Wichita eagle., 1888-08-19
CRUELTY TO CHILDREN.
What Becomes of the Unfortunate Inf.nts
OF the Metropolis

| What Becomes of the Ursortunat. Inf.nts
Of the Metropolis
For some time the business Of baby
| farming has been increasing in this city,
/ until at the present moment IL extends
I from the most sQualid East Side localities
! TO the magnificent and luxurious man
| sions on the ultra fashionable avenues
In this city every year an average Of
! about 800 unfortunate infants are picked
up in ash barrels, in hall WAYS. on tho
/ streets, and frequently in the river.
| These are nearly all the children Of poor
and indiscreet young women, who IN an
| evil hour gave heed TO the voice Of the
! tempter.
/ Many of these children find their wav
into regular Institutions which are incor-
/ porated for business of tina. description,
such as the Founding asylum. and a
number of religious concerns where pro-
vision is made for th-. little waits. But
by far the great majority are Harmed
out 10 women who FOR a consideration
care for the children or help To end their
| miserable lives, Is the sxigency Of the
case or the pecuniary interest involved
NAV require.
The mother in most cases IL drawn
from the humber walks III life and can
afford 10 pay but "A small sum for the
maintenance of her child. She accord
ingv seeks out ono of the baby farmers,
who thrive III every part of the tenement
districts Of the city, aud there arrsnges
for the reception and care of her little
one. A fixed sum per week Is decided
upon, ranging according TO location from
81 to S., and the transaction Is con-
Guided. Perhaps the unfortunate mother
Is sometimes luchy enough 10 have ~
partner in her guilt one who viii pay the
weekly stipend. He furnishes the money
for three or five or ton weeks, but with
each succeeding payment lac grows tired
of the job, and finally he drops off alto
gether.
The baby farmer gets impatient She
threatens the mother of the child and
perhaps succeeds in having her make
some personal sacrifice 10 help fCg it,
maintenance, but the struggle proves too
much and the next chapter in the story
is the announcement 10 the srring
mother some day that the baby Il dead.
OF course, il the child has died while on
babyhood il heir 10 4 permit for its
burial rs easily procurabi,, and that IL
the last Of the drama But IN nearly all
cases 1t n very hard for even "a skilled
physician to properly account for the lat
tie one s departure from this unfriendlv
world, and no usore II heard Of the case.
But there are other baby farms. many
Of them in the gildet. neightorhoot - here
Ward McAliist~r's 400 society orna-
nents f,utteT, and there the procedure,
charges and arrangements differ, bot In
the long run the result Is invariably the
sarne. The prices charged for the reception
OF infants In some II there places run AZ
high as 80 a week. but in the majority
OF cas<@ the l<s-gain n made by the pay
meut Of hump sum which will cover
the cost of ke~p!ng tho baby until IL is
old enough 70 b. received in an orphan
asylum or disposed Of IN some other way.
Generally the children of such Iepple ar,
offered for adoption and n this way
nearly 20 per cent. n the baby farra
children Of the better class are disp.oeet
OF, hccauee the mothers do no< wish %
have them cent 70 ssylaro-. where their
''bue blood" NAV lie tarnizbed bv com
ntnghn9 With wallis u the common herd.
As the matter II at p-c-eut conducted
In tbs city all applications from pesoES
10 kop and maintain infsnss' are turn
ed over 10 the Socieey fer tie Prevention
Of Cruelty - Children by tfo tss.rI II
health. The soc.cty investigates tho
moral surroundings II the applicant, nod
the beard Of heall. looks afar the s.ari-
Sry arrangements. When every thing Is
foslB3 al night permit Is .saed- Tho
establishment at that fot1f Is kss sssht
ID and the bard Of health or the Chill
fren's society may know no mare atozIt
the place on the number q tables kept
there or the way they ere tr~af-i than ~.
ennperor OF Morocco. SAFETY for tho hive.
of these unfortunate WAITS ca oHsl~ bs
rrlsd upoa IL tbs r~9uiar k.<sta-ossz,
where the utmost care thai tszsdsg nurs>z,
s.ded by the mot approved scientific ap-
pianos. can give, h sdraE.sa<r-d-
The utmost edorts q tho po6ca aughor.
tHs or the Cnldre0's s1cay 70 rrs-~aszs
abuses IN the ~ stem tTr,s Car have failed
because # she numerous otrtarlss tkro--n
In tho Wy n reform Tie vi;sasrsoux
women who, tos q enusi.sxss,on. sueszs
toe yoUng hTss 0Ss 81 50 many hstIs
waits year By ye~, sdoxs many ard
es-~e1 rr1sB 70 Dczpe ceeerxSo1 IA uhS4r
foul york. and Dry g-Dsr&iy sacresd-
These popss gre sssch an unezvi.b.s
rep1E>tson 10 places oo<.sr.ssd sod r1n
On puraJ legitimate hans sh..a siss I'D
fortunate n2okh-Es gro rAore frequently
senfHed to tsso~ Tier he.p4e-. o<,.ss1ng
INTO tse c@pcas of the North G Es.t
MYERS than ccrIsago them u f@ss tk.as .
wrse t1An deAsa ttSek-Sew YORK
Journal.