The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-12-10

working out of cause and effect, and
God never made human being that
might not have been saved if he had
had the right environment aud intlu
cnce in his youth. The wise mother
and the good mother, and the foolish
mother represent the two great forces
in the world for good and evil. Tt y
arckismct-fate-destiny-the are thing
that settles life for every one of us
before we are old enough to grapple
with its problems ourselves.
Sometimes there comes to each Of
US the great temptation of sense or Of
appetite, or inclination. We want to
indulge ourselves, our courage faints
before the battle, or we have wcaricd
Of the uncongenial task. Then it is
we arc what our mothers made us. If
our moral fiber has been touched and
strengthened, we turn our faces to the
fray and fight on to victory, but if VIC
have been weakly self-indulgcd we
supincly give up before the first diff
Guilty, and cowardly surrender.
Not long ago leading suifragist
said to me that in another generation
at farthcst, women would be given o
right to vote.
con what do you base the hope?"
asked.
"On our sons" was the reply, "thc
boy who has drawn in belief in wo-
man s liberty with his mother milk,
who has been taught in the cradle that
women have equal rights with men
and who has learned in his infancy
that taxation without representation
is tyranny, no matter whether a man
or woman is taxed, will consider
that he has sacred mission in right
ing Justice to his mothers sex. Any
suffragist mother who does not raise
a rampant equal son is traitor to her
fash and her oreed.'
Sbe was right. In one generation
women could change the face Of the
world, if they would.
In one Of the great northern papers
a symposium has recently been held
on the question of the divorce evil
that threatens the very foundation Of
American society-clergymen, law
yers, political economists and scholars
have contributed their views to this
study of great problem, but all have
frankly confessed that neither the
law nor tho church had any remedy to
suggest that would solve it, or change
existing conditions.
What neither bishop nor jurist can
do, the unlettered woman can do.
When two people. tied together in
wcdlock, reach the point Of finding
life unendurable together, the disease
is so malignant that perhaps nothing
but divorce-the surgeons knife-will
bring relief.
The only remedy for the divorce
problem lies in the cradle. The only
law that will prevent divorce is the
unwritten law Of honor. The only
hand that can ever stay the evil is
the hand Of mother. In this coun-
try we have two significant facts that
arc strangely contradictory. Almost
invariably every marriage is love
match, and we lead the world in the
number Of divorces.
A cynio nigh: argue from this thst
love is poor thing on which to marry,
but such we know is not the case. It
is tho best thing-the only thing
that it fails 80 often is because it is
not backed up by other qualities.
Love, be it ever 80 true to begin
with, will not stand nagging, incom-
petence, fault-6nding, ill-kept houses
and ill-cooked meals, still less sullen-
ness, bad temper and neglect. No
matter what other grounds are assign
ed in the divorce it was the petty
faults that first made tho rift between
q couple.
To man and woman no other bust
ness in life is 80 important as mar
riage, and yet it is the one thing for
which no mother ever prepares her
child. She prepares the girl for
catching husband-oh, yes-but she
docs not give her single direction
about keeping him, and making him
happy. l have never heard mother
talk seriously to her daughter about
her duty to make comfortable home
for man, or the necessity Of her
being industrious. economical cheer
full and patient.
On thescontrary the average moth
er's idea is.for Maud to get all of the
fine clothes and indulgence she can
out of her husband, and do as little