Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-09-27
LETTER FROM MRS. BACON


,ity missions:
re the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER.
Sir: With regard to the attack lately |
made upon Mrs. V. T. Smith, Hartford's |
city missionary, by those taking advantage
of an official position, or protected by the
nature of newspaper para
graphs-I desire to say, that, having had
nine years intimate acquaintance with
Mrs. Smith, as an associate of hers on the
state board of charities, feel myself
especially qualified to give an opinion of
her work for children and of the spirit in
which it has been accomplished. This
work has covered large part of the state,
has been open to the inspection of persons
widely scattered, has known no favoritism
or personal interest, and has brought
blessing to hundreds of children and to
many households.
SCOPE OF MRS. SMITHS WORK.
could give the names of over one hun
bred children in whom am personally in
terested and whom Mrs. Smith has helped
me to place in Christian homes, Catholic
and Protestant. I have followed these
children up in the families to which they
have gone, by correspondence and by per-
sonal inspection, and know that they
were taken out of degradation and given
their first chance to become sober and
honest in their lives, by tho efforts of Mrs.
Smith. All these children were paupers
and constant charge to taxpayers; they
were in this way definitely removed from
the pauper lists.
The intimation made by this town agent
and newspaper friends, that the families
receiving such children pay Mrs. Smith for
the privilege of providing them with
homes and care, is on the face of it as silly
as it is false. When one hundred e1-
ceptions to these limitations and asser-
tions can be sworn to by credible wit
nesses the remaining wholesale accusations
lose somewhat of their force.
THE "BABY FARMS"
With regard to the so-called "baby
farms" the attack of Hartford's town agent
mentions five places in which he intends
the public to believe that illegitimaoy is
encouraged for mercenary motives, and
the greatest secrecy secured to the vile, for
gain by the City mission.
have, through Mrs. Smith, sent chill
| dren to board in four of these five places,
crecy; in each case at least ten persons
have known of their being sent; in each
case their board has been charged by these
families receiving them, at the rate of 81
per week; in each case these persons have
stated to Town Agent Fowler that their 81
have been regularly received.
These children were sent to board in
these families, stigmatized as "baby farms, u
because the children's home to which they
l L L IL
also that they might be seen by persons
wishing to take children into their OWL
homes as members of their families.
A large majority of them were, after {
few days or weeks, passed on in accord
ance with law into "wen selected family
homes" These ''baby farms" were half
way houses, serving as distributing sta
lions from which children could be trans
ferred to permanent homes.
A number of these children were so I'm
trained, so unaccustomed to the proprie
ties Of life, that they required a careful
personal training that no over crowded
asylum can give; this training they re
oeived in the "baby FARMS" and withou
it no respectable family would have tol
Grated their presence as permanent in
mates. These very children are saved an
taxpayers are relieved of their supper
through Mrs. Smith-and the so-oalle
| "baby farms" In each case these chill
dren have been reported to me, and tn
visitor provided for by the statutes of tn
state has known of the boarding of tn
child, and has assured herself of its wei
fare. In all cases full "records" hav
been kept.
NO CoNCEALMENT.
One only of these children lie illegit
mate, and the disorderly parents of all {
them, with one exception, are alive.
order to give substance to the vague an
base insinuation that large numbers hay
been concealed in these four families, ft
the sake of encouraging vice and maxim
money, all these children alluded to abov
would have to be produced by this tow
agent from the respectable and happy fan
lily homes to which they have passed, ar
where they are sheltered without none
and without price, thanks to Mrs. Smitl
When large number of exceptions to Il
charge of concealing vice for the sake
gain, in these so called "baby farms" CO
be sworn to by responsible persons, Il
probable worthlessness of the remaini1
. statement of the town agent is clearly i
Dictated. One other point touching MI
Smiths good name in this town official
streport" should be understood by tho
who value truth.
The town agent states, con inquiry
8 find that there is no fixed price for b
bies," one says she paid $40, one abo1
SIS, etc.
The insinuation is that the City missile
conducts a sort of market for the illegit
mate children of parents to whose lice
tiousness it has given secret encourag
, ment for the sake of gain. To any fai
minded person the grossness Of the insin
alton will deprive it of force and the TOW
agent will be seen to have overshot b
mark. He knows that no child is given
legal adoption except through the cou
and on the payment of court fees in
= cases; thoug Oh in writing for a malicio
purpose it is convenient to ignore the
facts. The town agent knows also,
ought to know, that the charge for ado
ton proceedings is not always q fix
quantity. I speak from personal know
s edge of the business.
AS TO PRICES.
= When family is believed to be "w
ID to do" they may be and are charged the fl
4. price for all the formalities of the law;
"a q on representation that the family seeki
y adoption papers is in moderate circul
OF stances, there may be and sometimes Ii
.; reduction; or else the court may say: q
aa these people can't afford to pay the prit
they are not in a condition to care fol
child" In such cases, rather than ha
the child lose an excellent, though We
plain, home for lack of the ready money
re pay down, I have sometimes paid the SO
myself and secured the home. The char
made may vary, it has varied in q numb
of cases in which have been intersste
from 81 guardianship fees to four or Fl
times as much as this by the time adopti
papers were secured. There are vario
expenses included in the sum paid, su
as advertising in some local paper, "app