Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-10-25
FOR FATHERS DAY.
women's Christian Temperance Union
Mages Suggestions For Ceie-
hrafiug the Day


brating the Day
The suggestion has been made that
II has. become almost an impossibility
TO catch the public ear with anything
that savors of praise for father. The
responsibility for this unwarranted
condition is charged against the stage.
| especially that branch of the theatre
cal activity known as the vaudeville
II is pointed out that in an effort 10
provoke the laugh, the fathers have
been ridiculed and lampooned until
such condition has been reached that
no audience will patiently sit through
a song or skit that offered a need OF
praise to the paternal encestor.
Today the organization known rs the
women's Christian Temperance Union
is undertaken to soften this aspect of
public sentiment and have designated
the day as one in which the good caal
ities Of the supposed head of the fam
iiy are to be pointed out and rhetorical
wreaths OF honor laid OF the rnonu-
T,ent OF marble or bronze. but tower
ing structure having its foundation in
the hearts of all people who love jhs
tice. its apex touching the stars; for
lust as truly as there are good women,
noble mothers. so must there be at
least a few good fathers whose pre-
cepts ana evan Piles have Decn not only
inspiration to the mothers, but have
pushed the race higher 20 the sun
light of a more perfect existence.
1t is practically gratifying that the
| praise of fathers should come from the
| mothers of the land, for these beings
know better tnan the fathers tEem-
| selves the weaknesses, the shortcom-
| ings. the littleness of those who are
| Jointly responsible for the rerpetua-
| ton of the race. And Il is indeed
| gratifying to be told that here and
| there has been found father who hes
| lived up to his high PREF ogative and al
| though he has spent his life in modest
| ly performing the titles of a humble
citizen. should not be forgotten in the
great hurry to praise and do honor
| 10 the mothers of the land.
The old saw reads: Give a dog a
had name and hang him" And this
has been made to do service IN too
| many instances where condemnation
aas not been merited. and whore
word of praise or encouragement
| would have changed a life current and
| created a new channel of influence for
the betterment of the race. One time
| in ten ridicule will shame some men
into assuming a duty long neglected
| but in the ether uine instances it will
| drive the person farther into tho quag
| uire Of Indifference or despair or even
| resentment Apparently the tread OF
| this course of treatment has been rec
| ognized and the substitution of some
| thing dramatically different = now 10
be tried Censure has had its inning
and now it is proposed to substitute
| praise for blame, soft measures for
harsh, justice for oppression. The
| women, at least, have Oecore con-
| vince1 that the returns from the hith
| erto popular method OF treatment for
| father are altogether inadequate for
it is now proposed that he be elevat-
ed to the same platforya rs tnat occu
| pied by the mothers.
| And what is the expected outcome?
| Because the male portion Of the race
1 iitS DGthllAe the bONGA uAAlS II sA11iOils ~
iocs not mean that all men are usurp-
| ers, tyrants or natural robbers Of the
| weak; it means nothing more than
| that matters have drifted in this dircc-
| ton for centuries, and now that men
| have been shown the wrong OF existing
| conditions, the injLstices Of certain
| customs, they have signified a will
| ingness to make reparaticn. It means
that this sentiment is being rec0g-
nized as the true exhibit of mans at
titude. that he has outlived the ba-
ronial age and recognizd that the wife
and mother was his partner rather
than his vassal. The outcome will be
the lessening of the feeling Of sex an
| tagonism. which, in these days, is
| threatening to erect barrier to
| proper understanding between man
and woman; a feeling that bodies no
| good for the race. If the observance
| of Fathers Day" will draw us nearer
| to a proper understanding of some of
| the problems that have been developed
| by our modern civilization, then the
| day is well selected. There are all
| too many wars and conflicts engaging
| the worlds attention for the two sexes
TO add to he complication and con
fusion now creating countless prob
lens for the disturbing of the equan-
nifty of peace-loving people.
/ -Sl---