Wichita eagle., 1886-10-15
9ai19K Ea91e
THE s..uRDER OF CHILDREN.

s11ourzcrs' Tha. gro Sot Bu-Gcncd VIA
ScrroU-To Saro Expense.
Persons living On West Madison street viii
notice that there is almost every Eour o. tic
day small funeral en- route to cemetery
lying few miles west Of tho city. Theso
ssproccssions" consist of ono carriage, c.
two, and occasionally they reach the dignity
Of havin. as many Us three in Line. There is
mover any hearse; and the only indication
that burial is in prospect is to be found In
O small. plain, wooden box, which is carried
on the footboard of the drivers seat on tho
first carriage.
The .'mourners' do not seem overwhelmed
with sorrow. There arc always woman or
or two and somc men, and now and then some
children. The men smoke pipes and appear
to he enjoying tho trip; tho women gossip
with fearless eyes, and appear as if they welc
bound to the woods for a picnic. The beer
saloons at and beyond the limits nro patron
lied ON the outward and inward journey.
There is no grief, no appearance Of distress,
noindication OF sorrow or regret
This rusty hack with its rough, wooden
box, its unclcan driver, and its fearless, pipe
smoking "nloufners," is one Of the factors
connected with the infant mortality for which
Chicago is so famous 1t is the vehicle which
plies between certain homes and TIE grave
yard, and in a sense it is tho cart Of a scaven-
GER The infant material which it carries
beyond the town to bury, as is donc with
other forms of oifal, is as willingly sent away
from the various houses as if it were SO much
refuse, and with os little regret. Civilization
Is horrificd over the custom Of savage tribes
who toss their aged relatives out to die when
they become useless, but civilization does not
even reprehend Gs vile a custom which pre-
walls in its midst. Hero in Chicago infant
murder is carried ON almost by wholesale and
without hindrance.
There is in this city very large population,
mostly or wholly foreign by nativity, among
whom child murder is as common cs eating
and sleeping. Among them each sickly child
Is slain by q process as certain as poison. Ii
It is the least weakly at birth it Is at once aban
doned to death. 1t is not actually, per-
haps, stranglcd, but it is refused attention,
medicine and ncurisbncnt, and thus is asSas-
sinated rs certainly rs if the work were done
with knife Whether Or rot q newiy-born
child should be nourished and cared for or al.
lowed 10 die depends wholly on its physica.
condition. The question is purely one Of dol
Lars and cents; if tho child is ailing, it viii
not pay to rear it; it can rot DO Of assistance
when it grows UP, and IFS maintenance will
be q useless expense.
There is u suggestion OF Spartanis,n in this
disposal of weakly infants, but it is based Oh
adiffcrent motive. The ancientS slew in order
to strengthen the race; these people destroy TO
save the expense Of medicine, to prevent tho
support of ailing children, and to secure
strong assistants in the future wcrl, of money
getting There are people who will conclude
that the more this class destroys its young the
better for society and civilization. Neverthe-
less, the existence Of the practice of allowing
the niling to die simply TO avoid the trouble
and expense of caring for them is brutal, de-
grading and a scandal 10 the community in
whxh it has cxistence.-ChicaGo Times.