The weekly Shasta courier. [volume] (Shasta, Calif.) 1872-190?, 1873-08-23
Children Sent to the West.

An ingenious effort for the benefit of
the destitute children of the city is the
"placing-out SYSTEM which has been
carried out by the Children's Aid Socl-
ETY. during the last twenty years, with
such remarkable success. The society
early saw the immense benefit in taking
advantage of the peculiar economical
condition of this country in treating
questions of pauperism. They at once
recognized the fact, and resolved to
make use in their plans of the endless
demand for children's labor in the West
ern country. The housekeeping life
of Western farmer is somewhat pecu-
liar. The servants of the household
must be members of the family, and be
treated more or less as equals. 1t is
not convenient or agreeable for West
ern matron to have a rude European
peasant at the same table and in the
same room with the family. She pre-
fers child whom she can train up in
her own way. A child's labor is need
full for thousand things on a West
ern farm. Children too, are valued
and thought much of. The same OPP
portunity is given to working children
as to all other children. They share
fully in the active and inspiring West
ern life. They are moulded by the
social tone around them, and they grow
up under the very best circumstances
which can surround poor boy or girl.
No treatment which man could devise
could possibly be so beneficial to the la
boring children of this city, as that
offered by Western farms. Moreover,
child's place at the table in our rural
households is of small account. Of
food there is enough and an abundance.
Generosity, and especially toward chill
dren, is the rule in our Western dis
tricts. This benevolent association,
taking advantage of these great facts,
early made arrangements for scattering
such little workers of the city as were
friendless and homeless all through the
Western country. Western agents are
employed who travel through remote
farming districts, and discover where
there is an especial call for children S
labor. An arrangement is then made
with the leading citizens of the
village to receive a little detach-
ment of these homeless children of the
great city.
On given day in New York the
ragged and dirty little ones are gathered
to a central office from the streets and
lanes, from the industrial schools and
lodging houses of the society, are clean
ed and dressed and sent away, under
charge of an experienced agent, to seek
"a new home in the West" When
they arrive in the village great public
meeting is held, and a committee of
citizens formed to decide on the appli-
cations. Farmers come in from twenty
to twenty-five miles round, looking for
the " model boy" who shall do the light
work of the farm and aid the wife in
her endless household labor; childless
mothers seek for children that shall re-
place those that are lost; houskeepers
look for girls to train up; mechanics
seek for boys for their trades and kind
hearted men, with comfortable homes
and plenty of children, think it is their
duty to do something for the orphans
who have no fair chance in the great
city. Thus in few hours the little
colony is placed in comfortable homes.
Subsequently, if changes should be nee
essary, the committee replace the chill
dren, or the agent revisits the village,
while steady correspondence is kept
up by the central Office with the employ
ers. In this way something like $4,000
boys and girls have been placed in coun-
try homes during the past twenty years.
Nearly 5000 year are now sent forth
by the society. Great numbers of
these children have acquired property,
or have grown up to positions of infu-
ence and responsibility Mag
azine.