TRAINING THE BOY.

White Ribbon, Volume 31, Issue 367, 18 January 1926, Page 5

TRAINING THE BOY.

AN INTERNATIONAL SPIRIT. 11 >KA S AND II >WA I >?. (From an address at the Y.M.I’.A., Wellington. by Mr Edgar M. Robinson. Chief Kxecutive Offic r. Hoys’ Work Section of the Y.M.(\A. World’s (V>mm it tee). In speaking on the subject of the "International Hoy" the speaker said he was frequently asked to speak on th* 1 topic of “The International Hoy.” but he had to admit that most of the boys he met were intensely national, rather than international in their viewpoint, and that the international l»oy was more a loy of the future than a l>oy of today. He thought that one of the great dan gers of New Zealand in this resi>ec! would arise from its geographical iso la tion. and the possible feeling that New Zealand had relatively little responsibility in eonnecticn with the affairs of the world. "1 caa well see how New Zealand people.” continued the speaker, “could get in o ttat attitude of mind of feeling that their sole responsibility is the building up of this beautiful country, and to let the rest of the world take care of itself “One of the great problems liefore the world to-day is the cultivating of that attitude of mind which would enable the nations to liv * together happily. No amount of arguments would eve - ultimately ensure th<pra<v of the world: worldwide peace could only come from an attitude or mind. Wmld jsmoo could only lx> based on the art of living together, and not on the art of trying to exterminate each other Von Moltke. the great strategist of Germany, a gen s.dion or so ago said. ’Whatever idea < r Ideal you \'ish to dominate « nation, you must tlrst

lay hold of the growing boys;’ and Germany deliberately set out to implant in the minds of their boys certain ideals and ideas, so that the nation thought as a community on those points in the generation that followed. “What ideas and ideals are being implanted in the minds of the boyhood of New Zealand with reference to world peace and happy relations between nations? Are the ideas and ideals intensely national or do they go beyond that point? We were faced to-<Yiy with the problem that civilisation <ould not progress much further unless some plan was effected whereby the nalions of tin* world could live more happily together. Some kind of society of mitlons, some kind of federation of mankind, is essen tial. Is it not possible that each nation would gain immediately by such an arrangement? To accomplish that, a certain attitude is necessary on the i>art of all nations, and that state of mini can only come through the education of youth. ... It would be possible in the smallest towns of New Zealand, and in the schools of New Zealand cities, to develop l>oys who might become not only national leaders, hut leaders in world wide affairs.”—*From the Welling ton “Post.”