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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1912)
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND, SUNDAY" MORNING, APRIL ti. Jilt Re Country Mother' and Ier Problems I. . y Vk i m i i m k . . s r taw a. i i ? em . ' - - .. ... x ft ttti . riMii iu b:'v fira rr?ii v ...r v, ; She Gin't Keep Her Boys on the Farm, Says an Agricultural Expert, Because She Is Unable to Keep Their Brains Busy T ET us first consider the xvonderful women who, in spite of their V!'"V- tar!ed, hard Ikes in the country, have sent out into the world some of its greatest leaders. Also that 97 per cent of the successful city men have been bred on the farm' There is a xvoman xvho knows, aho is in the thick of farm educational work, her activi ties touching it specially where it affects the farm child and the mother. She is an en thusiast who gives herself up to her voca tion with all her might and main, and trob akly comes more closely in touch with the women of the farm and their children than any one among those women themselves snore closely, perhaps, than anv one else in this country. It is she who makes those sen tences the keynote of a-talk. THE woman who bear tha children Of tha farm la truly unique among her aex. Tha woman of tna city iluea not, cannot, comprehend her; thalr wo .it loo lar asuuder. tJomatlinea, when 'country boarders" find "country boarding," tha clty Ua.tieu moiiier nein a lew, stray gllmpaea of thla femi nine exinteiK-f , &o utterly at variance with berg; but those glimptcs are gamed iliiuu!i ine natural. aelllsU haae of me buyer dealing with the aeller. c s And the woman of the larin. if she has a single busl " nasa lnatinot to bless l.erself wish, makes It her Hrt law at nature, aa a country beaming house keener, to put her own private affair in Hie background; her boarders, gue knows, are pleasurt-ieckeis, not irlends or even - guclologtsts. - bhe is not to be compared with the women of Europe ,- Whose homes are l lie larm. fcUie Is ol a kind totally . i tliflereni in naoit, tuoutjnt, altitude lonaid; me. In ine ' very air sne Drealhes and mo relations sue maintains .'toward those near her or near to her. There a wnois -pountryside migiit, more or lesi, be classed lor tolls anu r aspirations; lieie past, prnsent and lumro are innnkciy Vaitous. And now, even as the American tarm and us taimer are In process of unusual development and change, o the farmer's wlie and tne farm child's mother linos hei auirounuiiuss ctianginK, her dunes cnanB.iiK. iir outlook on her home ana tne world beyond cnang- - ing, too. i Keurly all of these mothers of the farm, from the .. very eviuerice tnat uk have done their part, command .the respect of their titers In tho cities, as trlumpuing over tiimculi tasks wen dune, iiut oniy some li'ieud uf - many of them, admitted to their lircsides and their hearts, who knows iium well, learns what truiy heroic figures may live and die. unknown of the outer world, in some quiet lannliouie at tneiid of a shaded lane. - '."Some of the women who live" on our farms,'' said - alia, "more than deserve tiie word "wonderful' 1 apply to them. The one, narrow avenue of feeiiiig through which tlie people of the cities olvine something of those lean, tarved mental Uvea Is their dread of the 'loneliness.' ; Hut It la not mere lonellnebs the ' woman of the farm endures; nor IS she necessarily lonely,. In the word's llt ' eral.sense. Bhe has neighbors who are, to her, mors " than neighbors ever are in l:;use great, crowded, heedless city hives. t But sne Is cut oil lrom lhat world of life and action, 'whose every sight and sound fill to overflow tha interest of the day; and, too often, the past she has . Inherited leaves her debarred from the intellectual stim Ulua which her husband takes as his natural, man s right. . . "Men In the country have been less starved than women,' for they are in rather frequent contact with their fellows In the country store, in the market, at the grange. In the associations of fruit growers. But many of tha women lack these broad and broadening Influences. ' "But wbaf achievements of sacrifice and resolute will their Uvea oftentimes 'show: 1 know one such woman whose life of toll has .been filled with high, true heroism, bhe has sent her .six children through college by her wn effort. It waa no unusual thing for her to retire at midnignt and be up at 4 o clock In the morning. To keep herself Informed on the affairs of the day, she borrowed . Uikb'aslnee and newspapers from her mora fortunate neighbors. v- "Her "toU and devotion, I believe, are rivaled by riot few other mother among the poorer farm folk. They, like thoir intelligent eisten among the more prosperous, rt-preeest the) .