From The Seattle Star, April 7, 1913. By Berton Braley. She’s much more important than presidents are Or other officials of state; In HER hands is power to make or to mar Our national future and fate; The men of tomorrow are hers for today To counsel and pilot and guide. With patience and love she will show them the way To lives that are worthy of pride. She is molding the thoughts of the girls and the boys To whom we must leave our tomorrows; She learns of their every-day pleasures and joys And shares in their pains and their sorrows; The youth of the country is put in her care To learn of the way they should go; She gives them her best—and a little to spare Which only the children can know. We know how she works and how nobly she serves With all of her soul and her heart, Devoting her strength and her health and her nerves To playing her excellent part, And so it’s our pleasure and even our boast The way we are paying our debts, Since we give her a salary equal (almost) To that which the janitor gets.