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The Death
of Bobby Franks
Should Not
Be In
Vain
And I want to say this, that the death of poor
little Bobby Franks should not be in vain. Would it mean anything if on
account of that death, these two boys were taken out and a rope tied around
their necks and they died felons? Would that show that Bobby Franks had
a purpose in his life and a purpose in his death? No, your Honor, the unfortunate
and tragic death of this weak young lad should be something. It should
mean an appeal to the fathers and the mothers, an appeal to the teachers,
to the religious guides, to society at large. It should mean an appeal
to all of them to appraise children, to understand the emotions that control
them, to understand the ideas that possess them, to teach them to avoid
the pitfalls of life. Society, too, should assume its share of the burdens
of this case, and not make two more tragedies, but use this calamity as
best it can to make life safer, to make childhood easier, and more secure,
to do something to cure the cruelty, the hatred, the chance, and the wilfulness
of life.