PREVENTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 October 1917, Page 6

PREVENTION.

SHALL WE TELL OUR CHILDREN? PROTECTION OF THE LITTLii ONES. LADY DOCTOR'S .VIEWS. Lecturing at Christchurch hist week under the auspices of the Workers' Educational Association, Dr. Maude Fere said:—

"Have the State, clergy and parents done their whole duty to the little ones? What have they done to instruct the children in proper knowledge of themselves, of sex instincts and the methods and reasons for self-control? All intelligent children exhibit Godgiven curiosity on these matters almost as soon as they can talk, and' many children exhibit in their very cradles evidences of the stirring of sensation of the strongest passion in life. The devil's parrot-cry has been, 'Keep the little ones in ignorance, that I may the easier destroy them.' When will the people learn that ignorance is not innocence? The bitter, bitter fruits of our neglect are even now returning to k their homes. Will we be warned and at least save the children?"

Continuing, the lecturer said:— "WOIII4 that some parents I know of could publish the letters from their boys at the front containing agonised cries of reproach—those boys who are looking death in the face to save us. One ot them wrote: 'Why was I never taught in my home how to control my passion? Why was I never even taught that the first attribute of a man was to exercise self-control?' Small use for Army chaplains to preach at deep-rooted, lifelong habits of self-indulgence." And yet, the speaker said, at the present moment there seems to be little effort made here excepting for the eversecret scheming of certain adults, who cry, "It is useless to try to practisp self-control, it is impossible and unnatural." Such wish to make lasciviousness more safe by a re-introduction of the obnoxious C.D. Act. They only seek to protect themselves from the bulldogs of Virtue. To all those who would wallow in the filthy slime with the 'votaries of the Goddess of Lust, one would say, "Remember Circe and her swine." After explaining that syphilis is characterised by warts, rashes and ulcers and gonorrhoea by inflammation and exudations, the lecturer went 011 to say that there are indeed safer, surer and thoroughly honorable ways of protecting the innocents, and all rightminded people will surely take them. But to merely give the child sex' knowledge without a background of moral principle is worse than useless, for Man is Mind, Body and Soul, and to Educate a child to become a fine adult daily education must be given to all three parts of hiin. Britishers might well emulate the Germans in their greater attention to physical culture in the schools. Wo might also gain many good hints from their methods of men. tal culture, but let us not copy them, as we are now doing in our schools, in utterly excluding the daily culture of the souls of the children. Would wo expect to rear a healthy body on one meal a week? No, neither can we rear a healthy soul on one meal a week in Sunday schools. For parallel laws govern both the spiritual and physical world. If we must exclude Christ and His Book from our schools, at least let us include the teaching of His ideals, namely, "Love and Reverence for God," and "Do as we would be done bv."

' The former, the lecturer said, can be inculcated by pointing out God's handiwork (luring Nature studies. Let lis call to mind Carlyle's words, written long before the war:—"High intelligence linked with low ideals is responsible for the greater sum of human miser)-.'' Could there be a better instance than in the Germans? There is not a more eloquent testimony to the results of our present system of education than the young people's frequently reiterated and selfish gag—"That's no good to me." "Who will deny that there is one method in which public money is not wasted, viz., in proper and efficient education? And again, mental sweating is even more disastrous than physical. Are the public aware that there is a terrible amount of sweating done amongst our school teachers—too big .classes and too little salaries? The lecturer stated that never evpn in England, had she found greater nervous wrecks than she had found here in her school teacher patients.' Given three years of painstakingly instructing a class of sixty children,"and the average woman is neither fit to be wife nor mother. Is this right? What can the schools do for the prevention of venereal diseases whilst these wrongs exist? And is not the teaching profession the most important, for it indeed moulds the future life and destiny of our race? Many parent's having come at last to a realisation of their plain duty to their children to instruct them in "sex mysteries stand aghast with the question of "how can I tell them?" Well, many fine books are printed to help them in their dilemma, and she could furnish a list of such. It would be well to bear in mind that self-repression is not selfcontrol. Self-control is attained by the conversion of the primal force of procreation into the higher primal force of others' preservation or altruism. Continuing the lecturer said that briefly, the methods to be employed to ensure self-control arc: Cultivate high principle by daily feeding the soul with prayer and Bible study;' learn correct feeding of the body; no luxus consumption, more vegetable meat and less animal meat. Avoid animal meat, fish, cheese and eggs at the third meal of the day. Avoid lascivious books, plays, pictures and companions. Avoid drinking going to bed. Avoid feather beds. Avoid stimulants, alcohol, tea, coffee and condiments. iPay strict daily attention to the. bowels.

To avoid incontinence adolescent boys should be taught to avoid lying on tiic back. An empty reel tied over the spine with a piece of tape round the body is efficacious. Also they should Ibe taught the prompt benefit of cold water and even ice in extreme cases in causing a relaxation of painfully rigid muscular contraction. All should know that cold sitz baths while vigorously frictioning the abdomen with a dry loofah sponge are also efficacious ih preserving continence. They should also take plenty of daily walking exercise and daily tepid or cold baths. All should daily bathe all irritating particles from the external mucus membranes. Teach every child plainly the great dangers in self-abuse. Always be surrounded with an atmosphere of fresh air. Go early to bed and rise early. Teach each to daily endeavour to promote the welfare of others as well as his own. This mental attitude is extremely important If self-control is to be attained.

Last, not least, learn tbe truth