The log cabin Democrat., 1911-03-10

ter who spends her time in manicur- ing her finger nails while her mother gets more callouses on her hands, at the cook stove or the wash tub, is only too common; and it is one of the most pathetic in life.
 There are thousands of homes in which girls never lift finger to help their mothers. They hear mother getting up early, to prepare break fast for father and the boys, and they turn over and take another snooze. It never even occurs to them to hus- tie out and prepare the morning meal, and let poor old mother lie abed and rest her weary bones.
 They see mother sweeping and scrubbing and cleaning, and bending her rheumatic back; and they let her do it. Likely as not they go out for five-mile walk for exercise and to preserve a straight front figure.
 They sit down in comfortable rock ing chairs and shed tears of sympathy over the persecuted heroine of novel while mother washes and irons their fine shirtwaists; and they never even dream that no slave driver ever show ed less pity and consideration to his victim than they do to the poor, over worked drudge, who is giving her very life to their service.
 Monumentolly Selfsh Girls Of course, the girls are not intentionally cruel to mother They don't really mean to ill-use her. They are just so monumentally selfish and egotistical that they have never thought of any thing but their own pleasures, or any body but themselves. They really have an idea that mother works be- cause she likes it. It's sort of an ec centricity of hers-a fad, crank to get up before any one else in the house in order to work, and be still working after everybody else goes to bed She is kind of perpetual mo- tion machine that never stops, and at which they gibe.
 They have always seen mother at work They have always seen her take the worst of everything; and eat the scraps at the table; and wear the made-over clothes; and stay at home to clean up after the family had clut- tered up everything, getting ready to go off on the excursion.
 They have always seen mother with that tired look on her face and that weary droop to her shoulders, and they don't stop to realize that mother wasn't always like that; that service for them, has etched those lines in the old face, and that the shoulders are breaking under the load they have laid upon them.
 Nor do they realize that they could work the miracle of the resurrection of mothers lost youth, if only they would show mother some considera- tion; if, only, they would march moth- CT out of the kitchen and into the par Tor, and do for her what she has done for them so long.
 But there comes a time when they know. Oh, yes, there comes a day when they stand above coffin in which lies faded old woman, with work-knotted hands folded across her tired breast-at rest for the first time since her children were born
 Be sure that there are no bitterer tears of repentance than those of daughter in such an hour, when she looks back and knows that it was her selfishness and her laziness that help drive the nails in mothers coffin, and made her glad to lie within it.
 Save yourselves that agony of re- morse, girls, by helping mother while you have still got her with you.
 ,a,sa I.,4, ThatL etaoi taoi aoin