There is a very real sense in which the social unit and the principles of government, authority for the ruler, &nd subordination in the governed. have their birth-place and sanction in the home as their source and nur-serv. Safeguard the family and you will have nothing to fear for the state, but if parental authority becomes enfeebled, if disrespect and disobedience are allowed in the home it will soon appear as insubordina-Yon in the state. If the springs are defiled, what chance is there for the river to be pure. If we permit et the base of the whole social structure. There never was a day when it was more necessary to emphasize teaching of the Fifth Commandment. Family life with its ideals as we knew them is becoming a rare thing. Parental authority is too often disregarded and it is to be fered that the fault is with the elders for the children are not being brought up and trained in that reverence and respect for their elders that prevailed Just as they will stand up for their religion and fight for the principles of justice. I would premise, therefore, that upon the condition of family life depends the moral and spiritual welfare of the community. That which attacks the homes cuts at the root of our life as a nation. and yet there are tendencies at work today which are fraught with the utmost danger to the family as a stable institution. One might mention the teaching of the modern novel with its sentimental presentation of Marriage and its over-emphasis on the matter-of sex relationships. Hesty marriages and facilities for breaking the union on insufficient grounds. The growing popularity of club life which makes the home simply a place in which to sleep and sometimes to take one's meals. The old home life is fast disappearing and with it the possibility of a healthy family life.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.