THE MOTHER'S CLUB.
"Mark it well, Fillmore! I have now reached a very important question.
What have you to tell me about stirpiculture, as a part of the
co-operative farm movement?"
"As a basis for the preliminary work, we have been following carefully,
the suggestions of your father, Fennimore Fenwick. You will remember, my
dear Fern, that they were to the effect, that the children of the farm,
should be the crowning glory of all its products; that it should be the
province of the corporation to provide for the children of the
co-operators, every advantage of favorable pre-natal conditions, birth,
unfoldment and education, that money could procure for the wealthy.
Therefore, that ideal environments for mothers and motherhood, must be
created and maintained.
"In order to carry out these epoch-making ideas, such of our matrons as
are willing to assume the conditions, responsibilities, and cares of
motherhood, are relieved from all farm work, at any time they may chose.
However, much of the work is so enjoyable, and affords so much pleasant
exercise, that many of them become volunteers. Meanwhile, they are paid
regular wages from our insurance fund. With this abundant leisure and
freedom from care, they are prepared to become zealous workers in the
Mother's Club.
"Our Mother's Club at Solaris, was organized by Gertrude Gerrish, as the
fulfillment of a long cherished dream. She has reason to be proud of her
work! Like that other Gertrude, made so famous by Pestalozzi's charming
story, Gertrude Gerrish is a born teacher, an ideal mother, one of
nature's noble women. Much of the success attained by the club, is due
to her wonderful power as a leader. Her enthusiasm is infectious. It has
carried all obstacles before it. To this self appointed task, she has
given her best energies, a rich harvest of ripe experience, with its
fruitage of earnest thought, radiant and glowing with the genial
influence of her sunny temperament, and withal, rendered more potent, by
an overflowing love from the deep fountain of her great mother heart. Is
it a matter of wonder, that she is such a general favorite with club
members! Her word they accept as law. Her suggestions as commands.
"To Gertrude Gerrish, motherhood was a holy and sacred office, which
demanded from its devotees, a season of careful preparation, and a
thorough knowledge of the physiological and psychological laws, which
govern that life-evolving function, that crowning glory of womanhood.
She seemed to be inspired with the idea, that progress has ordained,
that unwilling, ignorant and accidental mothers, must be replaced by
those who are predetermined, properly educated and fully prepared. These
ideas, she has endeavored to impress most forcibly, upon the minds of
all club members. She has also taught them the importance of maintaining
joyous, healthful, mental conditions; consequently, of carefully
avoiding all emotions of selfishness, cruelty, anger, envy, or
melancholy. In this connection, for the purpose of creating in the minds
of our club mothers, as many good and pleasurable emotions as possible,
and of repeating these anabolic emotions so often, that they may become
dominant during the entire gestative period; Gertrude Gerrish has wisely
planned for them, a great deal of open air exercise, study and
amusement.
"The study of botany, and botanizing parties, have become very popular.
These prospective mothers, have quickly learned how to amuse themselves,
by combining study with pleasure. When organized into congenial outing
parties, almost every fine day they may be found, seated in the
luxuriously appointed motor carriages which belong to the club, ready
for a lively spin away to the woods. This gives them an opportunity to
enjoy the pure air and bright sunshine, the wide, undulating landscape,
tinted by the exquisite coloring of every flowering plant, shrub and
tree. How delightful to them, is the restful green of dewy meadows; the
sweet music of birds, the charming chatter and playful antics, of the
swift-footed squirrels! How grateful, the leafy coolness and bracing
ozone of the forest; the dancing shadows of its deep glens, with their
garnered treasures of mosses and ferns! How inspiring, the merry tinkle
of the clear streamlet, swiftly flowing over its rocky bed; or the
louder roar of the rushing waterfall, where drooping boughs glisten and
sparkle with spray-laden foliage! All these, are nature's matchless
charms, which appeal to our young mothers in their best moments, their
most responsive moods; banishing all thoughts of evil, awakening in
their hearts, new spiritual impulses, feelings of worshipful adoration;
emotions of the highest and purest order. Than this, nothing could prove
more helpful in maintaining perfect conditions of mental and spiritual
serenity.
