The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-03-20
FATE OF RACE
WITH MOTHERS
So Dec ares Roosevelt in Address
70 Mothers Congress Delegates.
POINTED ADMONITION
Host Of Delegates to Congress on Welfare
I 4 Of the Child are Received at the
White House by President.

a Washington special says: The
white house was the scene Tuesday
Of the formal opening OF the first
International Congress on the Welfare
Of the Child, which is being held un-
der the auspices Of the National Moth
ers' Congress. The two hundred del
egates, representing all the states and
territories, and dozen or more of the
leading countries OF the world, were
received at the white house during the
afternoon when President Roosevelt
delivered an address to them, saying,
in part
The successful mother, the mother
who does her part in rearing and train
ing Alright the boys and girls who are
to be the men and women of the next
generation, is of greater use to the
community and occupies, if she only
would realize it, more honorable, as
well as more important position
than any successful man in it.
Nothing in this 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 the one point Of pleasure itself,
yield SO ample a reward as comes to
the mother at the cost of self-denial,
Of effort, Of suffering childbirth, of the
long, slow, patience-trying work Of
bringing up the children Alright. No
scheme of education, no social attitude
can be right unless it is based funda-
mentally upon the recognition of see
ing that the girl is trained to under
stand the supreme dignity, the SUI
preme usefulness of motherhood
"Unless the average woman is
good wife and good mother, unless she
bears "a sufficient number Of children
SO that the race shall increase and
not decrease, unles she brings up
these children sound in soul and mind
and body-unless this is true of the
average woman, no brilliancy of ge-
MUS, no material prosperity, no tri-
umphs of science and industry will
avail to save the race from ruin and
death. The mother is the one SUI
preme asset of national life; she is
more important by far than the sue
cessful statesman or business man,
artist or scientist
Il abhor and condemn the man who
is brutal, thoughtless, careless, self
ish with women, and especially with
the women Of his own household The
birth pangs make all men the debtors
of all women. I abhor and condemn
the man who fails to recognize all
his 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 finches in battle.
Because we so admire the good wo-
man, the unselfish woman, the far
sighted woman, we have scant patience
with her unworthy ulster, who fears
to do her duty; exactly as, for the very
reason that we respect man who
does his duty honestly and fairly.
II want to ask your assistance for
two or three matters that are not inn
mediately connected with the life in
the family itself, but that are of vital
consequence to the children. IN the
first place, in the schools, see that the
school work is made practical as pos
sible. For the boys I want to see
training provided that shall train them
toward and not away from their life
work; that viii train toward farm or
the shop, not away from it. With the
girl see that it is not made matter
of mirth that.the girl who goes to COZ
Iege comes out unprepared to do any
Of the ordinary daties Of womanhood."