Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-17
MOTHERS IN SESSION
National Congress Discusses Matters
of Interest.
ADDRESSES BY LEADING DELEGATES
Neglect Of Duty in Matter of Vot-
ing Touched Upon.
VISIT TO WHITE HOUSE

In spite of the apparent obstacles in the
way of the success of the meeting of the
third national congress of mothers, the ses-
sions of which were begun yesterday in
the First Baptist Church, 10Th and o
streets northwest, the delegates, and. in
fact, all who attended the three sessions
yesterday, are of the opinion that the con-
gress thus far has been of great interest,
and the prospects are that the present
meeting viii be considered one of the most
notable in the history of the movement.
The heavy snow and the unusual storm
during the opening days of the week. which
practically closed the service on all steam
railroads throughout the country, naturally
prevented a good many delegates from
reaching the city at all, and delayed others.
The opei ing session was fixed for Tues
day, but owing to weather conditions it was
decided to postpone it until yesterday. At
the hour named for opening the congress
yesterday rain began to fall, which added
to the already great difficulties in getting
about the city, especially for ladies. In
spite of these adverse conditions, a very
GOOD audience assembled yesterday morn
ing and listened to some interesting papers.
Another session was held in the afternoon.
and as the violence of the rain storm had
increased it was deemed best to hold the
evening session in the parIors of the Cairo
"iiNi q cHJos dole HeclillS WAS HClu
The Morning Session.
While the skies presented more pro-
pitious appt arance this morning than was
the case yesterday. still the rain and the
Snow had made a combination that left the
streets in state of slush At 10 o'clock,
however, a goodly number of delegates
was present at the church, and when the
president, Mrs. Theodore W. Birney called
the second days session of the congress to
order, she looked over an audience that
While 1t did not occupy all the seats in thu
large auditorium, was an encouraging one
under the circumstances.
Prayer was offered by Mrs. Wellington
White, field secretary of the National Sab
path Alliance, and the first speaker of the
morning, Miss Lucy Wheelock of Boston
Mass, the president of the International
kindergarten Association, was introduced
by the president with a few pleasant words
expressive of appreciation of the privilege
OF having a person of such eminence in her
profession.
Miss Wheelock's Theme.
The theme of Miss Wheelock's talk. for
she spoke in pleasant, converse tional
style, was 'Frobels Text Book for Moth
ers. The speaker explained how Frobel,
by visiting the homes and becoming ac-
quainted with children and their WAYS, OH
tanned the knowledge which he MT into
his book. The speaker said Frobers idea
was to provide a system for doing what
mothers do systematically. She said one of
the important duties of the mother was to
form the ha bits of the child, and in order
to prevent this from becoming mere drudg-
cry the significance of those HON aIy every
day duties ought to be realized. This is
what trobei attempted to accomplish in
MS book, and to show the influence of
such training upon the character of the
child and its place in the world.
fhere are two principles underlying the
system of Frobel, she said. one was the
development of power in the child and then
the use of this power in the work of the
world. AS illustrative of this the speaker
quoted several of Frobers songs, and de-
scribed the pictures illustrative of these
truths. The training of the hand and eye
as leading to mental development was
pointed out. She spoke of the Importance
of encouraging the inquiring state of mind
which is natural in childhood, and not by
indifference to discourage the asking of
questions The speaker thought that the
interest of the child in nature was due to
love, and there should be natural progress
from this natural love to nature study. She
again emphasized the need of keeping this
original attitude of the child fresh and UNI
checked.
Mutual Relations.
Taking up the other branch of Frobels
system, the relation of the child to Others
the speaker dwelt on the family relation,
and said helpfulness was the important
ldttoI VI lHdt iHtH III fFOD6l
conception of the family each member has
some duty to perform, and the child is
taught the value of courtesy and of being
pleasant and agreeable toward others.
The relation of the ideas underlying the
FrobeI system the speaker said, were i'm
pcrtant in solving modern industrial prob
lens, as the truth vas emphasized of the
interdependence of one member of a COM
munity upon the other members
In conclusion Miss Wheelock referred to
the religions teaching n he 81 Of
Frobel. She also spoke of the influence of
mothers, and paid tribute to the func-
tions and privileges of motherhood. She
referred to the modern tendency of modern
women to join clubs, that il seemed
their catechism in regard to the duty of
women might be said to be to join clubs
and to enjoy them forever.
The address was listened to atteptively,
and the brightly expressed thoughts evoked
frequent applause. At the close an enthu-
siastic clapping of gloved hands marked
the approval of the audience.
The Subsequent Discussion.
The discussion on this paper was opened
by Miss Williams. the superintendent of
kindergartens in Philadelphia, who at the
outset told two amusing stories as illustra-
tive Of what she claimed to be her emf
barra ssnient in following Miss Wheelock's
able exposition of the Frobel system
However, she managed to speak entertain-
ingly on this subject. In reference to the
beginnings of regular habits in children the
speaker said that uniformity in life con-
tributed to the comfort of infants and hal
an influence in after years. Her listeners
were much amused by Miss Williams char
acterization of child she knew whose
mother had never allowed him to fall into
the habit of sucking his thumb. and who
realized that he was not to smash the brio
a-brac, and yet who was the most perfectly
disobedient child the speaker had ever
known. In closing she made plea for pre-
serving the sacredness of home
Upon the conclusion of this address the
treasurer of the congress, Mrs. Hardin W.
Masters of Lewiston, ILL.,, asked that a COL
lection be taken up for paying the expenses
of the congress, and while this was being
done she spoke of the need for money in
carrying on this work. She explained the
various classes of members and the fees at
tached to each and expressed the hope that
there would be many who would hand in
their names before the close of the con-
gress.
Duty of Parents.
''The Duty of Parents to Education" was
the subject of the next paper. which was
read by Mrs. Joseph L. Mumford a member
of the Philadelphia board of education. The
speaker was introduced by the president
Who'll telling the congress about Mrs Num-
ford, spoke of her cooperation In the work