The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1919-06-11
Two Mothers
Why Is So Little Attention Given to Mothers
Throughout the Worldf

In the window of one of the fashionable art stores Of
New York the writer recently painting which at
tracted constant crowd
The title of the picture Is might be- 1.-The Mother
of the West"
In the middle foreground sitting beside pool of water
is the figure of an Indian mother and by her side his
back his feet in the air and his little body full of action
lies baby son.
Stod and expressoness as the Indian countenance
supposed be- face of this untuored is lighted
with the joy of motherhood and it is the smile that has
been the charm of hundreds of paintings of the Madonna
from the brushes of the old masters.
The background of the painting is vivid with the coors
of the desert and the bancy of light and shade that
nature best pictures where she has been least disturbed by
civilization.
Melting almost imperceptbly into the far distant hori
ION and sky is figure of Him who has been most often
painted in child life and who forgetting the httest
ones said Suffer little children to unto for of
such is the kingdom of heaven"
Whatever may be the artistic merits of the painting
and whatever may be the price, and undoubtedly some
where the thousands to the many who look at daily
it is picture of motherhood expression of love and
devotion visualzng of the nearest divine passion
that humanity ever reaches
An hour after the writer had seen the painting he saw
another picture But in this second the figures were
living.
The background was the dirty brick wall of a house
which bad much better days.
Just of the sidewalk stood street photographer With
curious cannonshaped contvance which seemed COM
bine in its nsdes all the requirements of both and
dark ROOM he making ready to take the picture of
Italian woman and her baby.
The little one lacked the life and animation of his
brother on the painted canvas.
His face pinched and pale and his haclosed eyes
had little of the sparkle that tells of health and happiness
The mother she prepared for the picture pulled
the sed hood from around the baby face and seemed
be trying to rouse it from its lethargy.
She kissed it, and the photographer said Ready
she looked at the little with tenderness that was not
all pity for there pride exuation pictured in her
face to say There preter sweeter dearer son
than mine
With many motions and much talk of the merits which
he said the picture to possess the photographer
went through the process which resulted tinvpe which
he placed in paper holder which served also as frame
and handed it to the mother. !
That pleased her it plain That it looked to her
like her baby evident from nod of approval as she
compared it with the original
She undoubtedly said to herself mot so pretty as he
Is but will do And she paid the artist of the street and
went away
We wonder whether when that boy grows up he will
ever look so lovingly upon picture of his mother as she
looked his
We wonder if he will say "There never was sweeter.
dearer mother than mine"
He will never know how lovingly she looked upon his
fra and unaracve body how proud she was to Dose
with him in her arms
There very few of u.s. whether we are children o
the desert or sons Of the city that realize how much we
were to our Mothers what they bore that we might live
what anees they suffered for sakes and how deepv
happiness and webeing weighed upon their hearts
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