Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-02-19
THE MOTHERS CONGRESS
The Attendance Has OutgroWn
All Expectations.
IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS
Several Meetings Held Outside of the Regular
Session.
FOUR BAPTIST CHURCHES CROWDED
To Their Utmost Capacity and There Was
Not an Available Seat in the Church
Where the Regular Session
Was Held.
IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS
FOUR BAPTIST CHURCHES CROWDED

Washington Feb 1S.-The National
Congress of Mothers, now holding its first
session, in this city, has outgrown the
expecta tions of its most sanguine promo
ters by the number of delegates in at
tendance, the Importance of its discus
sions and the interest manifested in its
proceedings Some of the lady promo
ters of the congress who recently esti-
mated a probable attendance of 200 or
300 ladies, were overwhelmed by the pres
ence of 1900 or more at the first session,
with constant aecessions. This necessi-
tated a sudden and complete remodelling
of the plans for housing the convention
and conducting the exercises.
Besides the regular sessions of the con-
gress today several meetings were held
this morning before the regular session,
at which different members of the con-
gress presided. In the banquet hall of
the Arlington hotel, Mrs. Henry ]. Fin
ley, chairman of the press committee,
presided over conference.
Dr. Ada l.. Thomas made short ad-
dress entitled, Accidents; What to DO
Before the Doctor Comes"
At the conclusion of DR.. Thomas ad-
dress, Mrs. Hornpenn, Mrs. Heyelsberger
and Miss Alice Fletcher, of the Authro-
biological society, gave short and inter-
esting talks on Fear; How to Overcome
1t in Children
At the First Baptist church, Miss New
ton, of Chicago, presided over a confer
ence at the same hour as that held at the
Arlington hotel. Miss Janeatte Rich
ards read paper on the Necessity OF
Schools for Trained Nurses" which was
followed by an address on Punish
ments," by Mrs. Putnam.
Notwithstanding the early hour at
which the conferences were held g a. m.),
both the banquet hall of the Arlington
hotel and the four Baptist churches were
crowded to their utmost capacity. Long
before the time set for the opening of the
morning session, 1890 a. m, thereswas not
am available seat in the church, and when
Mrs. Birney called the regular meeting
to order, Mrs. Maud Ballington Booth. of
New York city, made the devotional ad-
dress. The audience joined in singing
Nearer, My God, to Thee" after which
Mrs. Booth read a few verses from the
Bible. During the course of her remarks
she said:
TT is great comfort and strength to
feel that we have the right to turn and
claim the great, strong hand of God.''
ut seems that those persons who stand
today in the position of mothers should
feel grateful for the light and teachings
which God has brought to our eyes"
In speaking of mothers love, Mrs.
Booth compared 1t to divine love, the
strongest love imaginable. true wo-
this wonderful mothers love whether or
not she was mother.
Speaking of her experiences in the diff
ferent prisons, she said it made no diff
ference how low a criminal had fallen
or what crime he had committed, there
were times during his incarceration when
he still showed some traces of his moth
er's training.
One of the greatest errors ever COM
mitted by any legislature, continued Mrs.
\, nd 1ant iC n
on the name of New York state, was to
deprive the convicts of Sing Sing of work.
Referring to the advancement of women
she said that should woman engaged
in the different meetings held at the pres
ent time it was no excuse whatever for
her to neglect her children.
At the conclusion of Mrs. Booths ad-
dress, Mrs. Brney announced an over
flow meeting down stairs for the benefit
of the large number of visitors who were
unable to gain admittance Mrs.
Louise E. Hogan, of Germantown, Pa,
next addressed the congress on "Diete-
ties" In conclusion Mrs. Hogan said:
lssFew seem conscious that there is such
a thing as physical morality. Mems
habitual words and acts imply that they
are at liberty to treat their bodies as
they please. The fact is, all breaches of
the law of health are physical sins. When
this is generally seen, then, and per-
haps not till then, will the physical train
1t deserves"
Mrs, Alice Lee Moque, of Washington,
read d paper on Reproduction and Ma
tural Law" She said that it was the
old theory that parents were involunta-
rily, irresponsible agents of God in the
propagation of the species. Now it was
considered that careless parentage was
little less than crime. The child de-
served the most serious and laborious
study. Men and women are often influ-
Inv tri6nC
upon marriage. A girl ought, before al
lowing herself to love, to consider the
health, mental constitution. position in
life, means of support, of the man she
may we'd. Also she must consider her
self.
Also, she must consider herself. "The
first consideration is health. Women
ought first to be emancipated from the
doctors Mother love ought to be exer-
cised before maternity is entered on,
after it is too late to remedy many ills.
Right living and right loving ought to
complement each other in the man and
woman who take upon themselves the
duties of paternity"
Mrs. Helen H. Gardner, of Boston, read
a paper on THE Moral Responsibility of
Women Heredity." She said if "a woman
is not brave enough to demand and MAIN
tain personal liberty and entire control
of her great and race-endowing func-
ton of maternity she has no right to dare
to stamp upon child and TO curse race
with the descendants of such a service
a dwarfed, a time and master-serving
character" Subjected mothers never
will produce a race of free, well-poised,
justice-practicin children. With her re-
marks the morning work ended. :.
The overflow meeting was in charge OF
Mrs. Hearst, Mrs. Margaret Sangster and
Mrs. Henroten. of Chicago, president of
the Woman's Federation.
AFTERNOON MEETING.
When Mrs Birney president of the
congress, called the meeting to order this
afternoon. notwithstanding the fact that
the morning session had adjourned only
an hour before, there was no visible de-
crease in the number of attendants
Miss Francis Newton, of Chicago, de-
s-