"Inhaling the pure, invigorating air of the country, far from the dust
and filth, the smoke and poisonous gases, the turmoil and strife, the
ceaseless din, the selfishness and sin of the great city, close to the
fostering bosom of mother earth, under a broad dome of blue sky, bathed
in floods of golden sunlight, exulting in the exuberance of perfect
health, these grateful young mothers, realize how much they owe to the
co-operative farm movement, for surrounding them with such ideal
conditions of life.
"They realize, the great, good fortune of children, who are born and
reared in the midst of such delightful environments. They perceive, with
a keen sense of sorrow, that children who are born and bred away from
these rural conditions, are robbed of more than one-half their natural
rights. They realize, more than ever before, the filth, the misery, the
squalor, the fetid air, and the unsanitary conditions, of our great
cities. They shudder, when they contemplate, the bitterness of the
misfortune, the cruelty of the deprivation, of the great mass of
children, who must be born and bred in the midst of such depressing,
unhealthy surroundings. They know intuitively, that only a puny, sickly,
half-developed race of people, can come from such a sad birth. Under
such circumstances, they do not wonder, that fully one-third of the
human family, die in infancy.
"Indoors, the handsomely furnished, beautifully decorated club rooms,
which are located in the kindergarten building, offer the maximum of
elegance and comfort to club members. There, in harmonious groups, they
may engage in conversation, study, writing, musical exercises, and other
varieties of club work. The esthetic tastes of the members are
quickened, and their pleasures much enhanced, by the fine display of oil
paintings, water colors, pencil sketches, etchings, and photographs,
which have been hung on the walls, by admiring friends from the art and
photography clubs. It has been the chosen work of the last named club,
to supply the center tables in the reading rooms, with a series of large
portfolios, containing a choice collection of finely finished,
beautifully mounted photographs. This collection is varied, unique and
valuable; and withal, exceedingly interesting. It embraces artistic
copies of the world's finest statuary, pictures of eminent men, noted,
historic buildings, rare landscapes and most picturesque scenery. These,
supplemented by an abundant supply of choice books, furnish excellent
conditions, and a most fascinating incentive, for a harmonious,
satisfying, self-culture, of the highest type. Under the able leadership
of Gertrude Gerrish, the interest shown, the enthusiasm awakened, and
the progress achieved, is something remarkable.
"Thus prepared, the members find themselves on a higher mental and
spiritual plane of existence, where they can appreciate the
possibilities, of what may be accomplished by true motherhood, as a
regenerator of society. They can understand the significance of the
great lesson taught by history, which is, that all progress for the
race, depends upon the elevation, education and refinement, achieved by
woman. With quickened vision, they can perceive, that with the dawn of
the twentieth century, comes the beginning of a new cycle in the life of
the planet; the commencement of woman's golden era! In the higher light
of such a vision, they become aware, that they must strive continually,
for more wisdom, that they may reach a higher consciousness of
individual responsibility, as keepers and guardians of the sacred temple
of human life.
"In the preparatory work for a progressive parentage, club members are
taught, that prospective fathers and mothers, must become familiar with
the sciences, the industrial, and the higher arts, if they wish their
children to inherit, whatever intellectual progress, they as parents,
may achieve. The new psychology, with a better knowledge of nature's
evolutionary methods, declares, that these trained intellectual
attributes, may be transmitted to offspring, if the parents are willing
to prepare themselves, to respond to the demands of natural law.
"In the domain of more practical club work, the members are taught how
to prepare the diet and clothing, which may be necessary for the proper
care of healthy nursing mothers and infants. They are also taught the
hygiene and physiology of motherhood; in addition, as much as possible,
about the laws that govern the procreative body of woman, when it
becomes the temple of evolving life. In connection therewith, they are
instructed to observe closely, the initial and pre-natal conditions,
which dominate this primal stage of embryo life.
