Evening star., 1916-12-24
In appreciation Of Mothers

Having been voter for number of years. and
something of student of politics, am under illusions
1t is very clumsy weapon. Politics accompshes
minimum of progress with maximum of expense and
noise. There many other avenues of influence
quiet, more pleasant and far more effective
But if the mothers of America believe that the ballot
will help them to widen their influence; if suffrage will
extend the atmosphere of the home into politics instead
of extending the atmosphere of politics into the home; if
the ballot will help women to make the working con-
dtions of girls better enable them to lead happier bigger
and forever
It's an interesting thing to remember that the whole
process of evolution has been devoted to single
compishment-the development of a mother
Nature began with the protozoa the simplest form of
life: then she made the then the mousks: then
the amphba then the reptiles then the BIRDS and last
of all, what?
The mammalia as science calls hem-the mothers.
Having made the mothers, Nature has made
anything since. She considered her task complete.
All up through the various stages of life she had
struggled gradually toward motherhood
In the lower stages there is no Motherhood because
there is infancy. With the ephemeriea the moment
of birth is also the moment of death: they bor live,
and die all in single instant. Not much chance for
motherhood there.
The land-crab marches down from her mountain home
to the seasore year. lays her eggs in the sand and
marches up again Uhere Feminsts, by the way,
who contend that the andcrab has the right ideahat
motherhood ought to be only incident in the womans
life, as it is in the andcrab's life)
Even with the higher animals the young are dependent
on the mother for only few days or weeks or months
They quickly to serelance they ready almost
Immediately to feed themselves.
For alone Nature reserved infancy. And infancy
created motherhood.
For years the child is dependent upon its mother abso-
utey. 1t is weak helpless, unable to feed itself unable
to walk easy victim to single hours neglect.
Out of its helpessness unse!fshness born into
woman's heart; out of it's pain grew sympathy: out of
its long of weakness patience and ssacrfcing
deDotion.
Women, bending the cradles Of their young,
learned these virtues first little by little they have
passed them to And the worlds progress is
measured by the slow record of their growth in the world
the growth of patience and unselfsness and devotion
and love.
Unless each new generation of gathered these
golden virtues all again at the cradles of their young
the world would soon forget
The weakness of infancy is the of all social
progress. "O such is the kingdom of heaven"
We men in business get to thinking of ourselves as
important in the scheme of things: but aren't. Har-
rman dies and the trains his railroads stop for five
minutes and then rush again. We be killed
by millions, and the ranks close up and move forward
The world not be permanently damaged, so long
it has it's mothers.
"What does France need most?" they asked Napoleon
"Mohers," his reply.
"All that | am | owe to my mother" Lincoln said
hundred times.
And what true of Lincoln is true in large degree
OF every other good man in the world.
Fortunate those men who know it,