The Ordway new era., 1915-05-28
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spect the best developed
.hild in the United States, recently
spoke in New York theater on Nat
lral Education" 1900 women we're
turned away because there was not
even standing room available.
The most significant incident came
after her informal address. when Mrs
Stoner invited the "kiddy.kids," as she
called them. to come up on the stage
and play with her. There was an i'm.
mediate and scrambling response. She
Is love at first sight to all children;
that was apparent. They rush in
stinctiveIy toward her as bees head
toward flower bed that holds sweets
In store for them. Pell-mell the chill
dren, who never had seen her before.
swarmed about her. embracing her
knees. clinging to her hands. and
without touch of self-consciousness.
though the theater was packed to the
pit, fell to learning how to say "howdy
10" and "good-by" In Japanese. To this
they added under her magic tuition a
3oem in Chinese. a bit of Mother
Goose" in Esperanto. game played In
Latin and lullaby in French.
1t was easy enough to see how one
who could teach children these things
In 16 minutes could as teacher OF her
own daughter achieve the marvellous
results that have made Winifred Sack.
vile Stoner, Jr.. the most prominent
figure in the group Of supernormal
children that the magazines and news
papers have exploited SO largely for
the past few years.
Winifred Stoner at twelve writes
and speaks eight languages fiuently;
she has written for publication since
she was five years old and has num-
Der Of books to her credit, among these
q translation OF Mother Goose" into
Esperanto rhyme under the title PA
trino Anserino." that has been pro-
nounced by college professors worthy
Of a professional linguist or q poet Of
standing"
She has written French verse. a suf-
frage book entitled "A Plea for Gallant
Knights" and is now translating her
mothers Natural Education" into
French.
She has passed college examinations
for degrees successfully and has taught
a class in Esperanto. in the Carnegie
institute in Pittsburgh.
And she knows most of the Latin
classics by heart
Withal. her mother contends that
she is not prodigy, but just normal.
healthy, happy child who finds as much
pleasure in Peter Rabbit" as she does
in the classics and who has ambitions
to grow up to be cowgirl and a maga-
zine editor. Mrs. Stoner shrinks from
having the apple of her eye exploited
as a psychological problem. It is only
her keen love for children and interest
in what may be achieved for them
through natural education that she
was persuaded to put her experience
and methods with her baby into book
form and to lecture on the subject.
Mrs. Stoner talked more at length
about her work to representative of
the New York Press in her apartment
in a New York hotel. Winifred. the
wonderful child, was getting ready for
bed at eight o'clock. She came when
her mother called-a rather sleepy lit
tie girl, with her shoes already unbut-
toned-and obediently recited one
Grafton from Cicero. There is moth.
ing of the pedant about the child.
Mrs. Stoner believes that the des-
TIMES of all nations are in the hands
of its mothers. The destiny of ma
tions lies far more In the hands of
women-mothers-t in the hands
of those who possess power" she
quotes Froebel. I'VE must cultivate
women who are the educators of the
human race, else a new generation
cannot accomplish its task. The Chi
nese were the first people to collect
facts and to give general information
to pupils in schools. but their civiliza-
ton did not advance until they lifted
the ban from woman learning, and
since they have awakened to the truth
of like mother, like son. they are
making vast strides.
Man owes everything to woman"
Mrs. Stoner says. s"She Is the source
of his existence; but as stream can
not rise higher than its source, SO the
son cannot outshine his mother. 1t is
for this reason that few great men m
the past have had great sons. These
men were often SO engrossed In their
great works that they did not take
time to choose their mates wisely
Therefore, in many cases the children
were nodded by their mothers into In
ferior casts"
Those who expect to see an intel
lectual prodigy in Winifred Stoner are
surnr,sed that she comes nearer real