The San Francisco call., 1897-04-30

wemanhood but for the race which is to have
the solving of the tremendous problems OF the
future.
thought would suggest the needs of those
voiceless ones rather than speak much of or
for those exceptional women who have ap-
peared ana are Ia everincreaslng numoers,
gaining firm and established foothods in
the other professions, because of which they
are being trained Or are training themselves
for what they all recognize to be sharp and
severe competition where capacity and will
ingness to do well wha ! is undertaken is the
inevitable price of the position itself, and I
snail take the liberty TO repeat here what ]
said then. II was this:
1T is getting TO be pretty generally looked
upon as the special province OF the less highly
endowed or the less thoroughly trained re-
slolum TO become the progeniiors of the COM
ing generations If you have daughter who
is TOO silly or weak-minded or unam bilious to
become unit in the march of progress and
eiVllza Ion; II she is incompetent TO be sent
through solid training of school or college
@ anu 10 NJ herself Tor some possible or probable
career as minister. doctor. designer, lawyer,
journalist or what not. marry her TO some
BODY and let him carry The load of her unss-
plr1ng presence while he lives, and let the
race bear the burden of her infrmities and
ignorance unto the third and fourth genera
tions OF them that loved her. That is, boldly
stated, the theory"
But the fact is, as over against that theory,
| that II you have daughter who is finer and
truer, more capable and noble, more intellect
ual and able than the rest, she is the one
whose education and deye elopment as an indi-
yidual should be carried TO lis highest reach,
not simply tecause she is TO be a writer or
! speaker or teacher, for which she NAV be
primarily fitting herself her trend may be,
put because in the ultimate analysis IL may
| also be her pleasure and province TO be the
wife and mother in the lie and inspiring
| home-life. where her ever new and stimulating
eomradeship for husband aud children makes
OF her mind a beacon-light, and of her poised
| and self disciplined disposition a guide and
an inspiration; where she will be IoN ed and
revered. not only because she is loving and
hIlt hapa Shai iS a yyiS and hla
broad enough 10 wise y lead. instead OF being
blind to the very pitfalls in the pathway of
| her sons and daughters.
when our Republic has sucn mothers as
| that the question Of woman IN the other pro-
fessions viii have adius, itself. When
! woman is developed and free to choose, capac-
| ity viii find its level and its outlet. Ignor-
| ance Will cease TO be looked upon beautiful
/ in either sex, and men and women will for
/ the first time clasp hands and try conclusions
/ with frankness and q generosity and CON-
radeship which will be a real inspiration and
! JOY to both.
II you have brilliant girl one who has fine
! po1se, splendid endowments. great promise,
| 1t is sne who should be developed to the full
! with knowledge that while she has done her
best in all things, she is still only able TO be
| tolerably good mother; she lacks still much of
! wisdom, much OF all the judgment, tenderness
and scope that shall enable her TO be an ideal
mother of ideal children, who shall be healthy
] in body and in mind, honest, earnest truth
| loving and Jusuce-practicing human beings,
credit 10 her and TO the race as il shall one day
! De. But so long as motherhood is kept ignor-
| ant, dependent and subject in sta tus Just that
| long VIII heredlty aveuge the outrage upon
her hood, upon her personality, upon
| her right to dignitiod personal equa, human
status by striking telling blows baex upon the
race
1t seems to me that in discussing no other
question in life is there so little logical rea-
| son1ng and so mucn arbitrary dogmatism as
| in he questions which are usually EN- braced
under "woman's sphere" In the first place.
! it is assumed that because women are mothers
| they are nothing else; nat because this is her
| sphere, she can nave, should have, no other
Now, men are fathers. That is their sphere;
| therefore they should not be mentally devel-
oped, legally and politically emancipated soci-
| ally civilized or economically inde pendent
| This would appear 10 most men a some
what absurd proposition. 1t appears so to me,
| but Ii is not one whit less absurd when ap-
| piled to women. Yet this is constantly done.
| Because women are mothers is the very reason
why they should be developed mentally and
| physically TO their highest possible capacity.
The old theory that teacher was good
! enough for a primary class if she knew the
| "a B C's' and htIle else has long since been
| exploded. A high degree OF intellectual ca
pscity and broad men tai grasp more i'm
portant in those who have the training and
| molding OF small children than If the chill
dren were older. The younger the mind the
less capable Is II to guide itself tntelligently.
and therefore the more important 1t is that
the guide be both wise and weIrinformed.
With little children the one who has them
| in charge most closely must be all this and
| more. She must understand the proportion
and relations of things and wherein they
| touch the bearing and trend of mental and
physical phenomeua. She must furnish Sc +
poise to the nervous child and stimulus to the
phlegmatic ones. She must be able to read
| signs and TO in terpret indications in the men,
| tai and moral, as well in the physical being
| OF those within her care All this she must BE-,
able 10 do readily and with apparent uncon-
| sciousness If she is best fitted to deal with and
| develop small children. More than this, she
must not only be abe to detect wants, but
| have the wisdom to guide, to stimulate, to re-
| strain, to develop the plastic creature in her
| keeping. If she had the wisdom of the fable
| gods and the seli-poise of the Milo she would
| not be too well equipped for bearing and edu-
eating this race within her keeping.
| But more than this the ideal mother should
| know and be. She must have love- too loyal,
and sense of obligation too profound, to reek-
| lessly bring into the world children she can
not property endow or care for. Every men
tally, morally or physically defective child has
/ right to demand OF its mother how she dared
| equip him SO badly for the life into which she
| has taken the liberty to bring him, to demand
| OF her now she dared to equip herself so i'll for
| her self-imposed task Of creator OF q human
| soul
| Up to the present time woman's moral re-
sponsibtlity in heredity has been below the
point CT Zero Tor the simple reason that she
has had no voice in her own control nor in
that OF her children.
| But with the present knowledge of heredity
| with woman's enlarged opportunity and
broadened education, she who permits herself
to become O mo ther without having demanded
and obtained first her own freedom from sex
| domination, and second, fair and free condi-
ttons of development for herself and child,
Will commit crime against herself, against
| her child and against mankind.
Mothers, you have it in your power to make
| 1t true in lofty sense that 1.-The hand that
rocks the cradle shall rule the world" 1t is
for you 10 say whether it shall be ruled for
good or for i'll in the days that are to come
A spirited discussion followed. Mrs.
Gardener and DR.. Beecher taxing opposite
sides. Miss Beecher declaring that he
redity could be overcome. Mrs. Gardener
retorted that DR.. Beecher was q living
example OF heredity. Look at her." she
said, ''why, she couldn't help looking like
the Bsecher family to save her life" The
| Brahmacharin made q short speech. A
few remarks by Mrs. Carr closed the
session.
Mrs Gardener will deliver lecture next
Friday evening. An effort is being made
to secure Golden Gate Hall for that even.
| ing.