The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-06-12

oluCc leeulHS press, OHe CleTK III suOTe.
The party of girls and boys, with the
agent, Mr.. Fry, go to Geneseo, Illinois;
and leaving here Tuesday night, they reach
their destination on Friday.
The Western agent selects the town, a
committee is appointed, who publish all
abroad a notice, "Boys aoanting homes aoih
farmers! A company of boys from the
Children's Aid Society of New York will
arrive at Geneseo, Illinois, Friday, Dec.
18th, 1874, for the purpose of finding
homes and employment with the farmers
There will be meeting held for the distri-
button of the boys at the public hall, at
1915 A. NJ, on Friday, Dec. 18th. The
terms upon which they will be placed in
homes will be stated at the meeting, and
cannot fail to be satisfactory.
Those proposing to take one or more
boys are requested to hand in their names
as soon as possible to the following gentle
men, providing themselves with satisfac-
tory recommendations, and will please be
prompt in their attendance at the meeting"
The names of the agent and the gentle
men who form the committee are appended
to the notice.
The references of all who apply for these
boys are carefully looked up, and after the
children are placed in their new homes the
agent visits them to learn if there is any
complaint from those who take the chill.
dren, or from the boys of ill-treatment. II
any children in the wide world are carefully
watched over it would seem as if these
lyting, and the Society strives to meet the
preferences of all alike. Catholics and Pro
testants.
We have seen the children off, and now
we can see off the families who wait for
the emigrant train. Here is one group, an
Irshman with wife and six children, ages
from three to thirteen. Some friends are
here to bid them goodbye, blear-eyed,
tpsey brother, and the man himself garrul-
Gus with liquor. Apparently they have
had a parting carousal, and our friend who
was booked for the West was in polite
frame of mind; lifting his seedy old hat
and bowling every few minutes, marshaling
the six little children in line and pointing
to one little girl, he says, can she shall be
the Queen of the West.''
At another side is German Jewess with
her four children. A few weeks ago, her
husband went to Des Moines, and found
work, and wrote he could support them il
they could come to him. Here they were
at starvation's door; the Society pays their
fare out, and there the husband can take
care of them. There were the three little
girls in new water proofs, their bright faces,
with coal black eyes, peeping out Of the
hood of the cloak, and the ten-year-old
boy, quite little man, as if he had them
all in charge.
Here is German Jew and wife, each a
baby in lap, and their friends varying the
parting words. Two of the men were
stone cutters; they could not find work in
New York, but chopped it would be better
out West"
One family went to St. Louis, one to
Chicago one to Milwaukee. One man with
a wife and three children said, 81 pays it
all back again, all the help 1 get. I'm a
tailor; I hope to find work" The emf
grant party were locked into their car until
the time to start, lest some sharper should
come along, and wheedle them out of what
little they were carrying along with them.
The Society receives many letters from
the boys they have taken West. One writes
back, he has been adopted and made the
heir of rich man. Another tells of the
kindness he has met-how he has been
treated as we'll as the children of the
family. Another wants to know about
his eastern relatives, and tells that he has
prospered
For children whose destiny seemed mis-
cry, suffering, and perhaps crime, the
change to comfort, responsibility and even
prosperity seems miraculous, and it is partly
owing to the peculiar hospitality and gen.
erous heartedness of the Western people,
and the capacity for improvement in the
children, which is far greater than we are
apt to think. There are now about twenty
four thousand children thus settled in the
West; and last year there were sent out
three thousand, enough to settle quite a
town. The children are not indentured,
but are free to leave if ill-treated, and the
farmer can dismiss them if he finds them
worthless.
The expense to the Society averages only
SIS for each child sent, counting fares,
food, clothing, salaries and expenses of
agents. The fares Of the children are
often paid by those who give them homes,
and these with other gifts have amounted
to $4,000 or $4,000; but lately the amount
has grown less and less, the farmer think
ing the home he offers is enough The
duties of the agents are very severe and
onerous, but the success of this whole sys-
tenn of emigration, which has been carried
on for the last twenty years, is a marvel to
all who study its op erations.-Aethodist.