The morning times., 1895-10-23

The board of children's guardians has
submitted to Col. John Is. Tracey, super
intendent of charities, its report for the
year ending June 80, 1895, together with
an estimate of the appropriation required
for 1897. The report was placed before
the Commissioners yesterday.
The board shows that all the money ap-
propriated for salaries and office expenses
last year wa expended, and that the regular
appropriation for care OF children was
SI3, 900, To which was added Il deficiency
of $4,000. This amount, less i cents,
was exhausted also. In the care of feeble
minded children in the Pennsylvania and
Virginia training schools, respectively,
So, ,399. SO were expended, and for main
tenance OF children not feeble-minded, ex-
peDditures were made as follows:
In District Institutions, S5,545; in other
institutions, S627.73; i'll private homes,
So, 1888 for clothing, S62S.12; nledi-
The sum OF 81 $685. remains due to the
Pennsylvania Training School, for the last
two quarters OF the year. further de-
fcieDcy appropriation is needed.
Predetermined children were maintained
at a cost of $5,099.14, or 62.94 cents per
day average.
RATES PAID PER MONTH.
The rates paid TO the Institutions gem
orally for maintenance of wards of the
board were $40 per month, but owing to
the inadequacy of the appropriation the
rates were reduced in most cases to SO
per month from October 1 1894.
1t was not found practicable to reduce
the rate at the Industrial Home School,
that institution claiming that its special
character made the cost Of maintenance
too great.
The estimates for s97 for administrative
purposes amount to S4,790.
1.-The present agent" the officers say,
"was engaged at a salary of $500 per
annum. For the fiscal years 1895 and 1896
the board has been forced to violate an
implied agreement to continue this salary
By Limitations placed upon it by the appro-
priation acts for those years"
The board unanimously urges the restora-
tion OF the salary to the original figure,
since to place the work in inexperienced
hands would be detrimental
The maximum amount of 81 400 per year
for two agents is insufficient, the board
says. and an increase is therefore solicited
''As the number OF children in free
homes increases" the board suggests.
1.-THE expense of looking after them must,
of course. also increase" Should the
number Increase next year as in the past
year '.the average number To be super
larger amount for this work is asked for.
Tine total amount asked for admin
istrative expenses for 1897. when appor-
toned TO the estimated lumber subject
to supervision, shows a per capita OF
S15.96."
CHANGE SUGGESTED.
THE economy i'll expenditure for mainten-
ance OF children, wlicl would be secured by
making 1t possible for the agent to secure
la..ff
ment in the quality of the homes by en-
ablIng the agent to seek homes rather than
wait 10 have applications for children made
10 the office, botB argue in favor OF an ade-
quate appropriation for administrative
purposes
Theestimate for expense OF board and care
OF children for 1897 aggregates SIS, $50.
The item includes medicines and medicala at
tendance.
Children are passing through the hands
OF the board into free homes at the rate
practically OF 100 per year. 1t is necessary
to give such children an outfit of clothing.
The average age of the children thus sent
to free homes is ten years"
For the care of feeble-minded children,
S1,S15 is asked, or an average of S22o for
thirt y-five children.
There are feeble-minded children now
at the almshouse, for whom different pro
visions should be made. number OF
cases require asylum care. II all new
cases are hereafter refused up to the end
OF the fiscal year 1896 the expenditures
will reach $500"
The Superintendent of Charities and the
are urged to recommend
that separate appropriation be made for
the feeble minded.
NUMBER OF THE UNFORTUNATE
Three hundred and seven children were
reported as being in such condition as made
it necessary to provide for them at public
expense or place them under the protection
Of public authority. Seven were pending
at the beginning of the year aud nine at the
close, leaving 305 investigated during the
year.
.Fifty-eight of a total of eighty-nine
were committed TO the care
If the board. Most OF those whose commit
ments were refused by the courts were cases
n which it was sought to take children
from parents alleged to be drunken and
unfit"
Upon this phase. the board says: "A man
may be a notorious drunkard and a whole
perfectly certain that it is
positively dangerous TO allow him to re-
tain control of his children, but once you
bring him into court, having given him over
night in which 10 become sober, the very
persons who complained of his inhuman
treatment of his family Will sometimes Join
III Dlealilflg WITH tilc court 10 itt uIil Oll-
applications were investigated on be-
half of I42 children who clearly had no
equitable claim upon the people of the
District for support.
FRAUDS ATTEMPTED.
"Twcnty-five of these were known to be |
recent arrivals sent here for the purpose |
Of participation in the benefits here pro- |
gided, and in many other cases enough was !
learned to raise u strong presumption of |
similar motives Most of these are in |
cluded in the number reported as with |
lrawn.
"We are unable to find anything in |
the published statistics of the District |
which will serve as guide i'll determining |
low much greater is the death rate among
the infant wards of the board than among |
children of like age residing with their |
,wn parents. The significant things to be |
considered, when regarding the percentages, |
are that five-sixths of the children here re-
ported upon are eolored; that in the Dis |
.rict there is q difference of eleven years |
bet ween the average duration of the life |
Of white and colored people. in favor of the |
white, and that forty-five per cent of |
he deaths under one year of age are OF |
he colored; one-third of the population"
The report is signed by Simon Wolf, presi- |
lent; and 3. Pickman Mann, secretary. !