tH^^PUCATTOiH ctrp^f^ 
 
The University of Chicago Publications 
 IN Religious Education 
 
 CONSTRUCTIVE STUDIES— ETHICAL GROUP 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 ERNEST D. BURTON 
 
THE PROBLEMS OF BOYHOOD 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
 
 AgftttB 
 THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 LONDON AND EDINBCKGH 
 
 THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 
 
 TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO 
 
 KARL W. HIERSEMANN 
 
 LEIPZIG 
 
 THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 
 
 KKW TOBK 
 
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 THE PROBLEMS 
 OF BOYHOOD 
 
 A COURSE IN ETHICS FOR BOYS OF 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGE 
 
 By 
 Franklin Winslow Johnson 
 
 Principal of the University High School 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
 

 Copyright 1914 By 
 The University of Chicago 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 Published September 1914 
 
 eOUCATION DEFr« 
 
 Composed and Printed By 
 
 The University of Chicajfo Press 
 
 Chicago. Illinois, U.S.A. 
 
TO THE BOYS OF THE DISCUSSION CLUB OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL WHO HAVE FURNISHED 
 THE INSPIRATION FOR THESE STUDIES AND HAVE 
 PROVIDED MUCH OF THE MATERIAL WHICH THEY CON- 
 TAIN, THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED IN THE HOPE 
 
 that it may prove helpful to many other boys. 
 
 The Author 
 
 54 4204 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Foreword to the Teacher xi 
 
 A Foreword to the Boy xxiii 
 
 STUDY 
 
 I. Two Views of Boyhood i 
 
 II. Some Elemental Problems .... 6 
 
 III. Custom ii 
 
 IV. Habit i6 
 
 V. Honesty 21 
 
 VI. Property Rights 31 
 
 VII. Gambung and Betting 37 
 
 VIII. Speech: Slang and Profanity ... 42 
 
 IX. Clean Thinking and Speaking ... 48 
 
 X. The Problem of Sex 53 
 
 XI. Alcoholic Liquors and Tobacco ... 59 
 
 XII. Courtesy and Respect 66 
 
 XIII. Self-control 70 
 
 XIV. Conservation and Efficiency . . . ' . 75 
 XV. Conservation and Efficiency — Continued 82 
 
 XVI. Loyalty 88 
 
 XVII. Citizenship 93 
 
 XVni. Clubs and Fraternities 99 
 
 XIX. The Ideausm of Boyhood ... . . . 105 
 
 XX. Measure of Success no 
 
 XXI. The Choice of a Life-Work . . . . 115 
 
 XXII. Reugion 126 
 
A FOREWORD TO THE TEACHER 
 
 To one who is interested in moral or religious 
 instruction in the Sunday school, the pubhc or 
 private school, the Young Men's Christian 
 Association, the social settlement, or other 
 similar organizations, the boy in his teens pre- 
 sents a pecuHarly baffling problem. It has 
 not been difficult to make the work of the Sun- 
 day school seem interesting and worth while to 
 both boys and girls up to the age of twelve or 
 fourteen. It has been comparatively easy to 
 hold the girls right on through the period of 
 girlhood up to young womanhood. But with 
 the boy from fourteen years up it is a dififerent 
 case. The physiological changes which take 
 place at this time, of which the sudden rapid 
 physical growth is the most obvious, are accom- 
 panied by more profound changes which afifect 
 his thought and conduct. The boy who has 
 been docile and gentle suddenly becomes self- 
 assertive and rough, ready to question the au- 
 thority of teacher or parent. He craves action, 
 si 
 
xii Foreword 
 
 and if the restraints of school seem too severe, 
 as is often the case, he rebels and will have no 
 more of it if he can help it. Through legal 
 enactment, the state keeps him in school up to 
 a certain age, a sense of the value of an educa- 
 tion as preparation for life's activities some- 
 times holds him longer, but statistics of school 
 attendance show all too well how strong is the 
 craving of the adolescent boy for what seems to 
 him the freer life out of school. The Sunday 
 school lacks the restraint of law and is unable 
 to make effective the appeal of utility. The 
 result is that at fourteen the boy begins to 
 think he is getting too old for the Sunday school, 
 and at eighteen most of the boys have disap- 
 peared. He may still be held by athletics or 
 other social activities but the best-intentioned 
 efforts to give him direct moral or rehgious 
 instruction frequently fail to secure from him 
 an interested response. 
 
 Now we may assume at the outset that this 
 unhappy outcome is not the fault of the boy. 
 He is following out the laws of his own nature. 
 Inability to understand the boy and meet his 
 
Foreword xiii 
 
 needs is the cause of our failure in this regard. 
 The recent rapid increase in the enrohnent of 
 adolescent boys in the public schools has been 
 due to changes in the methods and material 
 of instruction from the point of view of the 
 boy's present interests and future occupation. 
 Similar adjustments of methods and material 
 may be expected to secure corresponding re- 
 sults in the direction of moral and religious 
 education. 
 
 A movement recently inaugurated by the 
 Young Men's Christian Association in a number 
 of cities promises excellent results. On the 
 South Side of Chicago, at the Hyde Park branch 
 of the Young Men's Christian Association, boys 
 from three high schools meet each Wednes- 
 day evening from November to May. All 
 sit down together at 6:15 for dinner and at 
 6 : 45 meet in separate rooms, the boys from each 
 school with a teacher from the faculty of the 
 school, for a discussion period of forty-five 
 minutes. One of these classes has this year 
 begun its eighth year under the same teacher, 
 another, its fourth year, and the third, its 
 
xiv Foreword 
 
 second year. The number at dinner varies 
 from sixty to more than a hundred, and the 
 two oldest classes have had an average weekly 
 attendance for the past two years of twenty- 
 five or more boys. 
 
 The author has had a part in this interesting 
 movement, having just begun the fourth year 
 with the "Discussion Club" from his school. 
 The membership of the club is thoroughly 
 representative, having had for one year as its 
 president a Catholic boy, and for another a 
 Jewish boy. The author has placed entire 
 responsibihty for the attendance upon the 
 officers and members of the club. In order 
 to prevent any impression getting abroad in 
 the school that one may secure favor with the 
 principal by attending the meetings of the club, 
 he has never invited a single boy to attend a 
 meeting. It does not appear that the dinner 
 is the chief attraction, because the boys pay 
 the cost of each meal and not infrequently come 
 into the class discussion after the dinner is over. 
 That the attendance has continued to increase 
 from the first indicates that the real attraction 
 
Foreword xv 
 
 is the discussions which constitute the chief 
 activity of the club. 
 
 The important question at the beginning 
 was what should be the material for class work. 
 The author proposed the life of Jesus, the life 
 of Paul, and the moral problems of the high- 
 school boy, urging strongly the life of Paul as 
 full of appeal to vigorous young boyhood. No 
 objection was made to the use of New Testa- 
 ment material by the Jewish boys, of whom there 
 were several in the group, but it was the unani- 
 mous choice of the boys that the discussion of 
 the specific moral problems of boyhood be taken 
 up instead of the lives of Jesus or of Paul which 
 most of them had studied in Sunday school. 
 Life Questions oj High School Boys by Jenks 
 was accordingly made the basis of the first 
 year's work. 
 
 In the course of the year certain characteris- 
 tics of adolescent boyhood came out distinctly. 
 In the first place, boys are exceedingly fond of 
 discussing whatever is of timely interest to 
 them. Let an issue be placed before them, not 
 as settled but as open to discussion, and boys 
 
xvi Foreword 
 
 will readily take sides and stoutly defend their 
 positions. And while some of their ideas will 
 doubtless reflect their immaturity and lack of 
 sound judgment, one may usually count on a 
 larger degree of sincerity than is sometimes seen 
 in the discussions of more mature men. In the 
 hands of a skilful leader, the discussions of a 
 group of boys may almost always be brought to 
 a satisfactory conclusion, which will have been 
 greatly reinforced and made a vital force through 
 the discussion from which it has finally emerged. 
 Again, boys have a tendency to respond to 
 directness and frankness in kind. Your boy 
 is a masterful bluffer if he thinks someone is 
 trying to get an advantage and sometimes he 
 becomes a bluffer from habit, but he will usually 
 meet you half-way when it comes to a question 
 of frankness and fair dealing. He will often 
 prove a severe critic of himself or his social 
 group. The customs and habits of his school or 
 club he will discuss with absolute frankness so 
 long as there is not involved anything that 
 might be construed as telling on some other 
 boy — "snitching" he will probably call it. He 
 
Foreword xvii 
 
 will talk frankly of his own habits and will 
 sometimes surprise you by the intimate dis- 
 closures he will make. 
 
 Boys are thoroughgoing idealists. You are 
 sure to find some of them who, from a discus- 
 sion of the vital problems of boyhood, will come 
 to feel themselves responsible for sweeping 
 reforms among their fellows. This idealism, 
 properly conserved and directed, may be made 
 a factor of great value. Psychologists urge 
 the importance of expression as a sequence of 
 all good impressions. This is of first impor- 
 tance where we are dealing with concrete prob- 
 lems of daily conduct. So much of our reli- 
 gious and moral instruction spends itself in a 
 momentary glow and does not translate itself 
 into conduct, that it is of utmost importance 
 that we strive to secure expression of what may 
 otherwise end with the emotion aroused and 
 leave the boy no better, perhaps worse off, 
 than before. It is difficult to estimate to what 
 extent these impressions find expression, and 
 one may easily hope for a more vigorous or 
 speedy response than seems to come. It has 
 
xviii Foreword 
 
 been gratifying to observe, during the three 
 years since the Discussion Club has been in 
 existence, a steady improvement in the moral 
 tone of the school in such matters as involve 
 honesty in the relations of pupils with each 
 other and with their teachers, respect for prop- 
 erty rights, good sportsmanship, clean speech, 
 which may be fairly traced in no small degree to 
 the discussion of these topics. Tangible results 
 may be seen in a written agreement entered into 
 by a considerable number of boys not to tell 
 "smutty" stories nor willingly to listen to such 
 stories from others, an agreement which the 
 writer did not suggest and of which he had no 
 knowledge until after it had been made. 
 
 There are two factors of prime importance 
 in the successful conduct of such a club or class 
 — the leader and the material. The leader must 
 be a boys' man, able to understand and appreci- 
 ate the point of view of the boy, genuinely 
 interested both in his sports and in his more 
 serious activities, ready to spend time in think- 
 ing about the problems of boyhood and in 
 actual contact with boys, desiring above all 
 
Foreword xix 
 
 else that the boy may form right ideals and 
 transmute these into habits of right conduct. 
 He must not be overeager to force his own 
 mature ideas upon the boy, but must be willing 
 to lead him to form his own ideas under tact- 
 ful guidance. 
 
 The material should seem to the boy of direct 
 and vital importance to him as a boy. It should 
 not take the form of rules of conduct, but should 
 lead him to form such rules for himself. It 
 must deal largely with concrete experiences 
 taken from his own life. Much of it then will 
 be local, drawn from his own school or com- 
 munity life. It will frequently be quite per- 
 sonal. To be most effective, it will sometimes 
 be necessary to break away from an orderly 
 sequence of topics in order to take advantage of 
 some particular event or situation which could 
 not be foreseen. Timeliness will then be an 
 important consideration in the choice or order 
 of material. It will cover, in the course of a 
 year, all the issues that have to do with a boy's 
 immediate relation to his fellows, to those in 
 authority over him in school, in his home, in 
 
XX Foreword 
 
 his community and state; it will deal with his 
 relations to the various social and philanthropic 
 agencies with which he may now or later have 
 to do; it will include discussions of the various 
 trades and professions to some one of which he 
 will wish to devote his life successfully; and 
 through it all there should run a fine religious 
 spirit, not dragged in forcibly, but natural 
 and sincere, which should culminate in a dis- 
 cussion of a boy's relation to God and the organ- 
 ized agencies of religion. 
 
 The material presented in the twenty-two 
 studies which follow has been worked out with a 
 group of high-school boys and has been found 
 effective in the manner above described. 
 Whatever value it may have is largely due to the 
 fact that it thus comes fresh from actual expe- 
 rience. It should be understood that it is 
 intended, not as a complete and finished dis- 
 cussion of the various topics, but as a suggestive 
 outline to be filled out by class discussion. It 
 is hoped that it will not seem for this reason 
 scrappy and incomplete. The purpose is not 
 to state conclusions, but to suggest discussions 
 
Foreword xxi 
 
 from which valuable conclusions may be drawn. 
 If in some lessons there is no reference whatever 
 to the Bible, it should be borne in mind that it 
 does not purport to be primarily for Bible- 
 study. Wherever the Bible furnishes material 
 directly applicable to the subject under dis- 
 cussion, it is employed; no attempt has been 
 made to introduce it at any other point. 
 
 The subjects of most of the studies are so 
 vitally related to the actual life experiences of 
 boys that the class discussions may be carried 
 on successfully without much study on the part 
 of the boys. They will of course be more 
 valuable if the boys can be induced to give 
 thought and study to them in advance. The 
 keeping of a notebook by the members of the 
 class will be found helpful. The topics sug- 
 gested for further study may be given out to 
 individuals in advance; sometimes it may be 
 better to assign these for special consideration 
 at the next meeting, when the class will have 
 a better understanding of their significance. 
 Many other topics will occur to the teacher, 
 having special relation to the characteristics of 
 
xxii Foreword 
 
 his boys or to the conditions peculiar to the 
 school, or club, or to the community in which 
 they live. It may be found that some of the 
 studies cannot satisfactorily be completed at 
 one meeting; others may be omitted entirely. 
 The teacher may find it advantageous to call 
 in expert assistance, especially in the studies 
 of vocational topics, when some representative 
 of the profession under consideration may 
 make the discussion more effective. 
 
 No bibliography has been prepared to accom- 
 pany the studies. The topics discussed are not 
 bookish. The teacher will find his knowledge 
 of biography of extreme value and may well 
 lead his boys to read the lives of great men 
 to some of whom reference will be found in the 
 studies. The teacher who uses the book in the 
 Sunday school will make frequent references to 
 the lives of Jesus, Paul, and other vigorous 
 characters of the Bible. All the material in 
 the studies will be found in accordance with the 
 spirit of the teachings and life of Jesus and will 
 be found most effective only as it is used in the 
 spirit of the Great Teacher. 
 
A FOREWORD TO THE BOY 
 
 Life, as it stretches out before you, offers a 
 glorious field for struggle and adventure. Are 
 you going to win out ? No one can tell you just 
 how to do it. The studies in this little book 
 have been worked out with boys whose prob- 
 lems are like yours. A careful study of them 
 will help you to lay your plans for success. 
 They are planned for discussion in boys' clubs 
 and classes under the direction of a leader. 
 We will assume that your leader is a man who 
 knows and likes boys and that the boys like 
 him. He knows some things which you do 
 not; but do not let him, for this reason, do 
 your thinking for you. You know some things 
 which he does not; perhaps he never knew 
 them or has merely forgotten them. From the 
 discussion of these vital problems together you 
 will help each other. Out of these discussions, 
 you should develop principles for action in your 
 own lives. These will be of small value to you 
 unless you put them to immediate practice in 
 
xxiv Foreword 
 
 the work and play of your present life as a boy. 
 Life for you is not a thing of the future, but 
 you are already in the midst of it. You will 
 not find it much different ten or twenty years 
 hence, but what you are doing then will depend 
 largely upon what you are making out of life 
 now. An English poet, Henry Newbolt, has 
 caught the spirit of boyhood in the following 
 verses which he calls "Vital Lampada," the 
 Torch of Life. The setting is more familiar 
 to English boys, but its appeal will be felt 
 by boys the world over. 
 
 VITAI LAMPADA 
 
 There*s a breathless hush in the Close tonight: 
 
 Ten to make and the match to win — 
 A bumping pitch and a blinding light, 
 
 An hour to play and the last man in. 
 And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat, 
 
 Or the selfish hope of a season's fame, 
 But his captain's hand on his shoulder smote: 
 
 "Play up! play up! and play the game!" 
 
 The sand of the desert is sodden red, 
 
 Red with the wreck of a square that broke: 
 
 The gatling's jammed and the colonel dead, 
 And the regiment blind with dust and smoke. 
 
Foreword xxv 
 
 The river of death has brimmed his banks, 
 And England's far, and Honour a name. 
 
 But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks: 
 "Play up! play up! and play the game!" 
 
