Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-06-15
aYou mentioned the possibility of

"You mentioned the possibility of
mothers desiring to reclaim their chill
dren. Do they often do so?"
"Quite often. l have had at least fifty
letters from Que lady who is anxious to
recover little one that / had adopted
for her; but there is no chance of her
ever seeing it again"
"Do you not keen register Of what
becomes of the children?"
81 rarely know what becomes of them.
Most of the people who apply for chill
dren do not desire to have their names
known"
"How then do DO you y satisfy yourself OF
their respectabillty?"
ence, whoever he may be, " and W tell him
that at certain time certain person,
whom we shall call John Doe-in fact
myselEwill call on him for references
concerning Richard Roe, or whatever
name you wish to assume. If the result
of nv inquiries is satisfactory, l notify
you that when the child is born it is at
your disposal and you can send car
riage at night and receive it. In order
to avoid any future complications I pre-
fer not to know the name of the person
taking the child. l always endeavor to
select peoble who are unlikely to have
children Of their own, as, in the event
of a couple having afterwards child of
their own. the little waif is likely to be
neglected, or perhaps indeed entirely
discarded"
els any remuneration expected"
''Not to the parents, but always re-
ceive reasonable fee
"About what amount"
"Well, the last one received was
sl0O; before that $50. have received
as low as $25. I have it entirely to the
;,la How y y2 long 81 have you been in the bus
"since 1856. l have caused to be
adopted in that time great many little
strangers. l can give you reference to
at least 500 of the most prominent bank
ers, merchants and professional men of
this city"
Another prominent operator in infants
displayed his stock in trade to the jour
nalist.
"There is a desirable youngster," said
he, 'about ten days old, fair hair, blue
eyes and boy. He has, you observe, a
dimple on the left cheek, which always
enhances the value of a child. lam ask
ing Sl0O for him. The girl next to him,
Of about the same age will probably go
for half that sum; she would fetch more,
but her hair has every indication of de-
veloping into what is euphemistically
termed an, auburn shade-in other
words, red. However, boys always
bring more than girls"
GLOW do you account for that
"Well, don't know. All I know is
that girls, with the exception of par
ticularly fine specimens, are ut dis
count, prefer not to deal with them"
"Do you find it difficult to suit your
customers"
Sometimes do. Some women are
very particular. They have in their
minds eyean ideal baby, and expect me
to be able to produce it. AS a general
thing find that the blonde type is most
in demand, although many of my clients
ask for such curious combinations as
blue eyes and dark hair, or dark eyes
and fair hair. A lady who came here
this morning produced lock of hair of
a rather unusual white. Which she ex-
pected me to match; for all the world
as if she was buying yard of ribbon"
"Do you find the business a profitable
one?"
"Well, generally the demand is rather
in excess of the supply and hence the
my expensesare large, my rent is heavy,
and doctors fees make big hole in my
profits. The worst of it is that compe-
tition has to a great extent spoiled the
business. My competitors are very nu-
merous, and of course that cuts down
prices. Things are not what they used
to be. Now ifa customer is not satisfied
with my rates she goes elsewhere-in
fact, goes shopping The establish
ment opposite has been source of great
loss to me. When I used to get 5000 a
few years ago l must now be satisfied
with $75."
.'Do you ever have applications for
colored babies?"
mo. The extreme brunette type is
not popular among the white people,
and the African population do not seem
to stand in need of my services"
ga large part of my trade is in what
we term Cultures" | have here" re-
ferring to ledger, CONTRACTS for July
and August delivery, some, indeed, as
far ahead as September, these being the
months in which my rustic customers,
among whom most of this business is
done, visit the city"