The morning times., 1896-09-30
GAR|NG FOR THE VAlFs'
Years Work Of the Board Of
Children'S Guardians.
ANNUAL REPORT SUBMITTED
Number Received and Those Placed.
in nHOmes-Feeble-m minded InnOcents.
Agent Lewis Makes Suggestion
for the Future-Farm Should he
Purchased and Home Established.

The annual report of the Board of Chill
dren's Guardians, which is forwarded by
President Simon Wolf, and dated the. 18Th
instant, has just been submitted to the
superintendent of charities, and exhaus-
lively reviews the work Of tho past fiscal
year.
/ 1t shows that the board began the year
with 255 wards not rated as feeble minded.
aud closed the year with 312. The
| average was 2SS children Tor every day
In the year. In addition. the board has
| given temporary care to Others not in its
| care, to The extent OF 2,7O7 days, the
| authority to do SO being conferred by law.
The aggregate cost oil administration and
supervision. with board, care, clothing, and
7.Yp1.7O, or S6O.s2 per year each.
Predetermined children were maintained
ut u cost OF So .567 80, being at the per
capita rate OF S2l4.Ol per uay
| MONEY PAID OUT.
Payments were made to local institu-
tions for the care OF children in charge Of
| the board, as follows: NcwsbOys aud
| Childreu,s Aid Society, 1852 Ma,
| tional Association for the Relief of
81 ,565 .26; industrial Home School, $l,-
326.O6; House OF the Good Shepherd.
1856. 20; German o Orphan Asylum. $l22.l9
| Association Tor Works OF Mercy, $64.77:
Hope and Help Mission. $1O.lS;. Young
WoMen's Christian Home, S6.11.
II Is physically inhpossibie. the secretary
.,
person all the wards of the board as often
as they SHOULD he seen. and at the same
time maintain supervision or the office.
At least Que additional euploye, either to
visit the homes or the children under the
INSTRUCTION OF the agent Or TO take cbargeof
the Office while the agent is in the field.
is needed.
The tact THAI children at board Gu In
the neignDorhoA OF SlUU per annum. wnlle
the per capita cost OF supervision during
the fiscal year 1896 was less than SIT,
9 haay fh.A a G,an # tnarf
penditures for administration in order to-
| reduce the expenditures for maintanance.
The work OF placing and visiting child
rem was muCn natnpereu, and finally had
To be in part suspended. during leS6 for.
lack OF FUNDS. SO that 1t was impracticabl.
to comply IN full with the law in this di-
rection, and considerable expense for paid
maintenance of children was incurred be-
| cause the children could not ne placed out
The Increase In the number Oe children
In charge will call for Increased expense
in visitation, while the expense for plac--
ing may remain about the same.
NUMBER IA HOMES. 'r'''''
The average number of children in homes,
subject To the supervisor OF the agent or
the board, was 66 in 1891 162 In 1895,
and 235 in 1896.
Thetotai amou nj asked Tor administrative
expenses for 1893, So, 80, when appor-'
toned To the estimated mum Der, 325. sab
Ject TO supervision in that year, shows a
per capita OF S1S.S6.
The board again urges that a distinct
appropriation be made for The care OF
feeble minded children. In regard to the
care OF other children 1t has no option to
refuse care OF such as are committed TO it
by the courts, even though deficit he.
created thereby, although by retrafning
from presenting cases in court ii may con-
troll its expenditures to a certain extent:
but il might easily reduce Its means Tor
caring for such children by considerable
amount, IL IL were to take in charge all
the feeble minded children justly entitled
to care, and would prefer t.lat the Congress
determine how mucn should be expended IN
this direction.
Agent herbert NJ. Lewis, iP his report 1,
says:
''During the year. 371 children were re-
ceived into the care OF the board. This
is an increas. of 20 over last year. and
Of o3 over the year before. One hundred
and thirt y-nine, or a little more than halt
or the 37o, were coiored infants, GENERALLY
less than six months of age. one hundred
and twenty of these were children of un-
married mothers. But 20 white infaats
were brougnr 10 our attention, ten of wnom
were illegitimate. :.
The wide variance between the figures
representing the two races is partially eX-
plained when 1T is Known that tile board
Is the oni Y institution IN the District which
receives any considerable number OF Col
ored children under three years of age,
while two institutions exist for the al
most exclusive reception or white children
OF the same age.
THOSE WORTHY OF RELIEF.
.'Seventy-une of the cases investigated
were thought TO he worthy OF rehci or to
need the protection OF public autht rity,
and seventy ofthe were apprehcnued and
brought before the court upon the petition
of the agent of the board. --..'
.'Of the fort y-two committed for destitu-
ton, twenty-four We're iiiegitinlatc infants
whose mothers were unable to provide for
them. The remaining eighteen consisted
OF eleven boys and seven girls, six OF the
latter being white. These six might ap
prupriately be classed as rescued from
vicious and immoral associations or taken
from drunken and unfit parents.
''Of the fourteen recorded as abandoned,
seven were abandoned by fathers, and
seven by both father and mother. The
twenty-four illcritima &c infants, mentioned
above. might properly be included in this
class, as they mad been uniecognized and
disowned. i believe that were a baStardy
law In operation in the District this sort OF
child dependence would be much decreased.
There has been but little change III the
policy OF the board toward the Institutions
with which it deals The principal differ
encc to be observed is in The tendency to
make larger use OF smaller number. The
tions has remained almost sta ationary since
the close OF 1894. At that time the num-,
ber SO provided for was forty nine; at the
close of / S95 1t was fort ty-siX, and at the |
close OF 1896 it was fOrty-seven.
1.-TWO hundred and seventy-two new ap-
plicatious for children to be taken by Fam
hundred and twenty-three have been finally
passedupoD by the executive vecommittee upon
my recommendation and upon consideration
of information placed before it, seventy
being approved
In conclusion, in speaking of tie most
practicable manner of meeting all condi-
lions which may present themselves, Mr..
Lewis says
AGENT SUG GESTS REMEDIES.
"Thcre possible remedies Change
the policy of the existing institutions SO
that the children now in them can he either
boarded out, placed at once in free TONES,
or SO classified that the reception of chill
dren from corrupt surroundings cannot con- |
tamiuate them. Introduce manuai training |
and sucn additional disciplinary measures |
as may he found necessary in order that
the Institutions may successfully meet the |
new conditions.
Let every child be placed under pc una- |
nent public guardianship. Transfer from
time To time from the institutions to the |
homes of farmers, tradeSIneD, and others, |
such as will find in such a life the measrue |
of their capacity for usefulness, and 10 trade |
schools and institutions OF learning, those |
who show especial aptitude for the ac-
uuisition of industrial or literary educa- |
tion.
1.-The alternative plan, which will enable |
the, board to cover the field which il is |
supposed TO occupy, and meet the legitimate |
demands made upon il, consider far better !
than that already outlined. The only dis |
advantage is that it will require more |
time and more money before it can be put |
into operation. Working for its adoption, |
however, the board will not be accused OF |
desiring 10 absorb for selfish purposes, |