Nowhere does the luminousness of William Allen
White's shrewd phrase, "That type of ponderous folly
of the middle-aged which we term mature judgment,"
stand out more vividly than in some of the chronic
and historic clashes between paternal and filial judg-
ment. What is wisdom in the old would be folly in
the young; but naturally the old can't see it. Why
can't each generation let the next live its own life and
solve its own problems, unaided and unhindered save
by its counsel, which the younger generation will be
eager to have and value most highly if it is only left to
itself and allowed to discover its value by a Uttle harm-
less experience, instead of having it thrust down its
throat unasked in solid chunks? To administer food
with a stomach pump four times a day is not the way
to stimulate an appetite for it.