 This is the word that year by year, 
 
 While in her place the school is set. 
 Every one of her sons must hear. 
 
 And none that hears it dare forget. 
 This they all with a joyful mind 
 
 Bear through life like a torch in flame, 
 And falling fling to the host behind: 
 
 "Play up! play up! and play the game!" 
 
STUDY I 
 TWO VIEWS OF BOYHOOD 
 
 There are two views of boyhood. The one 
 most commonly held and that about which the 
 boy hears most from his elders is that it is a 
 period of preparation. All its various activities 
 are viewed from the standpoint of their value 
 as preparation for the life which he is to live 
 as a man. In most respects this seems to be 
 a wholesome attitude. How does it appeal to 
 you? 
 
 It will be worth while to apply this view in 
 some specific cases. 
 
 There are many boys' schools which are 
 called "preparatory schools." In what sense is 
 the term "preparatory" thus used? Does the 
 high school in your community prepare boys 
 for such a trade as carpentry? for farming? 
 How would you justify the study of Latin or 
 of history as preparation for life ? 
 
 What is the value of athletics as preparation ? 
 Would not working in the garden be as valuable 
 
v^iJ Problems of Boyhood 
 
 exercise as football? Of what value is the 
 game to the boy in the "bleachers'*? Is 
 ability to play athletic games of value to a 
 man? What schoolboy games are adapted 
 to mature manhood? What suggestion does 
 this offer as to the relative value of different 
 athletic games? 
 
 What does the home contribute to the boy's 
 preparation for life ? the Sunday school ? 
 
 There are many harmful agencies which have 
 to do with the preparation of a boy for manhood. 
 Mention some of these which are found among 
 the boys in your community. 
 
 The other view of boyhood is that it is not 
 merely preparation for life, but life itself. 
 From this standpoint the activities of boy life 
 have real value in themselves and make 
 demands upon his physical, intellectual, and 
 moral forces similar to those which he will 
 encounter in mature life. Honorable success 
 in the work and play of boyhood has real and 
 present satisfaction, valuable in itself; failure 
 brings a corresponding sense of present loss. 
 To the boy himself this sense of present value 
 
Two Views of Boyhood 3 
 
 is probably a more powerful factor in determin- 
 ing his conduct than any consideration of the 
 remote future consequences. For example, 
 the high-school athlete gives up smoking during 
 the football season in order that he may be in 
 better condition for the games, but he is not 
 deterred from resuming the habit after the last 
 game by fear that his physical strength may 
 suffer any permanent loss. 
 
 From the standpoint of present satisfaction, 
 what would cause you to choose between lying 
 and telling the truth ? to train for the football 
 eleven? to prepare your mathematics assign- 
 ment for tomorrow ? 
 ( In many cases these two considerations, 
 preparation for the future, and present satis- 
 /f action, are at the same time influential in 
 Idetermining a boy's conduct. Mention some 
 situation in which this is the case. But this 
 does not always seem to hold; give an illustra- 
 tion. Is the relative value of these appeals the 
 same with every boy in a given case ? Which 
 seems to have most to do with your conduct 
 from day to day? 
 
4 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Not long ago preachers were accustomed to 
 appeal to their hearers on the basis of the future 
 consequences of their acts. When our fathers 
 were boys, they were urged to be good in order 
 that after they had died they might enjoy 
 heaven or escape hell. Preachers now have 
 much less to say about the hereafter, and are 
 telling us how we may secure happiness now in 
 the service of those about us. With this new 
 emphasis, boyhood takes on new value. So 
 long as the boy thinks of his life merely as 
 preparation for manhood^s tasks, he is often 
 willing to let things go and take a chance of 
 supplying what is lacking later on. But if 
 the boy can see that today^s work and play 
 present occasions for the exercise of a boy's 
 judgment, the testing of a boy's character, the 
 outlay of a boy's strength, just as important 
 and as difficult for him now as those which will 
 come to him in his mature manhood, life will 
 take on for him more meaning and zest. By 
 no means should you think less of the impor- 
 tance of preparing yourself for manhood's tasks 
 by the proper training of your body, mind, and 
 
Two Views of Boyhood 5 
 
 character, but you should also see that your 
 daily activities have real value for you and 
 that you should be able to justify your con- 
 duct on the ground of the present satisfaction 
 that it brings you. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The value of athletic games from the point of view 
 of their value for the present and the future. Under 
 what circumstances may they be harmful ? 
 
 The agricultural or manual-training course in the 
 high school versus the classical course. 
 
 The value of different kinds of reading, e.g., the news- 
 paper and magazine, entertaining novels, biography, 
 history. 
 
STUDY II 
 SOME ELEMENTAL PROBLEMS 
 At about the age of fourteen begins the 
 period in a boy^s life known as adolescence* 
 This period is marked by certain physiological 
 changes in his body which are accompanied 
 by other great and important changes in his 
 habits of thought and of conduct. It is the 
 period of rapid physical growth, often accom- 
 panied by a feeling of awkwardness and diffi- 
 dence. He begins to think for himself and 
 to question the authority of his parents and 
 others whose control he has up to this time 
 accepted naturally. He often feels himself 
 misunderstood and sometimes abused. Boys 
 at this period crave freedom and adventure 
 and to secure it often break away from the 
 restraints of school or home. It is the age of 
 truancy from school, of "running away'' from 
 home. It is a period of the most violent change 
 which takes place in his entire life. He has 
 been a child but is one no longer; he is not yet 
 
 6 
 
Some Elemental Problems 7 
 
 a man but is rapidly becoming one. He is 
 like one adrift in a boat broken loose from 
 its moorings, driven violently by wind and 
 wave, with the pilot overboard. He must 
 ride out the storm and learn to steer for 
 himself. It is a time of great peril but of 
 glorious possibihties. 
 
 As illustrations, think of the large number of 
 boys who leave school at fourteen to go to 
 work; the rapid falling-off of the attendance at 
 Sunday school at this age; the formation of 
 gangs to play Indian or pirate, sometimes for 
 vicious or criminal practices. Consider also 
 the comparative advantages of the city and 
 coimtry for boys at this period. 
 
 Boyhood is the period when life-habits are 
 formed. The problem of boyhood is one of 
 adjustment in passing from control by others to 
 control of one's self. Every boy will make the 
 transition better if he realizes what some of 
 the specific problems are. These will be made 
 the subjects of later studies and will then be 
 treated in detail. Let us briefly sketch some 
 of the more important here. 
 
8 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 THE PROBLEM OF KEEPING CLEAN 
 
 1. In body. — ^The changes which take place 
 in the boy^s body at this time are most impor- 
 tant and fundamental. These are not alarming 
 in themselves, but quite natural. The boy is 
 sure to receive suggestions from associates of 
 his own age or from ignorant or vicious older 
 persons, which are full of peril. His physical 
 and moral health depends upon his resisting 
 temptations to defile his body. Let him re- 
 member that if properly controlled and directed, 
 his sexual powers are a treasure of great strength 
 in his life; misdirected they may become a 
 source of infinite peril and disaster. 
 
 2. In mind. — ^The mind is like the sensitive 
 plate of the photographer. In boyhood it is 
 extremely sensitive to improper suggestions. 
 Let him realize that, while he will not be able 
 to keep his mind free from thoughts that 
 he knows are improper, he can keep from 
 dwelling on these thoughts. If he is to be 
 a self-controlled man, of clean life, he must 
 fight out for himself this control of his inmost 
 thoughts. 
 
Some Elemental Problems 9 
 
 3. In speech. — The boy who keeps his mmd 
 clean will be clean of speech. "Out of the 
 abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." 
 "Smutty" talk is very common among boys 
 and is most pernicious in its results. The 
 self-respecting boy will not defile himself in 
 this way. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The importance of selecting clean companions. 
 The value and danger of athletics in relation to clean 
 living. 
 
 THE PROBLEM OF KEEPING " SQUARE" 
 
 In business and politics there are frequent 
 disclosures of dishonesty or "graft." The boy 
 is sure to find himself confronted with sugges- 
 tions, either from within or from without, to 
 indulge in dishonest practices. In school life 
 there is much petty evasion as well as down- 
 right dishonesty in athletics and in the routine 
 of school life. In the home life there is abun- 
 dant opportunity for dishonesty. In the case 
 of boys in the ofi&ce or the shop there are many 
 chances for dishonesty. The boy, whether in 
 
lo Problems of Boyhood 
 
 the school, the home, or the shop, is sure to 
 see those who are not "on the square." It is 
 easy thoughtlessly to fall into the ways of others. 
 No boy should allow himself to fall into dis- 
 honest practices through imitation. The man 
 of whom it can be said "his word is as good as 
 his bond'' is sure to be in demand. The boy 
 who is always "on the square" has the respect 
 of others and of himself. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 Different standards of honesty in dealing with one's 
 fellows and with teacher or employer. 
 The code of honor between rival schools. 
 
STUDY III 
 
 CUSTOM 
 
 Custom is responsible for much of our con- 
 duct. In different communities and countries, 
 the styles of clothing, types of houses, articles 
 of food and method of their preparation, educa- 
 tion, rehgion, games, and social customs differ 
 widely. The native dress and manners of the 
 Oriental seem strange to the American boy; 
 ours seem no less so to the Chinese boy. A 
 short time often marks great changes in custom. 
 A photograph or magazine illustration of a few- 
 years ago shows people in clothing that looks 
 ridiculous, though at the time it was the pre- 
 vailing style. Who decides whether we shall 
 wear our trousers turned up this season or 
 whether our vests shall be cut high or low? 
 What are the advantages and disadvantages re- 
 sulting from uniformity in styles of clothing? 
 Why should these change from year to year ? 
 
 In religion and politics most people follow the 
 custom of those with whom they are intimately 
 zz 
 
12 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 associated. In England most people are Prot- 
 estants; in Italy, Roman Catholics. Most 
 Methodists are reared in Methodist families, 
 Congregationalists in Congregational families, 
 etc. Why is this? The son is likely to 
 ally himself with his father's political party. 
 In the South, most white men vote the 
 Democratic ticket. There is of late a marked 
 tendency, particularly among young men, to 
 break away from these restraints of custom 
 in politics. What cause can be assigned 
 for this? Is this tendency advantageous to 
 society ? 
 
 There are many customs that have grown up 
 in social life to which most people conform, e.g., 
 the use of the knife and fork in eating, the 
 removal of the hat by men in the house or when 
 saluting a woman or another man to whom it 
 is desired to show respect. Certain forms of 
 expression are customary in letter-writing, such 
 as "Dear Sir," and "Yours very truly," or 
 some similar form at the close. Some business 
 houses are doing away with these expressions 
 in their correspondence. 
 
Custom 13 
 
 As far as these social customs are an expres- 
 sion of genuine courtesy, they tend to make the 
 ordinary intercourse of life more agreeable and 
 are to be valued highly. No one, however, 
 should make the mistake of thinking that these 
 can take the place of real nobiUty of character. 
 An immoral man may possess all the external 
 graces commonly spoken of as "good manners." 
 May a man of good character have "bad 
 manners"? Should one ever violate social 
 custom? If so, under what circumstances, 
 and why? 
 
 Customs often develop in a community or 
 group like a school or club which exert a strong 
 influence upon its members. These often per- 
 sist through years and are then spoken of as 
 traditions. These may be either good or bad, 
 and often in themselves may be neither. Some- 
 times in school or college, certain colors or 
 articles of clothing are required of one class, 
 while others are forbidden. One of the Yale 
 fences may be sat upon only by Seniors. Some 
 high schools observe " rough-neck day." What 
 is the basis of these customs ? Have you any 
 
14 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 such in your school? What purpose do they 
 serve ? In some schools a low or medium grade 
 is regarded as a "gentleman's grade," with the 
 result that good scholarship becomes socially 
 unpopular. Some schools have traditions of 
 good sportmanship so strong and high that no 
 one would think of taking an unfair advantage 
 of an opponent. What good traditions and 
 what bad ones have you in your school ? What 
 should be your attitude toward these? Are 
 you under any obligation to help continue a 
 bad custom, however long it may have been 
 carried out? 
 
 In the life of Jesus, we find valuable sugges- 
 tions for our own conduct. Such customs as 
 were good he followed. For example, read 
 Luke 4:16: "As his custom was, he went into 
 the synagogue on the Sabbath day." Evil 
 customs he sternly rebuked. Read the story 
 of his treatment of the money changers and 
 sellers of animals for sacrifice in the temple 
 (John 2 : 14-16). Why was this custom wrong ? 
 How did Jesus' teaching about the observance 
 of the Sabbath differ from the custom of his 
 
Custom 15 
 
 times? Read Matt. 12:1-13. Discuss the 
 question of Sunday conduct in the Hght of 
 Jesus' teaching and conduct. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 Sabbath observance in Continental Europe and 
 New England. Sunday baseball and golf. Sunday 
 travel. 
 
 Peculiar customs of the Orient. 
 
 Custom as a hindrance to progress. 
 
STUDY IV 
 
 HABIT 
 Habit is an even more important factor than 
 custom in determining our actions. If every 
 morning we had to give conscious attention to 
 the buttoning of our clothing and to the other 
 details connected with dressing, to our steps as 
 we walk downstairs, to the movements involved 
 in eating, and so on through the day to every 
 one of the thousands of separate actions which 
 we perform, life would be a dreary and endless 
 routine of petty acts. Happily we are so con- 
 stituted that an act frequently repeated per- 
 forms itself without our conscious direction. 
 We learn from psychology that impressions 
 received through any of our sense organs are 
 transmitted to the brain through one set of 
 nerves and through another set of nerves the 
 brain sends back directions for the appropriate 
 act. For example, the child places his finger on 
 a hot stove, the sensation of pain is transmitted 
 to the brain, the order is hurried back to the 
 
 i6 
 
Habit 17 
 
 muscles of the arm, and the hand is removed. 
 All our conscious acts originate in this way. 
 But after an act has been many times repeated, 
 the currents to and from the brain seem to have 
 worn channels through which they tend to 
 flow, and the action follows the sensation with- 
 out any conscious act of the will. Thus, when 
 we get up in the morning we go through the 
 many movements involved in dressing in order, 
 without paying any attention to them. Some 
 of our most common habits are very compli- 
 cated. Discuss the various elements involved 
 in walking, in playing the piano, in batting a 
 ball or catching a fly in the outfield. 
 
 We can easily see that habit plays a very 
 important part in saving time and energy, 
 which we should otherwise devote to a dull 
 and monotonous routine, for more interesting 
 and important uses. Professor James says 
 that ninety-nine hundredths or possibly nine 
 hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our 
 activity is purely automatic and habitual. 
 Our success, then, depends very largely on the 
 habits which we form. 
 
i8 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Youth is pre-eminently the time when habits 
 are formed. When we speak of habits we 
 usually employ the term in a moral sense and 
 have in mind bad habits, e.g., the smoking-habit 
 or the drinking-habit. But there are also good 
 habits, e.g., the habit of truth- telling, of abstain- 
 ing from drinking or smoking. Both good and 
 bad habits are formed in the same way. It is 
 important that we form, as early in life as 
 possible, as many useful habits as we can. Pro- 
 fessor James gives four excellent maxims for 
 forming habits: 
 
 I. ^^ Launch yourself with as strong and de- 
 cided an initiative as possible. ^^ This might 
 take different forms in different cases, e.g., 
 telling one's chum or club that you are going to 
 form a certain good habit or give up some bad 
 habit. Professor James cites the case of a 
 man who offered through a newspaper advertise- 
 ment a reward to anyone who should find him 
 in a certain saloon to which he had been accus- 
 tomed to go. How would this help the man 
 to break the drinking-habit ? What would be 
 the advantage of taking a public pledge ? 
 
Habit 19 
 
 2. ^^ Never suffer an exception to occur till the 
 new habit is securely rooted in your lifeJ^ Pro- 
 fessor Bain says: "The peculiarity of the moral 
 habits is the presence of two hostile powers, 
 one to be gradually raised into the ascendant 
 over the other. It is necessary above all things, 
 in such a situation, never to lose a battle." 
 
 3. ^^ Seize the very first possible opportunity 
 to act on every resolution you make and on every 
 emotional prompting you may experience in the 
 direction of the habits you aspire to gain. ' ' When 
 you have decided that you will form a good 
 habit or break a bad one, don't put off action, 
 but begin at once. "Hell is paved with good 
 intentions." 
 
