THE PEOPLE'S FORUM

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 118, 21 May 1938, Page 23

THE PEOPLE'S FORUM

From Our Readers To Our Readers. CRIME PREVENTION AND PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. (To the Editor.)

If has been said that man is born a er ininal. He does not become one. That ni.ui evolves from the criminal through ci'- illation and the cultivation of the hi.-her mind. If this is true, then we deplore the sale of such literature an i tin 1 showing of motion pictures calculated to stimulate these criminal ininherent in humanity. It is gr.ui;> iiig to see that some parents are at lu-t realising their responsibility to t.i ■ cliilil. and to the nation, and are eii.l>'-a\ I'tiring to prohibit the sale of I ol'-ii'uc literature that can be bought so freely by young people to-day. Children of an impressionable age, going to and fr"tn school daily, pass magazine shops an I libraries displaying in their windows d"«nti of highly coloured magazines portraying the most revolting crimes imaginable. 'We read in the papers that. in Italy a few days ago thousands of young lads, carrying dummy rifles, paraded before Hitler, during his recent visit to that country— young lads under ten, cleverly trained, educated and .'nstrncted in crime. The future armies of Italy! Young girls are being trained and instructed in the came fashion in some countries, and these girls are to become the future mothers of the race. So subtle are some of the magazine publishers that ■we have magazines purporting to contain articles on psychology, but containing stories of the most revolting sex practices, and these magazines are on sale in Auckland, or were until recently. The question arises, what can parents do to prevent crime and to direct the thoughts of their children into the proper channels? Although most of these magazines come from America, much is being done in that country, and a great deal has been done by our Catholic brethren and others, who are taking a firm stand, and these societie« have been responsible for the making of better and cleaner motion pictures, and the eliminating of objectionable scenes from such pictures. Although a start has been made, it is evident that much remains to be done yet. Parents should eo-operate with school teacher* and headmasters in these matters. More taraera clubs should be organised in the schools, and children should be taught to observe, photograph and care for birds and animals, and be taught to act as their protectors, not their enemies. Education begins in the home, and if all parents who read this will determine to act right now, and. confiscate all objectionable literature that their children inav be reading, and replace this with better and more wholesome literature, this will go a long way towards the prevention of much crime. G. A. FRANKLIN.