-women who discern truly their duty as mothers; who realise that their ftrat material care should bo to let their children have tha full opportunity the "toatton'a wfeole, wide. vaHed opportunltlee present "W nuit not overlook tha -fact that H per cent of " tho eucceeaful city, men ara those who have been edu cated cm the farm. It la -tha Invaluable moral yea, and tna phyiJcal training acquired on the-farm that fits a tnan to survive in the so-called strenuous Ufa of the -ret dry. ' -( . r J - 1 noee soccwirui men. mm wero continually '-- v - v r Mt ff elnc v.tha close econo lea, tha shrewd bargainings -the "work- Which tenaaa xy moral fiber that enters into, the straggle for life ro repetition wiia others, na man In Mall street - a ' -l - - i , .'7.; ;: r " SWa--- WSaaaaT- llteeM"" " " aaaa II W I II She is the trusted counselor t adviser and friend, by this time, of pretty nearly every boy and jjir living on a farm in one big state, and looked to for counsel by many of their mothers. So she knows, in a way thut no individual mother among them can quite know, what are the varied difficulties and han dicaps such a mother faces; and she realizes, as no woman who is not living on the farm can realize, the things that should be done and the means that can be depended on to aid. When, therefore, this expert consented to tell of the country mother, she brought to bear not only an exceptionally broad knowledge and experience, but the sympa thetic, intimate understanding, without which no word on this least known yet most vital of the nation's ' farm problems can true weight or bearing. have wrestles with other men; the worker on the farm w ics lies with nature. "He who wrestles best with men Is be who possesses most of fundamental endurance. For any city task, one can recommend the country bov for elemental require ments; he may lack the polish; he may lack many things. But all of these he can acquire. Jiis elemental virility ha brings from tho soil Itself, and he knows his own powers and his own nature. You can plow it field and dream your dreams, and It Is often the dreains we have in youth that make of us what we become In manhood. , This country life expert, because' she has seen- so many sides of farm life, Is too practical to be the sheer sesitlmenlanst. iter appreciation of the devo tion a mother can show, when Inspired by a right discernment other high duty, la balanced by an equal severity of Juagunent of her sex where women prove' stv irm Wl' I fl TOL trL W ft IVJJIT IjAj H ffVwBsjtswBiEa; 'Mawajnww If zz '7 nl 5sV I . ?r i " Is -r - i r ,k,3sf - Ml I S 2 ; ; ? , ( ' r k r I ' s ? I V; I IM: : y rr. I I -7ff ' ' iJL Uaweat'iWa? .etomwafr ittTmtt-xi--JI,)lm,mmmm, I it t f, -, , ,? inwj I "A HE man of the future the "y&fy hear future if he isn't a man of concrete himselft will be so snrrounded, occupied aniburied bv concrete, when the cement nrtai o-pt through with theit adaptations, that he will feel ' he ought fo be made ot concrete, though h isn't. 14: r '.- v V't.?-, f .- ;'?'.V , .A" I m t t .4 .t. "T-1, .'- vf-,'; ?'. I " kY tC2tv ;rx yi-t'i":'.: -- r 1 - '.. .1 v - w. '-'- . '' v ti- ''.'it i ri!;-. ( ltl!T'v't' " t , V " -t, , r 1 " ' V "4 x r-l ,.t. ' ' t.;.!-!. , - , 4- . , f v t e i T y - v , . ' i 1 r ' ' ( 't "'I . "i ' Lt'Int h1 I .-.-5. Jlj:; o , '- -V; 'l recroum-to thels children's 'bajif Interests. She under stands, but she refuses to' condone. "The woman who la a mother often indulges In a selfishness that Is colossal. They thlnk only with their mother hearts, which urge them to keep their boys for ever at their apron strings, however unjust life on tile farm may be to the son's real "talents. If they can- He wont eat concrete: no o, not that, although we have had clay-eaters in the United States lonjr enougli toraake ven such - diet seem not inrpo.-,1 aible. .But he may very well take hia meals sitting; - on concrete cjiairabt a concrete tabl h can do 1 aMpHMHMSl ' it now--nd:thc?e4eem4 to be no special reason. rv..:.;i---1 . :- - .v,,- . ' . 'v- 4;iV.