The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1906-08-10
CFrom New York American)

may look at him, the sparrOws and
the small boys wonder at him, dur
ing the little period Of time which we
are accustomed to call forever"
The man in bronze sits stiff upon
his bronze horse, while his body
CrUmbles in some graveyard.
The man who made the statue bows
and smiles, and he feels proud
The man born to talk well makes a
fine speech Of praise.
Some other man, governor or may
or, beams officially.
But who is the small, old, thin, un-
/ impOrtant-lOOking little woman, al
most out Of sight, quite hidden in the
shadow Of the statue2
That is the mother Of the man in
| bronze. She is the woman who held
| that bronze hero in her arms when he
was nothing but a little eight or nine
pound lump Of helpless flesh and
blood
She is the woman who gave the
/ hero his life, his character, his brain,
l his training, and his ideals.
/ That woman, the mother, made the
mans brain first and shaped IL after
ward. Her CaTeSSeS, her kindness, her
| example and her words reached that
childish mind during the early years
from the hour Of birth until the end OF
! bOyhOOd, years during which the man
/ is marred or made irrevOcably-
/ And what does the crowd know OF
! the woman. the mother. the real crea-
/
| that dominates the c'ty's busy life2
No one knows where she came from,
| what her own name was; il is sunk,
| Obliterated in the name Of her nus
band and son
| No one asks how she bore the bat
l tie OF life that she might give a great
man to humanity
The child in school is taught to
! venerate the hero for his courage in
a battle where he was watched. where
I p a~0w1arr6nd whore he Irnnv-
that reward was great and sure.
But who knows or cares anything
about the courage Of the mother in
/ her battle2 Who realizes the pain she
suffered when she gave that child to
the world, in the daEkened room, no
reward save the glory OF doing her
| duty unObserved, as millions Of wOm-
en- do their duty every year
Who knows or cares about any Of
/ the worlds great mOthers2
Human ingenuity exhausts itself in
suggesting new rewards and hOnOrs
for the man Of achievement
Where are the monuments, where
/ the the rewards for the mothers that
give US the men2
You see here the name Of Lincoln.
A thousand pictures come into your
mind You see the boy studying by
| the light Of the WOOd-fire. You see
the worn, earnest, face Of the grown
man. You see the courage, the pat
fence and the martyrs death That
homely, grave, beautiful face is as
clear in your mind as though the great
and simple man sat before you.
But do you know anything about
his mOther2 Has the world thought
anything about herr
Mention the name Of Nancy Hanks
/ to a hundred men at random Twenty
| five Of them won't know Of whom you
| referring to a famous racehOrse, and
will tell you the trOtting mares rec
I ord The others, perhaps, will know
! that you are mentioning the name Of
| the great woman who gave Abraham
Lincoln to the United States
That woman saved this country,
/ just as surely as Michael Angelo built
St. Peters at Rome
We should be ashamed to look at
/ the great cathedral or pictures with
out knowing or caring anything about
the architect or the painter.
/ How can we be so Indifferent to the
great mothers, the architects OF the
worlds progress, the real creators, the
/ the human race.
| How long will the world continue
/ this injustiCe2 How long Will the
| mother stand unseen in the shadow Of
/ her great sons monument
| How long shall we talk Of William
| the COnquerOr and know nothing Of
| the tanners daughter who bore him
| How long shall we give our chill
u QTen every QetalA IN the l-LG anu even
| in the diSipatiOnS OF Leonard da Nlnc1,
and have not a word to say about the
/ simple peasant woman whose strong
| brain gave him his genius, whose
/ strong body gave him his huge frame
and wonderful pOwer2
/ What was the daring character OF
u the woman who bore Christopher Col
umbus2 1t was her blood that she put
\ into his body that sent him across the
/ ocean. What do we know about her
] To- =
her2
To the immortal glory Of the CathO-
/ lie church it must be said that that
ancient religion has splendidly cham
piOned the glory and the sacredneSs
/ of motherhood. Under the direction
/ of that faith millions Of mothers have
/ been taught to look up to the mother
who gave a Savior to this world
| There is the most splendid force
| cOnceivable2 Is 1T not the power OF
creatiOn2
Think Of the man who in your IS
timatiOn is the greatest that ever lived
and worked upon the earth ana tneI
think OF him at his BIRTH helpless II
the arms Of his mother As you know
how absolutely he depends upon thai
mother and how absolutely the world
/ depends upon her for the work thai
Does it seem possible that he should
/ grow, become strong and that the
! world should turn away from the wo-
/ man that created him. forget her
put her aside2
/ RECOGNITION Of the dignity Of mo-
! therhoOd Of the fact that the son
/ work is the mothers work primarily
\ should not longer be delayed
For every monument to a great mar
| there should be a monument to his
mother, and the mothers monument
/ should be built first
| We do not honor the picture above
the artist that painted it or the law
I above the legislator who gave US the
law. Why DO we honor child above
I the mother
| As long as life shall last here and
/ as long as humanity shall struggle
| with the problems set before II, greal
mothers viii be the worlds Creates
! treasures
1t is true that the mother asks nc
/ reward but her child's success The
l brave man often asks no reward but
the success OF his cause And We hon
l or him all the more for that reason
For every profession except the pro
fessiOn Of motherhood this nation OF
\ feTs rewards
| The professional fighter, with the
soldiers sword or with his naked
/ fists, is honOred-
/ The professional lawyer, politician
clergyman, mOney-maker, all are
II