 4. ^^Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a 
 little gratuitous exercise every day.^^ "That is, 
 be systematically heroic in little unnecessary 
 points, do every day or two something for no 
 other reason than its difficulty, so that when 
 the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find 
 you not imnerved and untrained to stand the 
 test." I recall hearing a famous university 
 football coach tell a group of high-school boys 
 
20 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 that he made it a practice occasionally to give 
 up drinking coffee of which he was fond, not 
 because he thought it harmful but that he 
 might have this valuable practice in self-denial. 
 In what other ways might you apply this in 
 your own case ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 What are some of the bad habits to which the boys 
 of your town or school are addicted ? 
 
 What are some of the habits which you could acquire 
 to advantage ? 
 
 The teacher and members of the class will find the 
 chapter on "Habit" in James's Psychology or on "The 
 Laws of Habit" in his Talks to Teachers both interesting 
 and valuable reading. 
 
STUDY V 
 
 HONESTY 
 Honesty is the foundation upon which the 
 stabiUty of our society rests. The business of 
 the world is chiefly done on a basis of credit and 
 depends upon the fidelity with which contracts 
 are met, often calling for the pa)nnent of money 
 many days or months after the goods are de- 
 livered. Men deposit their money in banks 
 with full confidence that they will receive it 
 with interest whenever they desire. Billions of 
 dollars are invested in stocks and in bonds of 
 raikoad or industrial corporations by persons 
 who have never seen the men to whom they 
 have intrusted their money. The United States 
 Steel Corporation has issued $1,300,000,000 of 
 stocks and bonds which are owned by upward of 
 300,000 people in every part of the world in 
 amounts varying from less than one hundred to 
 millions of dollars. Only in this way can large 
 business enterprises be carried on. There are 
 many safeguards provided by law to secure the 
 
22 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 rightful use of money thus invested and to pro- 
 tect the investor against loss. In spite of these, 
 losses are often incurred. Are such losses 
 always due to dishonesty? 
 
 Nations enter into agreements with each 
 other through treaties. Are these agreements 
 always kept ? What would be the efifect upon 
 the armies and navies of the world if it were 
 certain that international agreements would be 
 fulfilled? Diplomats represent their govern- 
 ments in the different capitals of the world. 
 It was formerly supposed that an important 
 part of a diplomat's business was to deceive 
 the government to which he was sent. What 
 improvement has taken place in the relation of 
 nations with each other? Discuss the inter- 
 national court at The Hague. 
 
 In what ways do the affairs of our daily lives 
 depend upon our confidence in each other? 
 Discuss from this standpoint the grocer and his 
 customer, the physician and his patient, the 
 lawyer and his client, the employer and the 
 workman. What is accompUshed by the pure 
 food laws ? 
 
Honesty 23 
 
 It has repeatedly been said the American 
 aim is "first to get on, then to get honor, and 
 lastly to get honest." Do you think this is 
 true? There is a common saying that "hon- 
 esty is the best policy." Is this the only reason 
 or the highest reason for being honest ? 
 
 TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 As honesty is such an important factor in the 
 relations of individuals and groups of individuals 
 with each other, the habit of honesty is one 
 of the most important to acquire. The most 
 common form of honesty has to do with our 
 speech. It is necessary for us to decide first 
 what constitutes telling the truth and telling a 
 lie. Has a person who makes a statement which 
 is untrue but which he believes to be true told 
 a He ? Can a person tell a part of the truth in 
 such a way as to leave a false impression on the 
 hearer ? Has he told a lie even though he has 
 said nothing untrue? Give an illustration. 
 Can a person, by exaggeration or otherwise, say 
 what is untrue without deceiving his hearer? 
 Has he told a lie ? Give an illustration. Can 
 
34 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 one tell a lie without speaking at all? How? 
 What, then, is the essential element of a lie? 
 Is there such a thing as a "white" lie? 
 
 Habits of untruthfulness are most likely to 
 be formed in what seem to be small matters. 
 In school, pupils often give evasive or false 
 excuses for tardiness, failure to prepare lessons, 
 or other similar faults, without thinking that 
 they are thus forming habits which will cling 
 to them through life. It is sometimes regarded 
 as a thing to be boasted over that they have 
 thus deceived the teacher. Can you justify 
 different standards of honesty in deaHng with a 
 teacher and with your chmn? What do you 
 think of a teacher or parent who tries to "bluff" 
 you? Does this justify dishonesty on your 
 part ? Is a lie ever justifiable ? If you think 
 so, give an illustration. 
 
 When the telling of the truth may involve 
 others in difficulty, a puzzling situation is often 
 presented. A case which was presented in the 
 Outlook recently gave rise to much discussion 
 and difference of opinion. "Good and Bad 
 are two boys attending the same school. One 
 
Honesty 25 
 
 day Bad said to Good, *I am going to throw a 
 snowball through the window.' Good made no 
 reply. Bad threw the snowball and broke the 
 window, and Gk)od saw him do it. The next 
 morning at school the teacher asked the pupils 
 singly and privately the question, ^Do you know 
 who broke the window ? ' and ' Who broke the 
 window?' What should Good say when the 
 teacher asked him, *Do you know who broke the 
 window?' What should Good say when she 
 asked him, * Who broke the window ?' Should 
 the teacher have asked the boys these questions ? 
 Should the teacher have the same right as the 
 court in compelling Good to tell?" Was Good 
 in any degree responsible for the broken win- 
 dow? Does the character of the offense in- 
 volved make any difference in your opinion as 
 to whether one boy should ever tell on another ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 How can you best develop the habit of truthfulness 
 for yourself ? 
 
 What can you do to improve the standards of truth- 
 fulness among your associates? 
 
 Should a nurse or physician always tell a patient 
 the truth about his condition? 
 
26 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 cheating 
 
 Closely allied to truthfulness in speech is 
 honesty in dealing with others in work and 
 sports. This may be seen in the relation of a 
 workman to his employer, of the pupil to his 
 teacher, of one contestant or athletic team to 
 another. 
 
 It is all too common in these relations for one 
 to be honest only when under observation. A 
 boy takes the job of distributing handbills 
 about town and throws half of them into the 
 river. Give some other illustration. If you 
 are an employed boy, do you work as hard when 
 your employer or overseer is absent? Is the 
 boy who never intends to earn more than his 
 wages likely to secure promotion ? Is the con- 
 fidence of your employer valuable to you? 
 How can you secure and keep this ? 
 
 In many schools and colleges students fre- 
 quently use dishonest methods in the prepara- 
 tion of work and in classroom and examination. 
 There is sometimes real ignorance as to what is 
 dishonest in the preparation of work. Is the 
 use of a "pony" in preparing a Latin lesson 
 
Honesty 27 
 
 dishonest? Can one ever honestly present as 
 his work what he has not done for himself? 
 There is httle likelihood of ignorance regarding 
 what constitutes dishonesty in class or examina- 
 tion. Is the person who gives information in an 
 examination equally culpable with the one who 
 receives it ? If a teacher is careless or has physi- 
 cal defects which make it difficult for him to de- 
 tect dishonesty, is dishonesty more excusable ? 
 What different persons may be injured by a 
 student's dishonesty in examination? How 
 is each injured? Who receives the greatest 
 injury ? 
 
 Many colleges conduct examinations on an 
 honor system in which students take the 
 examinations without the supervision of in- 
 structors, signing at the close a statement that 
 they have neither received nor given help. 
 What are the advantages and disadvantages 
 of this plan? How do you think this would 
 work in your high school? 
 
 Athletic contests offer a fertile field for dis- 
 honest practices. The intense desire to win 
 sometimes leads to the recruiting of athletes 
 
28 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 in ways that violate the spirit and even the 
 letter of the requirements for amateur standing. 
 Can there be any justification whatever for 
 the manager or captain who does this? Can 
 an honest boy play on a team on which he 
 knows there is an ineUgible player? Can 
 pupils respect a teacher who knowingly allows 
 such a thing to occur in his school ? Ought a 
 school to be expected to cheer for such a team ? 
 Dishonesty in athletics often consists in 
 evading rules of the game. Coaches some- 
 times teach players how to break the rules with- 
 out detection. Is it dishonest to beat the pistol 
 at the start of the race if you can do it success- 
 fully? Discuss "dirty" football from the 
 standpoint of winning the game; from the 
 standpoint of good morals. In a baseball 
 game, the batter hits a ball to deep left field 
 and, seeing that the umpire is watching the 
 ball, cuts first base and reaches second suc- 
 cessfully. Discuss the ethics involved. Of 
 what value are successful athletic teams to a 
 school? Is dishonestly secured victory valu- 
 able or harmful ? Does it make any difference 
 
Honesty 29 
 
 whether the dishonesty is detected by the 
 opposing school ? 
 
 A well-known school had won a big track meet 
 in which many schools had competed. They 
 had reached home with the trophy of victory 
 when it was discovered that one of the boys 
 representing the school had been ineligible. 
 This was not known and was not likely to 
 become known outside the school. But the 
 trophy was returned at once with a statement 
 of facts and was awarded to the team which 
 had taken second place. That school has 
 a right to be more proud of that trophy which 
 it might have retained than of any of the many 
 which adorn its trophy room. It is a trophy 
 of the honesty of the school. Has your school 
 a tradition for clean and honest sport ? If not, 
 what can you do to secure this ? 
 
 One of the most common forms of deceit is 
 self-deceit. One may sometimes satisfy himself 
 that an act of dishonesty is honest. In some 
 schools, pledges are required that one is not and 
 will not become a member of a fraternity. Boys 
 break this on the ground that a forced pledge is 
 
30 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 not binding. Is this so ? Members of frater- 
 nities, when asked if they are members, some- 
 times say that they are not, on the ground 
 that one may resign and resume membership 
 at will, and that this resignation may be per- 
 formed mentally. This is, of course, only 
 self-deception, utterly unworthy of an honor- 
 able boy. Give some other illustrations of self- 
 deception. Shakespeare placed these words in 
 the mouth of Polonius: 
 
 To thine own self be true 
 
 And it must follow as the night the day 
 
 Thou canst not then be false to any man. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 Is winning the game the most important end in 
 athletics? If not, what is? 
 
 The effect of "ringers" upon the athletic success 
 of a school; upon the moral tone of a school. 
 
 If it is a good thing for a boy to take part in athletic 
 games, why should rules of eligibility exclude Fresh- 
 men from athletic teams ? 
 
STUDY VI 
 PROPERTY RIGHTS 
 
 Regard for the rights of property is an ac- 
 quired habit. Among animals generally the 
 stronger takes from the weaker. The child 
 naturally takes whatever comes to hand, until 
 taught not to do so. Doubtless primitive 
 man did not differ from the other animals in 
 this respect. But society, through custom and 
 law, has undertaken to safeguard the owner- 
 ship of property, so that the weak as well as the 
 strong may feel that his property is secure. 
 
 We know very well, however, that nations 
 and individuals have often violated these laws. 
 Nations have taken by force the property of 
 other nations or inferior peoples. Discuss the 
 ethics of the treatment which our nation has 
 accorded the Indians; the treatment of the 
 Aztecs by the Spaniards under Cortez. Is 
 sufficient justification found in the fact that 
 a higher civilization has followed the conquest 
 of inferior peoples ? In what respects has our 
 
 31 
 
32 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 possession of the Philippines differed from these 
 two instances ? 
 
 Each morning's paper tells of defaulting 
 bank cashiers, grafting public officers, or petty 
 thieves brought before courts of law. It is 
 plain that the habit of honesty as regards prop- 
 erty must be firmly estabHshed to enable us to 
 stand strongly against the temptations that 
 confront us in the complex life of business and 
 politics. It is probable that most dishonest 
 persons are not detected in the first offense but 
 have formed habits of dishonesty, often with 
 small beginnings the real nature of which was 
 not at the time appreciated. Boys in school, 
 as treasurers of classes or other organizations, 
 are sometimes careless in handling funds. A 
 manager of an athletic team makes personal use 
 of money in his hands, intending to replace 
 it later. At the end of the season, he finds it 
 inconvenient to do this, and rather than 
 acknowledge the fact, he conceals his fault by 
 making a false accounting. Compare his case 
 with that of the cashier who uses funds of 
 his bank for personal investment, intending to 
 
Property Rights 33 
 
 replace them later. In what respect do the 
 ethics involved differ whether he restores the 
 funds or not ? 
 
 People frequently have different standards in 
 dealing with the property of individuals and 
 with that of corporations or of the public at 
 large. Slugs are frequently found in the cash 
 boxes of public telephones. Men deliberately 
 evade the payment of fares in crowded cars. 
 Railroads charge no fare for infants and half- 
 fare for children below a certain age. Parents 
 often thus secure rates for children above the 
 specified ages. Does it make any difference 
 whether the ticket-seller or conductor inquires 
 the child's age ? Is one under less obligation to 
 pay the required fare to a railroad than to pay 
 his grocer's bill ? 
 
 Pupils are likely to use the books or other 
 articles provided by the school less carefully 
 than they would if they were their own. Often 
 there is wanton destruction of school or other 
 public property in the celebration of victories. 
 Can you justify this ? Does the fact that many 
 are involved furnish any justification ? 
 
34 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Merchants sometimes employ short weights or 
 measures. A clerk often knowingly conceals de- 
 fects in goods from purchasers. What should an 
 honest boy do if his employer expects him to do 
 this ? Should the fear or certainty that he will 
 lose his job if he refuses make any difference ? 
 
 In school the term "swiping" is frequently 
 applied to acts which elsewhere would be called 
 "stealing." Articles of clothing, athletic ma- 
 terial, books, etc., are often taken by those who 
 know that they do not belong to them. School 
 lockers are sometimes forcibly entered and 
 articles are taken from them. 
 
 Members of athletic teams frequently col- 
 lect "souvenirs" from dining-cars, hotels, and 
 schools visited, and schoolboys' rooms often 
 include such spoils among their decorations. 
 Can any other term than "stealing" properly 
 be applied to such acts? Someone has said 
 of students that "nothing is absolutely safe 
 that is not nailed down." What do you think 
 of this statement ? 
 
 In the famous Rugby School in England there 
 are no lockers in the gymnasium and each boy's 
 
Property Rights 35 
 
 equipment is hung on a peg. In the cricket 
 clubhouse the valuable togs for playing the 
 game are placed in a leather bag, unlocked but 
 marked with the owner's initials, and arranged 
 on long tables in an open room. It is evident 
 that the knowledge that an article belongs to 
 another boy is sufficient to assure its safety. 
 Would your football togs be safe if similarly 
 placed in your school gymnasium? If not, 
 how do you account for the difference between 
 your school and Rugby ? What do you think 
 would improve the condition? Do you think 
 that boys in school are as honest as their fathers 
 in business ? 
 
 Probably boys fall into this practice thought- 
 lessly. But habits are formed from what often 
 appear small beginnings. What are some of 
 the possible results which might come from 
 the practice of "swiping"? Would it not be 
 most desirable to secure in your school such 
 a clearly defined code of honor that no one 
 would think, under any circumstances, of taking 
 what he knew was not his own? What can 
 you do to estabhsh such a tradition ? 
 
36 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 topics for discussion 
 
 Which is the more dangerous to society, the petty 
 thief or the big grafter? Which is the more likely 
 to be convicted when placed on trial ? 
 
 The impeachment of Governor Sulzer of New 
 York. 
 
 Who owns the flowers in the park and the equip- 
 ment of the pubUc school ? 
 
STUDY VII 
 GAMBLING AND BETTING 
 
 The choice of goal in a football game is 
 decided by the toss of a coin. How does this 
 differ from matching pennies to decide who 
 shall pay for the ice cream sodas ? Show how 
 in athletic games any advantage that comes to 
 the winner of the toss is equalized as the con- 
 test proceeds. It is evident that chance is an 
 essential element of gambling but that chance 
 enters into many situations in life which do not 
 involve gambling at all. 
 
 When you buy a pair of shoes or a baseball 
 and bat, you expect that the merchant will 
 give you a fair return for your money, charging 
 you a reasonable profit above what the goods 
 cost him. In legitimate business both the 
 buyer and the seller render an equivalent for 
 value received. Compare with this the cases 
 of the loser and winner in a game of cards 
 played for money or in a wager over the result 
 of a football game. Has the winner at cards 
 
 37 
 
38 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 or of a bet given to the loser any equivalent 
 for the money which he wins ? What then are 
 the two essential elements of gambling ? 
 
