Morning journal and courier., 1886-01-23

All of these children came to the Home out of distressing surroundings; some of them were half starved naked, and neg lected, taken from immoral or drunken par ents, picked up in the streets, found in the outhouses. All of them are to-day, through the benefcent law, in better and happier condition than they could possibly have been under the old plan of life in an alms-house.
 Past experience has shown that had they been sent to almshouses after the old and evil custom, they would have remained in definitely burden upon society.
 Reports of all these children have been made to the board of management of the Home. They are receiving schooling and are under excellent care in the families where placed. These family homes have been se- cured through the efforts of the members of the town committees.
 THE OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW.
 Every almshouse in the county was visited in October of the present year, and to the honor of selectmen generally the law is found to be obeyed. Children may not be sent to the County Home, but neither are they kept in almshouses.
 To this rule there are, however, exceptions. In the almshouse of one town a girl was found in October sitting in the midst of nine women of the street, under whose blighting influence she was spending her days and nights waiting the expiration of her mothers sentence to jail.
 Tn the almshouse of another town, in the same week, five children were seen, from to IA years of age, three of whom had been in the institution respectively 5, and years, and all of whom were taking their noon meal in common with 19 insane paupers, and the diseased and debased of both sexes.
 It was to shield such defenceless children, and in shielding them to protect society, that the law of 1883 was passed.
 To subject young people, simply because they are poor, to the society of the debased and demented is crime against childhood and disregard of tbe will of the people, which the members of the present legislature are respectfully asked to put an end to by attaching penalty to infractions of the law.
 Appended to the reporG is an abstract from the law of 1883 with comments as fol lows:
 Section 3.-It shall be unlawful for overseers of the poor to place, or retain children in almshouses except in case of children with respectable par ent, whe may with that parent be sent to the aims house for thirty days only
 may hereafter be in charge of overseers of the poor There shall be provided in each county .one or more places of refuge known as
 Section 3-* Crverseers of the poor may place children in the Temporary Home of this county, npon such terms as to the time of their stay therein as may be agreed upon with the board of management.
 It is evident from the above that the over seers of the poor entirely free to place children in the temporary homes without the nterposition of the courts, and to remove them therefrom at any moment. State ments to the contrary lately made at meet ing of New Haven Selectmen probably re- suited from ignorance of the law.
 The board charged at the New Haven County Temporary Home is 8 weekly, which clothing and medical care. The New Haven Taxpayers association report for '85 the average cost of support at the New Haven almshouse (exclusive of the value of property) to be $2.1 weekly.
 It is again evident that economy alone, not to mention the claims of humanity and the law, should influence overseers of the poor to provide other shelter than almshouses for dependent children.