Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-16
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
The Matter Of Their Education Discussed
ct Some Length.
The Industrial Home School-Anaaal
sabmitted-A Vital Question.

@ The annual report Of the board of mana
gers OF the Industrial Home School was
submitted to the Commissioners today. 1t
Is voluminous document, and deals at
length with the Industrial system of edu-
eating dependent children.
During the year 1922" says the re-
port. the number OF inmates averaged 100,
but toward the close OF the year the inten-
ton of Congress to reduce our appropria-
ton, and giving nearly half Of 1t to the
board Of children's guardians. became so
manifest that we could do no less than pre-
pare for the reduction. and by dlsposing of
all the children for whom We could find
homes and receiving no others, we had
reduced our number on the LIST of July, 1873.
TO seventy-five, and later during the year
to fifty. To these were added certain wards
of the board of children's guardians. placed
in the school at various times and for pc
RODS varying from five days to a year; so
that the average number during the year
has beel about seventy-five.
Besides reducing the number OF our in
mates. we found II necessary TO reduce the
salaries OF our employees, and somewhat re-
duce the force 1t is obvious. however. that
the expenses of an Institution cannot be
reduced In exact proportion to the number
Of inmates. Salaries cannot be curtaiIed
and raised, as children come and go, nor
can furnaces or stoves be made to consume
warmed Our fifty inmates. therefore. cost
more per head than the one hundred last
year"
A Vital Matter.
The report asks the attention or the Com
missioners to a matter involving, as IL says,
the longer existence of the school. After re-
viewing the legislation concerning depend
ent children, the report says:
THE board OF guardians was organized
and began its work on the LIST of July. 1873.
and made its first report to the commits
sioner OF charities in August following, to
be commur ieated to the Commissioners of
the District and, through them, TO Congress.
In this report the guardians take the posi-
ton that IL Is their duty to care for all
children properly chargeable upon the Dis
trfet OF Columbia. profess that they are pre-
pared to do so and request that no further
appropriations be made for private char
liable institutions. but that all the annual
allowances heretofore given TO such institu-
tons be withdrawn from them and given to
the board. This suggestion was not adopt
ed by the superintendent of charities or the
Commissioners of the District. who. on the
contrary, recommended to Congress to give
the usual subsidies to the private institu-
tons But the committee on appropriations
of the House of Representatives, In report
ing the appropriation bill, followed the rec
ommendation of the board of guardians,
made no appropriation for our school or
other childrens institutions. but gave the
missioners for all to the board Of children's
guardians alone.
Had the bill in this shape passed Con-
gress we would. as above remarked, have
had at once TO abandon The work. Other
ms titutions have their own property and
some revenue of their own, and. though
crippled, might have survived the with
drawal of the public subsidy. but We have
nothing else whatever, and could not sup
pert our children day without it.
And then the proposition of the guar
Clans involved the further consequences
that no children. however destitute or mis-
cradle should be helped. except such as
the courts should by judicial action find
to be such and should by judicial order
take from their parents or natural guar
dams and given over to the government
board during their minority
This measure, involving as IL lid the
whole policy of the disposition Of the des-
titute children, appeared TO us too serious
a matter to DE determined In committee
without any discussion or consideration
whatever in the House, for which the APP
proprfa ton bill seemed to afford no op-
portunity. We therefore went forward, as
did Others of the Institution concerned and
prevailed on the committee to recede from
their recommendation and report for APP
preparation the estimates of the Commits
sioners. and the appropriations were made
In that form. The same question will again
arise at the approaching session of Con-
gress, and we are not disposed to inter-
fere again with the course of business In
committee or In the House"