Omaha daily bee., 1915-12-17
A Song
for Mothers
to Study
by ELLA WHEELER wnoox.

BY ELLA WHEElAhh WALCOAs
Copyright. 1915, The Star Publishing Co
"A song is being sung on hundreds Of
stages all over the the country entitled
Mother"
The lyric is by Howard johnson and
the melody OF Theodore Noise. The
song represents a young man who has
been knocked about the world, with little
opportunity for education, who says:
- Ms for the million things she
I" gave to me,
O-means only that she is grow
ing old.
T-is for the tears were shed to
save me,
HIS for her heart of purest
q is for her eyes with love-llsht
shining,
p-means right and right she'll
~ always be.
Put them together they, spell
means the world TO me
Then there is a second verse:
Ms for the mercy she posses
O-means that owe her all
own.
T--is for her tender. sweet cares
u-is for her hands that made a
E-mesns everything she's done
to help me,
p-means read and regular you
These verses have a sweet. homely
meaning and. set to attractive music
and sung by famous young woman,
must reach the public heart. They will
mean a great deal to many mothers, but,
meantime, do not let every woman who
is q mother in name too quickly accept
the sentiments contained in these verses
as applying to her by right.
, Every mother who reads the song or
hears it sung ought to take 1t line by
line and ask herself just how much of it
is true in her own particular case. What
are the million things that you gave
your son. madam?
Did you give him Lessons in self-con-
troll from his cradle UP to manhood both
by precept and example7
Did you teach him politeness toward
older people, and mercy and sympathy
and consideration for the poor and the
unfortunate7
Did you give him q consciousness that
he owed a great duty to 'umb animals,
10 the crippled. the deaf. the dumb and
the blind, and other unfortunates en-
,ountered along life's pathway
Did you give him the knowledge that
II was a vulgarity. and criminal act as
we'll. to take fruit from his nelghbor's 9
lrees or flowers from. his neishbor,s gar
len, no matter how much fruit or many
flowers that neighbor might possess2
Did you give him clean, high under
standing, so that he would be able to pro-
tect other mems sisters and to feel SYM
pathy and pity for erring women?
Did you give him a respect for lam
guage sufficient to enable him TO avoid
coarse, unclean or profane expressionsH
Unless you have done all this. the mill
lion other things you may have given
your boy are not OF much value. Although
III" may stand for your hands that made
home. It does not stand for a heart OF
purest gold. unless you have thought OF
some or all OF these things in the edu-
cation OF your boy.
|, Neither does ''R" indicate that right
>you will always be, even though your
boy may think you so unless you have
brought him up with an understanding
of the rights Of others In the small as
well as the large things of life. and un-
,ess you have done your utmost to elimi-
uate JcdiOuSyB envy anu Brceu IEoIh MS
nature.
These efforts must be begun very early.
The child who is allowed to monopolze
all the playthings lest he should cry and
annoy older people. the one who does not
share his toys and gifts with others and
who is not taught the beauty of such
sharing. cannot be expected to suddenly
acquire these moral precspts after he is
grown.
The child who Is allowed to be domi-
neering and disagreeabIe to his compan-
ions. who is allowed to trespass upon the
rights OF his neighbors. who helps him
self to their fruits and flowers. unre-
buked. because he Is a mere child, is not
going to become a man who will respect
his neighbors' rights OF property.
Therefore. my dear madam, take this
song and study It, line by line. and see
how much Of It applies to you. 1t de-
scribes every mother as she ought to be,
but not every mother as she Is.