 Experience seems to show that chance adds 
 zest to almost any situation in life. It is 
 because of this apparently natural instinct that 
 gambling makes its appeal. Boys are sure to 
 be confronted with apparently harmless situa- 
 tions that involve the principle of gambHng. 
 The makmg of wagers of candy, matching 
 coins for sodas, etc., are familiar occurrences. 
 In pitching pennies or playing marbles "for 
 keeps," does the fact that the winner has greater 
 skill have anything to do with deciding whether 
 there is gambling involved? In most pool- 
 rooms the loser pays for the game. Is this 
 gambling? What equivalent has the loser 
 received more than the winner that he should 
 pay for ? If the winner has more skill, should 
 the loser pay him for this? Can you justify 
 this on the basis of good sportsmanship ? Dis- 
 cuss prizes at card parties from this standpoint. 
 Do you think of any other common practices 
 in which the principle of gambling is involved ? 
 
Gambling and Betting 39 
 
 Since the element of chance is naturally 
 interesting and so many opportunities abound 
 for falling into forms of petty gambling which 
 may easily lead to confirmed habits, we should 
 consider why gambling is wrong in itself and the 
 habit one to be avoided. In the first place the 
 practice of receiving something for which one 
 does not give a fair return destroys one's sense 
 of the value of money and of the labor by which 
 real value is produced. Jenks says: "The 
 gambling habit is opposed to thrift, and no 
 commimity can prosper whose members are 
 not thrifty." The habit of gambling once 
 acquired is likely to take so much of a man's 
 time and thought that he neglects his legiti- 
 mate occupation with the almost certain loss 
 of his earnings. Dickens in The Old Curiosity 
 Shop has given in the grandfather of Little Nell 
 a most pathetic illustration of the depths to 
 which the gambling habit may reduce a man. 
 
 There are many who declare that their 
 gambling is done wholly among friends and 
 that the stakes never represent more than a 
 fair return for the pleasure obtained. But the 
 
40 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 habit once established, it is difficult to limit 
 the amount of money one will devote to it or 
 to confine it to one's friends. Playing with 
 professional gamblers soon follows where the 
 chances are certain to be in favor of the house 
 or gambler, even though the game may be 
 honestly played. Ruin is almost sure to follow. 
 The records of Monte Carlo, if faithfully pre- 
 served, would show many suicides of those who 
 have been made desperate by their losses. 
 
 Gambling is freely permitted in many coun- 
 tries in Europe, and is openly shared in by 
 nobility and people. What do you know about 
 the Derby? Monte Carlo? In this country 
 there has been developing rapidly a strong 
 public opinion against gambling as being op- 
 posed to the common good, and it has been 
 gradually restricted or prohibited by law. The 
 Louisiana lottery flourished until a few years 
 ago, when it was denied the privilege of the 
 mails and was forced to cease its operations. 
 Race-track gambling has been prevented by law 
 in New York and in other states. GambHng 
 in any form is forbidden by law in many states 
 
Gambling and Betting 41 
 
 and cities. What are the laws regarding 
 gambling in your state and town? Are they 
 enforced ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The buying and selling of stocks "on margin" on 
 the stock exchange. The slot machine in the cigar 
 store. Guessing contests at fairs or bazaars. Betting 
 on interschool games. 
 
STUDY VIII 
 SPEECH: SLANG AND PROFANITY 
 
 Our home training, our education, our char- 
 acter are constantly being reflected by our 
 speech. Men's judgment of us is more likely 
 to be based upon how we speak and what we 
 say than upon anything else. Such judgment 
 may sometimes be wrong, but it is generally 
 correct. A man's speech usually betrays his 
 inner life. What he thinks determines what he 
 is, and what he thinks determines what he 
 says. "Out of the abundance of the heart," 
 said Jesus, "the mouth speaketh." Think 
 of the people you know best and see if this is not 
 so in their cases. 
 
 The characteristics of speech include not 
 only the words used, but the tone of the voice 
 and the inflection given to the spoken words. 
 These are first acquired by imitation and early 
 become fixed habits. Members of the same 
 family often show marked similarities of tone 
 and manner of speech. Certain differences of 
 42 
 
Speech: Slang and Profanity 43 
 
 pronunciation of the vowels mark the person 
 bom in New England, in the South, and in 
 other parts of the country, so that one may tell 
 pretty accurately from another's speech in what 
 region he has lived. Certain words and phrases 
 mark certain localities. The New Englander 
 "guesses," the Southerner "reckons." Give 
 some other illustrations. 
 
 What is the value of an agreeable voice? 
 Think of the teachers you have had, the 
 preachers and other public speakers you have 
 listened to. Has the quaUty of their voices 
 had anything to do with their effect upon you ? 
 You must have known some boy who was a 
 bully among his fellows. Did his voice and 
 manner of speech give any clue to his character ? 
 Apply the same test to any brutal or vulgar 
 person whom you have seen. 
 
 What are the quahties of voice and manner 
 of speech that seem to you most attractive 
 and effective in others? Are not these worth 
 your striving hard to secure? If you have 
 already fallen into other habits it is not an 
 easy task. How will you go about it ? 
 
44 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 However desirable a pleasing voice and 
 manner of speech may be, these are of far less 
 importance than the words spoken. If one 
 has thoughts worth expressing they are most 
 effective when expressed in clear, direct speech. 
 A vocabulary large enough to express careful 
 distinctions in thought is necessary and should 
 be used with discrimination. Discuss the train- 
 ing in EngUsh which you have received in school, 
 with special reference to the value of composi- 
 tion and extemporaneous speaking. One ought 
 constantly to be enlarging the stock of words 
 which he can use. One of the axioms which we 
 laid down when we were studying habit will 
 help us greatly. Use the word you wish to add 
 to your vocabulary at the earhest opportu- 
 nity and find several occasions to use it. It 
 will then become a permanent acquisition. 
 
 The habit of using slang is very common. 
 Where does slang originate ? Does it serve any 
 useful purpose? Would a newspaper accoimt 
 of a baseball game be as interesting and effect- 
 ive if written without slang? It might be a 
 valuable exercise to translate such a "story" 
 
Speech: Slang and Profanity 45 
 
 into the sort of English that your teacher in 
 the high school would approve. Some slang 
 expressions may seem to be more expressive 
 and picturesque in a particular case than any 
 other words. The chief objection to slang is 
 that it is usually made to serve too wide a use 
 and to take the place of more carefully selected 
 words. At the present time such inane expres- 
 sions as "I should worry" and "I should say" 
 are heard on every hand, and indicate either 
 that the speaker has not thoughts to express or 
 has fallen into a most unfortunate habit of 
 concealing such thoughts as he has. 
 
 Whatever defense may be offered for the use 
 of slang there is absolutely no excuse for pro- 
 fanity. Among the Ten Commandments we 
 find, " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
 thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him 
 guiltless who taketh his name in vain." Was 
 profanity wrong before the Ten Command- 
 ments were written ? Would it be wrong now 
 if the commandment had never been written ? 
 The real essense of profanity is irreverence. 
 Why is irreverence sinful ? Read the teaching 
 
46 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 of Jesus on this in Matt. 5:33-37. What did 
 he mean when he said, "But let your communi- 
 cation be yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever 
 is more than these cometh of evil" ? 
 
 Swearing is a habit easily acquired and not 
 easily broken. The habitual swearer does not 
 think of the meaning of his words, but uses them 
 to give emphasis to his speech. In this respect 
 swearing is like slang, showing lack of discrimi- 
 nation in the use of language. Is swearing 
 less wicked because used without thought of the 
 real meaning of the words? Boys are not 
 likely to swear in the presence of their mothers 
 or others for whom they have respect. What 
 does this show ? 
 
 What kind of people are most addicted to 
 profanity ? In what places are you most likely 
 to hear it? Why is profanity so frequent in 
 connection with athletics ? There is probably 
 more swearing in football than in connection 
 with any other game. Why ? Football coaches 
 often swear at a player who makes a misplay, 
 and "cursing up" a team between halves is 
 a frequent practice and is supposed to put 
 
Speech: Slang and Profanity 47 
 
 ''pep" into a team. Many schools would not 
 tolerate such a thing, and a coach would send 
 from the field a player who was profane. Would 
 such a team be less likely to win ? Would you 
 rather play on such a team ? 
 
 You may know of some strong and able man 
 who uses profanity. Is this characteristic of 
 such men? Does it add to their strength or 
 is it a hindrance to them ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 How and why do boys acquire the habit of profanity ? 
 Apply James's maxims to the breaking of this habit. 
 The use of slang by teachers. 
 
STUDY IX 
 CLEAN THINKING AND SPEAKING 
 We have said in an earlier study that the 
 mind is like the sensitive plate of the photog- 
 rapher. If you will consider, you will see that 
 this plate is much more sensitive to some im- 
 pressions than to others. It probably took a 
 good many exposures to fix permanently in 
 your mind the multiplication tables or the in- 
 flection of a Latin verb. Other impressions 
 you will find there, still vivid, from a single 
 exposure. I recall vividly the words of a 
 "smutty" song which I heard when a boy, 
 which I have never repeated in speech, but 
 which I can never forget. Many things which 
 I once learned laboriously and which I would 
 gladly remember, I cannot recall. We cannot 
 always avoid hearing improper speech, nor 
 keep from having improper thoughts. We can 
 avoid seeking and dwelling upon them. Ex- 
 amine your own mind and see whether you enjoy 
 thinking of these things. 
 48 
 
Clean Thinking and Speaking 49 
 
 A self-controlled man has control of his 
 thoughts as well as of his words and other 
 outward acts. Two helps may be suggested. 
 First, avoid whatever suggests impure thoughts. 
 What are some of these? Second, keep your 
 mind busy with wholesome things. Athletic 
 games are of great value because they give 
 boys so much to think and talk about. What 
 else do you think of that serves the same 
 purpose? Perhaps you have discovered that 
 it is more difficult to control your thoughts at 
 certain times or in certain places. The condi- 
 tion of your body has much to do with this. 
 If you take plenty of exercise, do not overeat, 
 sleep with your window open, get up when you 
 first wake and take a bath, a cold one preferably, 
 you will find it easy to keep your body strong 
 and your mind clean. You will find these 
 matters fully and helpfully treated in From 
 Youth to Manhood, by Dr. Winfield S. Hall, 
 published by the Y.M.C.A. Press, New York. 
 
 As we have seen, clean speech follows clean 
 thought. While it may be that a person of un- 
 clean thoughts may not always give expression 
 
50 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 to these thoughts, a person whose inner life is 
 clean will not use unclean speech. "Smutty" 
 story-telling and other forms of vulgar speech 
 are very common among boys, and it is easy 
 to fall into the habit without realizing how 
 demoralizing are its effects. The gymnasium 
 locker-rooms, school corridors, fraternity houses, 
 poolrooms, and other places where boys gather 
 by themselves offer frequent opportunity for 
 such talk. In what places and under what cir- 
 cumstances have you heard or used such lan- 
 guage? Boys sometimes think it is a sign of 
 smartness or manliness to use vulgar language. 
 This is more likely to be the case if the captain 
 of the team or some other prominent boy has 
 this habit. Discuss the responsibihty which 
 this places upon the captain. 
 
 If you have made up your mind that unclean 
 speech is wrong, what can and ought you to do 
 about it? You can and must keep your own 
 speech clean. The habit of clean speech once 
 formed is a safeguard against much that is 
 degrading. But is this enough ? What should 
 you do when others use "smutty" language? 
 
Clean Thinking and Speaking 51 
 
 A group of boys in school drew up and signed 
 an agreement that they would not use vulgar 
 language and would not allow another to use it 
 in their presence without protest. The result 
 was an immediate lessening of the amount of 
 "smut" in that school. Would such decision 
 and action in your "bunch" make you unpopu- 
 lar ? If so, would it not be better for you to get 
 out of the "bunch" ? A certain boy to whom 
 another had made an improper proposal told 
 him never to repeat it, and when he did so, 
 promptly knocked him down. A well-known 
 college athlete at the close of his last football 
 season was given a dinner by his friends. In 
 the course of the dinner one of the men told a 
 vile story, and the guest of honor without a 
 word walked out of the room. These boys 
 valued their own self-respect more highly than 
 any temporary consideration of popularity. 
 No one with the manly courage required to 
 administer such a rebuke as this need fear being 
 called a "goody-goody" or a prig. There are 
 persons to whom an acquaintance would never 
 think of telling a vulgar story. This is the 
 
52 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 highest tribute to a man's character. Do 
 your friends tell vulgar stories to you? 
 
 The devout psalmist offered this prayer: 
 "Let the words of my mouth and the medita- 
 tions of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O 
 Lord, my strength and my redeemer." 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 Which is worse, the habit of profanity or of unclean 
 speech ? 
 
 Where is a boy most likely to acquire these habits 
 in your school ? 
 
 The formation of an "anti-smut" club among the 
 boys of your acquaintance. 
 
STUDY X 
 
 THE PROBLEM OF SEX 
 The period of adolescence is marked by the 
 development of the organs of sex. At this 
 period the boy grows rapidly, his voice becomes 
 deeper, his beard begins to grow. He is thus 
 taking on the physical characteristics of a man. 
 These physical changes are accompanied by 
 corresponding changes in his inner life. His 
 mind dwells strangely upon thoughts of the 
 opposite sex. He begins to chafe at the re- 
 straints placed upon him at home or in school. 
 He is shaken by forces the source and nature of 
 which he does not understand. It is not neces- 
 sary or desirable that a boy should think much 
 upon those changes taking place in him. It 
 is not desirable that he should worry about 
 them at all. They are simply Nature's way 
 of turning a boy into a man. It is, however, 
 important that he should early know the truth 
 about certain things concerning which he is 
 naturally inquisitive and about which he is 
 
 53 
 
54 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 almost certain otherwise to receive false or mis- 
 leading information. Ignorance here, as per- 
 haps nowhere else, breeds disaster. 
 
 The organs of sex are provided for the pur- 
 pose of reproduction. In the study of botany 
 or zoology you may have become familiar with 
 this wonderful process, by which from the union 
 of male and female cells plants and animals re- 
 produce their kind. This is, perhaps, the most 
 wonderful of all the processes of nature. It is, 
 however, a subject about which boys hear little 
 except in the form of vulgar jest. Do fathers 
 generally talk frankly with their sons about 
 this ? Where did you get your knowledge of the 
 subject? Do you know words which are not 
 vulgar in which you can talk of the organs of 
 sex and the facts of reproduction? Do you 
 think that sex hygiene should be taught in the 
 schools ? If not, why, and where should it be 
 taught ? 
 
 The desire for reproduction is one of the 
 strongest forces in our lives. Man alone of all 
 animals has polluted this natural instinct. 
 This is due in some degree to the delay which 
 
The Problem of Sex 55 
 
 our social customs have placed in the way of 
 marriage. The power and desire of repro- 
 duction come long before the boy has com- 
 pleted his education and is ready to assume 
 the responsibilities of married life. There are 
 other reasons which cause late marriages or 
 even prevent marriage at all. Discuss some 
 of these. Anything which discourages mar- 
 riage at a reasonable age or lessens the sense 
 of responsibility which marriage involves tends 
 toward moral deterioration. Discuss the effect 
 of divorce. 
 
 From the earliest times of which we know 
 there has been prostitution. Of late there has 
 been much discussion of the social evil, and 
 investigations have been made as to its causes 
 and effects. It is well known that there are 
 thousands of women, mainly young girls, who 
 live in prostitution. These girls are mostly 
 recruited from the ignorant classes and are 
 seldom led into a life of shame by their own de- 
 liberate choice, but often by deceit and not 
 infrequently by actual force. Once started 
 upon this life they seldom emerge, but continue 
 
56 Problems or Boyhood 
 
 to pander to the evil passions of men, cast out 
 by their own sex and despised by the men whose 
 lust they satisfy, until within a few years, 
 usually not more than five or six, they die miser- 
 ably as a result of the diseases almost certain to 
 be contracted in this sort of life. And their 
 places must be filled by others, and so the cease- 
 less sacrifice goes on. 
 
