With ninety-nine out of a hundred families the deciding argument in
favor of going to the suburb has just got into short dresses and begun
to say "Da-da." Already we see pointings to the childish activities
that we would not check. No one who stops to think about it chooses to
have his children play in the city streets or be confined to a flat
during the open months. For the children's sake, if not for our own,
we turn to the country, and one of our first thoughts is for the
children's school.

I called on a young business acquaintance recently and found him
engrossed in examining a pile of college catalogues. "Going in for a
post-grad?" I inquired. "Why, haven't you heard?" he responded. "It's
a boy--week ago Saturday. Er--would you say Yale or Harvard?"

This was preparedness with a vengeance, to be sure; but almost before
we realize that infancy is past, the boy and girl will be ready for
school, and it is important to know that the right school will be ready
for them. Happily, the suburban school is usually of special
excellence, and the chief thought must be of distance and whether the
children will need to cross dangerous railroad tracks.

We shall, of course, wish to be where there are strong churches, with a
society of our chosen denomination, if possible. It may be that the
social life which has its center there will provide all the relaxation
we require; if we seek outside circles, it is desirable to know whether
we are likely to please and be pleased. Always there is the suburban
club; but not always is the suburban club representative of the really
best people of the town.