The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1911-09-14

things informally and in general
terms that we would never be will
ing to discuss in any other way.
And we get the ideas of some one
far superior to ourselves, perhaps,
without feeling that the remarks are
directed to us personally because of
some failure on our part.
Mothers Clubs exist in every State
in the Union and in twenty-five Of
these States there are State organiza-
tions of the Mothers Clubs, which l
think must be splendid. These State
organizations are all banded into the
National Congress OF Mothers. So
you see the American woman Of to-
day is determined that she shall be
as we'll educated in the most sacred
of the professions as she is in many
minor ones. Why, do you know that
the President of the National Con-
gress of Mothers, Mrs Frederic
Schaeff, is trying to get national
endowment for the establishment of
a school and university extension to
educate American girls for mother
hood? Mrs Schaeff says: Every year
there are more lives sacrificed to ig-
norance than ever,i in all the years of
the whole worlds existence, have
been sacrificed to war, and all of
them, or nearly all of them, are ba-
bies' lives. Universal peace would be
a splendid thing, but humanity would
gain more from the simple educa-
ton of its mothers
That is a statement to make US
stop and think. In the age in which
we live, ignorance is not to be tol-
Grated. The great search-light of ed
ucation is being turned in all the
darkest corners of human life, and
we mothers are going to benefit by
it as well as the rest of humanity.
The time has passed when we are ex-
pected to know by divine intuition
what to do for our babies. We can
get practical help and instruction
from our Mothers Clubs and from
many excellent books ond magazines
land l want to recommend for use
in your club a little monthly maga-
zine called American Motherhood.
I think you will find it both helpful
and practicaD.
When we give up savagery for
civilization we give up much Of our
animal instinct. The human moth
er, in highly civilized life, knows
less how to care for her offspring
than does the beast of the forest.
In the first place, her baby's care is
a more complicated business than
that of the bears cubs; and in the
second place. she has the opportunity
of learning from others, and so her
instinct is not so necessary. / don't
mean to say that we haven't plenty
Of mother-instinct of course we
have-but 1t has to be taught, that's
all. And we are modern women, liv-
ing in q modern age. What was
good enough for our grandmothers
is not good enough for US. We have
them to thank for what they built
up for US, and we have our grand
children to plan for In building still
higher. We so often hear that old
fashioned ways are best" But if we
stop to think, we know that can't be
true. Our ways must keep up with
our times. We are no better than
our grandmothers-far be it from
me to say so-but what was good
enough for them in their day would
be antedated for US. Is every other
science to advance except that of
Embarrassing? 1t seems to me that
this is a narrow view to take of the
greatest and most important of all
branches of civilization.
The trend of all modern improve
ment is through cooperation. |
think that is the keynote of the
times, and out of this spirit Of united
effort, Mothers Clubs have sprung.
NTo p,otharS are SimDly going to