The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-17
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

I would in no way take away from sons the love they bear their methers, or minimize the influence of mother over her boy, but I am glad that al last people are beginning to see that there should be closer bond between fathers and sons.
 
 One of the things I best remember in my various studies of the life of Gothe, whose home town of Weimar is on the front page just at present on ac- count of the portentious and revolu- tionary happenings in the government of Germany, was the powerful influ- ence which the thought of fatherhood had upon his mind.
 My attention was directed to the thought of fathers and sons by the annual dinner of the Independent Pres byterian church at the Southern club on Wednesday night where fathers and sons came together for a few on fathers and otherwise took charge of them much to their pleasure and delight.
 This is Father and Son week throughout America and more and more each year it is being featured. Association Men, the Red Triangle magazine, gives much space to it, and it is well that it should, for it's business is to help fathers in bringing up red blooded, conscientious and capable young men, and it has done it's work well.
 The editor gives the place of honor to an Illuminating article by s. Parkes Cadman, virile thinker. whom I first heard when he was connected with a big Methodist institutional church in New York and before he changed his denominational affiliations. He was force then and has been growing ever since. He has been heard with delight recently in Birmingham.
 
 Nine out of ten of the fathers of great men have never suspected what they were bestowing upon the world in their sons. It came down in our family through the Washington branch in diary kept by a maiden aunt that the father of Woodrow Wilson nevet had any great hopes that Tommy" was ever to be one of the worlds greatest men. His father was a Pres byterian preacher and with his family was Often a visitor in the home of my uncle.
 I have a sister who lives in Wash- ingtoh city and who for a score or moSe of years has followed the pro-, fession of a genealogian and whose speciality .sis painting coats of arms and making family trees (By the way, I have just had a letter that she was disappointed in big commission be- cause man prominent in public life desired crest and upon search was not entitled to it.) It's her business to keep trace of prominent families. In her girlhood she used to visit her cousins in Washington, Ga. My uncle, Samuel Barnett, being a neigh Dor to Gen. Robert Toombs from ante be1lum times was Presbyterian and his home was the stopping place for Dr. Wilson on his visits to this cultured little city after the war was over There was great intimacy be- tween the families.
 Well, to hurry along, when Woodrow Wilson became President my sister in Washington remembered the old fam. fly album down at Washington, Ga., | for in it was a picture of the Wilson family, showing Woodrow as a boy. 1 She wrote down to cousin to forward 1 it to her, for she realized that it had i both an historic and a monetary value. and she took it to the publishers of one of the big magazines and got $25 for permission to Reproduce it. l Now, dear Aunt Emma, the maiden aunt. was in the habit of recording the sayings of those who visited her, for she was an invalid for a half century. and she also wrote down the bright sayings of all the children in the con- nection. In fact, she was "central'' 1 for the Barnett family, keeping in close touch with the various branches scattered far and wide. More than 4o years ago. without any thought of the ! future, she set it down that Dr. Wil- son had high hopes for all the mem l bers of his family save 'Tommy." l Parents can never tell how their sons will turn out-but study of bio- | graphy of great men will reveal the fact that scores of them never in their boyhood gave evidence of the great ness to which one day they would be called. The boy who lags at school in his teens may carry away honors in his college days while the bright lad in the primary grades may fall out when he reaches the university. Sure it is a tremendous resnonsi. bility to be a father, and the call is for more men willing to give the same thought to the rearing of their boys that they do to their business or pro. fession. am going to let Bruce Bar. ton state the case, for he has done fl better than I con. Fathers read it art then make up your minds that you art going to give your boys fair deal. He says: Recently I visited twt homes. The first was home of abun.