The Dickinson press., 1889-03-09
LONDON'S OUTCASTS.
BORN IN CELLARS, sUcKLED ON GIN
AND GRABBED IN THE GUTTER.


BORN IN CELLARS, SUcKLED ON GIN
AND GRABBED IN THE GUTTER.
Pictures of the Saddcst Side of Human
Existence - Proposed establishments of
Houses of Rcfugc-Good Intentions of
the Philanthropists.
When we introduced 1.-THE Bitter Cry of
Outcast London" to the attention of the
great public five years ago, we suggested one
thought which is never absent from our
minds when confronted with tho realities of
ife in the "Sunken Sixth of London.
"Tho grim Florentine might have added to
;he horror of his vision Of hell by sojourn
II London sum. For in his Inferno the
damned ut least did not breed. With us they
10. Every year secs an addition to the long
oil of the new born list. Born in the fetid
atmosphere of n crowded cellar, sucked on
GIN and Graded in tho gutter they never
nave chance"
The passage reverts to our memory as we
'ead DR.. Barnardo's appeal in The Times for
The establishment Of casual wards for chill
iren at the east end. The fate of the chill
iren is the climax of horror The existence
of hundreds and of thousands Of children
with no other parentage than women like
Elizabeth Stride and Annie Chapman and
Mary Ann Nichols, with no other homo than
he dosing ken and no other playground
;hnn tho gutter, that is tho abiding and ap.
2allng tragedy of the situation, beside which
all other horrors palc and disappear.
DR. BARNARDos SCHEME
DIR. Barnardo, in his letter to The Times,
describing the lives of the children, brought
ap in the common lodging houses, says quito
ruly that it is impossible to describe the
itato in which myriads of children live in
these human sewers, breathing from their
birth all atmosphere fatal to all goodness.
They are saturated from their birth in vice
and all uncleanness and DR. Barnardo in his
zeal would forbid all lodging houses by law to
shelter any children under lG Therein he
goes too far Any of us may some day be
lrivcn by poverty to seek tho shelter of u
losing ken; and, even in our direst extrem-
ty, we would not care to be separated from
our children.
But great deal may be done short of legis
ativo prohibition. Tho first thing obviously
is to establish lodging houses for boys and
girls, If, as DR. Barnardo says, they can be
naue. self supporting, or nearly So" We
confess that we have doubts as to the posi-
oilty of making these places self supporting.
Still DR. Barnardo is an authority second to
lonc, and We hopo he will explain how it can
10 done. If he can get out practical plan
BY which all tho homeless lads and lasses of
London can bo lodged dccenty in places
Whero they would not bo contaminated by
Tho constant converse Of prostitutes and
thieves, We do not think ho will lack for
funds, supposng that tho first cost of tho
building is raised by u public subscription,
and tho coppers of the children pay the work.
Ing expenses.
One poor woman who may havo been Eli
.abcth Stride herself for sle was in the cir
cle that listened to DR. Barnardos exposition
of the advantages of his scheme, is suid to
have cxclaimed: "Wcrc all up to no good,
and no ono cares what becomes of u.s. Per-
haps some Of us will be killed ncxt If any
body had helped tho like Of us long ago We
would never have come to this" 1.-The likes
of us are indeed "up to no good" although
The bishop of Bedford does we'll to appeal for
laundry to help them earn u living, if they
wish to do so decently. But it is tho chill
lrcn WHO offer thcb est field for philanthropic
activity, and in default Of anything better
DR.. Barnardos scheme might well be tried.
RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTAGE.
Nothing will do any great good that is
based on tho principle Of taking children
from their parents. If n man and woman
arc not fit to be trusted with the upbringing
Of their offspring, they ought not to be al
lowed to llave any children. Mr.. Arnold
White pleads for "tho sterilization of the un-
lit" but tho plain English of it is that tho
human pair who bring child into the world
for whom they cannot provide food, clothes
and lodging arc criminals, and should be
punished us such. Tho immense RESPONSIBLE
ty of parcntage can only be borne by par
ents. 1t cannot bo thrust upon tho state.
That has been tried often enough, with no
other result than that Of organizing infanti-,
eide.
The existing founding hospitals-in Rus.
sia, for instance-aro simply massacre shops
for nearly oneh half their luckless inmates 1t
sounds excellent and philanthropic and al
together admirable that tho state should un-
lcrtake the mothcrins and fathering of those
children whose own parents arc unfit or i'll
capable, but it would really be kinder to le-
gallzo infanticidc sans phrase 1t is true,
That baby killing has ceased to he regarded
as murder in London, but we have not yet ar.
rived ut the point where the state can deli
bcratcly decree tho extinction of the life even
Of the rickettiest infant born in an East end
losing ken.
Under the reign Of science and evolution,
and tho decay of the old theological bolts and
bars against homicide, we may come to that
but as yc: the old religion, with its concep-
ton Of the soul, is still sufficiently potent to
forbid the direct road followed by the an
clients. Nowadays infantcde to be respect
able must be circu,ous. The question today,
however, is not how to kill, but how to save
alive. And the public, for a moment con-
science stricken at the spectacle of how the
poor live will gladly cooperate with Dr.
Barnardo, if he can utilize his vast expert
ence SO as to help in establishing a self sup
porting, decent dosing ken for the homeless
children Of Loudon.-Pall Mall Gazette.
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