The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1889-12-15

After Life of Snake Hills
Pauper Children.
TlE MEN AND WOMEN THEY GROW 70 BIZ.
Romance of Little Giri--- Miss
Haversham in Real Life.
STORIES BY ALMsHOUsE wARDENs

JERSEY WHO OIdftl over Jle SI641 l1HcS VI
railroad that gridiron the meadows be.
tween this city and Newark, the abrupt
rise of land on which the county build
ings of Hudson stand is a terra in
cognito. To the sentimental it probably
awakens a melancholy recollection Of
viii Cartoons sombre lines, ''Over the
hills to the poor house." To the heartless
the gray stone structure that tops the
highest crest Of Snake Hill, with it's two
immense wings and its tall cupola pro
jecting into the .niasmatic atmosphere
is but the imposing monument OF nine,
teenth century munificence, where the
Dives of the age can drop the crumb s
from their burdened tables for the beg
gnrs of the community to feed on. But
to the little inmates who are the waits of
society, and whom misfortune, vice or the
Incidence of natural guardians have left
to the cold charity of the great outside
world, it is a home-all the home they
know
1t was with the purpose of learning
what has been the ultimate destiny in the
fierce struggle for existence of the thou
sands of unfortunate children, who find
within the gray walls OF the county aims
house their alma mater, when they are
finally sent adrift from its fostering care
A ride of two miles in a carriage over
the muddy county road, the condition of
which has been partially reclaimed by
the labor expended upon it by the pau
pers in the almshouse, brings visitor to
Snake Hill outside of the arched stone
entrance to the county grounds
When he has entered through this
gateway, the iron gates of which are
Invariably open, and passed the store
house to the right, he ascends the gently
sloping grade of the ground by series of
stone stairways until the main building
IS reached. This is the county almshouse
and in in are domiciled the wards Of the
county who are nurtured until conve-
nient opportunity is presented to mingle
them in some way with the self-sustain-
ing population of the State outside.
1t was in the office of this building that
/ found Deputy Warden Stewart and,
broaching the subject of my visit, invited
him to tell me all he knew about the kind
of MEN and women the children of the in
stitution grow up to be.
The Deputy Warden unburdened him
self something after this fashion,
THE MATERIAL is BAD.
.'You must remember that the army of
children in this institution is recruited
from different sources and through diff
ferent means. Many are the children of
vicious, idle parents " this class from
the infirmities of heredity, very little can
be expected in the way of furnishing
Z sound material for the making of good
members of society. Many are little un-
fortunab4s, who have been left orphans
and friendless at a tender age when self
maintenance was impossible. This stray
contingent of society, which begins life
under such inauspicious conditions, is
really rescued by the county authorities
from the worst privations that human
beings are called upon to suffer. They
are found hidden away in the corners of
= ffxv ~. na{ o,,1 oh
poverty, and are brought into conditions
of life which, while not the most favora-
BILE to faultless moral training, are in
fnitely better than they. could hope to re-
ceive if left to the forlorn hope of exist
ence outside the aims house.
''Some, again, seem to drift by q nat
ural tendency to the level of pauper life
These are invariably admitted to the in
stitution on the application of parents
who do not regard life of independence
as worth the effort to secure it. Most of
such children would naturally inherit the
parental vice of Incidence"
AS Al went through the wards of the in
stitutfon with Mr.. Stewart was attracted
in one of the stuffy dornitories by pretty
bright-faced little girl who was modestly
hiding her face in the pillow of her bed,
and fllrtively peeping up at me as l stood
in the doorway.
A ROMANTIC INCIDENT.
Now" / asked, turning to the Warden
sswhat would probably become of such a
child as that, Mr.. Stewart"
"Ohc," he answered, ''she will probably
be adopted by some parents Of wealth
whose children have grown to maturity
and who still have longing for chill
dren 5 society.
..When first came into this institution
a lady came here and adopted little
baby girl. l had forgotten the circum-
stance. when one day n visitor with q
liftlo Crfrl ba0HSOnplV RTQcGa1
called at the almshoase. The lady
seemed surprised that failed to recog-
nike her.
Why. Mr.. Stewart, she asked, don't
ron know me? ! was here some years
ago and adopted this little daughter
II looked at the woman and then at
'fhe child. l could hardly credit her-the
resemblance between the child and her
guardian was SO striking. She was being
brought up in a family of wealth as a
daughter.
Do you know of any other cases in
your. experience?' l asked.
A SEARCH FOR SISTERS.
Yes, there was the case of a bright
young fellow some years ago who was APP
Prcnticed by a farmer in the State and
eventually went West with him. Several
years after he returned in search of Sis
tiers who had been inmates at the time he
himself was here. The young man had
married his employers daughter and by
his thrift had purchased farm. The two
girls he was in search of had been placed
in families, ami as the officers here had
satisfied themselves that they were prop
eFly cared for by the people in whose
hands they were placed they had not fol-
lowed them after a few years time, and
80 trace of them was lost.
THE young man started on his search
with such data as we could furnish him,
but whether he ever succeeded in finding
his sisters can not say"
slsn't it the custom to keep track of
such inmates of the institution as are
placed outside by the authorities" l
asked.
SOME COME BACK IN OLD ACE.
Yes" the Warden replied, "for q
certain time. The children are placed
with people who are under bonds to OBJ
serve certain obligations as TO their
maintenance and good treatment The
authorities satisfy themselves by means
OF disguised visitations that the con-
ditions are being complied with and then
drop the further supervision. In the
majority Of cases all track is lost OF them.
Sometimes, however, they turn up after
years as applicants for county support.
.'But the majority Of them want to
burn the bridges behind them and lose
their identity as the objects OF public
charity. Il initiates against them ia the
outside sgor,a md they naturally want 10
fuFNat "A ~ lu..lr IA Il.lir lletCrv which Is