The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-19

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st. Paul
PUBLIC CHARITIES.
The public charities held a meetin,,
IN the room above. The first paper
being by Hon. j. p. Byers, of Column
bus, o., who told of the system Of Out :
door relief which was inaugurated in
OHIO March /, when hesceilnty system
was given up for that of the township.
There had heretofore been a. general
county fund from which appropriations
had been made for the carving on Of
the poor work. Now a fund for the
temporary relief is furnished by the
town ana SO soon as a family or fndi-
Vldual IS in need of permanent aid the
case becomes one for the county atten-
ton In the discussion which followed
this system was favored ever that Of
the township system.
The general session followed. the first
paper being by A. J. Ogden, of Owa-
tCnna, the assistant agent Of the state
public school. Mr.. Ogden's paper was,
exceedingly bright and was earnestly
given. He said that 1t is a serious maj
ter to take the child from the parents.
He Favored the kindergarten system.
which he pronounced a most excellent
one, but said that the after training
was fully as important and must not be
neglected. He said that the first
twelve years of a child's life should be
spent in school and urged the enforce
ing of the compulsory law which re-
qulres this. He said that there are
cases where the interests of the child
demand its removal from the parents.
but that every individual case must be
judged blythe surrounding circurn-
stances.
Rev. H P. Nichols, if Minneapolis.
whose paper same next, was unable to
De present but his paper was read by
in he frH
cooperation between the two sys-
TENS; the institutional and the family.
He said that concentration might be
the idea among those starting fresh in
the work, but that cooperation was the
course for those dealing with the things
which exist. This paper was followed
by one by Prof. A. c. Wright, Of state
board Of charities, Of Wisconsin, who
spoke OF the advantages of the two
methods mentioned by Mr.. Nichols and
said that every one had their own con-
victions on the subject. He said that
he himself believed that for the ma
Jorlty Of children it is best to be placed
in some well directed family. That
under the family system twice as many
may be cared for as by the institutional
which can only accommodate the for
tunate few, leaving the others to be
cared for as best they may.
KEEP CHILDREN AT HOME.
E. Ingham, Of ST. Paul, said that he
had become partially converted to the
family idea, but that he thought a
large amount of common sense and
some uncommon sense should be used
in the matter. Judge Mott, Of Fart
bault, said that he could speak from
personal experience That when a bov
he had been placed with family to be
raised, and that the man had treated
him SO badly he had at last been ar
rested. Judge Mott said he was then
placed in a second home, which he says
was good enough, but that they did
not love him a Bit so he ran away.
The next attempt to find him a home
was with a minister's family, where he
loved the man, his son and the old
gray horse, "but that the woman was
holy terror and l became a holier ter
ror," said the old judge as his voice
shook with emotion, Leave the child
In its home no matter what that home
may be- he added.
Alexander Johnson, national presi-
dent of the conference Of charities and
corrections, spoke on what he was
pleased to call ''child storage" which
he held helped in the breaking up of
homes in as much as did not this tenn
porary place for the caring Of children
exist many man and wife would not
separate oftentimes for some insight
lICcttlI CduS0 ne SAID IIdL q Cn1IQ
should never be placed out for its
board alone That between certain
ages children were better not placed
in families at all where their work was
a consideration. And that so soon as
child'S work was worth anything 1t
should receive remuneration if it be
only seventy-five cents a month Mrs.
j. w. Edgerton, Of st. Paul, took ex-
ception to the first part of the re-
marks made by Mr.. Johnson, and said
that she was one of the board of the
Protestant Orphan Asylum of st. Paul
and that that institution had had
thirty years experience of a varied ma
ture. She said that they were very
careful that the children should not be
separated from the home influences I'M
less it was necessary. But that when
a woman came to them with her baby
believing that she must give it up for
ever, it was a great pleasure to her to
find that she might leave it at the in
stitution for a limited time She said
that the women of the board always in
terested themselves in the cases and
tried by every means to bring the par
ents who wished to separate together
again. That they always investigated
the cases which they placed in the
hands of Mr.. Hart for this purpose and
that she considered the word child
storage" a cold word.
III. morgan, VI the. BETHEL, St. RduI,
told of the work done on the boat and
related an experience OF his own with
a boy who, he said, had run away from
an institution and had not been taught
how to do anything at all but read.
Mr.. Johnson asked for the name Of
this institution, and DR.. Morgan said
that he could give it and that it was in
st. Paul. However, he did not reveal
the name. Rev Father McNulty, Of
st. Paul, told Of the work among the
Catholic institutions and spoke particu-
larly of a school in Minneapolis where
the children are kept till they are four
teen years old and then are sent to an