 A boy of clean mind and manly spirit who 
 knows the truth will not cause a girl to fall nor 
 share in her degradation once she has fallen. 
 To do so is essentially unfair and unsportsman- 
 like. Seldom does a girl fall who has not 
 yielded to the stronger force or deception of 
 man. What would you do to the boy who had 
 wronged your sister ? The double standard of 
 moraHty required of men and women is also un- 
 sportsmanlike. A girl who has fallen becomes 
 an outcast. You would not marry such a girl. 
 Is it fair for a man to demand that his wife 
 be purer than he is ? Is it fair for society to 
 treat women more severely than men ? If not, 
 should the standard for women be lowered, or 
 that for men raised ? 
 
The Problem of Sex 57 
 
 All boys should expect to become husbands 
 and fathers. Association with loose women 
 is almost certain to bring diseases of the most 
 loathsome sort, sometimes incurable. These 
 may be communicated to one's wife and chil- 
 dren. In this way much suffering is caused to 
 those who are innocent of fault. From the 
 manly feeling of chivalry toward women as well 
 as from consideration of fairness toward the 
 pure girl whom he will some day ask to marry 
 him, and the children whom they will rear, a 
 boy should keep himself from sexual contami- 
 nation. 
 
 Many boys who are not tempted to sexual 
 immorality of this sort are yet in danger of 
 yielding through ignorance or the suggestion of 
 vicious companions to the habit of seK-abuse. 
 This, if persisted in, will lead to harmful results. 
 It is an unnatural practice in which no boy 
 of clean mind and self-control will persist. If 
 continued, the practice tends to weaken a 
 boy's will and leads to his moral and physi- 
 cal degeneracy. A good antidote for this is to 
 keep the mind free from evil by filling it with 
 
58 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 something else of engrossing interest. Avoid 
 any place, picture, or whatever else gives evil 
 suggestion. Above all, have nothing to do 
 with anyone who suggests sexual excess of any 
 sort. I know a boy who promptly knocked 
 down another who made such a suggestion 
 to him. 
 
 Because the impulses and desires of our 
 sexual natures are so strong, constant watch- 
 fulness and restraint are necessary. The fight 
 for clean living is a hard one, calling for the best 
 there is in any boy. The penalty for defeat 
 is heavy, but the reward of victory is sure and 
 enduring. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The high cost of living as a hindrance to marriage. 
 The relation between the wages of women and prosti- 
 tution. 
 
 The causes and results of race suicide. 
 The commercial element of the social evil. 
 
STUDY XI 
 ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS AND TOBACCO 
 
 The census reports for 1 910 show that $1,800- 
 000,000 is annually spent for liquor in the 
 United States. This is about the same amount 
 that is spent for food and clothing. If you can 
 find the figures, compare this sum with the cost 
 of education, the value of the property of our 
 colleges and universities, the value of church 
 property, or make any other comparison that 
 occurs to you. The average consumption of 
 liquor for every person in the United States is 
 about twenty-three gallons a year. 
 
 We should naturally assume that in a country 
 whose people are intelligent, any article of food 
 or drink, consumed in such quantities and at 
 such cost, must be beneficial. What is the fact 
 regarding liquor ? Can you think of any bene- 
 ficial results from its use ? How do you account 
 for its extensive use ? 
 
 The arguments against the use of intoxicating, 
 liquors are manifold and convincing. Its effect 
 
 59 
 
6o Problems of Boyhood 
 
 upon health and length of life may be com- 
 puted accurately. The statistics of EngHsh 
 life insurance companies show that the aver- 
 age death-rate per thousand among total ab- 
 stainers is 9.14 per cent, among drinkers 
 26.82 per cent — almost three times as great. 
 That the use of liquor reduces a man's effi- 
 ciency is evidenced by the fact that the em- 
 ployers of men in industry and commerce 
 discriminate against drinkers in favor of total 
 abstainers. Discuss this with some railroad 
 official, manufacturer, or other employer of 
 labor. 
 
 You will frequently hear the claim made that 
 the revenue obtained from licenses adds to the 
 public funds and reduces taxation, or that the 
 liquor business makes business good in other 
 lines. What can be said against these claims ? 
 If you can get the statistics for any town which 
 has voted out the saloon, compare the tax rate 
 before and after; also compare the cost of main- 
 taining the pohce force and jails. Make any 
 other comparisons that seem to bear on the 
 question. 
 
Alcoholic Liquors and Tobacco 6i 
 
 At present there is a nation-wide, even a 
 world-wide, movement against the liquor traffic. 
 Many states and large portions of other states 
 prohibit the manufacture and sale of liquors. 
 You will hear it said that ^'prohibition does not 
 prohibit." What other laws do you think of 
 that do not prohibit the crimes against which 
 they aim? What makes it more difficult to 
 prohibit liquor-selling than murder or theft? 
 What do you think of the argument that pre- 
 venting the sale of liquor is an infraction of a 
 man's "personal Hberty"? What limits may 
 society place to the liberty of one of its mem- 
 bers? 
 
 We have discussed the subject in its general 
 aspects, but, like all other moral problems, 
 its final application is a personal one. The 
 drinking habit is easily acquired and, once 
 acquired, is perhaps the most difficult one to 
 break. No one expects to become a drunkard. 
 Have you any reason to think that your will is 
 stronger than that of others ? In its beginning, 
 drinking is almost always social. Our Ameri- 
 can custom of treating is an important factor. 
 
62 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Contrast this with the "Dutch treat," and show 
 how our custom leads to harmful results. A 
 group of young men with no serious purpose set 
 out to see the sights. Some one of them takes 
 the lead and the party finds itself in a saloon; 
 a few drinks follow, and on they go to some 
 worse resort. Next morning some of the boys 
 to whom this was the first experience of the sort 
 are overwhelmed with regret. The important 
 question then is. Are they strong enough not to 
 repeat the experience? A boy shrinks from 
 seeming to his companions to be a prig. Should 
 one fear this when it is a question of drinking ? 
 Among men there is no need of hesitation to 
 decline a drink. Discuss Secretary of State 
 Bryan's practice of serving no liquor at state 
 dinners in his home. Does the fact that the 
 foreign guests who sit at his table are accus- 
 tomed to drink at dinner place any obligation 
 upon him to serve wines ? 
 
 In many cities there are large numbers of 
 young men whose boarding-places or homes are 
 unattractive, to whom the saloon affords an 
 opportunity for brightness and social pleasure. 
 
Alcoholic Liquors and Tobacco 63 
 
 What other places are there to which they 
 might go and find a welcome ? Cities are seeing 
 the need of providing at pubKc expense attract- 
 ive places for healthful recreation for young 
 people. Chicago^s system of small recreation 
 parks providing attractive places for reading, 
 dancing, athletic games, swimming, and other 
 forms of recreation is meeting an important 
 need which is being felt and which is being 
 similarly provided for in other cities. What 
 might be done to meet this need in our school 
 buildings and churches ? 
 
 Little need be said regarding the use of 
 tobacco. The amount of money spent annu- 
 ally for tobacco, though less than that for 
 liquor, is enormous. Look up the figures. 
 That the use of tobacco is harmful in youth is 
 a well-known fact; that it is also injurious to 
 many mature men is also certain; probably 
 it cannot be shown to benefit anyone who uses 
 it. However, the habit is very common, even 
 among very estimable men. 
 
 Smoking is an acquired habit against which 
 the body usually rebels at first. How do you 
 
64 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 account for its prevalence among boys ? When 
 training for the team or for the track boys 
 know that their physical fitness will be greater 
 without tobacco. Why do they not give it 
 up completely ? 
 
 The use of tobacco is a selfish habit. A 
 man often smokes in the presence of those to 
 whom it is objectionable. Discuss the rights 
 of the motorman on the street car to pure air 
 during his working day, or of the stenographer 
 in the office of her employer. Give some other 
 illustrations of the selfishness of the smoker. 
 
 It is also, like drinking, an expensive habit 
 for which many men spend money which is 
 needed for the comfort of those dependent upon 
 them. Compute the cost for a period of years 
 of the cigars of a moderate smoker, reckoning 
 interest at the current rate. 
 
 What other arguments can you make against 
 the use of tobacco ? 
 
 What good reason can you give to justify the 
 use of tobacco for anyone? You doubtless 
 know some men, whose opinions you respect, 
 who use tobacco. Ask them to give you some 
 
Alcoholic Liquors and Tobacco 65 
 
 good reason why they smoke. If they under- 
 take this, see if their reasons are valid. A good 
 rule for a boy in this matter is, wait until you 
 are fully developed physically, say, twenty- 
 one years, before using tobacco. Then do not 
 take it up unless you can find some reason that 
 will satisfy a self-respecting man, even though 
 your father and minister may be addicted to 
 the habit. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The saloon and the home. The relation of the saloon 
 to crime and poverty. Its relation to politics and 
 government. Its relation to the social evil. 
 
 China's solution of the opiiim trade. 
 
STUDY XII 
 COURTESY AND RESPECT 
 Social custom prescribes certain forms of 
 courtesy in our dealings with each other, con- 
 formity with which is supposed to mark the 
 well-bred person. Many of these have their 
 source in the remote past, and we perform them 
 without thought of their origin or significance. 
 These forms sometimes have been found to 
 interfere with other more important things and 
 have been set aside. On one occasion when 
 Jesus sent his disciples to visit the cities to which 
 he intended to go, he directed them to "salute 
 no man by the way" (Luke 10:4). He did 
 not intend by this to teach them to be discourte- 
 ous. The form of salutation in the Orient was 
 so elaborate that the time required for it would 
 have prevented them from carrying out the 
 purpose of their journey. For a long time the 
 Chinese would not allow the building of rail- 
 roads because of respect for their ancestors, 
 over whose graves it would have been necessary 
 
 66 
 
Courtesy and Respect 67 
 
 for the roads to pass. The outward forms of 
 courtesy are constantly changing. This is not 
 to be regretted so long as the spirit which 
 prompts them remains. Can you give any 
 illustration of such change ? 
 
 Courtesy has as its basis respect for the worth 
 of another person or of one's self. The Chinese 
 philosopher Confucius, whose teachings con- 
 tain many valuable precepts regarding courtesy, 
 said, "A man must first respect himself, then 
 others will respect him." You may be sorry 
 for a drunken man, but you do not respect him. 
 A vulgar or profane person has not our respect. 
 Why is this ? 
 
 Custom has defined certain forms of courtesy 
 in the conduct of men toward women. These 
 reached their height in the courts of kings 
 at the times of which Scott's novels give us 
 a picture. Cite some illustrations. Are men 
 less courteous now ? Why does a man lift his 
 hat when meeting a lady ? Does a gentleman 
 give his seat to a lady in a crowded car ? Does 
 it make any difference whether she is an 
 acquaintance? Discuss the rule of the sea — 
 
68 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 "women firsf — in the case of the sinkmg of 
 the "Titanic.'' Is the granting of the suffrage 
 to women likely to make any difference in these 
 forms of courtesy toward women ? If so, why 
 should it ? 
 
 In all times children have been regarded as 
 under obligation to show respect to their par- 
 ents. What is the ground for this ? We often 
 hear it said that the youth of today are less 
 respectful toward their parents than in former 
 times. If this is true, to what may it be due ? 
 "Children should be seen and not heard" was 
 a familiar saying when your father was a boy, 
 but is seldom heard now. What is the effect 
 of the present lack of formal restraint in the 
 home upon the attitude of children toward 
 their parents? Is a boy likely to respect his 
 father less if their relations toward each other 
 become those of chums? In many families 
 today the boys have opportunities for better 
 education than their parents had. Should this 
 lessen the respect which a boy has for his father ? 
 
 Does the position which a teacher holds en- 
 title him to the respect of his pupil ? In school, 
 
 I 
 
Courtesy and Respect 69 
 
 corporal punishment has been given up. What 
 effect do you think this has had in the respect 
 which boys feel for and show their teachers? 
 What qualities in a teacher increase your re- 
 spect for him ? What qualities detract from it ? 
 There is in this country much disrespect for 
 law. Give some illustrations of this. What 
 seems to be the cause ? What bad results fol- 
 low disregard for law? What remedies can 
 you suggest? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The effect of uniforms and costumes as an aid to 
 respect; e.g., those worn by foreign diplomats as con- 
 trasted with the black frock coat of one of our foreign 
 representatives. 
 
 The difference in the attitude of all Englishmen 
 toward their king, and that of all Americans toward 
 the President. 
 
 The change in the method of dress of clergymen and 
 its effect upon the attitude of the people toward them. 
 
STUDY XIII 
 SELF-CONTROL 
 
 One who lives near a harbor is accustomed 
 to see three kinds of craft. The scow has no 
 power of self-propulsion or self-direction. It 
 is useful for carrying cargoes, but only within 
 short distances and when towed by a tug. The 
 sailboat makes its way without a tug, but its 
 power is not within itself. Only when the wind 
 blows can it move at all, and its progress then 
 depends upon the force and direction of the wind. 
 The steamer has within itself the power which 
 drives it over the seas in any direction in spite 
 of opposing winds and waves. Three kinds of 
 people may be compared with these different 
 craft. Describe each. Does the class in which 
 a man falls depend upon his occupation or 
 social position? 
 
 Our lives are made up of a succession of 
 
 choices. On a given morning a boy may go to 
 
 school or "play hooky"; when asked by his 
 
 teacher whether he has committed a certain 
 
 70 
 
Self-Con TROL 71 
 
 midsemeanor, he may lie or tell the truth. In 
 the ordinary routine, most of our conduct is the 
 result of habit or custom, but in any given situa- 
 tion we may, if we choose, decide to act con- 
 trary to these. Does the knowledge that the 
 effects of alcohol are injurious prevent a man 
 from becoming a drunkard? Knowledge is 
 valuable, so far as conduct is concerned, only 
 as it forms a guide for reasonable choice. The 
 value of the studies of various habits which we 
 have made will depend upon the choice which 
 we make when we are confronted with an oppor- 
 tunity to do a right or wrong act. 
 
 The very center of a man, that which deter- 
 mines his strength and power, is his will. The 
 power to exercise his will, to control his conduct, 
 we call self-control. Nothing is so essential to 
 success as this. A strong body and good health 
 are not so essential. Much of the important 
 work of the world has been done to an accom- 
 paniment of pain. How does Robert Louis 
 Stevenson's life illustrate this ? Boys are often 
 ready with petty excuses for their failures. 
 Such boys are thus paving the way to failure in 
 
72 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 life. There is no place on the football team for 
 the boy who shows a "yellow streak ;'' neither 
 is there anywhere else. Environment or cir- 
 cumstances are often held responsible for a 
 man's failure or success. To what extent is 
 failure or success rightly attributable to en- 
 vironment or circumstances? History is full 
 of successful men who have surmounted un- 
 favorable circumstances. Give some illustra- 
 tions. Luck is often assigned as a reason for 
 success. Do you know of any great success 
 which can be attributed to this ? 
 
 The heights by great men reached and kept 
 Were not attained by sudden flight, 
 But they, while their companions slept. 
 Were toiling upward in the night. 
 
 The habit of self-control, like any specific 
 habit, may be acquired. Refer to the maxims 
 on habit given in Study IV and apply them here. 
 What is the value of athletics in forming the 
 habit of self-control? What game seems best 
 suited for this? Discuss the reasons. The 
 control of one's temper, of a tendency to be lazy, 
 or of any bad habit to which one knows himself 
 
S E L F-C O N T R O L 73 
 
 to be addicted, furnishes an excellent oppor- 
 tunity for practice. 
 
 The power of self-control is only gradually 
 acquired in youth. It is worth while to stop 
 and think whether you are gaining it. Are 
 there some things which you once found it hard 
 to do that you now do without thinking ? Are 
 there some things which you knew to be wrong 
 and which you once did, but which you feel 
 no desire to do now? If so, you are making 
 progress; if not, take yourself strongly in hand, 
 before the lack of self-control becomes habitual. 
 Only thus can you hope to live a self-controlled 
 and successful life. 
 
 Self-control comes only as a result of practice. 
 Discuss the relative value of the two types of 
 discipline, that found in military schools and 
 that in vogue in schools giving pupils more 
 freedom of action. What is the value of each 
 type of discipline? What do you think of 
 student "self-government"? In Tom Brown's 
 School Days the older boys at Rugby exercised 
 control over the younger. What do you think 
 of "fagging'' as practiced there? Would it 
 
74 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 not be well in every school to develop in the 
 older pupils a sense of responsibility, not only 
 for their own conduct, but also for that of the 
 younger pupils? Suggest some specific ways 
 in which this might be done in your school. 
 
