philosopher, but from the standpoint of the prophetic Word. Wise will be the man or the woman who can see the gathering storm and enter the haven of safety while the opportunity is passing.
Bookmen and Secretaries Meet
As we are closing up this paper, one of the most profitable and widely attended conventions of our bookmen and tract society secretaries is in session here at the home office. Three of our branch office managers are with us, and the other branch is well represented by workers from its territory. Elder I. H. Evans, vice president of the North American Division Conference; Elder N. Z. Town, secretary of the Publishing Department of the General Conference; W. W. Eastman, secretary of the Publishing Department of the North American Division Conference; and Elder F. W. Paap, home missionary secretary of the North American Division Conference, are among the general workers attending the convention. More extended notes of the meeting will appear next week.
Christ’s Offer of Everlasting Life
CHRIST was crucified for you that He might crown you with everlasting life. Will you let Him do it, or will you die?
