THE YOUNG IDEA.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1732, 30 June 1917, Page 4

THE YOUNG IDEA.

Recently I was discussing- the question of whether it is a good thing- for children to hear about the war, says a writer in an exchange. One mother was of the opinion that they should know nothing, hut the general view was that children ought to understand a_little what their fathers are enduring- for their sake*. I wish that in England we had something- to correspond with the French Children’s League. 1 have just been reading in the Petit Journal an account of a touching ceremony t/hicli recently took place at Hie Hotel do Ville, Chartres. It was the occasion of the decoration of ten children for services rendered during time of war. One little boy 12 years of age was presented with a bronze medal for having worked courageously on a farm during his holidays, and having shown what help a schoolchild can give his country. M. Maurice Charpentier, Presi-' dent of the Chamber of Commerce, made a stirring speech, and congratulated the children of fourteen who had worked night and day in the munition factories, filling shells and doing other work, and stated that in France the war had revealed the wonderful character of children, their love of action, and their spirit of adventure.