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Show lit .1 "7" v ; ; : ' i ':B Our Latest Addition To the Calendar oHolidaysIs I But a Revival of Mothering Sunday of the Sev- enteenth Century - The Mother Influence In Our National Life. (l Copyright, 1910, by Tho International Syndicate. "Whereas, liy a Joint Resolution np-; np-; proved May 8th, 1914, designating tho second Sunday in May as Mothers' i Day and for other purposes, tho President Presi-dent is authorized nnd requested to issuo a proclamation calling upon the i Government officials to display the , United States Flag on all Government ; buildings, nnd tho peoplo of the ' United States to display tho flag at ,--, their homes or other suitable places '; on tho second Sunday In May as a '; ! pnblio expression of our lovo and reverence rev-erence for the mothers of our country. And Whereas, by the said joint Rcs-' Rcs-' olution it is made tho duty of the President to request the observation J of the second Sunday in May as pro-' pro-' j Tided for In the said joint Resolution; ; Now, Therefore, I, Wooclrow Wfl-rj Wfl-rj son, President of the United States ;J of America, by virtue of the authority vested in mo by the said Joint Rcso-! Rcso-! lution, do hereby direct tho Govern- i W11 above, a proclamation by the 3 M President of the United States, i added another day to the calen-j calen-j dar of our national holidays and yone which has a tender significance j and shows a hopeful sign of the ro-i ro-i turn of the old-time sentiment of by-Igone by-Igone days which for a time seemed crushed out in the wild rush of com-$ com-$ nerclallsm which spread over the i? land. f) T" merit officials to display .tho United States Flag on all Government buildings, build-ings, and do invito tho peoplo of the United States to display tho flag at their homes or other suitablo places on tho second Sunday in May as a public expression or our lovo and reverence rev-erence for tho Mothers of our country. coun-try. In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused tho Seal of tho United States to bo hereunto affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nino Hundred and Fourteen, and the Independence of the United States One Hundred and Thirty-Eight, WOODROW WILSON. By tho President: William Jennings .Bryan, Secretary of State." (SEAL) Older Tlian Christianity Tho celebration of Mothers' Day, while new to us as a feast day, Is In history older than Christianity Itself, for Mother-worship with its rites and ceremonies dates back to tho days of the pagans when Cybele, tho Groat Mother of Gods, was idealized in Greece two centuries or more before tho coming of Christ. Later tho day 111 HHHHHmBHSW' became known as tho festival of Hll-arla Hll-arla and was hold on the Ides of March. As was tho custom of tho day, offerings wore made at tho temple." tem-ple." With tho advent of Christianity the festival was changed, and although It still Included many pagan customs, It becamo a celebration" In honor of Mother Church and was held on Mid-Lent Mid-Lent Sunday, or tho fourth Sunday In Lent On this day tho faithful came to bring offerings to Mother Church. Finally, tho day took tho name of Mothering Sunday, and was sot aside as-tho time when peoplo should pay visits to their paronts, especially to tholr mothers, also that they should carry with them some cako or trinket. "Going a-mothcrlng" soon becamo tho fashion and a certain kind of cako known as simncl cako was carried as a gift to tho mothor. Horrick, tho poet, In addressing one of tho char-actors char-actors of his poem on Mothering, says: "I'll to thee a slmnel bring Gainst thou go a-mothering, So that when sho blessos theo, Half that blessing thou'lt give me." This proves that even In tho early days tho mothers' blosslng was highly regarded. In England tho slmnel cake3 woro composed of a crust made of flno flour and water with sufficient saffron to give it a deop yellow color and the interior filled with such ingredients as Is used In plum puddings. They aro boiled and brushed over with egg and set away to harden. When they are to bo used they must bo robaked and softened. This, custom was In vogue during tho seventeenth century when every child who resided away from homo was expected to carry a slmnel to his or her mothor. Frequently Fre-quently tho cakes wero kept until Easter -and sorved ns tho desert for the dinner on that day. Early Celebrations Mothers' Day was first observed in 1908 In Philadelphia by Bevoral of tho Sunday schoolB, and in 1909 about two thousand people took part In tho services. Seattle, Washington, how-over, how-over, has tho honor of being tho real pioneer In a genuino Mothers' Day celebration. This was In 1900 when hundrods of peoplo gathered in tho churches of that city on tho second Sunday In May. They carried bouquets bou-quets and wreaths of flowers and at the closo of sermons on "Mothor Lovo" tho entire congregations hold tholr flowors aloft whllo tho pastor pronounced a blessing, and at the closo of tho service tho flowers were gathered together and placed on the graves of mothers whoso relatives wero not in tho city to perform this loving service. In 1910 tho Governor of tho State of Washington set asldo tho eighth of May ot that year as Mothers' Day for that Stato, and over slnco that tlmo tho proclamation of Mothers' Day has been issued with tho samo regularity as that of Thanksgiving. A request is also added that each person wear a whlto flower on tho day and that special services should bo held in tho churches. Tho Stato of Oklahoma was the next to fall in lino wltha Mothers' Day proclamation, whon Governor Leo Cruco in 1912 paid such a glowing tribute to motherhood in his proclamation procla-mation to tho peoplo of that Stato: "Each citizen, whether old or young, rich or poor, happy or -sorrowful, remember her whoso lovo passeth human understanding, understand-ing, and remembering, manifest to tho world your lovo nnd gratl-tudo gratl-tudo by wearing a carnation In honor of tho dearest of all mothers, moth-ers, and wearing It, think of her and love her." Slnco that tlmo many Slatos have followed the example of these two. Western States, and at present tho day has takon-'H prdrrfihent plnfo among our feast days. Sermons aro preached on tho subject of motherhood in the majority of our churches. Tho Sunday Sun-day schools have a Mothors Day service, ser-vice, and In tho afternoon many go out to tho cemotories to cover tho gravo of "man's best friend" with garlands gar-lands of flowors. Mothers' Pensions Tho celebration of Mothers' Day has brought about a stronger feeling on tho subject of pensioning mothers, and ono Is surprised to learn how many States havo already adopted tho pensioning system for mothors who aro too poor to properly caro for their chlldron. Whllo the plan is too now to show vory many benefits to tho mother and child tho sponsors of tho bill In tho City of Chicago aro of the opinion that a child can bo maintained at homo choaper than It can in an institution, in-stitution, and also that a child with a homo is less likely to turn criminal than tho ono brought up in an Institution. Insti-tution. Tho statistics of tho Stato Reformatory Re-formatory at Elmlra in Now York Stato provo tho above .to bo true In that Stato at least, sixty per cent of the Inmates having been brought up In Institutions instead of homes. "Home with Mother" is the aim for the child by the charity workors of the present day. "Assist the mother financially," they say, "and sho will caro for her child In such a manner that Stato Reformatories will not bo needed. Tho preservation of tho home is worth all It cost3 a Commonwealth." Common-wealth." Twonty-two States are already al-ready In lino In this work: Arizona. California, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland. Mary-land. Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota. Min-nesota. Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Now . Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Penn-sylvania, South Dakota, Utah. Washington Wash-ington and Wisconsin. Mother Influence on Statesmen Tho significance of Mothers' Day should find an echo in every heart, for It was tho mothors of our Statos- Imen who Jn the early days put our 'Nation on a 'firm foundation "The hand that rocks the cradlo Is the hand I that rules tho world." It was tho mother of Georgo Washington who, by hor woman's intuition that ho was mado for better things, saved him from becoming a midshipman on a British ship. It was the turning point in tho life of tho Father of his Country whon rather than causo his mother sorrow ho roturnod his middy uniform and said "Mothor I can never go and cause you so much grief. I will stay at homo." With Washington Washing-ton In tho British Navy thero might have been no Monmouth and no York-town. York-town. Tho character of Androw Jackson's mother stands out in Amorlcan history his-tory like a speck of blue in tho dark sky of those early days in tho mountains. moun-tains. Her advice to her son Bhows the wisdom of Polonlus and may well bo treasured by tho man who desires to succood. Jackson never forgot hor words of advice and a short time before be-fore his death he repeated her parting part-ing advice to a young man in whom ho was interested. Again In the life of Abraham Lincoln Lin-coln wo find the Influence of his mothor. When sho died away out thero in tho Indiana wilderness so far from civilization that her body was consigned to tho ground without a prayer, the boy determined that Bho should not go unhonored, and throe months later ho persuaded a parson from Kentucky to proach a sermon and conduct the services for tho dead over her grave. In after years when tho burdens of Stato and a dlsunitod Nation caused him such travail of ! soul his thoughts reverted to his mother's teachings and he applied them to his acts. Only a few days before his death, In talking to a friend, ho spoko of tho pioneer days and the poverty he had endurod. "All that I am or hope to bo," ho said, "I owe to my angel mother." Many persons will recall tho tender H affection which existed between tho ' lato President McKlnley and his mother, and of his telling his asso- , H elates how much he owed to her Chris- H tlan teachings of tho Golden Rule, : "Tho mothor's heart Is tho child's M school room," wrote Henry Ward " M Beochor. "If you would reform the IH world from Its errors and vices begin , vH by enlisting the mothers" is a quota- . H tlon far older than tho suffrage move- . H ment, but ono that was used In carry- ! fl lng through a recent Mothers' Pension H Bin. n "All that I over accomplished In ' M life," wroto Dwlght L. Moody, the i H groat evangelist "I owe to my ; M mother." "A kiss from my mother ! M made "me a painter," is Benjamin jH West's tribute to his mother. Even M the great Napoleon bowed to the in- M fluenco of tho maternal parent "Tho H future of the child is always tho work H of tho mother," he said. "Let France M havo good mothers and sho will havo IB ood sons." fl Mother Love gfl Hundreds of poems have been writ- H ten on tho onduranco of mother love, H and how when deserted and a failure H In life the mother heart goes out to ! H tho black sheep of tho family rather ' H than to tho ones who have mado a H success. Willis expresses theso sentl- " H ments in a happy fashion when no , H writes: H "Youth fades, lovo droops, tho ' U leaves of friendship fall; , ' M A mother's secret hope outlives H them all." H Long may Mothers' Day reign in our H calendar of feasts, may tho Nation H ever do honor to this saint among ) JM women Hang out Old Glory In her j H namo! J H |