Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1908-03-19
TALKS TO WOMEN
President Roosevelt in an Address
Condemns Race Suicide.
ExALTS MOTHERHOOD

He Says the Mother is the One Su
preme Asset of the Nation, an,
That He Abhors the Man VIII,
| Mistreats Women, Most Especial
ly the Women of His Own House
hold.
The White House was the seen,
tuesday OF the formal opening O
the first International congress on tn,
welfare OF the cnild, which is bains
held under the auspices of the Ma
tional Mothers congress. The 2Ot
delegates representing all the State.
ana territories and a dozen or more
Oh the leading countries of the world
were received at the White House NJ
2.3O o'clock that afternoon wher
President Roosevelt delivered an ad
dress to them in which he declared
that he placed the society ahead OF
the Civil War veterans, because he
said in the final analysis, it is the
mother only who is a better citizen
than the soldier who fights for his
country.
The president said ' part
The successful mother. the moth
er who does her part in rearing and
training Alright the BOYS and ri;':
who are be the men and wor en Il
the next generation, is of greater use
to the community and occu"ies. did
she only realize it. ;lore i norable
as well as more important position
than any successful man in it.
Nothing in life that is really
worth having comes save at the cost
OF effort. No life of self-indulgence
Of mere vapid pleasure can possibly.
even In one point of pleasure itself,
yield so ample reward as comes to
the mother at the cost of self-denial.
of effort, of suffering childbirth, of
the long, slow, patient, trying work
of bringing up the children arght.
No system of education, no system of
moral training can be right unless
1t is based fundamentally upon the
recognition of seeing that the girl is
trained to understand the supreme
dignity, the supreme usefulness of
motherhood. Unless the average
woman is good mother. unless she
bears sufficient number of children
so that the race shall increase and
not decrease. unless she brings up
these children in soul and mind and
body-unless this is true of the aver
age woman, no brilliancy of
genius. no material prosperity,
no triumphs OF science and
industry. will avail to save the
race from ruin and death The
mother is the one supreme asset of
natioaal life; she is more important
by far than the successful statesman
or business man, artist or scientist,
II abhor and condemn the man
who is brutal, thoughtless, careless,
selfish with women. and especially
with the women of his own house
hold. The birth pangs make all men
the debtors of all women. ] abhor
and condemn the man who fails to
recognize all his obligations to the
woman who does her duty. But the
woman who shirks her duty as wife
and mother is just as heartily to
be condemned. We despise her as
we despise and condemn the soldier
who flinches in battle.
Because We so admire the good
woman. the unselfish woman, the
farsighted woman, we have scant pa
tience with her unworthy sister who
fears to do her duty; exactly as. for
the very reason that, we respect q
man who does his duty honestly and
fairly All honor TO the man or wo-
man who does duty, who renders ser
vice. and we can only honor him or
her if the weight of our condemna-
tion is felt, by those who finch from
their duty.
II want to ask your assistance for
TWO or three matters that are not
Immediately connected with the life
in the family itself, but that are OF
vital consequence to the children. In
the first place. in the school, that the
school work be made practical -
possible. For the boys | want to sec
training provided that shall train
them toward. and not away from
tnelT lie WCTk, lHdl Will tIdlu lbtH
toward the farm or the shop. MOI
away from it. With the girl, see thai
Ii is not made matter of mirth thai
the girl who goes TO college come:
out unprepared to do any Of the or
binary duties of womanhood.
LAS regards our public school. es
peclally I want to put in specia
word in behalf OF the right kind o
play grounds. No school is gooC
school If il has not a good play
ground Help the children to play
and remember that YOU can Otter
help them most by leaving them en-
tirely alone.
You can not have good citizens
good men and good women of tn
next generation if the boys and girl
are worked in factories to the stunt
ing Of their moral, mental and ply
steal growth. Wherever the nation
al government can reach. ii SHOULD
do away with the evils OF CHILE
labor. and trust this will be done
but much must be done by the ac