Show kathlee Kath lel n norris SAYS mothers in law should aloof bell syndicate serviced Servi ceJ NN I 1 kv R A my son dont dons interest in in a 0 twice wee divorced woman loonan quickly developed into an all infatuation that swept everything else aside I 1 had hoped it would end when tho the voyage ended she came to brooklyn and he saw her every day by KATHLEEN NORRIS THE T HE sons of all the other mothers I 1 know have married decently writes a despairing mother from brooklyn sometimes they especially ally liked the girls but invariably they have been fine girls ambitious to make good homes have children help their husbands in every way they can only mine has lost all his bearings forgotten everything I 1 ever taught him or helped him to discover for himself and is planning a marriage that will wreck his life and alienate him from me tor for everl let me tell you a little of his background both his father and grandfather were well known doctors my lather father was a musician my mother belonged to one 0 of the finest old families of kentucky don dan lost his father when he was three and I 1 gave my whole life to him his friends were the children of my friends I 1 tried in every way to keep him simple and unspoiled tor for his beauty and charm were noticeable ti from the first we spen spent t many summers in europe where he perfected his languages we were in europe when the war broke out it was with great difficulty that I 1 obtained a cabin tor for the home trip we had no sooner gone on board than don brought to me a young woman with a small b boy oy don was then 28 26 the woman admits being five years and 1 I think is at least eight years older than he she Is beautiful the divorced wife of an austrian count herself american born bom of swedish and english parents married at sixteen we found out much later that her mother had been in a circus and that she herself had been married at 16 to a man she divorced also don insisted on this first meeting that she and the child move into the cabin with me while he found a bunk somewhere else and I 1 consented 1 I have blamed myself a thousand times for this because lions dons interest quickly developed into an infatuation that swept everything else aside I 1 had thought that with the end of the voyage it must end but she came to brooklyn lived near near us and he saw her every day he gave her the money for her divorce from the austrian gave her a great deal more than he could atford afford bought her everything tor for which she showed the slightest whim he paid over over 2000 tor for medical attention for the child now you would think if she decided c upon a third marriage it would be to my poor infatuated boy not at all while spending dons mond money r at reno sh she met a man who wh 0 was she a he said the only man she ever even had loved and she married him there my poor don attempted suicide we found him unconscious transfusions trans saved his life I 1 took him to mexico feeling that I 1 would rather live there the rest of my life than expose him aga again into to this siren A month ago he left me without ove leave taking joined her and is liv jig g with her now caring tor for her plind nd the child to in a flat in new jersey her marriage to her third husband he be says can be proved illegal aaland ja land and that as soon as cheis she is free they are to be married meanwhile as she che Is esquite quite ill and should have ln ope operation ration he Is caring for her hei bringing her trays washing dishes going to market I 1 followed him op attempted to see him to reason with ab him but he Is determined to make her his wife MUST STEP ASIDE the time has come says kathleen norris for this devoted mother to step aside even though in doing so she must watch her only son risk his happiness by marrying a woman already two tim times d divorced there is nothing she can do for him now and of course there is always a chance that he will make a success of his marriage then she will he be sorry to have with her the memory of harsh words and bitter recriminations some mothers in law lau are lucky enough to be needed but most mothers kathleen norris continues must learn that there may come a time when another woman means more to their sons than they do then they must face a period of loneliness before they begin to build for themselves a new and equally useful life doyt dont fail to read this story of a devoted mother 1 I 1 need not tell you what agony 0 of f spirit this causes me she will never have a child there will be an end to the family she will not be faithful to him or give him a home she has already all but ruined him she will not be satisfied until he has my modest fortune too he asks me to try to understand her hat she is at heart only an adorable child but I 1 understand her only too we well 11 and if that is the heart of a child there is something wrong with the child Is there no way that I 1 can stop this before it goes any further appeals to him have failed Is there any use in appealing to her don used to talk of being an architect cara wants him to go on the stage in answer I 1 would say in my y d dear ar devoted mother that in having this splendid son to yourself tor for the first 28 26 years of his life absorbing him glorying in his constant affection and companionship you have had in the argot of the day about all that is coming to you mother should withdraw since there is no common ground of understanding between you and the woman he is so BO determined to make his wife your only course Is to withdraw tell them both fr frankly y that you wish them well that ayou you want them to forgive any lack of enthusiasm or operation cooperation co and that if ever they need you you will be ready and then go back to mexico or to china or to baffino Baff ins bay and build a life tor for yourself while attempting to assimilate the bitter truth that the time comes when another woman is more important to a boy than even his mother I 1 and that you are just abou about fas necessary to cara acif as your mothering ln law was to you 30 years ago our those dim elderly dames who were to be a little considered and petted and cultivated because it pleased darling tom but who remained shadows still quite apart from the vital ab corbing interests of our young lives how little they matte redl youre in that place now devoted mother and its for you to say whether they ever will love you vou or need you again for wealth 1 li no help here in fact its in a poor family that grandma holds her own she is necessary there and often she really is beloved 1 I suppose I 1 love my own daughter as much as I 1 do my sons wife one fortunate mother in law said to me some years ago but ann need me and its so good to be with jinny because she does |