"As a result of this comprehensive course of training, our young mothers
soon find themselves, inspired by a hypnotic wave of enthusiasm, which
is sure to follow many days of pleasant association, discussion, and
systematic study. Stimulated by this enthusiasm, and aided by the
potency of co-operative thinking, they endeavor to discover new avenues,
through which they may reach and maintain, better physical, mental and
spiritual conditions, which shall bring them into a more perfect
harmony, with the laws of unfoldment which govern planetary evolution.
The success, which has rewarded their efforts in this direction, has far
exceeded, even the ambitious hopes of Gertrude Gerrish.
"For the purpose of preserving a series of valuable records, for the
benefit of this and coming generations; club members are urged to put in
writing, such ideas as may come to them, as the result of individual
thought, or from co-operative study, discussion and observation. These
papers are carefully condensed, sifted, classified, and placed in proper
record form, by the editing committee of the club. This committee, is
also instructed to prepare short extracts, essays and descriptive
articles relating to club work, for publication in the mothers' column
of the Solaris Sentinel.
"This outline sketch, my dear Fern, will give you some idea of the scope
of the work, in which, I know you are greatly interested. In brief, it
means a practical illustration, of the use of scientific methods, for
improving the race. The club hopes to give a satisfactory answer to the
great question, of how to be well born. It will strive to convince the
world, that the time has arrived, in which the twentieth century demands
the immediate introduction of a scientific system, for the thorough
breeding of children as a fine art. The art of all arts! The highest of
all possible achievements!
"Hitherto, the world's people, in trying to accumulate riches, or to
escape the poorhouse, have had neither time nor inclination, to consider
this most important of all questions. As a matter of fact, greed for
gold has become so dominant, human life, so cheap, and its progress
through culture, held in such low estimation; that it is not unusual,
not even a matter of comment, to hear of a wealthy stockbreeder, who
willingly pays from ten to twenty thousand dollars a year to the trainer
of his horses; while he grudgingly pays five hundred dollars a year to
the teacher of his children. This would indicate, that the demand for a
change is imperative. The great wave of evolutionary progress, is fast
rising to a flood tide! The selfish, commercial spirit, born of the
competitive system, must soon give way for something better! The advent
of a system of unselfish, co-operative farming, which proposes to unite
a rational agriculture, with a scientific stirpiculture, offers
opportunities for substantial progress, and a new hope for the coming
race."
"This is exceedingly interesting, Fillmore! What additional work, has
Gertrude Gerrish planned for the club members?"
"A great deal more than I have time to enumerate, just now! However, by
the way of an illustration of her ingenious methods, and also, of the
great variety of the topics introduced, all of which really belong to
the work, as an integral part of the movement. I may mention the latest
scheme introduced by Gertrude Gerrish, which proposes to increase the
average length of human life, by giving to children as a birthright,
well developed vital, physical, and mental organizations. This, she
claims, is the only true ground work, for real progress in the right
direction. The scheme has proved a popular one. It has so aroused the
zeal and enthusiasm of the club members, that they write, think and talk
on the subject, with an inspiration and eloquence quite surprising. As a
result of the remarkable interest awakened, they have diligently read
books on evolution, physiology, psychology, vital statistics, physical
culture, and a great number, on the general subject of health. In this
respect, the work of the club as a promoter of longevity, may well serve
as an object lesson, for the hundred-year clubs, that have been
organized during the past ten years, for the purpose of checking the
alarming increase of suicide clubs.
"Touching the question of suicide, as an enemy to longevity: In
discussing the subject, many members of the club maintain, that it is an
imperative duty for them to give the world a new cure for suicide. They
would offer its would-be victims, such a tempting array of the meanings,
purposes and opportunities, for gaining wisdom, which may crown every
rightly conducted, harmoniously environed life; making it so busy, so
absorbing, and so happy; that there would be no room, for the morbid
hallucination of a suicidal desire. This proposition is based on the
presumption, that all suicides are possessed with an insanely erroneous
idea, regarding the true object and purpose of human life. After the
passing of a few generations, under the wide-spread reign of
co-operative stirpiculture, with its hosts of mothers' clubs, suicide
will soon become an utter impossibility.
