The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1909-05-29
TAFT OWES MUCH TO HIS WIFE.

the world, persuade somebody to be-
lieve in you. The hint is as old as
Mohammed and as new as the latest
records from the White House.
Mohammed wrote the story of his
love and triumph together when he
said of the favorite wife Kadijah,
"She always believed in me" By
the same token an English writer reads
the success of the present occupant of
the White House. "The new Pres
ident," he writes, loves no small
amount of his great success to his
clever wife. She has always been of
the opinion that he would do great
things in the world. Asked some
time ago if she wished her husband
to be President, she replied in the
affirmative. and when questioned as
to the one who first thought of him
for the Office, she replied, / did,
When asked, when did you think
of it ? she answered, When was
somewhere about 16. >"
"Here we have" continues the
writer, "a pleasing picture of a wo-
mans devoted belief in man; and
that that mans success is largely due
to her is rather to his credit than
otherwise"
This certainly ought to spur Amer
lean wives to cherish some better
opinions of their husbands than many
of them seem to evince. Even if
they cannot make Presidents of them,
owing to the limited demand, they
could no doubt make something more
worth while than the records of the
divorce courts and the political rings
show, especially if they could begin
the work somewhere about I6."
When Johnson said, "Much may be
made of a Scotchman if he be caught
young" he enunciated truth that
no single nation can cover. The
clever woman who knows how to
make man great by believing in
him seldom catches himyoung enough.
He has been made small or crooked
by host of unbelieving, scofing, un-
comprehending guardians and men,
tors before her inspiring faith and
love have taken hold of him.
Edison tells the exact story of it
from which believing mother saved
him, though all boys are not so for
tunate. "I was always a careless
boy" he says, "and with mother
of different caliber, I should probably
have turned out badly. I never was
able to get along at school. don't
know now what it was, but I was al
ways at the foot Of the class. I used
to feel that the teachers never sympa-
thized with me and that my father
thought that I was stupid, and at
last 1 almost decided that I was a
Ounce. One day 1 overheard the
teacher tell the inspector that I was
added and it would not be worth
while keeping me in school any long
er. I was so hurt by this last straw
that I burst out crying and went
home and told my mother about it.
Then found out what a good moth
er was. She brought me back to
school and angrily told the teacher
that he didn't know what he was
talking about, that 1 had more brains
than he had and lot more talk like
that. In fact, she was the most en-
thusiastic champion boy ever had,
and determined then and there that
l would be worthy Of her and show
her that her confidence was not mis-
placed.
"She was so sure of me-" was the
spur to action which, like Moham-
med's, "she believed in me-" led on
to fame and conquest. The records
of genius are full of just such stories
of youthful rebellion against copy
book virtues and school systems, and
how much of genius has been snuffed
out for lack of the trusting love that
could look beneath and rouse genius
to be worthy of it, can never be esti-
mated. Edison is no doubt correct
when be says, "My mother was the
making Of me. If it had not been
for her appreciation and her faith in
me at critical time in my experience,
I should very likely never have be-
come an inventor"