Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1875-09-16
Miserlla RI
Our Little Ones.

Has the thought ever reached the erca,
I pubic mind, how many irresponsible be.
ing> are cheated out Of their lawful birth.
/ right: The right to life. liberty and the
7 pursuit OF happiness. The right u be ed
ucated and enlightened. The RIGHT 10
serve COD and their fellow men. The
/ right t. have the powers God has given
/ them developed for good and not pery.r.
/ ted! The law has provided tor the educa.
! ton of every child. 1t says all may be ed.
ucated, but what i blessing would it be. If
/ I should say every child must be educated
/ Many parents and guardians either do NOT
/ know. &c do not care for the welfare ot
those whom they have in charge.
/ lfthe people, would wakcn ID to this
matter, they would see that, if even they
dld no; consider the duty they owe TO God
and man, they could i'll afford to paY the
price that the ignorance Of these neglected
one. costs them
Many child We let live from earliest
childhood. where it takes In only evil. l.
! yelops nothing but ignorance. to al aston
lshIng degree. 4 girl of thirteen lately did
/ not know in what Routh her birthday is
nor how many days are in week. nor in
what town she was born, and read only in
the primer. Our own young pauper Mary.
ours because she belongs TO the public
who have the shaping of her future ,Jesti-
n.y. cast upon US by lortag guardian and
conslderate friends, subjected to coarseness
and dangers, that they who have means of
protecting our children know nothing of.
Would the fault be hers if she went wronO-
Here might we'll come in the story told bv
Mrs. Diaz, in her Domestic Problem of a
pauper named Margaret" VINO was once
set adriit in village of the county. and
LETT to grow up as best she could and from
whom have descended two hundred crimi-
mails The whole number of this girls de-
scendents through six generations is nine
hundred; and besides the two hundred.
large number have been IDIOTS. imbeciles.
drunkards. lunatics and paupers.
Frlends,to say nothing of higher motives.
would 1t not be good policy to educate
wisely every girl in the country Are not
mothers as chIld-trainers in absolute need
OF true culture! In cases where families
depend on the labor Of their girls, perhaps
the state would make a saving even by
compensating these families for the loss OF
such labor. Perhaps it would be cheaper
even in pecuniary sense, for the State to
do this, than to support reformatory estab-
lishments, prisons, alms-houses, and in
sane asylums. with their necessary retinue
OF officials Institutions in which these
girls were educated ought to be made self
supporting, and the course of instruction
might include different kinds of handcraft.
IL was poor eco nOmy for the State to let
that pauper grow up as best she could"
lt would probably have been money in the
States pocket had it surrounded MAR
garet' in her early childhood with the
choicest productions of art. engaged COM
petent teachers to instruct her in the solid
branches, in accomplishments in Hygiene,
in the principles and practice of integrity
and then have given her particular instruc
tion in all matters connected with the
training of children. Aud had she devel-
oped a remarkable taste for painting, for
modelling or for music, the State could
better have afforded even sending her to
Italy, than to have taken care Of those
''two hundred criminals, besides a large
number OF idiots, lmbecles, drunkards. lu-
natics and paupers."