The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-03-13
TALKS TO WOMEN
President Roosevelt in an Address
Condemns Race Suicide.
ExALTs MOTHERHOOD

EXALTS MOTHERHOOD
He Says the. Mother is the One Su
preme Asset OF the Nation, and
That He Abhors the Man Who
Mistreats Women, Most Especiai'
ly the Women of His Own House
hold.
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 under the auspices of the Ma
tional Mothers congress. The zoo
delegates representing all the States
and territories and a dozen or more
of the leading countries of the world
were received at the White House al
2.30 o'clock that afternoon when
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 better citizen
than the soldier who fights for his
country.
The president said in part:
"The successful mother, the moth
er who does her part in rearing and
training Alright the boys and girls
who are be the men and women oi
the next generation, is of greater use
to the community and occupies, die
she only realize it, more honorable
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 tc
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
it 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 a good mother, unless she
bears a sufficient number of children
so that the race shall increase and
not decrease, unless she brings uI
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
in&ustry, VIII avail to save the
race from ruin and death. The
mother is the one supreme asset oi
national life; she is more important
by far than the successful Statesman!
or business man, artist or scientist
''I 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. I abho1
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 finches 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 dc her duty; exactly as, fol
the very reason that, we respect a
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'
ton is felt, by those who finch from
their duty.
81 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 as
possible For the boys | want 10 see
training provided that shall tram
them toward. and not away from
their life work: that will train them
toward the farm or the shop, moi
awav from it. With the girl, see that
if is not made matter of mlrth tha'
the girl who goes to college comes
ont unprepared to do any OF the or
dinarv duties of womanhood.
LAS regards our public school, es'
Deciallv | want to put in specla'
word in behalf of the right kind OF
nlav grounds. No school is a good
school if it has not good play
ground. Help the children to play
and remember that you can olten
help them most by leaving them ell
tirely alone.
"You can not have good citizens
C