Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-11-21
CITY AND DISTRICT.
TEE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
"A Talk with am officer of the Hu.
name Society.
HOW BABES ARE ABANDoNEp-THE IMPossr
BILITY OF DETECTING THE oFFENDERS-sUG-
GEsrKD AMENDMENTS TO THE EXISTING Law.


HOW BABES ARE ABANDoNED-THE IMPossr-
BILITY OF DETECTING THE oFFENDERs-sUG-
/ GEsTED AMENDMENTS TO THE EXISTING Law
any investigations nave proved to me that
such a law was needed" said Police Officer
ONeill, who is detailed to aid the work of the
Humane society, under the recent law, pro-
viding for the protection of children from
cruelty, neglect and abandonment.
"The law, however Is now In its crude state
and can be much improved in several respects
One change which should be made is that the
law should provide a fine by the Police Court
IN cases where children are employed as aero
bats or for other purposes condemned by the
law, instead of requiring such cases to be taken
before the grand jury. Another amendment
should make wife a competent witness against
her husband in cases OF cruel treatment of chill
dren; What Is needed is law that can be
"What has been your work." asked The STAR
reporter.
do, said Mr.. ONeill, "has been in relation to
cruelty TO children and abandonment. 1t il
true great many infant children are aban-
doned By their mothers, but it is almost a
physical impossibility to find the offending
mothers. The infant Is carried from one end
OF the town to the other, and its identity is en-
pears to furnish clue, but when you trace 1t
up no one knows anything about the child.
successful In finding the mother was one
where police officer knew the girl After
abandoning the child she went TO her home
and the next morning inquired near where
she left the child to learn what had become of
It. Her conscience troubled her, and she was
anxious about the child. This led TO an in
Quiry. which resulted in the child's being re-
stored TO her. and think she took care of it,
IMPOSING A CHILD ON ANOTHER.
sometimes" continued the oficer,"a person
will leave child with q woman promising to
pay ~ a week or $40 month for it's
support. tner paying the sum stipulated two
or three weeks, the person who brought the
child to the woman never comes again and is
never heard OF any more. Now that is not a
case OF abandonment under the law. 1t may
be swindie or a ease OF breach of trust, but we
could do nothing III We could find the person to
whom the child belonged.
Another way of disposing Of children is in
this manner: A woman will come along with a
child. stop cOlOred woman in the street and
say, please hold this child a moment until
go TO the store and buy something The COL
Ored woman takes the child and has il left on
her hands That Is a clear case of abandon
ment, bu, it is next to impossible to trace the
offender sSs, ou have had sew, several cases like
woman with whom the child is left,
as rule, cannot give any intelligent
description of the party that imposed the child
upon her. I have had cases where mothers
have left children with persons to- care for them
and, in some instances, have found the mother
= OF the child, but can make nothing out of such
a case. The child was not abandoned and not
cruelty treated. One thing needed here is q
father OF q child to pay five dollars a month or
more for Its support. II such "a law was in
force there would be fewer cases of abandon
ment'
CASES OF CRUEL TREATMENT.
''The complaints of cruelty to children gene
rally come through the police said Mr..
ONeill. Very few come TO the Office of the
society. People do not seem to understand
that complaints can be sent there The COM
plaint is generally made to the police officer on
the beat and IL he cannot attend To 1T it is refer
red to me. These cases are those of children
who have been cruelty beaten. neglected by
dlSsipated parents, or exposed to suffering. 1t
Is hard sometimes to make the cases in court.
marks oil over his body of the beatings re-
ceived from his mother. In court the boy said
ne got the marks by falling down on a heap of
oyster shells OF course the court could do moth
ing.
THE PROTECTION Of YOUNG GIRLS.
1--WE cannot easily make case under that
section" he continued, referring to the fourth
section of the law providing a penalty for
placing or receiving child under Is years of
age into disreputabie house for immoral pur-
poses.
'When the burden OF proof is on the govern
ment TO show that a girl is under eighteen, it
Is difficult, you can see. to establish a case. If
girl says she is nineteen, yOu cannot easily
ferent. There, 1 understand, the burden of
proof Is on the parties charged. The officers
take child into court and the defendants have
10 prove that she is more than eighteen. III
the same law or practice existed here persons
VINO receive girls for immoral purposes, would
require them TO bring u certificate of their age.
mo; never knew or heard OF such a case
here, said the officer in answer to a question by
STAR reporter whether he had known of any
such cases here, as those reported in London.
There IS one matter, though, upon which there
should not be under sixteen years. There is
now nothing in the District law on this point
that know of suppose the old Mary land law
here"