Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1915-11-10

fiuence OF your congressman, your dis
tinguished citizen, but because Of tn
woman who 10 his wife, and while thi
particular congressman may need no prod
ding, he may be led by your influence t
prod others.
In regard to the pure food law, think
ing, active, prominent man Of another
state told me there would neverlhave beer
any pure-food law at all but for thu
activity OF the women. The river snt
harbor organization is another proof o.
the interest OF women in grest
things, and the worth of their
effort. Beauty is not forgotten, and
the school garden has become more and
more important by the efforts of..the
women. No matters are too great fol-
organized womanhood to study = univer-
sal peace and preparedness, proper light
ing, proper ventilation, right feeding Of
infants, pure milk, bettern roads, the
worth Of Emusic flor civic betterment,
better health, more moral surroundings
for the children, the contagion from re-
sorts and saloons being emphasized. The
need OF honorable, efficient and painstak-
ing boards OF health in state, city and
town is urged. And so might go on and
on, and the story would not be told.
You remember OF old there were the few
disciples, but they were instructed to 60
into the byways and the hedges, to "bear
witness, and 1t is just as necessary o-day,
and the testimony is in just remembering ~
am my brothers. keeper, which is nett her
appalling nor gigantic. simply an awaken
| ing which will result as much for the good
! of the l, as Of the brother.
Knowing my ancestry and home SUR
roundings, you will perhaps pardon partic-
ular emphasis upon the need OF work
with the women for better health. In
FAINT mortality in our own State is larger
than it should be. Bear in mind this fact,
for without diploma with certificate Of
moral character, without endorsement Of
any sort, people are allowed to have and
rear children. In nothing else is such q
lack OF knowledge permitted. Therefore
there are many who need guidance which
comes from the widespread interest and
discussion OF vital issues.
Deformed, detected children are more
numerous than they should be; contagion
is not always properly guarded; prevent
tive work is not properly emphasized, and
advanced medicine to-day is to prevent
rather than only to cure. SO your best
work is to make a mighty effort to have
conditions that will make for physical
and moral health. Every day of my life
am more convinced that the wrecking OF
many lives is largely from ignorance, and
this ignorance is not alone in the slums,
SO to speak.
Proper values is greater thing than we
sometimes realize. If we can so influence
the young that they will have proper
values, we shall be doing much to help
them. One cultured speaker and success
full worker for better civic conditions has
said: "No home is safe unless the street is
safe" Had you thought of this? Had
you realized that through those protecting
walls, inside the brightly-lighted rooms,
within that holy place, your home, the
evils Of the street could penetrate, SO you
and yours would suffer?
After we have sufficiently realized this,
let me qoute the rest of the statement of
this able man, for he said also: mo
church is safe, unless the street is safe.
Do you believe this? Do we who love to
work in and for the church realize the
influence of the street which we have
hardly noticed, and the personnel Of
which we had not thoughtof, SO
hot no
sufficiently? Do we realize this fact? Still,
a fact it is.
Contagion is not only OF the physical,
as great and sad as is this contagion, but
there are others full more appalling.
The child labor law is of great interest
to women. The value of the child is con-
stantly being emphasized by thinking
people, and organized womanhood early
saw the necessity of the instruction Of
the child in lines educating him for a
strong factor in civic betterment. Educa-
tors are now urging it, and showing by
practical work how the children can be
taught to do civic work by keeping the
street clean of what heretofore they
thoughtlessly scattered upon it, intro
| ducing this in the grammar grades OF the
public schools.
II was long ago conceded that the de-
claration OF Lincoln was true, that "This
nation could not exist half free and half
slave" but we are fast realizing there is a
slavery other than that of which be spoke,
and it is this slavery which we have to
fear, for the working child not only
makes slave of himself but Of the older
ones of the family, which will continue
generation after generation il the child
works in ignorance and to the loss OF
proper instruction in many things now
taught in the public schools.
Women have helped in emphasizing
the worth OF manual training and domes-
tic science as part OF our public school
| instruction. More and more are we real
izing that it is the child upon whom we
must work; it is the child who is to make
4 k-I4 all he