The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-03-19

tors are back numbers, even in the
Capital, and when Congressman
shrink into complete obscurity. That
is when the Mothers Congress as.
sembles for its annual convention
which Is now in session here for a
week. Heretofore these yearly
gatherings have been made up OF
American women only. but this year
the meeting has been made interna-
tionai in character and mothers have
been in attendance from Persia, Tur.
key and other far off countries. All
sorts OF questions. from child labor
and civic bctterment TO cooking dem
onstrations and discussions OF how to
make boy mind without using the
slipper, have been taken up and set.
tied with much more expedition than
is shown by the Congress at the other
end OF Pennsylvania Avenue in dis
posing of its business.
Mere man has cut very small fig
ure in the proceedings as a whole, but
two individuals OF the masculine per
suasion have come in for considerable
attention, in one case hattcring and in
the other decidedly unhattering. The
first OF these is President Roosevelt
who received the mother at the White
House on Monday and made an ad
dress in which to tell them that they
were really the backbone OF the ma
ton and its hope OF righteousness
and that without them the country
would so straight to the bow-wows,
Naturally. the mothers we're pleased
with this, and the Presidents en-
dorsement OF most OF the reforms
they favor has caused him TO be very
popular. II the Mothers had votes
Senator Bourne's second elective
campaign would have been able to
show clear majority in Washington
this week. On the subject OF race
suicide, however, the Congress has
declined TO commit itself either Tor
or against the Presidents well-known
views.
The other man OF whom the indi.
vidual members of the convention
have expressed a strong opinion is
David Graham Phillips; the we'll
known novelist and magazine writer
1t is fortunate for Mr.. Phillips that
he was not in Washington this week.
Even at the safe distance OF New
York his ears must have tingled at
some OF the remarks launched in his
direction. Some of them have de-
clined even to mention his name in
their remarks but have referred to
him as that horrid man" The
trouble with Mr.. Phillips, from the
point Of view OF the Mothers, is that
he has written book which he calls
"Old Wives for New" and in which
he discusses divorces and some al
legged shortcomings OF the American
wife and mother in way that the Of
ficial mothers OF the country as re-
presented here object to most strenu-
ously. The book is just out and
reached Washington about the same
time as the delegates, and immeriate-
ly set them buzzing.
The Congress OF Mothers is on
record as being strongly opposed to
divorce. They believe in making it
more diff cult instead OF easier, and
they resent the novelist's suggestion
in his book that wives are really re-
sponsible for a majority Of divorces
by destroying ideals constructed by
their husbands before marriage,
which the latter would be glad to
preserve il they could. There arc
also some remarks in the book about
the neglect Of their personal appear
ance by women after marriage and
how they are compelled to resort to
cast-iron corsets and fat-reducing
measures to which the mothers,es
tally the considerable proportion OF
them who appear to be dangerously
near the 200-pound mark, took vio-
lent exception. At one stage OF the
proceedings some Of the more fiery
delegates considered the introduction
,of a resolution censuring the novelist,
but this was not done as others point
ed out that it would be hardly fair as
there were other offenders in the
same category, some Of whom are
women. Consequently the writer
escaped the public reproof which
many Of the "old wives" would have