The Washington herald., 1917-10-16
They Are Sisters Under the Skin.
BY DOROTHY DIX.
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer

In one of his cynical and amusing
plays, Shaw says Of a certain woman
that she was such a good mother that
she was hardly human.
Be that as it may, there is certainly
something about motherhood that
seems to rob the average woman OF
almost human intelligence when it
comes to dealing with her own on
/ spring. She may be wise and sensi-
BILE woman, with. clarity of vision and
sound judgment in all other matters
in life, but where her children are con-
cerned she takes leave of all sense
and reason and becomes binder than
any bat.
She cannot even see that her own
children are OF the same flesh as all
humanity, subject to the same weak
nesses and temptations. She visions
her own as little godlings living on
plane far above. The hardest thing
in the world is ever to convince a
mother that her child is at fault, and
when she is convinced Of it against her
will, she invariably lays the blame on
some other child who led her precious,
innocent darling into wrongdoing.
This settled conviction that every
mother has that she has Matched out a
perfect white swanis the greatest bar
rier that stands in the way of women
helping their children and protecting
them. The mother wants her child to
be perfect, and she shuts her eyes to
its imperfections and refuses to see
them. She never takes stock of her
child, calmly and dispassionately. as
she would of some other child; she
never recognizes its bad qualities as
well as its good qualities. so the child
is denied whatever opportunity there
might be to have his weakness-physi-
cal. mental or moral-corrected.
A famous alienist once told me that
this inability of mothers to see their
children as they are doomed innumer-
1ble men and women to go through
life hideous deformities or gibbering
| idiots Surgery can do wonders in
Strengthening out soft. little bones.
Skilled alienists can perform miracles
in tanning the flicker of intelligence
into a brighter fame in a baby's brain.
But the mothers will not see that any
thing Is the matter with their children
until the time to change has gone by.
This strange obsession of mothers
that their children are not like other
children is the real reason why moth
ers are so careless about protecting
their daughters. and why they fail so
signally to teach their girls the things
they should know about life. There
| is no woman who Is old enough to
have daughters who does not know
the temptations that assail a girl, and
| the -,itfalls that lie in wait for her
| feet. There Is no mother who could
mot give the wisest and most helpful
. advice to her neighbours daughter, and
who could not present the girl across
the street with a perfect code of con-
duct that would insure her safety any
where IL 1t was carefully followed.
| But this same mother will never say
! two words Of real heartfelt counsel to
her own daughter because she is so
perfectly convinced that her daughter
doesn't need 1t. Mamie Smith may be
tempted by the bright lights and the
desire for pretty clothes. and Joy
rides. and good times. Sally Jones
may fall so head-over-heels in love
with some handsome scamp with a
glib tonge In his head that she may
be as wax in his hands. Mary Tomp-
kins may be a wild, thoughsless, reck-
less, harem-scarem girl who thinks
1t dashing to show she's dead game
sport by smoking cigarettes and drink
ing high balls, until some day she
drinks little too much and goes reel
ing along the street.
Every mother. except those concern
ed. can see the danger that lies in
wait for these girls, and could guard
them against 1t, but each mother re-
CARDS her own daughter as such an
impeccabIe saint that she doesn't con-
slider that she needs any danger signs
erected in front of her. Other girls
have undisciplined natures. other girls
are the victims of their infatuation for
men, other girls long for the flesh
/; pots. but not her own daughter. Oh
' no. every mother is convinced that her