The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-05-13
THE mothers of America will n

THE mothers of America will mee'
at Des Moines, Ia, May q, to com
i pare maternal experiences. They
will decide upon the best ways Of rear
ing the youth of the land. The meeting
is. in its effects, more important thar
any gathering Of politicians bent upon
selecting a national executive officer, fol
its avowed object is the influencing OF
the character of the great American
people Of the future. 1t is customary
to sneer at idealists, but, while the
Mothers Congress is a gathering OF
such, it consists of idealists who have
demonstrated the practical benefit
which their theories are capable Of
yielding
The American Congress Of Mothers
held its first session February, 1897, in
Washington; the second in May, 1898,
and the third in February, 1899. With
the fourth convention, the organization
is established as one of the most in
huential and useful among women
which the latter half of the nineteenth
century has seen rise to power and use
fulness.
Mrs. Theodore W. Birney of Washing
ton originated and organized the
Mothers Congresses. She is a southern
woman, native of Marietta, Ga, the
daughter of L. c. Mcclellan, a man Of
intellect, wealth and social position.
When quite young, she was married to
Alonzo j. White, Jr., a scion of one Of
the old families of Charleston, S. G.
Mr. White died 20 months after the
marriage leaving his young wife with
q daughter now young woman of, is
years of age, After a number Of years
the widow Of Mr.. White married Mr..
Theodore Weld Birney, a brilliant
Washington lawyer the grandson of
James G.. Birney, who in 1910 and 1874
was the presidential candidate of the
Free Soil party. Two more daughters
were born to Mrs. Birney, and these
aroused her mind to lively interest in
pathology. Mrs. Birney is a woman
Of education in the broad sense of the
word, which signifies absorption and
adaptation practical to uses of the
knowledge of books. She had read
widely and thought deeply, and to her
it seemed that the great accumulation
of facts which philosophers and sci
entists had evolved in reference to the
young would be of immense value if
brought to the attention of the millions
Of mothers in the world. Mrs. Birney
mentioned her idea of popularizing
knowledge of this sort to Mrs. Adlai
Stevenson. her husbands cousin, and to
Mrs. Phoebe Hearst. Both ladies werey
delighted with the idea and advised
Mrs. Birney to call a conference of
mothers at Washington and promised
their assistance.
Mrs. Birney sent out in the spring of
1896 a circular letter to philanthropists
and educators asking what they
thought of such a congress. These re
piled promptly and with enthusiasm in
favor Of the plan. Organizations all
over the country were asked to coop
crate and send representative to the
congress. The majority of them re-
sponded with enthusiasm. On the
morning of the day set for the opening
Of the convention the banquet room of
the Arlington hotel, the place appoint
ID for the gathering, was filed to over
flowing before the appointed hour, and
The meetings were adjourned to a neigh
boring church. No definite sorganiza-
ton was effected, at this time. The wo-
ftten who attended were advised to es-
t15lish at their homes mothers clubs.
whose object should be the study of the
mental moral and physical character
Istics Of childhood. with the purpose Of
making advantageous application of
the knowledge thus gained in the train