"In the ever broadening scope, of progressive kindergarten training, our
young mothers have wrought their most important work. A work, which
reflects on the club, a great deal of well-earned credit. As centers of
the first and second-year nursery groups, in their cargosita excursions
around the great hall, for the purpose of sight, color and image
training; the service rendered by these mothers, has proved invaluable.
As teachers, assistants, directors and leaders, in the third and
fourth-year groups, while engaged in exercises and games, which have
been devised and instituted, for the purpose of sense training, science
training, and science recreation; in addition to the ordinary
kindergarten course; their excellent work, has justly excited the pride
of the colony.
"In conclusion, my dear Fern! I must tell you something about 'The club
babies,' as they are proudly designated by the members. They are very
bright and beautiful! In fact, they seem born with a consciousness, that
it is their peculiar privilege, to commence the study of life as a fine
art, at its very threshold. They are the zealously guarded treasures of
the club, and the pride of the farm! They give a glorious promise, that
they will prove worthy leaders, of a coming host of dominant thinkers,
which are to be given to the world, by the mothers' clubs of the next
quarter of a century.
"As champions and exponents of the true object and purpose of human
life, these thinkers will be armed with a wonderful potency, with which
to overcome and conquer, the selfish reign of the competitive system. A
cruel system, which has proved the very incarnation, of 'Man's
inhumanity to man,' causing countless millions to mourn! In this great
work, they will be inspired, by the high purpose of replacing its evil,
poverty-breeding dominancy, by an unselfish, co-operative system, a
union of spiritualizing, educative, stirpiculture and agriculture, which
shall insure a higher civilization, and the perpetual reign of peace and
plenty for all mankind."
"What you have told to me so charmingly, Fillmore, is almost too good to
be true! How eloquently, and how interestingly, you have described, the
scope and work of this wonderful club, with its gifted leader! I hail
the advent of this club, as one of the most important results, achieved
by the Solaris Farm Company! I am delighted, with its thorough
organization, broad plans, high aims, earnest work, and the remarkable
enthusiasm, of its members! They represent a cause, which is dear to my
heart!
"The question, of how to be well born, is to my mind, the foremost
question of the day! A question, which demands universal consideration!
This twentieth century union, of agriculture and stirpiculture, this
scientific, systematic, generation of the race as a fine art; which has
been so well demonstrated, by the surprising work of these enthusiastic
young mothers, is something to be proud of! The good, which must follow
the work of this club, cannot now be estimated. The one hope, for the
regeneration and final salvation of society, is centered in the mothers
of the Republic! Nothing, is so well calculated to impress the
importance of this grand truth, on the minds of the people, as the
practical work of an ever increasing host of mothers' clubs.
"In their devotion to the Republic, these mothers are patriots of the
purest type! They have arisen to such spiritual heights, that they may
fearlessly proclaim the law of motherhood, for the sons and daughters of
the new Republic! They have demonstrated that this law declares, that a
worthy mother of the new Republic, must be absolutely free! She must be
free, religiously, mentally, socially, physically, and financially! Thus
unshackled, she may be properly prepared, to bear a race of children who
are endowed by birth, with the incarnate spirit and genius of true
liberty. Such liberty, as shall become the talisman and watchword, of
the model Republic of the twentieth century. A Republic of peers, of
intellectual giants! The very flower of spiritual unfoldment! The
highest order of civilization! Under the starry flag of such a
government, neither slave, nor pauper, nor criminal, shall be found to
cloud with shame, the fair escutcheon of true liberty!
"I shall endeavor, before leaving Solaris, to meet with the members, by
attending some session of the club. I shall then take pleasure in
restating these ideas, as an expression of my appreciation of the great
work for humanity, which they have so successfully inaugurated.
"To Gertrude Gerrish, that noble woman, with such a magnificent talent,
and so loyal a heart; who has won my deepest gratitude, my undying
respect; I must pay the tribute of my admiration, by taking her lovingly
to my heart, as a sister woman, whose wonderful ability, as a thinker,
organizer, and leader, has made me proud of my sex."