The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-27
DOROTHY DIX TALKS
BIZ DOROTHY DIX
Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer.
Mother as q Press Agent:

think its own the~whitest. and Tor eV-
cry mother to be convinced that each
of her children is an infant phenome-
non who is destined to make the world
sit up and gasp with awe and wonder.
Heaven knows that but for this
beneficent provision of nature no child
would ever be raised. Except for see
ing beauties in the round, featureless,
cream -cheese-iike countenance OF her
baby that no other mortal eye can see,
no woman would have the patience to
go on washing its drooling little mouth
and keeping it clean and healthy.
Except for hearing Caruso-like tones
in the howl of her infant, no woman
would have the fortitude to walk the
collie thru the cold. Silly hours of the
night.
It's the obsessien of mother vanity
that makes a woman see her children
not as they are, but glorified, that
keeps the world spinning round, and
preserves the human race. Otherwise
infanticide would be our favorite in
door sport, for do we not continually
reflect that if we had to stand those
awful, mischievous ugly, stupid Jones
children, should certainly Kill
them?
And do we not wonder how it is
possible that all other children are so
inferior to our own beautiful and gift
ed darlings?
Do we not dread, even as we would
an attack of the plague. the coming
of a guest to visit US who brings her
little olive branches along with her,
while we take our own children to
spend week-ends with our friends on
whom we wish to bestow an especial
treat?
Yea, verify, such is the way of moth
ers which had evidently never been in
vestigated by the gentleman who
spoke of the way of a serpent on a
rock. and the way of a man with a
could solve. For the way of a mother
! with her child is the mystery of all
| mysteries, past all guessing.
Now it is all right for mother to be
her children's press agent. Goodness
knows most of US need somebody to
| trouble with mother is that she gem
orally bungies the job so badly. Her
work is raw. She oyerdoes it. She
| lacks finesse and especially she lacks
restraint, and SO often in trying to
| turn a seaFchlight on the virtues of
her offspring she only succeeds in
calling Nattention to their defects.
We ali know, for instance, some
| nice. plain. sensible girl, without a
vestige of beauty, or talent. or spar
4
her to attract attention in any way,
| but left to her own devices she would
| be admired, as one of the solid, SEN
sible, unpretentious women that ev-
| erybody likes to have about, just be-
| cause they are so comfortable to get
alonP with, and call for no Mysteries
| of admiration, and rouse no envy.
But mother ruins all of this by her
| indiscreet press agentry. She des-
cants ceaselessiy about the girls won
derful hair and beautiful eyes and
| magnificent figure, thereby drawing
| the attention of the listener TO the fact
| that the unfortunate maiden is no
understudy of Lillian Russell in pull
| chritude.
Mother also repeats fulsome COM
pfiments that she ayows perfect
| strangers have paid to daughter, and
tells of rows and rows of nameless
| suitors who are dying to marry daugh-
ter. but to whom daughter cruelty says
No"
Women are accused of having nc
sense of humor. Certainly they have
no sense of humor where their chill
dren are concerned, and such mothers
never perceive that in attributine
charms to their daughters which the
girls have not, and never claim to
have. that they are making Their
| daughters ridiculous, and a Laughing
| stock among their friends Many a
girls worst enemy is her own mother
who kills whatever chance of success
she. might have by booming her stock
SO heavily.
And mother makes precisely the
same mistake in conducting her press
agent campaign for son. If statistics
could be gathered on such subjects. i,
would be interesting to know how
| many young men enter real pfe ham
dicapped by prejudice against then
that has been fomented by theil
| mothers incesSant explorations oil
their talents and virtues
The community has heard m other
monoiogue about what marvel sor
is, what brilliant talent son has dis.
played at this and that what an ath.
iete son is, how the college depends
on son to preserve it's traditions ant
the football team to carry it to vic
tory, until by the time son gets thr,
school and is ready to go into bushes.
or profession the whole communit,
is SO fed up on son that il r1auseate.
1T even to hear his name.
. NO mere human being wants to hay,
any dealings with such a paragon
. and especially with a paragon that n,
i close inspection seems to have none n
| tne earmarkS of a world beaten hi,
is just a plain, ordinary, every da,
young man, who is no more like hi
mothers portrait of him than a sou
brette's hunks of glass are like tn,
first water diamonds that she adver
tiSes she has lost
The reason that many a man ha.
to leave his own home town to get :
start in his career is because he ba
to get away from his mothers pres
asentry and go to live among peopl
who will take him for what he i
instead of expecting him to be wha
' his mother said he was
: OF course there is something yer
tender and beautiful in this mothe
alteration that causes a woman to be
: hold her children always surrounde
by a radiant halo, and that make
her want to force the world to Sc
2 them thru the same golden mist Fo
a woman's children represent to he
= not only her own flesh and blood
They are her iHearnate dreams an
ambitions. All that she has hope
, for and wished for in life she expect