The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-09

instead of joy riding around in an
automobile, she inevitably engenders
in you self pity, which is the most
fatal mental affliction that anybody
can have.
1t renders its victim morbid, pes
simistic, envious. and morally and
physically flabby, and kills every
prospect of success. There's no pep
and ginger left in such a person.
Nothing of the spirit that makes him
want to go over the top, and fight
his way to victory, nor is there in him
one quality that draws him to. an
other human being, and gives that
comradeship that makes anyone give
him a hand up.
Mothers sympathy has made more
failures than any otEer one thing in
the world.
On the other hand. the mother who
gives her children a brace instead of
pity when they face the hard duties
of life, breeds in them the qualities
that makes success. Do you think
that those two Brooklyn boys whose
mothers held them steady in the
ranks when they got wabbly' and
wanted to drop out, will make good
soldiers? Never a doubt of it. They
simply wouldn't dare to come back
and look their mothers in the face if
they showed the white feather. They
would know that their mothers
wouldn't weep tears of sympathy over
a coward IheV WOulQ SnIiNSi iiiiii
up with their scorn
All life is a battle, and it's hard on
the young and weak. There come
times of discoura cement when every
boy and girl feels like throwing down
their weapons and surrendering, ana
whether they do or not depends abso-
lutely on the kind of a mother they
have
When Johnnie's work gets to the
place where it's a dull. monotonous
grind of daily labor. with lots OF un-
nleasant thinys in it; when he doesn't
get very well paid and things look
discoura ging, mother can pity him I'M
til she makes him as soft and spineless
as disErag, so that he goes mar
heartedly and sullenly about his task,
or leaves his place in the vain hope
that he will find that mythical job
that has big pay and no work attached
to it. And hnnie by means of moth
er's sympathy qualities for the roam
ing ne'er do well class, who never get
anywhere.
course yo-r. work is hard. All work
is hard. but you are man enough to
go thru with it without whimper.
OF course you're not being well PAID.
but the way to change all that Is to
nut every ounce of your strength and
intelligence into your work so that
you will work out of the ill paid class
You have to pay for success in this
world my son, with your hearts
blood, but it's worth it. I'm backing
you to win. because l know you've
got the stuff in you to carry on. in
stead of beii one of the weak ones
that fall by the wayside.
That kind of a mother puts iron into
the souls of her sons. She makes
them afraid of but one thing in theS
world, and that is that they won't
come up to their mothers measure.
And it's mothers pity that is first
aid to the u4vorce court. A spoiled
Young girl who has not been taught
that she has any duty to any human
creature, or any responsibility, or that
she's expected to do anything but
amuse and indulge herself, gets mar
RED She finds that matrimony 10
not picnic; that it calls for self sac
rifle and self denial, and she rebels
against it, and runs home with her
tale of woe to mother. And mother
and regards her as a martyr. The end
of it is a broken home and divorce.
But ninety-nine times out of a hun
bred Mary wouldn't run home to
mother If she knew that mother would
say: "Of course marriage brings care
and responsibility. It's the serious
business of life. Go back and do your
duty that you swore to at the ALTAR
And there would be no divorce.
What We need is not mothers SYM
pathy It's mothers with nerve to
hold their children up to doing the
right thing. God send us more moth
ers of the Brooklyn type,
A~@ 81