- rk- ... t i i - ------ 4 1 4,4 vy? V vi J tail many (lm tMy frv too ihy ci fcf auuld Oeprtv feojr during him maturing ro&aoo4 ( tfeat tnoal prloalM ( tna 4larniit. bla trmm will. II la tmt (rota tapoaatbt to erun young amUUa a4 nlarprtM tor ttbr and, pvaiul. tivilvr aaiua. aa faugad by o individual fitaaaa. by depriving a boy vl a cnanea to know ina.ctiancaa thai wdar and lb oueupatloa Ibal aJluro blm. "1 anouJd by no iuuix urgo that a boy ba dayrlvad af kla tKy Ufa on llta farm, lta altould hat bit young Ufa In tha laboratory of naiura, lla win mut immanaa baaaflt from tha rontact but. hB ba haa rateavad tka ( whan hla character imp la blm to hla Jtrua ooalloa. ha abould bar oiwnad to blm ary avanua that may Invito hla ebotro. "It ta aaiy to aao how tha boy'a Inngtnia and amal tlont may run counter to hie mother hopaa and bar fear. Tna avara'a mother on tha farm prohaMy tha -eme mwk - 1 ' -- --n' Ufa for bar boy. Rba would rather aao Mm harbored there at homa forever than nm.in 10 ...a ii.yrtail danger tha draada In tha world about them "But to beep anv anan bound down Impriannad. whara harm can't rch htm. la criminal. Tie nuaht to know hla world: ha rtuirh to learn tha rtnoathllttlee of hla at rone. boatiMful hodv and aoul for good or lit. Ha muat ooner or latar. anroantar tha world ahnnt him: for. avail thaugh ha aoab to flea from It. thla world will forro Itaalf upon Mm. Ha muet learn how to ftht It "pnranta romo to in at my offlca and aab ma to lot' tbam know wrathar thalr Boy la going to chtireh. I hava aald. no; I won't py on Roy. If ha bitn't baan nroparry praparad for h'a mild orej o achnni life w.v from homa. It cannot ba accounted hla fault. Lot htra falter now, "if ha must, so that he shall find bis feet in grim reality. "A father told me he wouldn't let his son, 18 years old, drive a good horse; the boy must take the old plug. All I could say was that It was a pity; 'your hoys, any boys, are ashamed of driving an old plug, and all tha reward you will earn Is that, down In their hearts, they VVJH J M fltf If why he shouldn't help himself to potatoes aud pork and beans on a concrete plate; if he feels like it. And there ia no reason at all why hq shouldn't fill up a concrete pipe afterward they're doing that now, too and lean back to the luxury of hia concrete, smoke in a concreto armcliau Hke the substantial citizen he's goinpr to be. When, at last, he kicks the concrete bucket, they'll put him in a concrete coffin -they're - doinjr it now and plant him in a concrete vaujt doing that, too-1-and there let him rest under a concrete monument to concrete forever and ever, amen. - It'll be a concreted land and nation, all right, ivhcn th Ambitious specinlists in cement and its uses shall have wrought all the miracles they hope for, and seem to be in a fair way of performing. rj-v l HE cement men had an exhibition tnls year; they . have It every year It was In Kansas City, Mo., for J912" and they showed one . another their latest achievements With tho universal plastic. with the general public looking on, more surprised than they were. There seem to be only a couple of handicaps on tha use of concrete for every' purpose under the sun, .Includ ing sundial and burial-vaults. One of them is fitness for purpose; the other Is weight. Every year that passes - gives evidence that the fitness of concrete Increases and the weight decreases. A third limitation, cost, has now reached the stage where it meets the exoense of many older, rival materials and. for tho rest. Is atoned for by superiority. , - ' This -Isn't a concreted .country yet; but already so many of Its most familiar phases of existence proceed on concrete bases, that it could be almost made of con crete, from the cradle to tha gravo. with small expendl- ture of new, along, the lines of intimate homo uses, with -the one. m'hn &b1d7mcul v bimr Tbey can make countless articles in cement and creauve lur&a. lam miiwvmiii w with an onequsled etrength and pertnanenea. . V4.. ' -i Tha- Cltlea, oc course, anow innumarauiv , 1 ta teu w.' 1 tut a l-ef hiM i M ta lain a, ftwity gvt an a n. Nr 1 ai lalUk U tVai aaaaatly Uaad boy l tag leiaa, I faa, a net! e . Iaa taa weitd. aUaig at m Ika a. tt 4k4 . a-a afia4 ! L 'a. to a iiaae aea .ae ta IWa faiftv watUd aayi lm net l'4gt y tbttdraa) e4 tawd al iw ala.a aay obat aa faealtat aea' aaaat oa aad aaaola ih. lay let o-iae f axaai beta e . lee tka awb U aaty -e. let teili Kuf a aaatlg aieag lea Utei f ,fc1r aei Ihay - novo. I baew a boy af li waa aMad to , 'waa laaao aver a- wrtiuaj wi im1 1 lava Nee bailey laaa aayibia a4a la taa watU ' ' 'H tad. I tutetiH a-ad 1 gaa hlaa a bind oaated laat bay Waa buagartag ef raadlag lag Iba lu.a f bia deUFla lte. At taa ago at It b bag a 14 baif a data and aaaed a af bta ooa, aarnad la tn f'eata. Ta baag-r laa baaoieia. (at