New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-05
"MY LORD BABY"
ANS NOT SEEM TO FARE so WELL IN
AVIATION AS WITH BARBARIANS

4, those which claim 10 rank IN the very
tnA" .rd Of civilization? This is question that
''' inevitably occur to any one who has traV-
NJ IN the Orient and in Africa and then
eNN owe, the distressing pages OF the reports
20, every year by the numerous societies for
.-svention OF cruelty 10 children which have
W. Wv. organized in the United States and Europe.
r...,on cruelty TO children among savage races
Vii nigh unknown. 1t is only the most progress
md enlightened people, whose social system
y, ,ntellectual development are based upon the
things % Christianity. who torture children
" mere pleasure And the higher the degree 81
.y,stjon the more frequent and the greater
crueltv. until one is tempted to believe that
location and refinement tend to destroy those
',,,Ants Of parental affection which nature has
,..,glsd into the hearts Of even the brute orea-
''. - When centuries before Christ the Prophet
,.,,ab asked Can woman forget her child.
:. conceived Il as impossible to use any simile Of
r,sa,er strength. But he would certainly nave
s.,nd II necessary - use more convincing
..-,rel than this had he lived in the nineteenth
ri...rrv either in Europe or in the United States
"a foreigner. l am unable for obvious reasons
,.v much Of America in this respect; but IN
~. Old World and especially in England 'he
'a .s.,s.,cs 81 the various societies organized for
nrOfpcfiOr OF CnlultN, Sp ~ S'i'N N''' '''N-N
tor greater number OF unnatural parents
wong the rich and the well born than among
nov When the latter have been found
.,l,y o. naltreatment Of their progeny II j
e. arA 10 neglect and Indifference to the
s,,,es incumbent upon fathers and mo'hers-an
,"s,ssrence fosterel it is to be feared by the
,-,y,,ab,e Interference of the state in the mat
-. ~ education Where. however. these unnat-
h,iAvU
a.,ass If society their cruelty IS in nearly every
,'.,,rca characterized by an almost diabolical
..,sn, IN inAic;inr pain. suffering and humilia-
90, un,n the little ones Everybody VII! re-
."a,,hsr the case Of Mrs. Montagu. the daughter
,nIow ~ Lord Robert Montagu. and member
.s.-store 81 the ducal house OF Manchester. who
..,sor,.e,, tortured her child 70 death. And l.
~. n,lv the other day that people Of the same
10, rank and possessed Of large and p'tuT-
..,ra country seat in Cheshire. were tried at the
c,...or Assjzes for merciless cruelty toward
49,. ,ro children. the one three and the other
49,. ,oors old The husband. who was up - mat
49,. o,s of the county magistrates. thrashed me
,.o,+s with the buckle end Of strap While
81. wife broke an ivory brush over the youngest
.,us.s head and lacerated the other childs throat
-. . s,oon which she had thrust down as lar
49, en-, could nush il because Of his refusal 10 'aKH
- al she was accustomed 10 tie ootn 81
49, ,,..,a o,es m stakes on the lawn. where lh'Y
ro,,d he lee, the entire day IN sunshine am
s,, ofen ill 10 o'clock at night SO as 70 ne "'''
=, the wav The son-in-law OF he late h"II o'
rordeshorough. too was prosecuted al me hunt
i-,aon Ass,zes few months ago for disgracelul
crualty TO his children. treatment all the more
,,avcnsable seeing that they were no; dependent
unon him for support. but had De'h ploNiueN 'Y'
under the will Of their grandfather
Nor is it only in England that cruelty % ch-l-
dran is shown to exist to far more 'eF''O'e
degree among the wealthy and cultivated classes
than among the poor Thus in italy as wei d.
IN France. the statistics Of the criminal courts
show an infinitely larger number OF CONVICTIONS
~ the well-to-do than Of people belonging 70 the
humber walks in life. NJ Ferriani. the procura-
tor of the Government at Rome. in a report when
V has recently published on the subject, cites
the case Of a woman bearing patrician name
and belonging 10 the most exclusive circle whose
greatest pleasure used TO consist in thrusung
needles into the flesh Of her little girl; OF another
mother OF similar rank who delighted In putting
rsh,ed matches up her little girl hos''"s'
while in a third case the unnatural motheT useu
10 derive her most agreeable form OF entertain
ment from soaring the body OF her four-year-oId
gi,l with red hot iron. Similar instances are -
be found recorded among the RECORDS OF the 'id''
at the Paris tribunals during the last TWO years.
IN Sir Donald Mackenzies book, Holy Russia
he describes a we-authentcated case OF MUS
couts chatelaine torturing her daughter 70 death
BY turning her into human pin-cushioh ana
MERGING her bare body with hundreds of pins
In all the literature that has Deeh ruo''S'''
unon the subject one cannot fail 10 be struck by
two peculiarites; first Of all, the innnitey
number OF girls that are subjected 10 Cruelty p5
their parents than boys. The reason Tor 'ils H.
I sunnose that a girl always costs more in the
present, and means more expense IN 'he H.
ture. than a boy. who will not need TO be fur
nshed later on in life with marriage portlon'
There may be other reasons Of psychological
character II Is as a rule the mother rather
than the father, who is the perpetrator Of the
cruelty. and one can understand hear'iess ana
eoquettish woman eager for admiration and yet
aware that her attractions are on the wane' oeihe
Jealous OF daughter growing up to that period
0, youth. beauty and conquest which she hersell
is losing. Another popularity is the absence OF
any Jewish name from the list OF CONVICTIONS
which have been obtained against unnatural
parents. from which it may be gathered that the
Hebrew race has retained among its o'neT Oflen-
.l ay,hu,as that most beautiful OF all, love for
Children
Il any further evidence were needed OF the IN
fuence Of civilization upon the treatment OF chill
dren. IL would be found in the very notceaoe
change that has passed over the japanese since
they have adopted Western ways fori"eiiS
Japan used 10 be the Paradise OF cniidreh' 10
whom everything and everybody gave way. Inc
principal festivals and public holidays were those
organized for the sake Of the little ones ana even
Inc grown people were wont to enter WIN en-
nusasm into their games and amusemen's' H
was not the Mikado or the Tycoon VINO ruiea inc
people Of Dai Nippon, but Boya san. "h'cn t nay
pe Interpreted into English as MY Lord paDS
IN those good old days--and they were sun al ~
@snce fifteen and twenty years ago-cruelI -
sSaoren punishable by death ana WIN ~
sperfectlv true thai I never heard OF any one
Mering this penalty. yet / never DURING my
srler stays in Japan saw cniIi inaltIed.su
Wv. however with the invasion OF western CIV
.1dtlOD. JapaD is "a less of A BABY EdeN man