The Washington herald., 1917-07-11

We have glorified mother love as
| the very essence of altruism, but In
reality 1t is the most selfish passion
that animates the human breast.
No matter how good and kind and
generous and sympathetic woman
may be in other relations Of life,
when 1t comes to her own children
she becomes a savage, fighting tooth
and claw to get everything they want
for her own offspring.
She is incapable Of perceiving that
| anyone else has any rights or IL en-
titled to any privilege II they con-
fllct with her children's. She is dead
to any sense of Justice or fair play
between her children and other people.
II other people have to be trampled
down or hurt to get them out Of her
childreh's way, she Is sorry, but she
doesn't hesitate about doing 1t. and
! she is filled with wonder when they
| resent 1t. She simply can't compre-
hend why the whole world isn't glad
to sacrifice itself before her Mamie
and Johnnie.
OF course, the wise ones will tell
us that this ruthless mothers self
ishness Is an instinct inherited from
our primative mothers who had to
fight with wild animals for the food
to sustain their children, but it's Gu
rious how to this very day every
woman with babe in her arms re-
verts to type.
Watch the mother on the street
car who is taking her precious little
Bobby down town with her. Bob
by's shoes are covered with mud and
dirt, and the street car is crowded
with extensively dressed men and
women. whose clothes will be soiled
| by being used as a door mat for
Bobby's shoes. But does mother con-
slider this? Not at all. She calmly
hoists Bobby up on the seat and lets
| him kneel so he can look out of the
window. needless of the damage that
his dirty shoes do to the raiment
| about him. And by the time they
| reach their destination Bobby's shoes
are quite clean. and four or five
gowns and suits OF clothes have to
go to the cleaner.
Or perhaps. Bobby takes the occa-
sion of riding on the street car to
eat bananas or chocolate creams,
which he generously smears all over
the garments of everybody in arms
length Of him. Bobby's mother cannot
fail to perceive the havoc he is doing.
but she never even dreams of such
thing as interfering with Bobby's
appetite for the sake of protecting
| the innocent bystander. What are
other peoples rights compared to
Bobby wanting to eat his banana
right then and there? Nothing TO her.
The selfishness OF mothers makes a
visit from a woman with children
more devastating than plague of
the seven years locus. You have an
tique mahogany that is the apple of
your eye. Mother never lifts her hand
! to stay little Bobby when he takes
pin and scratches his name upon
the polished top OF your most cher
Ished table. Instead. mother calls
your attention to what a good hand
| he Is going to write. II Bobby wants
| to make wagon wheels out OF YOUR
grand opera rhonGgraph records,
mother encourages him to develop his
/ inventive faculty that way, and IL
little Mary desires TO play dolls with
your TanaCra statuettes. mother
! calmly hands them down TO her.
And II you object to having your
| property destroyed by a lot Of little
vandals. mother thinks you are a sell
! fish old crank not to be willing to sac
rifice your possessions for the amuse-
ment OF her darlings. she can't rise
to the point of view of your having
right to your own things IL her
children want them.
And 1t Is amusing. and also tragic
to note how this mother selfishness
distorts a woman's sense of justice
when she comes to deal with one OF