Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-01-04
THE H0mE.

1iC b19iV 0A EttHiit
tuition in the management OF which a
deep public interest is felt. 1t is intend
ed to be what its name imports, a verita-
bic home for fathsrless and motherless
bows and girls-a dwelling in which des-
titute orphans may be brought up IN
such a way as to suffer the least harm
from the distressing loss of their parents.
1t is a most benehcent charity. For its
proper maintenance the State pays on an
average. in round numbers, some $780,
600 every two years. The number OF
orphans provided for has been from fifty
to s~eventy-five. Since the founding OF
the Institution up to the present the ay-
erage number has been from ffty-tive to
sixty. The children admitted into the
Home become wards Of the State and
NAV be held as such by the Board of Dl-
rectors who. under the law, occupy the
place Of parents to them until they be-
come Is wears old. 1t is obligatory upon
the Directors to admit whole orphans
upon proper certificate Of the District
Judge to the fact of whole ~orphanage,
while it rests in their discretion to re-
ceive or exclude half orphans. The num-
Der OF whole orphans has always been
comparatively very small. The number
of half orphans received and provided
for would always have been considera-
bly, larger had the capacity of tho Home
been greater In a majority OF cases the
waits for whom application is made for
admission into the Home are in sad
plight, ragged, hungry and unclean.
And what is the worst OF all, in many
instances, the p~arentless waits come to
the big house provided for them by the
State not only with filthy habits of body,
but also even at their tender age already
degraded in morals by a preearious and
vicious course of living. 1t is an ardu-
Gus and by no means over-pleasant duty
to reclaim these children OF the street
and mold them into forms for respects-
BILE and useful citizenship. 1t is a duty
that must be attended to by persons who
are skilful and patient in the MANAGE
ment of refractory boys and girls, Iii
a task that requires afection-those I'M
meGiately in care of the children must,
as far as possible, supply to them the
place of parents. In retaining these
waits. in bringing them back under
wholesome laws Of body and mind,
there must be conscience in the
work, a higher degree OF unselfsh-
ness and devotion to their inter-
ests than is evinced by the natural father
or mother under ordinary circumstances
The Superintendent and Matron of the
Orphans Home, whom the statutes re-
quire to be man and wife, have a most
serious and delicate public trust conided
to them. In their sphere. practically as
father and mother to such a family of
children, so heterogeneous, often so de-
moralized when received, and withal so
numerous, their responsibility is ex-
tremely grave, and their acts are con-
~sequently closely scrutinized and sub
jected to severe, and not always reason
able, criticism. We can think of no two
other public servants doing duty for the
State of Nevada that do as much or such
onerous work for the wage they receive
as the Superintendent and Matron Of the
State Orphans Home.
1t is difficult to find two persons, man
and wife, as required by law, that have
each the qualifications for properly man
aging the Home. Where you find a
husband that would make an eligible
Superintendent, you will be likely to
discover some serious objection to his
wife as Matron, and vice versa. More
over, it is next to impossible to deter
mine beforehand whether a man and
his wife are tit persons for this trust.
The only means of testing their fitness is
by experiment; and it is a good idea,
sometimes, to let well enough alone.
When only tolerable service is being
rendered it is often safer to hold it
acceptable rather than to experiment
with the possible, if not probable, con-
tingency of suffering by a change.
In the matter under consideration, Mr..
and Mrs. John Fl. Mills have served the
State as Superintendent and Matron OF
the Orphans Home of Nevada for the
last four years very acceptably. The
SENTINEL is satisfied, from entire famiI.
iarity with the situation, that they are
excellent persons for the place. We do
not believe that any two persons more
eligible than they are could be found in
the State. To undertake any experiment
involving their removal might be dis
astrous to the most beneficent of the
beneficiary institutions of the State.