The Washington herald., 1914-06-13
DR.. MARDENpS
UPLFT TALKS
Are You Ashamed of Your
Mother?
by ORIsON SWEET MARDEN.


Author of Pushing to the Front" Etc.
In a seat back of men on train, re-
Gently overheard a girl talking to a
7 friend about her mother.
/ Mothers "A nice old thing, she said.
I but she IL so out-of-date that ! am
really ashamed TO have my friends meet
her. She has never had the advantages
Of culture and education. She knows
nothing OF good form. and | should be
positively ashamed to take her to re-
! ception or a dinner where my friends
were
I II is a sorry day for girl when she
feels herself superior 10 her mother. and
considers herself called upon to apologize
for her bad grammar, mispronounCed
words. for"iSn accent, or sips in her
speech. When a girl becomes so small
and contemplate that she is ashamed 10
appear in public with her mother, he
cause she is old-fashioned in appear
ance. her hands brawny. her face prema-
turely wrinkled. and her form bent by
long years Of drudgerv for her children,
she is indeed to be pitied. She has fallen
below contempt.
What a return TO make to the poor
| mother for all her self-sacrifice. for the
years Of patient trials cheerfully plodded
through that her daughter might enjoy
3 =
dreamed of,
/ The girls who are ashamed of their
hard-working mothers are few, happily,
! compared with the vast number who ap-
preciate. and endeavor to repay. their
mothers sacrifices. Still, there are too
many of them-Girls who do not even
darn their own stockings. mend their
own clothing, or make their own beds.
I have in mind n mother who is con-
III,
her daughter may make a good appear
ance in society. She wears her old cloak
and shabby bonnet another year: she re-
models for the second time and tries 20
freshen up the gown which should have
been discarded last year. so that the
young girl may have new ones and ap-
pear to as good advantage as other girls
| of her age. She drudges from morning
| till night. and often far into the night, so
that her daughter may have more leisure
to practice accomplishments. or to have
a good time, the daughter meanwhile
gossiping about the neighborhood. or is
at the theater or some other place of
amusement, or. perhaps, she sits by
reading a silly story. or strumming on
the piano. Should her mother ask her to
assist her by washing the dishes. clearing
Off the table, or doing some other simple
duty. she usually finds some excuse for
getting out OF 1t.
/ There Is always something fundamen-
tally wrong with a girl who is ungrateful.
who does not appreciate the great sacri-
fees her mother has made. for her, sac
rifices which no one but a mother could
possibly make.
No movement set on foot in recent
years deserves heartier support than that
for the establishment of a national Moth
ers Day.
The day set apart as Mothers Day by
those who have inaugurated this move
ment is the second Sunday in May. Let
US unite in doing all We can to make il
real Mothers Day, by especially hon
oring our mothers: with us; in the spirit,
| those VINO are not so fortunate.
If away from her, write a good loving
letter, or telephone or telegraph to the
best mother who ever lived-your mother
Send her some flowers an appropriate
present, go and spend the day with her,
or in some other way make her heart
glad. Snow her that you appreciate her,
and that you give her credit for a large
part of your success.
Let US do all We can to make up for
past neglect of the little-known, half-ap-
preciated. unheralded mothers who have
had SO little credit in the past and are so
seldom mentioned among the worlds
achievers. by openly, and Especially in
our hearts. paying our own mothers ev-
cry tribute of honor respect, devotion
and gratitude that love can suggest. Let
us. acknowledge to the world the great
debt we owe them by wearing, every one
Of us. boy and girl, man and woman. on
Mothers Day white carnation-the
flower chosen as the symbol and emblem
OF motherhood
fCoryrght. lsiD