aatnalbiag diitai ant f ra taa raatiaa o4 la faeoa. aa ba daaiad aiv . at tha aik-aaao of iba beet la a ti4a nature Ana tho kandwa t apo ikeaa van b traataaittad da ta agaa. rt bav aaa Ba a wba Va araallrally aaaaaetf:. et atiangaie Bar raw, ruriaualy eae.eUe4 In lter aaantal develapraaaL Orauy Ikera la imm eauairr diatrtct. and ibay can ba aa putliad t ba weKara af tbelr on cbUJren Ikat lay aid aaa apaitajanta at teachers bacauao aielera ar lliu hava to leaa abo a oar a .living, or bacaaea aaeaa man ar wamaa bappwna to ba aa ahjact af rpaikr aa caa ba eoavealeatly aut at Iba teaebera dee a to draw a alary aad aaull tha yauag btatna that deeart a tha eel tka acbool lag baoaaya can buy la iba way at pert Inetrurllan. "At iba lima wban ruaalry abaala ara having thalr ioaeara appaiated tar any 'aa In iba warid but the rigbl one. I anew of eaa women who. after teeth. lag for thirty year, like the geaiu aha la la br call lag, nn herself new aul of a aeeiilea. ailer gletr.g lha bast af bar l.fa to a roualry school where the parent ware deiertalaed Iba children ebeatd have aaly iba aarrew round at studies ibey were au tamed lo. "Any one. with ball an aye. can see that there Is vast field of usefulness and Influence awaiting iba tsoiaer aa t Ua farm; and I ehouid ear, after all mat eipwteaca vl I h rondHMM aad all my hnewiedge of lha neiureK bent and iba grave handicaps of the average woman there, thai aha la aaaUaad lo laao bar poelMea In lha new order that la being born." It Inte woman aspen on rural Ufa were S mere enthusiast, aba would have aad a panacea ready for all the troubles gad enatalies woman face an the farm. Km aba ooafeee berealf a cluneal auii. becAuse she bag found thai rhrtnlo Ilia and new eondllloos preaeat con stantly changiag varletiat of dlffleully aad dilemma, soma of tbam akin, but many calling for Individual con al deration. "Kveii though the mother on tha farm has tsaks tbt engage bar ardpoualy." eaid she. "and even though ibe i aauuces of the borne be all too eiender. the farmer wife bss ataeta of character and training which, with Ihe new epirtt that hi coming over country Ufa generally, will enable bar to lake advantage of taa agendas, now so readily available, tor bar own. gdvaAcement gad for that of har children, "People In rural districts msy not think so quickly those In the cities, but they evro very steadfast of, f urpoee i hey are trained to do genuine thing. It is heir lisbl j do a concrete, rounded, complete pteco of work, wna.oker they undertake. Bridge whist and shop ping bava uut sidetracked rruuey a rutal school improve ment em be i k ad on by groups of rural folk I know. Thoee people, when Ibay made up their minds that tha betterment must come, went straight at It. and persisted ' la It until It was accomplished. "1 feet sura that the farm woman Is ready to lake an active part In tho direction of country life. Bhe may net do it alone; perhape II will ba beet lhat she do not do It alone. The country life this country will most profit by will com Jhrouih co-operation of tho people in the clllea with tboaa on the farm. "It Is neuet significant that tha woman in country districts srs organising Into clubs. Olva such organisa tions the right help and the larger communities will, la turn, be benefited. Mistakes will be made; we must aspect i them. . Bwt anry a bint or so Is needed; It la astonishing bow thorough reslly thorough women can, be when once they are on the right track. "The women whose children attended one rural school I know of organised a mothers' meeting of about twenty- five members and got together a library. 1 think they were partly seeking soms relief from their own monoto nous round, but wholly esger to make It of genuine service to the children. At any rate, they asked the ststs to send a. speaker who should tell them what to do next, and they provided the nicest refreshments they could prepsre for the speaker. "I was the speaker; and 1 am afraid I was cruelly ungrateful. I told them I didn't want their refreshments, but I was sure their children did. So the very first thing they ought to do next was to have the children hold a school-clnnlng bee, and give them refreshments after ward. Thera was a practical piece of work in cleanli ness and housewifery which they, were perfectly qualified to supervise and the children were fitted to profit by. "Tho women had the right Impulse; all they neaded was the right direction. They began at tha right place the scboolhouse. I'd rather see, in such an organisation, the best breadmaker