STUDY XIV 
 CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY 
 The words selected as a heading for this 
 study are among those most often found in the 
 newspapers and magazines of the day. The 
 term "conservation" is generally used in con- 
 nection with the economical use of such natural 
 resources as timber, coal, or soil; the term 
 "efficiency'' is generally applied to industry or 
 business and involves the question of securing 
 the largest return with the least expenditure 
 of time, labor, or material. The need of con- 
 servation of the great forests which once covered 
 the land, of the immense bodies of coal and iron 
 under our feet, of the rich soil which covered the 
 prairies of the Middle West, has been realized 
 only when, through our carelessness or extrava- 
 gance, we are face to face with the danger of 
 their complete exhaustion. Older countries 
 have felt the importance of conservation of 
 natural resources for a long time and have 
 developed effective means to this end. In the 
 
 75 
 
76 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 well-known Black Forest region in Germany, 
 one finds great forests of trees varying in size 
 from those that are but a few feet high to full- 
 grown trees, set in rows, carefully trimmed and 
 cared for by trained foresters . The law requires 
 that for all trees cut down others shall be set out. 
 Only recently have schools of forestry been es- 
 tablished in this country in which men can 
 be trained to care scientifically for our fast- 
 disappearing forests. Discuss the loss of for- 
 ests through unnecessary fires; the relation of 
 forests to floods. 
 
 Much of our most fertile land has become 
 less productive through our ignorance of sci- 
 entific methods of farming. Our schools and 
 colleges now give instruction in agriculture to 
 coimteract the waste which has been wrought. 
 By soil analysis, rotation of crops, and other 
 scientific methods, these lands will slowly be 
 restored to a part, at least, of their former 
 fertility. 
 
 The need of conservation is not confined to 
 such material things as forests and lands. We 
 have been equally wasteful of human life and 
 
Conservation and Effjciency 77 
 
 comfort. Our railroads, factories, and mines 
 are operated at the cost of thousands of lives 
 each year, most of which might be saved. 
 Laws are being passed requiring railroads and 
 manufacturers to provide increased protec- 
 tion against accident and making employers 
 responsible for compensation for accidents 
 to employees. Why have employers tried to 
 prevent the passage of these laws? What re- 
 lation to conservation have laws restricting 
 the employment of children and shortening 
 the working-day? Why was the law passed 
 prohibiting the use of phosphorus in the 
 manufacture of matches? Give some other 
 illustrations. Jesus said, "The Sabbath was 
 made for man, not man for the Sabbath" 
 (Mark 2:27). Apply this principle of Sabbath 
 observance to conservation. 
 
 In our great cities there is much waste of 
 human life through bad housing conditions and 
 lack of proper sanitation. Discuss from the 
 point of view of conservation the value of parks 
 and playgrounds, bathing-beaches, the juvenile 
 court, the inspection of milk and other foods. 
 
78 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Great progress in medicine has been made in 
 the prevention of disease. Do we owe the 
 Panama Canal more to our engineering skill 
 or to our ability to prevent tropical diseases ? 
 
 We hear much about the high cost of living 
 in these days. What do you think of the state- 
 ment that the problem is to meet the cost of 
 high living rather than the high cost of living ? 
 Can you think of some things which you have 
 and could hardly get on without which your 
 father never had when he was a boy? Can 
 you think of things which you have that you 
 could as well or better get on without? One 
 who lives in the country knows that good fruit 
 rots on the ground each fall because the owner 
 does not find it profitable to ship it to market. 
 How do you reconcile this fact with the high 
 price of apples in the city market ? Why need 
 people anywhere be hungry when there is food 
 enough for all ? 
 
 In every form of industry, production has 
 been greatly increased by the introduction of 
 labor-saving machinery. Discuss the effect of 
 the invention of the cotton gin. Compare the 
 
Conservation and Efficiency 79 
 
 methods of planting, cultivating, and harvesting 
 crops employed forty years ago with those 
 employed now. What has been the effect of the 
 telephone, the typewriter, the adding machine, 
 and stenography upon business efficiency? 
 Discuss in detail the effect of labor-saving 
 machinery in some industry with which you are 
 familiar. 
 
 The introduction of labor-saving machinery 
 has made important changes in our social and 
 industrial life. These changes have been in 
 many respects beneficial; they have also intro- 
 duced serious social problems. What bene- 
 ficial results can you mention? What has 
 become of the workmen whose places have been 
 taken by machinery ? What has been the effect 
 upon the length of the working-day? What 
 is the value of a shorter working-day to the 
 workman ? The shoemaker once performed all 
 the labor involved in the making of a shoe, 
 beginning with the tanned hide, and ending 
 with the finished shoe. Now many workmen 
 have a part in the process, each repeating the 
 same small part over and over. The result is 
 
8o Problems of Boyhood 
 
 more and better shoes; but what is the effect 
 upon the workman ? 
 
 An important gain in efficiency in industry 
 has been made by carefully observing the 
 movements of the workman as he performs 
 his task and carefully eliminating unnecessary 
 movements. Thus it has been found that by 
 providing the material needed in the most 
 convenient way, and by omitting certain un- 
 necessary movements, a bricklayer can accom- 
 plish several times as much work in a given 
 time without additional fatigue. Do you know 
 of any other similar gains that have been made 
 in practical efficiency? Another very impor- 
 tant element in successful business has been the 
 utilization of by-products. It is said that in 
 the great meat-packing houses of Chicago no 
 part of the animal is lost but the squeal. Every 
 portion from the blood to the hoofs is used. 
 Valuable by-products are secured in every 
 line of industry; these are said in some cases to 
 be more valuable than the original products. 
 What do you know of the by-products of the 
 steel business, the oil business, of the use of 
 
Conservation and Efficiency 8i 
 
 tailings in mines, of the use of cotton seed? 
 Discuss in detail the use of by-products in any 
 industry in your community. Compare the 
 amount of money invested in churches and 
 school buildings with the actual use made of the 
 buildings. Discuss the larger use of these 
 buildings for the social and political needs of 
 the community. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The work of the reclamation service of the govern- 
 ment in the Everglades of Florida and the irrigation 
 projects of the West. 
 
 The preservation and use of the national forests. 
 
 The preservation of the coal fields of Alaska. 
 
 The prevention of unnecessary noises. 
 
STUDY XV 
 CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY— Caw/mwe^i 
 
 In the last study we discussed conservation 
 and efficiency in their larger aspects as applied 
 to the nation and community and to various 
 industries. In this study we shall make a per- 
 sonal application of the principles involved. It 
 need not be said that an efficient nation or com- 
 munity must be composed of people who are 
 individually efficient and thrifty. Nature has 
 bestowed upon each of us certain resources, the 
 conservation and efficient use of which are 
 essential to our success as individuals. What 
 are these ? 
 
 We shall agree that our physical resources 
 are of great value. We are not all equally 
 endowed by Nature in this respect. It is 
 possible, however, to remedy in large measure 
 what seem to be physical defects. Mr. Roose- 
 velt in the second chapter of his autobiography 
 has told us how from a sickly boy, with no natu- 
 ral bodily prowess, he made himself into the 
 82 
 
Conservation and Efficiency 83 
 
 robust and vigorous man with whose physical 
 efficiency the whole world is now familiar. On 
 the other hand, it is possible for one not physi- 
 cally strong to live a long and efficient life by 
 carefully conserving such strength as he has. A 
 good illustration of this is seen in the case of 
 Dr. Lyman Abbott whose interesting autobiog- 
 raphy recently appeared in the Outlook. In 
 boyhood are laid the foundations of physical 
 efficiency. Careful conformity with known 
 laws of hygienic living, with proper physical 
 training, will assure the full development of a 
 boy's physical resources. The previous dis- 
 cussions regarding clean thinking and living 
 and the use of stimulants and narcotics have 
 an important bearing on physical efficiency. 
 Discuss the relation of the pubHc parks, play- 
 grounds, and bathing-beaches and -pools to 
 the physical efficiency of the next generation. 
 What bearing has the debated question of sex- 
 hygiene instruction in the public schools on 
 this topic ? 
 
 Our minds are another of the resources which 
 Nature has given us. Which seems to you the 
 
84 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 more essential to efficiency, the body or the 
 mind ? Even more than our bodies, our minds 
 must be properly trained in order to be effective. 
 The schools afford an opportunity for all to 
 train their minds. However, many boys of 
 good natural abilities pass through school and 
 even college whose minds at the end are not 
 well trained and efficient. How do you account 
 for this? It appears certain that it does not 
 make so much difference what one studies, and, 
 within certain hmits, how long one studies; 
 mental efficiency depends most upon the mental 
 habits which one has acquired. One of the 
 most important of these is concentration, the 
 power to apply one's mind to a given task to the 
 complete exclusion of everything else. This 
 habit may be acquired. Is your mind inclined 
 to wander from the problem in geometry which 
 you are studying to the coming football game or 
 party ? If so, you must bring yourself back to 
 your task by an act of the wiU. No habit so 
 makes for mental inefficiency as that of divided 
 attention. You will learn your lessons better in 
 half the time and play football better if you 
 
Conservation and Efficiency 85 
 
 hold yourself firmly to each in its proper time 
 and place. "Work while you work and play 
 while you play" is a maxim of supreme im- 
 portance. A little thought about your own 
 experience will reveal some other important 
 habits of mind. Which prepares you better 
 for the semester examination, a reasonable 
 amount of work each day, or cramming on the 
 night before the examination? What other 
 mental habits are important ? 
 
 Does the possession of a strong and well- 
 trained body assure efficiency ? of a well-trained 
 mind? Is it possible to have both and yet 
 be inefficient? A right attitude toward work 
 must accompany these if efficiency is to be 
 assured. Does the world owe anyone a living ? 
 If you had a million dollars and a good education 
 what do you think you would do? Which 
 seems to you likely to apply the severer test 
 to character, wealth or poverty ? What reasons 
 have you for thinking that your life would not 
 be happy if you should do no work ? 
 
 The habit of saving is as essential to indi- 
 vidual happiness as it is to business success. 
 
86 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Which do you think will contribute more to 
 a man's prosperity, the habit of saving or an 
 increase in wages ? The habit of saving may 
 be acquired early. Do you keep a careful ac- 
 count of all the money you receive and spend ? 
 Mr. Rockefeller did this when he was earning a 
 few dollars a week as a clerk. Boys who receive 
 weekly allowances often grow up without any 
 idea of the value of money. This may prove 
 a great misfortune later. How can a boy who 
 has never earned any money have any sense of 
 its value ? 
 
 People sometimes seem to think that dis- 
 regard for the value of money makes them so- 
 cially conspicuous. These are likely to be of the 
 class known as ' ' newly rich. ' ' In what ways are 
 the boys in your set wasteful ? Are you just as 
 careful not to waste or destroy the property of 
 your school or of your employer as you would be 
 if it were your own ? Should a traveling man 
 whose expenses are paid spend more money 
 than if he were on his own expense? Jesus 
 gave a good object-lesson in economy when 
 after feeding the multitude he had the fragments 
 
Conservation and Efficiency 87 
 
 of bread and fish gathered up in order that none 
 should be lost (Luke 9:12-17). 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The relation of recreation to efficiency. 
 
 Forms of recreation best suited to boyhood and to 
 mature manhood. 
 
 The value of a college education from the point of 
 view of efficiency. 
 
STUDY XVI 
 LOYALTY 
 
 One of the finest qualities one can possess 
 is loyalty. It finds its most common expres- 
 sion in our relations with our families and 
 friends, with the social group of which we are 
 a part, our school, club, or Sunday school; it 
 reaches out to include our larger relations 
 to our city, state, and country. Tell the 
 story of Damon and Pythias. Mention some 
 other illustrations of conspicuous loyalty. 
 We despise one who is disloyal, e.g., Judas, 
 Benedict Arnold. Mention some other illus- 
 trations of disloyalty. 
 
 What is the basis of loyalty? Your life 
 was made possible at the cost of severe pain 
 on the part of your mother. You represent a 
 great expenditure of care and labor which your 
 parents have given gladly, but which you will 
 never be able to repay in kind. Reckon up the 
 amount of money which your parents have in- 
 vested in you up to this time. Discuss what it 
 
 88 
 
Loyalty 89 
 
 has cost in human life to give us the country in 
 which we live. Contrast the political liberty 
 which we enjoy with the condition of the people 
 of Russia. At the time of the war in the Bal- 
 kans, thousands of Greeks, Bulgarians, and 
 representatives of the other Balkan states 
 returned from this country to take up arms 
 against the Turks. Why did they do this? 
 How do you account for the loyalty of the 
 many thousands of the people of the East Side 
 in New York City to the political boss, Tim 
 Sullivan ? 
 
 But there often seems to be some deeper basis 
 for loyalty than that of service rendered or 
 benefits received. There is such a thing as 
 loyalty to a principle or an ideal. Why did 
 LaFayette come to this country to fight by 
 the side of Washington? At the time of the 
 Boxer uprising in China, many native Chris- 
 tians gave up their lives. To what did they 
 show their loyalty? The supreme illustration 
 is the life and death of Jesus. To what was he 
 loyal? Discuss the lives of WiUiam Lloyd 
 Garrison and Elijah Parish Lovejoy as examples 
 
90 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 of loyalty to principle. What are some of the 
 ideals which demand your loyalty ? 
 
 At times of crisis, loyalty is at its height. 
 The recent outbreak of hostilities with Mexico 
 was followed immediately by a large increase 
 in the number of enlistments for the army and 
 navy at the various recruiting agencies. It is 
 easy then to respond to the demands of loyalty. 
 In the less spectacular times of peace there is no 
 less need of loyalty. In what other ways may 
 we show our loyalty to our country than by 
 taking up arms ? 
 
 There is often a conflict in the demands of 
 loyalty. Show how this was true when in the 
 Civil War members of the same family fought 
 on opposite sides. Jesus said (Matt. 10:35, 
 36), "For I am come to set a man at variance 
 against his father, and the daughter against her 
 mother, and the daughter-in-law against her 
 mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they 
 of his own household.'^ How has this been 
 illustrated in the history of Christian missions ? 
 Give an iQustration in which a man's loyalty 
 to a friend would conflict with loyalty to his 
 
Loyalty 91 
 
 employer. Does loyalty to his school require 
 a student to support the team in crooked 
 practices? Should a boy ever "snitch" on 
 his schoolmate? Does the expression, "My 
 country, right or wrong," represent the highest 
 type of loyalty ? 
 
 Loyalty to a person, to a group, or to an 
 ideal, when put to the test, must involve the 
 spirit of self-sacrifice. Show how this is the 
 case in the instances given above. Cite some 
 other examples. Professions of loyalty are 
 easily made; the fulfilment of these profes- 
 sions is not always easy. Contrast Peter's 
 vigorous expression of loyalty to Jesus (Matt. 
 26:35), "Though I should die with thee, yet 
 will I not deny thee," with his thrice-repeated 
 denial a few hours later (Matt. 26 : 69-75). Our 
 discussions in previous studies should have set 
 up in our minds certain ideals demanding 
 loyalty. If you listen and laugh at the telling 
 of a smutty story, even though you would 
 not tell one yourself, are you loyal to the 
 ideal of clean speech? How can you show 
 your loyalty under such circumstances ? What 
 
92 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 are some of the ideals to which you should 
 show your loyalty? 
 
 Our President is the representative of a 
 political party. Under ordinary circumstances, 
 men do not think of loyalty to the country as 
 necessarily demanding loyalty to the Presi- 
 dent. In times of crisis, however, when our 
 nation becomes involved in wars with a foreign 
 power, loyalty to a party is swallowed up in 
 loyalty to the country. "Mr. Wilson was not 
 my candidate, but he is my President" ex- 
 presses this larger view of loyalty. The King 
 of England is not a member of any party, but 
 stands as the head of the entire nation, a central 
 figure uniting the loyalty of all EngHshmen. 
 What advantage is there in this ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 In what ways may a boy show his loyalty to his 
 school ? 
 
 Loyalty to the employer versus loyalty to the 
 labor union. 
 
 Party loyalty and municipal politics. 
 
 What is meant by loyalty to the flag? 
 
