The San Francisco call., 1896-05-11

ance and patience.
when they have force of character
enough to conceive any national enter
prise or reform they are sure to carry 1t
through.
"a finer type of capable, refined and
educated womanhood never lived than
now.
1--WE should stand in admiration OF their
unbroken trust and indefatigable energy.
"Woman's devotion TO the home and
native land is no passing impulse-no
mere emotion.
During the last half century the sphere
of her work has greatly increased and en-
larged, until all great reforms bear her
name and character.
1.-THE time has come when we need to
put the right suffrags in the hands of our
mothers and daughters.
"All rightful civil government is only
an enlarged form of the family govern
ment in representative form, taking into
consideration the needs of each individual
family within its jurisdiction. The only
safeguard to National perpetuity, peace
and honor is the unity and perpetuity of
the family tie in purity and peace. 1t is
well said: 'DemoraliZe the family and you
thereby destroy domestic and National
happiness and undermine completely the
temple OF virtue and hope and prepare the
way of moral and civil desolation.' The
family is the first institution and lies at
the basis of all that is good in society and
permanent in government. Here the first
lessons of patriotism and morality are
taug Mt and the first fruits of all that is
good and pure are brought forth, nurtured
and largely developed. Here the best pos
sibilities OF social, national and religious
LIE commence to unfold, and just to the
degree that any people departs from the
true idea and form of the family ties is
that people noted for incivility and
x
ter of the nation-the national never ris-
ing above the home life. Talmage says:
'Wnen at last we come to calculate the
forces that decide the destiny of nations,
1t will be found that the migntiest and
grandest influence came from home.
Spurgeon called home the grandest of all
institutions Dryden termed it the
ready to conclude with the writer who
says, 1t is therefore within the family
circle that the star of hope, of religion and
civil rights is to be seen, and let it go
down and all would be turned into the
dismal darkness of midnight without
moon or star to guide the weary pilgrim
on his way. This being true, we must
regard with exceeding anxiety any indica-
tlons of degeneracy in our home life and
guard with eternal vigilance the purity
and sacredness of the family tie.
John Gray said the hand that rocks
the cradle rules the world We are all
very largely indebted 20 the influences
that cluster around our cradles for what
ever good there may be in our character
and condition. One in writing on the
mothers influence has we'll said: If she
is in the best sense womanlv-if she is true
and tender, loving and heroic, patient and
self-devoted, she consciously and uncon-
sciously organizes and puts into opera
ticn set of influences that do more to
r.Nd L
man uncrowned by the power of eloquence
can possibly effect The men of the ma
ton are what their mothers make them
as rule, and the voice that those men
speak IN the expression of power is the
y DICE OF the woman who bore and bred
them. There can be no substitute for
this.
mere is no other possible way IN which
the women Of the Nation can organize
their influence and power that will tell so
benehcially upon society and the State.
do not say that homelife is woman's
limit. Her ambition may transcend its
duties, and her talents and influence NAV
reach far beyond its doors, yet believe
before everything else she should build up
q true home from whose walls shall come
iorth the true woman and the true man.
who shall together rule and bless the
land While believe in woman's rights
and woman's suffrage, and the use of
woman's ability to speak from the public
platform, or the wisdom that com mands
the seat of the Judges bench, and would
freely grant unto her equal privileges with
man, l believe no higher dignity nor
greater honor can be given her than to
reign the undisputed honored queen of
the home.
"Mrs. Beecher says: TO be the guiding
star, the ruling spirit. in such position is
higher honor than to rule an empire
1l,av1 Nf al
be overestimated. First-Her influence
begins early in life. Education begins in
children long before they are responsible.
1t begins when they begin to see and feel
and observe, and about all they see and
feel and observe in infancy is mother
If early impressions are elementary prin-
ciples out of which mature life is organ
lied how profoundly important 1t is that
those impressions are good and ennobling.
Second-The mothers influence is living
power, molding character and directing
conduct. ! believe that home is the most
powerful school in the world, and that
the mothers influence is mightier than
pulpits and thrones. Napoleon said, the
future good or bad conduct of a child de-
pends entirely on the mother Third-Her
influence makes permanent impressions
upon the life of her children.
Richter said: Every first thing con-
tinues forever with the child; the first
color, the nrSt music, The first flower, paint
the foreground of life. Every new edu-
Gator affects less than his predecessor
until at last, if we regard ali life as an
educational institute, a circumnavigator
of the world is less influenced by all the
nations ne has seen than by his nurse
"Wesley's mother was q holy woman,
and she so impressed her children that
Methodism, which has been a crown of
glory TO this old world, originated with
one OF her sons. Abraham Lincoln said,
'All l am or can be / owe to nv angel
mother Truly mothers are the sculptors
OF The coming men and women. l believe
that the mother is seen in her most sacred
and dignilied character in the home
Many of our noblest patriots, most holy
ministers, most profound scholars spring
from such homes, where they were stimu.
lated to their excellence and usefulness by
the holy principles taught by pious
mothers.
"The mother is the divinely appointed
teacher and guide of her children. Lam
guage cannot describe the power of her in |
huence in moulding the character of |
others, the condition of families and |
destines of empires. On, that the mother |
realized the end for which eyerv child is |