WORLD NEWSGRAMS
James O. Henry, M.A., Editor, Associate prof, of History, Biola Bible College
interest.” Cheap radio and television types of entertainment which appeal to the emotional urges of children have displaced previous types of child training. To illustrate his point Allison uses the home of John Adams, second Pres ident of the United States, and the training of his son, John Quincy Adams. Allison states that, “ at five John Quincy Adams had read Rollins Ancient History. At seven he was taught French by his mother Abigail Adams. At ten John Quincy Adams •had read Paradise Lost and compar able books. At 12 young Adams had entered Leyden University in Holland as a regularly enrolled student, where he distinguished him self as a student of Latin and Greek.” While Allison does not mention the spiritual training of John Quincy Adams, history teaches us that such training was never neglected in the early American home. This serves as an example of what could be done in the average American home today. Rootlegging Dog Police officials of Salzburg, Austria recently arrested 20 men who had been training a dog to smuggle Rus sian alcohol into West Germany. The dog, caught by customs officials, had been taught to swim from the Aus trian to the German bank of the river Saalach with a container filled with four and a half gallons of al cohol on its back. Israel Deer Sold in the Vnited States The Israel Digest of September 6, 1954 reports that “ The first consign ment of beer exported from Israel arrived in New York recently.” The consignment of 12 thousand cases came from the National Brewery, Ltd., producers of Abir beer. “ A total of 2.5 million bottles of beer worth $200,000 will be exported from Israel this year according to one of the factory owners. The beer is sold in the United States at three bottles for a dollar.” THE KING'S BUSINESS
At the end of last year, 19,363 prisoners were in federal institutions, an increase of 1,349 or 7.5 per cent compared with December 31, 1952. State prisons housed 153,366, an in crease of 4,006 or 2.7 per cent. An important factor in the an nouncement was a raise in the num ber of paroled prisoners being re incarcerated for parole violation. Women prisoners at the end of 1953 numbered 6,670, an increase of 431, or 6.9 per cent during the year. Colombia Denies Persecution of Protestants Lucio Pabon Nunez, Minister of the Interior for Colombia, said recently “ a misconception of Colombians by United States citizens” was at the bottom of charges that Colombia has persecuted Protestants. He said much misunderstanding would disappear if those who made the accusations “would realize that we are a civilized people and not savages to be catechized,” and if they realize that “ Colombian democracy is based on the precepts of Catholi cism.” He said further “ that if these things were realized, those making the charges also would understand why the government restricted public Protestant propaganda.” His remarks are in the form of a reply to the request of the 17th Gen eral Council of the World Presbyter ian Alliance, in which the Council called on the government of Colombia to grant freedom to religious minor ities. Training in the Home Guy S. Allison writing on the question “Were children in the early days of our country farther advanced in schoolwork than they are at pres ent?” said, “ In the earlier days of our history, when the center of thinking was largely in the home, it was neces sary to draw on the inner resources for in te re s t and entertainment, whereas at present, youngsters have to be subjected to a thousand and one artificial things to arouse their
Anti-Religious Propaganda in Russia
The Soviet Trade Union newspa per, Trud, declared in a short article recently that a tailoring factory in Gorky has only 30 anti-religious books among the 3,000 volumes in its library. “ It is imperative,” Trud warned, “ that anti-religious propa ganda be intensified in Russia.” Rowdyism and Juvenile Delinquency Rowdyism is reported to be on the down grade in Detroit. The Police Youth Bureau of that city estimates this kind of juvenile trouble has fallen off 25 per cent. This drop is due, in part, to a derivative of the old “ spare the rod and spoil the child” rule. The courts have adopted a “ get tough” policy. Teen-age of fenders have been jailed, instead of the usual reprimanding. Inspector Ralph Baker, head of the Police Youth Bureau, said “ the de crease in juvenile rowdyism stems from the court’s stern attitude and an aroused citizenry. People have begun to step forward and ask what can be done.” Mayor Albert E. Cobo’s youth com mittee cooperating with the police, court, schools, churches and other groups has set out on a program against rowdyism and delinquency in general. The pattern set by Detroit might well be used by other cities with delinquency problems. Both Federal and State penal in stitutions in the United States held 172,729 inmates at the end of 1953, the Federal Bureau of Prisons re ported recently. This count, the highest total in 13 years, was an increase of 3.2 per cent over the previous year, with the fed eral government locking up more persons, proportionately, than the states. 20 Prisons in V-S- Hold Peak Totals Since 1 9 4 0
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