STUDY XVII 
 CITIZENSfflP 
 The Constitution of the United States de- 
 clares that "all persons born or naturalized in 
 the United States, and subject to the juris- 
 diction thereof, are citizens of the United 
 States and of the state wherein they reside." 
 This provision is not held to apply to Indian 
 tribes and to the native inhabitants of the 
 Philippine Islands and Porto Rico. On what 
 grounds are these exceptions based? A child 
 born abroad, whose father is an American 
 citizen, is an American citizen under certain 
 conditions. What are these ? Is the wife of a 
 native American citizen, herself foreign born, 
 a citizen or not? Why? Is the child of an 
 official representative of a foreign country 
 bom in this country a citizen of the United 
 States? Is a Chinese or Japanese child born 
 in this country a citizen of the United States ? 
 What are the requirements for the naturaliza- 
 tion of foreign-bom citizens ? According to the 
 
 93 
 
94 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 latest census, what proportion of the citizens 
 were native born, foreign born, and children 
 of foreign-born parents? 
 
 Citizenship carries with it certain privileges 
 and obligations. The term "privileges" in the 
 Constitution has been held to mean security to 
 life and liberty, the right to acquire and hold 
 property, to have access to the courts of jus- 
 tice, and freedom to seek and obtain happiness 
 and safety so far as this may be done consist- 
 ently with the public good. On what ground 
 can the state prohibit the sale of liquor ? Does 
 citizenship confer the right to vote ? By what 
 steps can the privilege of the ballot be given 
 to all women citizens of the United States? 
 Inseparably bound up with these privileges are 
 the obligations of citizenship. The govern- 
 ment which provides for its citizens security of 
 life and property must itself be supported by 
 taxes levied upon its citizens and in time of 
 need may call upon them to bear arms in its 
 defense. A good citizen willingly pays his just 
 share of the cost of maintaining his city, state, 
 and nation. There is doubtless much evasion 
 
Citizenship 95 
 
 practiced by citizens in declaring their prop- 
 erty for taxation. If one man pays less than 
 his fair share, others must pay more. For 
 which is it easier to evade taxes, the rich or 
 the poor? What is the justification of the 
 income tax? 
 
 Germany requires miUtary service of all able- 
 bodied male citizens and maintains a large 
 and efficient standing army. This country 
 maintains a small standing army of volun- 
 teers. Discuss the advantages and disadvan- 
 tages which the German system would have in 
 this country. George Washington said: "To 
 be prepared for war is one of the most effectual 
 means of preserving peace. ' ^ Would this theory 
 justify the maintenance of a large standing 
 army? What do you think of the argument 
 against woman suffrage that women cannot 
 bear arms ? 
 
 But citizenship should carry with it other 
 obligations than the mere payment of taxes and 
 the willingness, if need be, to bear arms in the 
 country's defense. A good citizen will think 
 less of the rights than he does of the social 
 
96 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 responsibilities which citizenship involves. 
 Casting a ballot is no more a privilege than it 
 is an obligation. Which is the more important, 
 to vote at the primaries or at the final election ? 
 Why ? What proportion of the legal voters in 
 your city or town voted at the last election? 
 Whose fault is it if the government of a city is 
 corrupt ? Is the corrupt political boss a neces- 
 sity in city politics? What reason is there 
 for maintaining national party lines in city 
 elections ? Is it a fact that the best qualified 
 men do not seek political ofiice in our cities ? 
 If so, are they fulfilling their obligations as 
 citizens ? 
 
 The good citizen will be intelligent regarding 
 the many forms of social service which his city 
 and state undertake for the good of the com- 
 munity, such as the schools, libraries, hospitals, 
 parks, playgrounds, and various institutions 
 for the alleviation of suffering. It is more 
 important to prevent ignorance, sickness, and 
 crime than it is to care for those who suffer 
 from the results of these evils. Mention the 
 agencies in your city or town which serve as 
 
Citizenship 97 
 
 preventives and those which deal chiefly with 
 the evil results. 
 
 Beside those agencies supported at public 
 expense, there are many voluntary organizations 
 dealing with the problems of social better- 
 ment. A good citizen will be interested in these 
 and will support them to the extent of his 
 ability. Mention such of these agencies as 
 are found in your community. Careful study 
 has shown that much individual charity is 
 ineffective. Scientifically organized charity is 
 likely to accomplish much more good. Why is 
 this ? Are the needs of your community fully 
 met by public and private organization ? What 
 changes would you suggest? 
 
 What opportunities has a boy of sixteen 
 to secure training in good citizenship? How 
 can well-conducted clubs and other organiza- 
 tions help to this end? What chances has 
 a boy in high school to practice good citizen- 
 ship? Compare the opportunities which you 
 have with those which your father had, and 
 consider the increased obligation which will 
 fall upon you. 
 
98 Problfms of Boyhood 
 
 topics for discussion 
 
 Tax dodging and smuggling as related to good citizen- 
 ship. 
 
 Miscellaneous versus scientifically organized charity. 
 
 The practicability of making a survey of the organi- 
 zations for social betterment in your city or town. 
 
STUDY XVIII 
 CLUBS AND FRATERNITIES 
 
 Sociability is one of the most marked char- 
 acteristics of the period of adolescent boyhood. 
 Boys do not usually enjoy themselves alone. 
 They naturally form groups for such team 
 games as football and baseball, for debating 
 or other similar activities. Aside from the 
 pleasure which these activities afford, they 
 enjoy the distinction which comes from holding 
 offices such as president of a club or cap- 
 tain of a team. Boys are particularly fond of 
 wearing some distinctive emblem of the organ- 
 ization to which they belong, such as a pin or 
 ring. An element of secrecy seems to add 
 charm to these organizations of boyhood. 
 How do you account for this ? 
 
 Natural centers for these clubs are found in 
 schools, churches, social centers, and the Young 
 Men's Christian Association. In these there is 
 usually found helpful co-operation on the part 
 of older people which assures such supervision 
 
 99 
 
loo Problems of- Boyhood 
 
 as to make these clubs generally beneficial to 
 the boys. What clubs are there in your com- 
 munity and with what organizations are they 
 connected? Clubs or "gangs" are sometimes 
 formed, particularly in cities, which are related 
 to no such organizations and which are fre- 
 quently harmful in their effects upon their mem- 
 bers. Do you know of any such ? 
 
 There are many advantages to be gained from 
 many of these organizations. They ofifer oppor- 
 tunity for forming close and helpful friendships, 
 some of which last through life. They develop 
 quahties of leadership so essential to strong 
 manhood. They provide helpful activities 
 which afford valuable physical, intellectual, and 
 social training. What other advantages can you 
 think of ? Discuss the advantages to be derived 
 from some club of which you are a member. 
 
 There are also many disadvantages which 
 may go with boys' clubs. They sometimes 
 become so exclusive as to develop snobbishness. 
 Under what circumstances is this likely to be 
 the case ? Why is such a club undesirable in a 
 school ? Sometimes the ideals of a club are not 
 
Clubs and Fraternities ; ijoe 
 
 high. The friendships formed in such a club 
 are harmful. The expense involved is fre- 
 quently greater than some of the members can 
 afford. What other disadvantages can you 
 think of? Discuss the disadvantages of any 
 club of which you know. The most successful 
 clubs are almost sure to be under the super- 
 vision of some mature man. What sort of man 
 makes the best leader of a boys' club ? 
 
 Fraternities within the last few years have 
 been organized in many high schools. Great 
 opposition to them has developed among school 
 officials which has led in many cases to rules 
 excluding them from the school. Several states 
 have even passed laws prohibiting them. Re- 
 cently some college fraternities have expressed 
 their disapproval and have taken action exclud- 
 ing from their membership boys who have 
 been members of high-school fraternities. It is 
 difficult for boys in school to understand this 
 opposition, and there has been a more or less 
 successful effort to maintain the fraternities in 
 spite of opposition against them. This has 
 led to dishonest practices or open rebellion, 
 
•ic3f2 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 harmful to the members themselves and to 
 the proper social life of the schools. 
 
 Let us consider the reasons which have led 
 to this opposition to high-school fraternities. 
 The fundamental reason is that the fraternity 
 is essentially undemocratic. The member- 
 ship is usually limited in number and is open 
 only to those who have been selected by all 
 the members according to standards not 
 generally known and often quite artificial, such 
 as manner of dress or the ownership of an auto- 
 mobile. " Once a member, always a member," 
 is the rule. A young boy thus often does not 
 choose his permanent friends but is chosen by 
 others before he is old enough to make so grave 
 a choice for himself. He may find himself 
 intimately associated with boys from whose 
 friendship he cannot escape, even if he would, 
 without danger of social ostracism. The mem- 
 bers of a fraternity feel bound to promote the 
 supposed advantages of their own members 
 often to the detriment of the school as a whole. 
 Real values are lost sight of through the schem- 
 ing of fraternities, and captains of teams and 
 
Clubs and Fraternities 103 
 
 other officers are elected who are not fitted to 
 fill these positions. The interests of the larger 
 social group represented by the school are thus 
 set aside to promote the interests of the smaller 
 group. Loyalty to the fraternity is placed 
 above loyalty to the school. A study of actual 
 conditions has shown that the scholarship of 
 fraternity members is generally lower than that 
 of other boys. The fraternity not only tends 
 to set up false standards for social preferment, 
 but also to develop low moral standards among 
 its members. This is particularly true in the 
 matter of honesty, for boys who are members 
 of fraternities are usually ready to lie to de- 
 fend a "brother," apparently feeling that this 
 is demanded of them as loyal members. Under 
 some conditions, doubtless, high-school fra- 
 ternities do not justly fall under these more 
 serious charges. But of all it may be said 
 that they are essentially undemocratic and as 
 such are out of harmony with the best interests 
 of a school. 
 
 Are there fraternities in your school ? If so, 
 discuss their activities and influence in the light 
 
104 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 of these criticisms. Discuss fraternities among 
 men, like the Masons. How can clubs be organ- 
 ized in the high school to satisfy the legitimate 
 and desirable social needs of boys ? Why are 
 these better both for the individual boys and 
 the school as a whole? Discuss the kinds of 
 clubs best suited to the church or Sunday 
 school. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 Are college fraternities open to the same criticism 
 as high-school fraternities? 
 
 The Catholic church and secret organizations. 
 
STUDY XIX 
 THE IDEALISM OF BOYHOOD 
 
 Youth is the time of idealism. The poet has 
 said "A boy's will is the wind's will and the 
 thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." 
 What did he mean by this ? Every boy in his 
 teens has his idea of the kind of man he wants to 
 be and of the work he wants to do when he 
 becomes a man. The ideals he sets for himself 
 wiU vary at different times according to the 
 changes which Nature is making inside him and 
 to the surroundings in which he lives. At a 
 certain period in their development most boys 
 want to live lives of wild adventure, at other 
 times romance makes its appeal, and at still 
 others, the serious pursuits of business or pro- 
 fessional life. What different ideals have you 
 had for your life ? 
 
 Boyhood is a time of hero worship. In a 
 boy's mind there is pretty sure to be enthroned 
 someone who represents the ideal he would 
 like to reach. This may be the captain of the 
 
io6 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 team, or some other great athlete; perhaps it 
 may be his father or teacher; sometimes it may 
 be a character in history or fiction. But who- 
 ever his ideal may be, this is a very real factor 
 in the life of the boy. It makes a great differ- 
 ence what sort of a person you have set up as 
 your ideal of attainment, for this ideal affects 
 your present life and conduct profoundly. At 
 different times the sort of person who seems to a 
 boy most desirable to imitate varies, just as his 
 plans for future occupation differ. Discuss the 
 different persons whom you have most wished 
 to be like at different times in your life. 
 
 Why is it that a boy's ideals are so change- 
 able? While this is natural for a boy, it is 
 very unfortunate for a man to have his ideals 
 constantly changing. The changing ideals and 
 purposes of boyhood should gradually settle 
 down into the stable convictions of mature man- 
 hood. Such discussions as we have had regard- 
 ing the problems of boyhood should have given 
 us a more serious attitude toward life and 
 should have helped to shape the ideal person 
 that we should like to be. In the light of these 
 
The Idealism of Boyhood 107 
 
 discussions, describe the characteristics of the 
 kind of man you would like to be, physical, 
 intellectual, moral. 
 
 Perhaps the word ''gentleman'' sums up 
 better than any other single word the qualities 
 that should be found in a boy's ideal. We 
 should not wish to use this term in the restricted 
 sense that it once had in England, as meaning 
 a man who engages in no occupation or profes- 
 sion regularly for gain, but in the broader, more 
 democratic sense in which the word is used in 
 this country. Thomas Arnold used to say to 
 the boys in the famous Rugby School, using 
 the word in its broader sense, that it was not 
 necessary that Rugby should be a school of any 
 given number of boys, but that it was neces- 
 sary that it should be a school of Christian 
 gentlemen. 
 
 Let us consider what it means to be a gentle- 
 man. To be a gentleman, must one wear a 
 certain kind of clothes, speak a certain kind of 
 language, or belong to a certain social set? 
 What is the advantage of the externals which 
 go with what we call good breeding? What 
 
io8 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 are the fundamental qualities which mark the 
 real gentleman ? There are some things which 
 a gentleman will never do. What are these? 
 Will a gentleman ever lie ? There are certain 
 things which a gentleman will always do. 
 What are these? What is the difference 
 between a snob and a gentleman ? Discuss in 
 connection with your idea of a gentleman the 
 teachings of Jesus regarding retaliation in 
 Matt. 5:38-42, e.g., ''But I say unto you, that 
 ye resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee 
 on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." 
 In a school the boys who are placed in promi- 
 nent positions are regarded as representing the 
 social ideals of the school. Is this conclusion 
 always justified? If not, why? The captain 
 of the football team is one of the strongest 
 factors in the moral life of the school. Other 
 captains and officers are important factors 
 according to the importance which is attached 
 to the position held. The younger boys in the 
 school unconsciously have their ideals modified 
 by the examples of these older boys. Are the 
 boys who hold these positions in your school 
 
The Idealism of Boyhood 109 
 
 worthy ideals for the other boys to follow ? If 
 not, whose fault is it ? 
 
 The final test of a man's ideal is the man 
 himself, for he tends to become like his ideal. 
 The highest ideal which a man can follow is 
 represented by Jesus whose life embodies the 
 fundamental qualities which are admirable. 
 He said (John 12:32), "And I, if I be lifted 
 up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." 
 In what respects has the ideal of Jesus' life 
 changed the lives of individuals and of society ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 What qualities are considered most admirable in 
 your school ? 
 
 Does the most popular boy in your school possess 
 the qualities of an ideal gentleman ? 
 
 What man now living represents most completely 
 your ideal ? What character in history or fiction ? 
 
STUDY XX 
 MEASURE OF SUCCESS 
 
 Every young man should make success the 
 goal of his life. Whether his life is lived on a 
 high or low plane will depend upon what he 
 means by success and the constancy with which 
 he pursues this ideal. If you ask the first dozen 
 men whom you meet for their definitions of 
 success, you will probably find that they do 
 not agree. Let us consider some of the ele- 
 ments which will most Hkely be included. 
 
 First of all, the acquisition of wealth is a 
 common measure of success. In order to live 
 in any civilized community, one must have 
 many things which only money can secure. 
 One certainly cannot succeed unless he is able 
 to provide for himself at least the necessary 
 food and clothing which his physical life 
 demands. Beyond this the value of money 
 depends upon the use which one makes of it. 
 Is the acquisition of money for its own sake 
 or for the sake of luxury or display likely to 
 
Measure of Success hi 
 
 assure a man's success in the highest sense? 
 What are the characteristics which this aim is 
 likely to develop in a man ? Tell the story of 
 Midas. Discuss the saying of Paul : " The love 
 of money is a root of all kinds of eviP' (I Tim. 
 6: lo). Jesus taught that riches are a spiritual 
 hindrance. Discuss his saying: " It is easier for 
 a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than 
 for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God'' 
 (Mark 10:25). 
 
 A few years ago the leading business men of 
 the coimtry were spoken of as "captains of 
 industry"; now they are more often referred 
 to as the "predatory rich." What has brought 
 about this change in the public attitude ? 
 
 Another measure of success in the minds of 
 some people is social position or influence in 
 the community. Both these aims are worthy 
 enough in themselves if they are not too highly 
 valued and if they are used for good ends. 
 What contributes to social standing and influ- 
 ence in your community ? What are the char- 
 acteristics of the most influential man you 
 know? How did he secure his influence? 
 
