St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-05-04

I" of the receiving
department were about thirty raw
young peasant women, just in from the
country. They were candidates for the
position of wet nurse, waiting to be eX
anined by the doctor. They stood in a
row, like soldiers, and bowed respect
fully and simultaneously to the matrOn
and her visitors as we entered. Some
looked very Young as applicants for
such position.
he next room was the receiving
room.
A Female Clerk
sat at desk hooking the numbers, sex
ana description of the infants as they
were brought in. Another woman was
just putting a baby in the brass scuttle
OF pair OF scales TO weigh it. 1t had
been brought in by a soldier. who stated
that his wife was i'll and couldn't take
care of it. Alter weighing the infant
they tied numbered tag around its
neck, and gave a duplicate tag to the
soldier. The only questions asked con-
corning infants are whether they were
or were not born in WedlOck, and
whether or not they had been baptized.
From the receiving room the infant
brought in by the soldier was passed on
to the bath room, where it received the
benefits of warm water and soap. Here
were wet nurses who had been passed
by the doctor, had taken the regulation
bath required of all newcomers, and
had dOnned the dress of the Institution,
the co Spicuous feature being caps of
blue, green or red says Thomas Stevens
in the New York World. After the bath
the infant was assigned to one of these
nurses, who Immediately walked off
with it to the summer barracks. Adj
joining the bath room is the
ESaptismal Room.
containing priest, gorgeous icon and
font. Here all infants who have not
been baptized outside are Immediately
converted into orthodox Russians be-
fore being passed on to the barracks.
They receive 80, 60, 70 and sometimes
as many as so infants in day. Last
year they admitted Is, 479 infants.
The babies are kept in the hospital
about six weeks, and then sent out into
the villages to be nursed. There were
at present S47 infants on the premises,
and 545 wet nurses. After being re-
ceived and kept in the hospital six
weeks the babies are provided with
numbered tag and passport and passed
on, as stated above, to nurses in distant
villages, where they arc nurtured at the
expense of the Institution until they are
five years old. At any time, either be-
fore OF after the expiration of the term
In the hospital, the mother, or whoever
brought the infant, may reclaim it by
means of the
Duplicate Tag.
BY the time they have seen five sum-
mers many OF the youngsters are
adopted in the villages to which they
have been assigned. The others are re-
turned to the institution, where they
are educated, boys and girls together,
till they reach the age of nine or ten.
They are then separated. The boys are
sent to the government feltShar schools,
where they are taught the art of assist
Ing army surgeons to saw off soldiers
legs and arms-army hospital assistants
and the girls are fitted out with
clothes and assisted into places as
bousemaids and cooks. To the end of
their llveS-at all events their unmar-
ried lives-the girls are considered
wards of the government, and so long as
they can prove good conduct may al
ways return to the hospital temporarily
when out of a situation.
We were conducted into the grounds
and the summer barracks. Here were
broad, well-kept grounds. laid off into
squares and shady avenues of big, fine
elms. The day was soft and balmy, an
Ideal summer day, and the nurses and
S-ANAA SAA'eeiA Ni4NA SO hNAO
al Outdoors.
Strung along the avenues under the
shade of the spreading elms were hun
dreds of little iron cribs, built light. so
that nurse would be able to carry
cradle, ''baby and all" in and out of
the barracks. Each crib was broad
enough tOaccOmmodate two infants, and
In charge of each crib was a nurse.
foSter-mother to, the occupants. Most
of the nurses, as will be understood by
the figures given, were required tonurse
two babeS-an eaSy-enough tax GU them,
judging from appearances.
Each nurse carries a passport and a
paper that goes with the crib and the in
fantS that are given into her charge.
These precautions are necessary to pre-
vent the stream Of human atoms ever
passing through the hospital from get
ting hOpeleSsly mixed and their indi-
Vidual identity lost forever.
The nurses are fed on black bread.
cabbage soup, buckwheat, and millct
cruel and kwass. They are also allowed
small indulgences in weak tea, without
which any Russian, woman or man,
would think themselves ill-used. Nurses
TO whom very weakly infants are as
signed are allowed more nurishing
food, such as meat, potatoes, beer. etc.
The most interesting of the barracks
was that one devoted to weakly infants
and those who had ventured into the
world ahead of their time. This is
known as the hospital or warm bar
racks. Even on TINS summer day it was
heated by artificial means. Besides the
row of cribs it contained
Several EncubatOrs
for the reception of the aforesaid VEN
turesome Young people.
The infants in this barrack were a
truly pItiful assortment. A newborn
babe is not beautiful object to gaze
upon, and there was something pos
1tiVely uncanny, at least to a man,
in the appearance OF these tiny
creatures, acknowledging as Young
birds, who had ventured into the bic
world so young and so small as to
scarcely seem like humans. These
midgets were mostly swathed in linen
bandageS so that nothing was visible
but the head. They looked like tightly
rolled young mummies. The nurses
picked them up with one hand, as one
might pick up rag doll, and handled
them III curiouely matter-oi-fact
way. Some of them seemed scarcely
alive. One nurse picked W bair az
them from the crib that Lei2ryel II
her, one in each hand, and held them
up for our inspection as dealer would
hold up pair of images. One of them
moved its mouth little, but the other
seemed to me to be dead The nurse
said it was alive, however, and would
most likely pull through.
Tins remarkable Institution was