Evening star., 1897-02-20
Close Of the First Gathering Of the
Kind.
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES
Papers Read at the Final Sessions
Last Evening.
NOTED WOMEN SENT

successful three days meeting. Prior to
| the adjournment arrangements were made
| to perpetuate the organization and a sec
i ond congress of the same sort will be held
In Washington a year hence.
Today many of the delegates to the con-
gress went to Mount Vernon. some by boat
and some by the electric cars, and ad-
| vantage was taken of the opportunity to
| cement the many friendships begun during
| the sessions of the congress.
The attendance continued large I'D to the
| end, and at the meeting last evening there
were just as many people present as could
| possibly obtain entrance to the church. At
| the afternoon session several timely and
| interesting papers were read. Mrs. Annie
Jenness Miller of this city, after speaking
| of the beautiful relationship OF mother and
| child, went on to discuss the practical side
| OF motherhood, saying that the first duty
OF mothers was to organize the brain It's
sues of her child She said that the family
| kitchen was responsible for half the dys-
| peptic stomachs. She believed in feeding
men into heaven and children into morality
| Scientific feeding was discussed and the
speaker declared that she infinitely
! better Christian when well fed. She had
listened to many dyspeptfc sermons from
| the pulpit, wherein both heaven and hell
had been colored by the minister's indiges-
| tion
Mrs. Ellen F. w. Harper Of Philadelphia
| the only colored delegate to read a paper
spoke on Ihe A1ro-Amerfcan Mother,
| saying, in part: The school may instruct
and the church may teach, but the home
| is older than the church and antedates the
| school, and that is the place to train chill
dren for useful citizenship on earth and q
| hope OF holy companionship in heaven"
Stories for Children.
DR.. Walter l.. Hervey, president of the
New York Teachers College, read a paper
| on Stories" DR.. Hervey said that every
story Shol1 have
story that does not tend to the building Of
| character is worth telling. The bad should
always be shown in such a way that the
child cannot fail to see that it is bad. The
crime of our day against childhood is the
placing before 1t the local, the petty, the
commonplace and the distorted In stories
of animals and plants we have the basal
| IDEAS of food and clothing of the simple
| relatedness of all things; we have the ele-
mental passions and the epic Of growth,
reproduction and decay. There is no child
| whose knowledge of himself is not enriched
aud quickened by hearing the story of the
"Discontented Pine Tree or THE Ugly
Duckling." In the stories Of the Heavenly
Father the child finds the answer to the
questions that first arise in his mind when
he looks at the world. Finally, a good story
| Is work of art. Therefore, seek originals
rather than adaptations at second hand.
To know good story is to have literary
! taste; to tell good story is to be master
of noble art.
Miss Anna A. Schryver, teacher of nat
ural science In the Michigan State Normal
School read paper on Mature Studies in
the Home" During the course of her
paper Miss Schryver said:
Reading Is good in it's place, but it alone
can do but little for any Of us. and much
less for the child. Reading cannot make
us lovers and interpreters of nature any
more than 1t can make musician or an
artist. What we need is to have nature
cut of doors, nature indoors. Make dis
coveries. your own discovery, live your dis
covery teach your discovery.
Mothers and teachers, let US live that
there be fewer 'delving eyeless moles.'
Train the child to be a machine when he
must be. Develop sound body, the serv-
atmosphere that shall lead to habit of
joyous. humble, reverent living"
At the evening session there were num-
ber of informal two-minute speeches before
the regular program was taken up.
The Resolutions.
The principal feature of the evening was
the presentation of the report Of the reso-
lutions committee. The resolutions as
firally adopted started off by indorsing the
work Of the Universal Peace Union. and
second the suggestion to the mothers in
structors and citizens of America that les
sens of peace must first be taught by har-
mony at the hearth. The seven rules of
harmony are included in the resolutions
follows:
a. Hereby I promise to make the sacred
spirit of peace living power in my life,
and to contribute all the time, thought and
money which can to its diffusion.
''2. promise never to listen, without
protest, to insinuations, vituperations or
unjust accusations against the members of
my family and my fellow-citizens.
''3 l promise to seek to understand the
spirit of the national laws, and to obey
those which exist; to interest myself fer
vently for the modification Of all those
which uselessly tyrannize upon any class
~ I promise to dedicate all my thought
and influence to the development of the ma
tional and patriotic spirit, and not to criti-
else without purpose the administration of
the family and of the nation.
"5. promise to treat all birds and beasts
and all existencies Of the animal and vege-
table world with business and gentleness
and not to destroy, save for self-preserva-
tion and for the protection of the weak.
Instead, my object shall be to plant. nour-
ish and propagate all that will lead to
the moral and physical amelioration of my
family, my home and my nation.
IS. promise to teach to my children and
my dependents everything with regard to
justice and peace which shall learn, and
to which am hereby dedicating myself.
"7. promise to seek each day to utter
some word or to perform some little action
which may promote the cause of peace,
whether at home or abroad.
Other Resolutions Declared.
nat the HdtlOudl cOHSTeSS OF mOtnerS
heartily approve the founding of a national
training school for mothers; that the wo-
men Of America may be. taught the method
for making hygienic homes and for becom-
ing intelligent mothers; in a word, that
they may be taught the laws of health and
heredity.
THAT we use our influence to encourage
legislation In our various states and terri
tories to secure kindergarten department
in our public schools
THAT we will endeavor to exclude from
our homes those papers which do not edu-
cate or inspire to noble thought and deed,
and that our influence will be used to culti-
vate the public taste 80 that 1t will exact
from the press and artists that which edu-
Gates and refines.
THAT we protest against all pictures and
displays which tend to degrade men and
women or corrupt OF depraye the minds OF
the young and all advertisements which Of
fend decency.
And that we hereby petition both houses
of Congress to raise the age Of protection
for girls to eighteen years at least. in the
District OF Columbia and the territories"
Tf,ar o1c,s Had fo' "a -r<uv.-