Evening star., 1897-02-18
MOTHERS CONGRESS
Continued from Third Page.)

| (Cont1nued from Third Page.)
much OF his attention to child life and
| methods of child training among the Zunis.
| The right of the mother comes first. he
said. and that Of the father second This
is the basis Of social organization among
| the tribes.
1t was a mistake. he said. to regard prim-
| ply children and belonged to the childhood
Of our race. Yet today the little mothers
| OF the Zunts. in disposition and modes of
mind. are the truest representatives on
earth Of what our gentle mothers used to
! be In the morning of mans creation. With
the Zunis the mother was first, not last.
She was the center OF the family. To her
| belonged the honor and the fame Of the
clan. Her children belonged to her. They
| though first Of all of the mother. Mr..
| Gushing related several stories to show the
veneration of the Zuni children for their
mothers, and also several pretty Indian
| legends Of motherhood. He sang a Zuni
lullaby, which was heartily applauded.
Mothers of the Submerged World.
Mothers Of the Submerged World and
DAY Nurseries" were the subjects as
signed to Mrs. Lucy S. Bainbridge of New
York city, who talked for some little time
in a most interesting and entertaining
manner of the condition of the poor wo-
men Of the submerged tenth and the diff
cultfes they encountered in the care and de-
| veiopment Of their children. She said that
as a rule the question in that sphere OF life
| is whether 1t shall be a cake of soap or a
| loaf Of bread. AS rule the bread is
| bought and the child is put to sweeping.
where a good hard scrubbing Is needed.
Fondness for luxuries is just as strong
| in this social stratum as in any other. and
| the result Is that when mother has lit
| tie money to spend she is likely to waste
on the principal necessities of life or COM
| forts. The first need that one encounters
| in dealing with people in this submerged
world is that of elevating the woman at tie
head Of the household.
Mothers should be taught to gain and
keep the respect Of their children. Moth
ers should not lie to children. and that Is
done in the upper as well as the lower
establish a course of reading for mothers
zone woman told me-, said the speaker.
my Jimmie thinks more of me because
know something Of his lessons" The solu-
tion of the question Of the amelioration of
the condition Of the people of the subworld
was personal visitation. instruction from
house to house and heart to heart.
The aid should not begin first with the
Bible, but with the care of the body. An
other important thing was to teach moth
ers cooking; to tell them what to do with
old bread ard odds and ends. Bologna
sausage, bread and strong coffee was no
nutriment for babies. Poor people could
not be told how to live. they must be per-
suaded.
Kindergarten Work.
Miss Amalie Hofer of Chicago. who is an
authority on the subject of kindergarten
work, discussed the question What the
kindergarten Means to Mothers" She said
that when we speak of kindergarten we
naturally think of the kind with which we
are familiar, recalling the placid faces of
the children and remembering it as a pref
ty sight. We often hear. she said. that
kindergarten philosophy is hard to under
stand. Its main and fundamental notion is
not to inform children, but to appear In Tie
presence of child pattern of which it is
to become. Color Is taught by pure colorS.
Lessons in nature are given In large and
general way. All so-called lessons are
presented from simple standpoint" Miss
Hcfer proceeded to outline modern kinder
garten work. and declared that kinder
garten education was an economical one.
1t started children in life on the right
course. and was the greatest social eco
nomical institution Of the day. Continuing.
Miss Hofer said that when the kindergar
ten system became general in the lubiic
schools 1t would accomplish great thirgs
for the country, and would be a daily re-
minder to those in power that their duty
was to stand as examples for their charges.
Parental Reverence.
Parental Reverence as Taught in He
brew Homes was the subject OF a paper
by Mrs. Rebekah Kohut, one of the most
have yet addressed the congress. She said
that in Jewish households the little child
was taught to utter prayer on rising each
morning and before each meal Honoring
the father and mother became the second
1.ature of child. The teaching, cursed
be he who despiseth his father and moth
err, was strongly impressed on the infant
mind When the father Of household vas
called to the synagogue to read the law the
and N silence ho
Sabbath services the father returned, and
placing his hands on his children's heads
blessed them. thus impressing with his
moral responsibility. In closing Mrs. Ko-
hut said: THE obstacles between the Jew
and the Gentle have been removed, and
we find ourselves now standing side by side
in the endeavor to ameliorate the condition
of mankind"
At the conclusion of the afternoon ses-
sion an hour was given to a question box.
and Mrs. Ellen Richardson of Boston was
introduced as the leader Of the meeting.
number Of questions with reference to
various phases Of the care and education
Of children were presented. and a number
of women in the audience who were rec
ognized as authorities on the various SUBJ
Jects were called upon to reply to them. 1t
was most entertaining and valuable fea-
ture OF the program of the day.
The Evening Session.
At the evening session there was another
very large audience, so large that extra
chairs had to be placed in every available
position, and yet a number of women were
compelled to stand throughout the session.
The first paper of the evening was pre-
sented by Mrs. w. F. Crafts Of this CITY,
superintendent of the Sunday school de-
partment of the worlds w. c. T. T.. and
president of the International Primary
Union Of Sunday School Teachers. She
spoke at some length Of the pressing need
for a greater interest on the part of pa
rents generally in the work of their chill
dren at school, when away from their di-
rect influence. In the course of her ad-
dress she said:
Parents, particularly mothers. should
put in the list of their solemn obligations:
Frequent visitation of the schools attended
by their children, thorough acquaintance
with the teachers OF their children, Coop
Grafton with the school plans AS mothers
have given a science to education. it would
be well to give mothers places upon school
boards. as is done in London and other
large cities. What mothers might be able
s-f.