San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-08-23

tom, OF practice, Is wlnked at, because the
city pays bounty, as Ii were, for the in
fants thus adopted, for the funds received
depend upon the number of children cared
for. In some cases mothers are bound to as
sumo some slight responsibility or even tech
meal title to motherhood. But at least one
institution not only grants, but actually ex-
acts a release Of all claim to children of
which it assumes the care.
UNMoTHKRLY MOTHERS.
81 know from personal experience and OBJ
servation that very large proportion Of the
wet nurses employed in New York have been
able TO obtain these places solely through the
abandonment of their own flesh and blood"
was the statement made by a we'll known
physician of this city in discussing the sub
iect. IL have been astounded and shocked
by the growing tendency on the part of
American women to leave the care of their
infants to others almost from the time of
birth You might regard it as general rule
among the wealthy classes, and especially so
in cases where mothers are what are termed
society ladies' In the United States the
most favored classes, so far as worldly pos
sessions are concerned, seem to regard it as a
disgrace to have more than two children. 1t
Is not many years ago that now noted
illustrated paper made tremendous hit
and first commenced to boom by a
timely cartoon apropos OF the suicide of
the notorious Nine RestelL She was
reputed TO have had among her patients
in her nefarious malpractice business women
of the first families of New York, or what
Ward McAllister is pleased to term the select
400. This cartoon gave prophetic scene, as
it were, of what Fifth avenue would present
in a year or two now that Nine Restelrs
services were no longer to be secured. 1t
was the aptness of the illustration which
brought home to the public realization of
the enormity of what may be termed a great
national sin that set everybody talking about
TIE paper that had exhibited the courage to
preach so powerful sermon. There may
be other Restells here today, but hardly less
a crime than is practiced by them is the
total abandonment of babies or the Sinking
of the responsibilities of motherhood by
these wet nurses.
1.-THE temptations to shiftless and mercen-
airy females due to the system are very great
and few can resist them. Wet nurses are
usually engaged by the year, and their wages
range from $40 or S25 a month to $40 or $50
and even higher in some instances.
woman gets a good home, all her ex-
penses are paid, and is fed on the best of
everything. Practically it is a life Of ease
and perhaps luxury for the term of their en-
gagement Their deserted children can be
put out to board for $40 or Sl2 month, and
a great majority of them are either adopted
or become public charges. If the parents of
babies realized the risks they run in taking
this class of women to nurse their little ones
there might be less Of this sort Of thing done.
There is great danger of chronic diseases and
various complaints being contracted by the
babies. The private nurseries in which the
children Of wet nurses are cared for are not
what they ought to be by any means In the
first p ace, the babies Of necessity are bottle
fed and are more or less neglected They are
puny and weak, and if they are nursed
through the various infantile complaints are,
for many reasons, unlikely to become useful
or desirable members of society. New York
World