disclosing tha secrets of her In valuable art to the children In the rural school than find the whole mothers' meeting learned In parliamentary law and delving Into scientific works on motherhood. Tha breadmaklng is so near to homemaklng that it Is funda mental. And If only the earnest, deeply loving mothers will see to It that their children have books fitted to awaken their Imagination, bright enough and broad enough to give them vistas beyond the farmhouse lane, they will ba doing their highest duty to the mind and the soul, as they try so hard to do It for the body. "in many states the women of the rural districts are already making well-defined efforts to bring atiout better education. Time was when local politics hsd much to do with the choice of rural supervisors and teachers. But a new spirit Is abroad, and the women are working with the men for better education of their boys and girls. " 'Oh,' some will say, 'all this must tend to take tha boys away from the farm.' Don't be alarmed; only those will go who are better gone. The very books that open their minds to the world at large reveal to them, too. the opportunities which He at their feet. And the mother who will learn to school herself to be the mother of a man Instead of a human drudge will enjoy a reward infinitely greater than that which her unreasoning, blind mother love can ever bring her." . - 7' material; but they have scarcely the range of need afforded by the farm or country house. The man who chooses now to have a home that Is to present concrete's durable qualities can, of course, fence It around with concrete posts and smile at the futilities of weather, insects and decay. lie can build his barn of concrete from barnyard to roof, grin at lightning and watch his fields turn Into an Interest-bearing bank ao count from tha manures his watertight floors restore to , them. He can stable his hogs in concrete and smoke hla . hams In a concrete smokehouse tha latest fashion la fireproof, bugproof, thlefproof smokehouses for the Amer ican farm. He can lay all his cutters In concrete and prevent road washings Hudson Maxim did It years ago along tho steep hillside of his home at Lake Hopatcong, In New Jersey. He can build his house of concrete blocks- sur round It with concrete walks; raise his porch on' con crete pillars; set his lawn with concrete benches- raise his fancy flowers in a, concrete conservatory; gro'w the home window plants In concrete boxes-mighty hand, some they are, too: lay his floors In reinforced concrete frlese the walls with, classic concrete reliefs; build hla fireplaces plain, quaint or magnificently designed-ln Dune in am uamroom or concrete; run hla - wu, vwulicib, "iii ins concrete statuarv set up his stained-glass windows In intricate concrete frames; Install concrete laundry tubs; set uuconorata clothesline poles; make the kitchen sinks olTconcrat. put in concrete drainage pipes; build the tank of con crete; pipe the water from the spring In concrete- aY the bens In concrete nests; and, the whole Job finished light the candle in tha concrete candlestick to lead I thi Way to bed after phonograph muslo from a concreto Thua fa- .n1 . II,. niture. from settees to chairs, is made of concrete' andlX it can be designed to approximate raahoaanv in wii?hr J with finish and color tones equal to fine woods. Evan the children now have concrete nlavtMn- r: " I molds are i sold for children's use. which enable them to turn out blockjand columns in concrete as a diversion. Bo.lt may belaid that the new generation la growin ttrl III Tt mlllS Mr V aWlth thai nrajrra I a 'probabiy one of tha . best guarantees of future unlver- sauty .that could have been devised, it rioaa lank able that the boy who. in manhood, finds himself caned on to construct a dipping tank for stock, or a lot of watering troughs, or a bouse, will naturally turn to tho material he played with and tested when ha was a boy Theee. things- are all real enough, and many mora Why, if the house is on a river bank and the now popular concrete bridge don't happen to be handy, like as not you will decide to build a concrete r motorboat for pleasure and for ferriage when you need It. ' -. , Tha concrete omn. vault, monument all are 'as raal as tbe little concrete tobacco dIds: the dealrna In enmH. and memorials range from 1 tha - simple ' headstone up iMiuuftu kin i.bi i k Huiymira ig iuch irn vu i nrca m thm McKlnley Mausoleum, at Canton. iO. The cradle to tha grsTe that is about where cemetft stands with us now ow. I r -. . A . , .
