The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-02
Mrs. Margaret Collier Graham
Points Out the Dazzling
Route.
BOYS AND THEIR TEACHING
Mrs. May Reese Eloquently Pleads
for Practical Training in
Childhood.

dlhOSG CNcIy OdHUd DdIOdld WOlIdu w
day. and distinguished half of the audi
ence gathered at the Methodist church
where the morning business session was
held. In the afternoon there was seen in
the audience that packed the church a
sprinkling of the sterner sex, among them
Judge Wright, Edward Ivison, DR.. Max
well, Professor Snow, the Rev. Mr.. Dins-
more and the Rev. Alexander Grant, the
latter making a pithy speech in response
to one of the papers.
Mrs. May Reese of Santa Paula opened
Boys" taking the ground that primary
training was the most important part OF
education, and making an eloquent plea
that the care and teaching of young chill
dren should not be turned over to the ser.
wants, but should be personally under
taken by the mother and the father. She
raised many practical points, which were
discussed in two-minute speeches by Mrs.
Stickney of Los Angeles, a lady of culture
and education, who has recently joined the
Salvation Army; Mrs. Marsh of Santa
Barbara, Mrs. Bodkin of Goleta, Mrs.
Franklin of Carpenteria, Mrs. Spaulding
of Pasadena, Mrs. Hamer, Mrs. Wells,
Mrs. Fredericks, Mrs. Cameron and Mrs.
Pritchard of Santa Barbara, Mrs. Gushing
of Oakland, DR.. Rachel Reed and others.
Mrs. Elwood Cooper next presented a
paper on "Food Authorizations, She
quoted from the reports of government
chemists, showing the poisonous and dele
terious compositions entering into the
various brands of manufactured foods
and urged that public sentiment should
be SO agitated as to lead to system o1
government supervision of food products
that meantime there should be an organ
ized effort by women to compel theil
grocers to keep none but pure foods. This
paper commanded serious attention, and
provoked lively discussion, which was
participated in by Mrs. Spaulding, Dr.
Reed, Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Mills, Mrs
North, Mrs. Bender, Mrs. Sheppard OF
Ventura, the Rev. Alexander Grant, Mrs
Conger Of Pasadena, Mrs. Comstock oi
Ventura, Mrs. Shrewsbury, Mrs. Mary
Lynde Craig of Redlands, Mrs. Blanchard
of Los Angeles, Mrs. Hamer and many
others.
The most popular feature of the day was
the paper entitled "The Way to Altruria, y
presented by Mrs. Margaret Collier Ora.
ham at the evening session. Mrs. Graham
has a very demure manner of speech
which lends rich flavor to her frequent
epigrams and unexpected satires.
She began by declaring that it might be
said of social conditions, as modern
critic has said of the world of art, that it is
divided between a passion for perfection
and madness for reform. We begin to
peer through the mists ahead for the shores
of Altruria. We are all bound for perfec-
ton, each on his fying-machine or trudg.
ing along on old-fashioned legs.
And we are getting on. This fact she de-
sired to emphasize. Most of us have heard
of so much cruelty exercised toward work
ingmen that we are surprised to hear a
carpenter or blacksmith whistle. Our
hearts ache for the oppressed poor, and
our heads ache for fear we are the op-
pressors. The average reformer delights in
representing society on the way down hill,
with the brake out of order and yawning
chasm at the bottom. Orators do not hesi-
tate to assure US that we are on the eve of a
great civil conflict; that labor and capital
are arrayed against each other-in short,
the muscle in mans arm and the money
in his pocket are thirsting for each others
blood.
The speaker advanced arguments and
statistics to show that the world was ad-
vancing in social conditions, rather than
retrogressing. Referring to the cry that
all poverty and distress was due to lack OF
work, Mrs. Graham alleged that poor work
IL l. l., - l.
the world back.
"Even with moral perfection. perfect
happiness would be impossible in this
world of ours" said the speaker. "While
gravity remains we shall fall down when
we lose our balance, and if we fall on rough
places there will be bruises; if we fall far
there will be death. Natural law pre-
cludes perfect happiness. Such an Altruria
as we may command then will be at the
best limited and uncertain.
"The happiness of this world depends
upon the number of objects and oppor-
tunities offered to meet the desires OF
humanity, and the number and nature of
the desires to be gratified. 1t is our duty to
lend aid to increasing the supply of legiti-
mate qualifications and decreasing the
number of lllegltimate demands. He has
narrow soul whose honest little is en-
bittered by his neighbor's aff1uence, and
he has a narrower soul who thinks his
own aff1uence necessarily sweeter than his
neighbor's little. The man who makes a
good cartwheel, or develops new rose or
strawberry, or paints good picture. or
builds good bridge tastes only the sweet
ness that brings content to human soul.
"Good work well applied is the surest
means of adding to the worlds comfort.
The kingdom of heaven cometh not by
legislation, and if, instead of denouncing
Government and society, every one of US
would spend little time examining our
selves and determining how far we have
travelled onward, Utopia would be upon US.
Every man or woman who has the intelli-
gence to discriminate between what is real