New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-09-25
up his mind that he wants foreign carpets ad-
mitted free Of duty.
700 MICH RED TAPE.

TOO MUCH RED IAfE
The story of Mary Mullins, the young mother
who was turned out on the street with her two
children. and whose baby died in her arms
while she was sitting on a doorstep, is pitt
ful one in many ways. The young woman had
been apparently deserted by her husband and
her friends had advised her to put her children
in a charitable institution. But she could not
bring herself to part with the little ones, and
being feeble after long illness she became
unable to work for them. Her baby being
sick she took it TO a hospital, where she was
told that it had bronchitis, but that it was
AGAINST the rules to take it in, though the poor
mother explained her heplessness and lack of
shelter for it. 1t was against the rules to take
in sick baby which was morally certain to
die if subjected to further exposure, and which
would be so exposed, because the mother was
homeless and destitute. But it was not against
the rules for this homeless creature to crouch
all through cold night on the door-steps OF
house. unit her baby died on her bosom. Then
however. the "rules' came into play again.
The sergeant at the police station where she
went "coud do nothing for her." She must
90 to the Morgue, and, being penniless, must
wall, there. carrying her dead baby, after
night in the streets.
At the Alorgue the "rues' again confronted
her. They could not receive the little body
without a permit from the7Coroner, and the
Coroner could not be found; so the wretched
woman had to visit another police station and
there. after being at last allowed to surrender
the dead baby at the Morgue, the best the
police could do for her was to lock her up. APP
parently it is against the "rules" to be desti-
tute. to be homeless to be beeaved. The
crueIlest blow that can fall on a mother
is. according to the rules" only reason for
treating that mother as criminal. Even
though no charge whatever can be brought
against her, she must be dragged before a
Police Justice with the rlIffianry of the night.
and may count herself lucky If she is dis
charged and permitted to take her grief, misery
and Indulgence back into the streets that offer
her neither food, shelter nor consolation. That
this should be possible in one of the most char
table and tender-hearted communities is, to
say the least strange, but it is not less evident
that red tape is largely accountable for it. This
baby's life should have been saved. The hos
pital surgeon who declared it against the rules
to take the infant in, no matter what the al
tentative, should have assumed the response
bity of overriding all rules in such a case.
The police sergeant, the MOrgue-keeper and
the Coroner are doubtless equally sheltered by
their regulations; but is there not room for
amendment in rules which produce results of
this kind?
OF course, it may be said that Mary Mullins
was to blame for not putting her children in
an asylum. But for the credit of human nature
there are mothers who cling to their babies
with a passionate affection, and systems and
institutions which make no provision for such
cases are defective. What is poor mother to do
who finds herself in Mary Mullinss position ?
Experience seems to warrant the conclusion
that if she had gone to any other shelter or
asylum at that hour of the night she would
have been refused admission. Even in the
daytime she would probably have been re-
ouired to 90 through forms and ceremonies,
and in most cases she would have been made
to pat with her children as an indispensable
condition. Is it not time that some provision
should be made somewhere in our complicated
system of Charities and Correction, or in the
auxiliary network Of private and seml-pubhc
institutions, for cases of urgency such as this
one? Should there not be somewhere in the
city a place-hosptal or asylum-where the
"rules' were broad and flexible enough to in
cude the preservation Of baby's life, sudden
ly exposed through the heartlessness or the
helplessness of others? To expect so much
relief does not seem extravaganza and we are
sure the people of NewYork would be glad to
hear that second case of the Mary Mullins
type had been rendered impossible