112 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 For what ends does he use his power? Con- 
 trast two men of influence, one of whom seems 
 to you to have secured his power in an honorable 
 manner and to use it for worthy ends, the other 
 of whom has both secured his influence and now 
 employs it in an unworthy manner. 
 
 A third measure of success is happiness. 
 This has the approval of many philosophers, 
 and, like wealth and influence, may be a worthy 
 end to seek. We must, however, define what 
 we mean by happiness before we can subscribe 
 to this as a measure of success. Is happiness 
 that is secured only by physical comfort or 
 by pleasurable sensation a worthy measure of 
 success? Give some specific illustration of 
 this. Does happiness result chiefly from a 
 man's wealth, from his work, from his health ? 
 Does the possession of millions of dollars 
 necessarily bring happiness? What seems to 
 you to be the highest type of happiness and 
 what is its fundamental basis ? 
 
 None of those three measures of success by 
 itself seems wholly to satisfy us. Would you 
 choose to become the richest man in your town 
 
Measure of Success 113 
 
 at the cost of lost health ? Would you deliber- 
 ately choose to become mayor of your city at 
 the cost of bribery and dishonor ? If everyone 
 were contented with his present lot, what 
 hope would there be of progress? But the 
 possession of wealth to be spent for the social 
 good, of influence to be used for the betterment 
 of society, happiness secured through service 
 for others, are all ends highly to be desired. 
 The added element of service, then, makes any 
 one of the commonly accepted standards of 
 success worthy of our best efforts. Jesus 
 discussed the relative importance of the various 
 ends for which men strive, e.g. (Matt. 6 : 19-34). 
 What did he mean when he said (vs. 33), 
 "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness; and all these things shall be 
 added unto you"? Was his life a success or 
 a failure ? Discuss the life of Lincoln from the 
 standpoint of success. Is the judgment of a 
 man*s contemporaries as to his success always 
 correct ? 
 
 Do you know of any wealthy men who may 
 be called successful according to this higher 
 
114 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 standard of service? Discuss the use they 
 make of their wealth. Discuss some men who 
 use their powerful social position or influence 
 in the service of others. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The winning of games as a measure of success in 
 athletics. 
 
 What is the measure of success in a high-school or 
 college course ? 
 
 How much money should a successful business man 
 expect to acquire ? 
 
STUDY XXI 
 THE CHOICE OF A LIFE-WORK 
 
 We discussed in the last study the measure by 
 which a man should rate success. A boy is con- 
 fronted with the serious question: What shall I 
 do in order to secure the maximum amount of 
 happiness and to render the maximum amount 
 of service to society? A few generations ago 
 this was a relatively simple problem; now it is 
 a very complex one. Discuss the reasons for 
 this change. 
 
 We shall agree that success in any occupation 
 or profession requires that one be well pre- 
 pared. Adequate provision is made at public 
 expense through the public elementary schools 
 for acquiring the fundamentals of an education. 
 The high school, college, and university also 
 make possible the specialized training required 
 for the professions and technical pursuits. The 
 present movement for industrial education 
 looks toward a complete training for skilled 
 industrial workers in the various industries. 
 
ii6 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Boys often leave school as soon as they reach 
 the age required by law and go to work. The 
 only occupation they can secure is often a 
 "blind alley" job, which leads to no advance- 
 ment. What jobs of this sort do you know of ? 
 What is the age at which compulsory education 
 ends in your state ? If boys can be taught a 
 trade, will they be more anxious to remain in 
 school after they have reached the legal age? 
 Would you favor increasing the age of required 
 school attendance ? 
 
 The opportunity for the necessary training is 
 evidently at hand; the important thing is the 
 choice of a life-work. A wrong choice is a 
 serious loss. Doubtless many a good farmer 
 has been lost to make a poor lawyer. Whether 
 a boy shall become a professional man, a farmer, 
 a merchant, or a mechanic is not a question of 
 the relative importance of these various occu- 
 pations from the social, financial, or any other 
 point of view, for they are all important and 
 desirable; it is merely the question in which of 
 these occupations is he best fitted by Nature 
 to achieve success. How may he answer this 
 
Choice of a Life-Work 117 
 
 question intelligently? To whom may he go 
 for advice? His father may be able to help 
 him, or perhaps his teacher. Vocational ad- 
 visers are provided by some school systems 
 for this purpose. Until recently, chance or a 
 passing whim have had most to do with this 
 important decision in a boy's life. Before 
 making the choice, a boy should seek the best 
 possible advice and should find out all he can 
 about the requirements for success in the field 
 of work which he is thinking of entering. Let 
 us take up briefly a number of the professions 
 and other occupations from the point of view 
 of the training required and the conditions 
 which are involved in their pursuit. 
 
 MEDICINE 
 
 For a training in medicine, the best medical 
 schools are now requiring at least two years of 
 college work for admission; some even require 
 the student to complete a college course before 
 beginning the study of medicine. The oppor- 
 tunity which the practice of medicine affords 
 for service to humanity is almost unlimited. 
 
ii8 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 The great discoveries in medicine have pre- 
 vented untold suffering. Mention some dis- 
 coveries and discuss their results, e.g., the use 
 of ether as an anesthetic. Physicians have 
 given their lives for mankind in the pursuit of 
 knowledge of diseases. Dr. Howard T. Rick- 
 etts, of Rush Medical College, while study- 
 ing spotted fever, lost his life by contracting 
 this disease. Physicians are studying the cause 
 and prevention of many diseases, e.g., cancer, 
 and it is probable that they will learn to control 
 or prevent one after another the diseases which 
 have thus far baffled them. Discuss the prog- 
 ress that has been made with such diseases 
 as smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid fever, tuber- 
 culosis. What diseases are still beyond their 
 control? What are the physical demands 
 which a physician^s life involves ? What spe- 
 cial opportunities has a physician to exert a 
 strong moral influence ? Are physicians gener- 
 ally wealthy men ? What are the hardships of 
 a physician's life ? What seem to you to be the 
 chief sources of satisfaction that a physician 
 may expect ? 
 
Choice of a Life-Work 119 
 
 LAW 
 
 The best law schools now require for ad- 
 mission two years of college work and some 
 of them require the completion of a college 
 course. The practice of law is the most com- 
 mon avenue to pubHc life, furnishing a large 
 number of the more prominent politicians 
 and public office holders. A lawyer with 
 high ideals may find abundant opportunity 
 for disinterested public service. Give some 
 illustration. Lincoln secured the epithet 
 "Honest Abe" from his practice of law. 
 Can an honest lawyer defend a client whom 
 he knows to be guilty? It is sometimes 
 thought that a boy who shows an aptitude 
 for public speaking is for this reason specially 
 adapted for the legal profession. There are 
 some things far more important than this. 
 The practice of law often does not involve the 
 pleading of cases in court. A sound knowl- 
 edge of the law and good judgment in giving 
 advice are more important than brilHancy in 
 speech. Mention some great lawyers who have 
 maintained the highest standards for success. 
 
I20 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 Do lawyers in general seem to you to maintain 
 high standards ? 
 
 TEACHING 
 
 Teaching does not usually make a strong 
 appeal to a boy as a life-work. To what extent 
 is this due to the small salaries of teachers ? to 
 the impression which your teachers made on 
 you? to the unattractiveness of a teacher's 
 work ? The great majority of teachers in this 
 country are women; in Germany all the 
 teachers in the schools corresponding to our 
 high schools are men. Has this anything to 
 do with the situation ? With the more exact- 
 ing professional training required of teachers 
 and the corresponding increase in salaries, it 
 is likely that teaching will become a more 
 attractive profession for men. What seem to 
 you to be the most essential requirements for 
 successful teaching ? No profession, save pos- 
 sibly the ministry, offers a greater opportunity 
 for effective social service. The high-school 
 teacher has unusual opportunities. Why is 
 this? Discuss the relative importance of the 
 church, the school, and the home in the moral 
 
Choice of a Life-Work 121 
 
 training of high-school boys. How may a high- 
 school teacher best influence the character of 
 his students? 
 
 THE MINISTRY 
 
 Perhaps the ministry seems even less attract- 
 ive than teaching to the boy who is thinking 
 of his life-work. Discuss the reasons for this. 
 Thousands of the best young men in our col- 
 leges have enlisted as student volunteers in the 
 work of the Christian ministry in foreign lands. 
 Why does the life of the foreign missionary 
 make a stronger appeal to young men than that 
 of the preacher at home ? Great changes have 
 taken place in the scope and method of training 
 men for the ministry. A thorough study of the 
 conditions and needs of society and of the 
 means by which the church may meet these 
 has taken the place of much of the formal, 
 doctrinal teaching of the past. The work of 
 the minister is coming to have a vital connection 
 with the real issues of the life of today. The 
 ministry of the modem church should appeal to 
 a boy who really desires to use his talents to the 
 utmost advantage. Discuss the church as a 
 
122 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 social center for the education and amusement 
 as well as for the strictly religious training of the 
 community. Should a minister confine his 
 preaching simply to what are regarded as reli- 
 gious subjects, or should he discuss the social 
 and political questions of the day ? The Young 
 Men's Christian Association and various forms 
 of social service offer a similar appeal to that 
 of the ministry. Discuss the opportunities in 
 these fields. 
 
 BUSINESS 
 
 In earlier years only those boys went to col- 
 lege who were preparing for one of the so-called 
 learned professions. Now the majority of the 
 members of the graduating classes of our large 
 universities intend to enter business. Is a 
 college course necessary for success in business ? 
 What advantages has a college graduate in 
 business ? Is he likely to make a greater suc- 
 cess than the man who began as a boy to learn 
 the business by actual experience? Why is a 
 business life so attractive to a boy ? Compare 
 the methods of business today with those of 
 former times. Discuss the effect of the tele- 
 
Choice of a Life-Work 123 
 
 phone, typewriter, stenography, etc., upon the 
 life of a business man. What are the best uses 
 a business man can make of his leisure ? Which 
 have the greater influence upon the life of a 
 city or town, its professional or its business men ? 
 What are the advantages and disadvantages 
 of business as a life-work ? 
 
 ENGINEERING 
 
 The various branches of engineering — me- 
 chanical, electrical, civil, etc. — afford an attract- 
 ive field for young men whose interests and 
 abilities lie in the field of mathematics and 
 applied sciences. The great material develop- 
 ment of an industrial and commercial age offers 
 a vast field for the use of engineering skill. 
 Ability and training of a high order will com- 
 mand an excellent financial return. Many 
 boys have doubtless taken up the study of 
 engineering without a very good idea of what 
 was involved. Only rarely is a Goethals needed 
 to dig an inter-oceanic canal; most engineers 
 live inconspicuous lives with their full share 
 of drudgery and hardship, and without large 
 
124 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 financial returns. Before deciding upon any 
 form of engineering, one should, if possible, talk 
 with some experienced engineer. Training in 
 engineering furnishes excellent preparation for 
 many kinds of business, particularly in manu- 
 facturing lines. Discuss some of the most 
 conspicuous achievements in the field of modem 
 engineering. 
 
 FARMING 
 
 One of the most marked characteristics of the 
 present time is the tendency for people to 
 crowd together into cities. The most ambitious 
 boys from the country have left the farms for 
 the city. What has attracted them ? But in 
 the last few years, there has been a noticeable 
 change. Life in the country has become more 
 comfortable and attractive. Discuss the effect 
 of the telephone and rural mail delivery upon 
 life on the farm. What other similar changes 
 have come about? Agricultural colleges and 
 courses in agriculture in the high schools have 
 introduced scientific methods of tilling the soil, 
 dairying, and other farm activities. The mod- 
 
Choice of a Life-Work 125 
 
 em farmer, then, is a man of scientific training, 
 who lives under conditions as hygienic and com- 
 fortable as the dwellers in the towns or cities. 
 What are the comparative advantages of coun- 
 try and city life? Which seem to you the 
 greater? Discuss the effect of improved ma- 
 chinery upon the life of the farmer. 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 The mechanical trades. Forestry. The army and 
 navy. Politics. 
 
STUDY XXII 
 RELIGION 
 
 We have reserved to the last the supreme 
 problem of boyhood, the boy's relation to God. 
 Man is by nature a reUgious being. Our minds 
 naturally inquire the origin of the world and of 
 life, and find an adetjuate explanation only in 
 a supreme intelligence which has created and 
 which now controls the universe. Primitive 
 peoples have seen the manifestation of God in 
 the sun, in fire, and in other natural objects 
 and phenomena and have made these the objects 
 of worship. Show how this was natural. The 
 highly imaginative Greeks developed a great 
 and complex system of gods. The Hebrews 
 conceived the idea of one God, the all-wise, 
 all-powerful, everywhere-present ruler of the 
 universe. 
 
 Whether one is a Jew or a Christian, a Metho- 
 dist or a Baptist depends in a large degree upon 
 the religious belief of his parents. But religion 
 is fundamentally a personal matter, and, as 
 126 
 
Religion 127 
 
 such, is not concerned primarily with matters 
 of creed, or with forms of worship, but is rather 
 a matter of experience and finds its expression 
 in conduct. Jesus said (Matt. 7:21): "Not 
 every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, 
 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but 
 he that doeth the will of my Father which 
 is in heaven." In the Epistle of James, we 
 find reUgion defined as follows: "Pure religion 
 and undefiled before our God and Father is 
 this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their 
 aflaiction, and to keep oneself unspotted from 
 the world" (James 1:27). What two aspects 
 of rehgion are included here ? Is this all there 
 is to rehgion ? 
 
 If your parents are members of a church, 
 you have probably been accustomed to attend 
 church and Sunday school; perhaps you have 
 yourself joined some church. If so, have you 
 ever thought out for yourself what are your 
 obligations to your church and community ? If 
 you have not yet become a member of a church, 
 have you thought seriously about your obliga- 
 tion to do so ? 
 
128 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 The church represents those ideals which are 
 most important for the moral and social welfare 
 of the community. Discuss the influence of the 
 church in such questions as the saloon, the social 
 evil, child welfare. What would be the condi- 
 tions in your town if the churches were re- 
 moved ? To be sure, not all men who are influ- 
 ential in moral issues are church members. 
 Consider who are the most influential men in 
 your community. How many of them are not 
 members of churches? Are the churches be- 
 coming more influential in matters concern- 
 ing the public welfare or less? Can you not 
 probably make your life count for more in your 
 community by uniting with some church? 
 Membership in a church assures one the sym- 
 pathy and help of others. Do you not need 
 such a help and safeguard ? 
 
 In order to be religious or to be in right rela- 
 tionship with God, is it necessary to be a mem- 
 ber of a church? Is the fact that there are 
 persons outside the church who live more 
 exemplary lives than some church members a 
 good argument against uniting with the church ? 
 
Religion 129 
 
 K you are a member of a church, what benefits 
 have you received from this membership? 
 Should one rate the value of church member- 
 ship solely on the basis of benefits received? 
 What do you contribute to the work of your 
 church ? 
 
 What are the hindrances which keep boys 
 from uniting with the church ? The ceremonies 
 required in the act of joining the church often do 
 not appeal to a boy. He finds it difficult to 
 understand their meaning. What is the value 
 and meaning of such a ceremony as baptism? 
 Would church membership be as significant if it 
 were secured without any formal ceremony? 
 The activities of the church have often been 
 adapted to the needs of older persons rather 
 than to those of boys. Emphasis has seemed 
 until recently to be placed more on the things 
 which a member may not do than upon the 
 enjoyable activities in which he may share. 
 What restrictions has the church in the past 
 placed upon amusements ? What changes are 
 taking place in this respect ? What opportu- 
 nities does your church afford for a boy to 
 
130 Problems of Boyhood 
 
 have a good time? What further opportu- 
 nities would you suggest in this direction? 
 What is the basis upon which to decide what it 
 is proper for a member of a church to do ? 
 
 People sometimes seem to regard religion as 
 a matter belonging only to Sunday. What rela- 
 tion has religion to a man's conduct in the office 
 or the factory? Has reHgion anything to do 
 with a boy on the football field or in the class- 
 room at school ? If religion is a matter of liv- 
 ing, is there any place or activity to which it 
 does not belong ? If you are not a member of a 
 church, what satisfactory reason can you give 
 for not becoming such ? 
 
 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 
 
 Asceticism of the Middle Ages. Christ's attitude 
 toward social life (see John 2:1-11). The church as a 
 social center. Organized labor and the church. 
 
YB 30967 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY