The Washington critic., 1886-05-26
SAYING TIE FOUNDLINGS.
What Has Been Done Tor Them In
All Ages and Countries.


What Has Been Done for Them In
All Ages and Countries.
The nations of antiquity cared but
little for foundlings, their wiscst lcgig.
lators and philosophers regarded In;
fanticide as justfable. Lycurgus,
Solon, Plato and Numa condemned to
death all deformed and sicltly infants.
AT Athens and Rome infants were pub.
licly exposed and became the property
of whoever received and cared for
them; they were. often reduced to
slavery. Early efforts were made to
abolish the evil, but 1t was not until
the close of the fourth century that the
Church succeeded in abolishing the
practice and as early as the sixth cen
tury established houses for the care of
abandoned infants. During the four
teenth century magnificent hospitals
for foundlings were erected in Rome,
Florence, Venice and Paris, and since
then they have arisen In nearly every
city of Europe. Catherine III. of Rus.
sia founded two immense hospitals, one
at st. Petersburgh and another at Mos.
COW. Together they receive about
1,s00 infants annually. China has u
great many, and their management and
discipline compare favorably with the
best In Europe.
Some idea of the number of found
lings may be conceived from the facts
that at Rome the number annually re.
ceivcd Is over 3,000 at Naples, 1000;
at Madrid, 200; ut Paris, 5000. In
Spain there are 140 founding hospitals,
accommodating 53,iGi infants. In
France the number Of foundlings un.
der care is estimated at 10000; in
Portugal, $4,000, and in Austria and
Hungary, about 10000. Our country,
young, vigorous and thrifty, whose
people are not crowded into immense
cities and impoverished by starving
competition, has felt but little the need
OF such institutions, yet it Is awfully
true that in the United States many in
fants perish every day from crime,
shame and want. In many of our
cities benevolent ladies have com
menced this good work and saved many
valuable lives. In this our beautiful
Capital there are at least 36j infants
upuhuohNu ONcly Ntui HuUldu lIc
for each day-poor little victims who
have committed no crime and who cry
aloud for permission to live.
The Board of Lady Managers of the
Washington Home for Foundlings,
aided by DR.. Sewers, who is president
of the institution, have worked for
years and have now almost completed
on Fifteenth street northwest beauti.
full home, where they care for such
little ones, nursing, clothing and edu.
eating them until they are 1S years
old. The home is intended to be en-.
tirely non.sectarian and to depend upon
volutary contributions for its mainte-
nance. If 1900 persons could be in
duced to come forward and pledge
themselves to give five dollars per
year the institution could move on at
once in its work of pity and of love.
The ground was donated years ago for
the purpose. and by very judicious
management $40, 900 have been secured
and invested in the building. About
$4,000 is needed to complete it, which
the Senate of the United States has al.
ready granted, which it is hoped the
House of Representatives will agree to,
but the reduction Of the hours of labor
will add to the cost Of completion about
90 per cent.