The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-02-22

SOhNieiOH VI dHdlTS dC hanQaII ISL
and, which will doubtlessly find its
parallel in most of the large cities of
the United States, speaks for itself.
Number of children treated at In
fants' Hospital on Randall's Island
from October l, 1894, to October l,
1898, 1,lS7. Number of deaths 535.
Number of discharges 54S.
Of the 535 children who died. 421
were marked hopeless by the doctors
when the babies were admitted. How
many of these children might have
been saved if they had received prop
er medical attention and nursing when
flrst picked up, might be approxim-
ated if the present fatal system of
circumlocution were changed, and
the figures under the improved con-
ditions were compared with these.
There is another class of babies
which contributes its by no means
inconsiderable share to this large
death rate. Reference is here made
to babies brought and left at these
"dernier resorts" for various rea-
sons by their mothers. Some
times it would be manifest injustice
to force the mother to remain with
the baby, there may be other children
at home who need her care. But if
she can stay, and many times she
could. she should be forced to do so.
A baby which has been a bottle baby
from birth will often become danger
ously i'll from change of milk.
But baby which has nursed it's
mothers breast for three or four or
more months, and is then suddenly
asked to feed from bottle, will fire.
quently refuse nourishment of every
kind and moan and cry, and look up
into the nurses face as she vainly
tries to soothe it to sleep by walking
the floor with it. The fretting and
the change together give the baby
cholera infantum or some other in
fantile disease, and it dies. This
class of babies that are not found
lings come to Randall's Island from
many sources. The child may have
father in prison and mother who
cannot support it. 1t may be the
child of some unhappy, seduced girl.
The Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children may have res
cued it from unnatural parents and
sent it there. Randall's Island is
veritable city of refuge for little
waits who are refused admittance by
all the other institutions. If an in
stitution may refuse some that are
sent to it, it goes without saying that
the least desirable are rejected.
If any one thinks that it is won
der that SO many of these babies die,
let such one take upon himself the
obligation of going to these "dernier
resorts" every day, get there at that
hour of the day when the babies are
received-at Randall's Island the
hour is noon-for just one month.
Sit in the receiving room of the In
fants' Hospital and see for yourself
the condition of these babies when
they come there. The marvel there
after will be, not that so many of
them die, but that so many of them
live. Many of these babies are in a
condition when they are received so
revolving even to think of, that des-
cription of their condition would not
be recorded by any newspaper or
magazine. This initiating against
the one class, and the long exposure
and shifting about of the foundlings,
are the causes of the enormous death
rate. The one has no remedy but the
death of the innocent victim of an
others sin, and the most humane
and motherly woman in the world
could not find it in her heart to re-
gret the death of these babies. The
other, the foundling, has remedy
which should be at once applied.
Another, and a concluding, evil
dence that the fault, at least in New
York City, is not in the management
of the Infants Hospital at RandalPs
Island, may be had in examining the
death rate in the Children's Hospital
on the same island, under the same
superintendent, and treated by the
same physicians and surgeons. In
the Children's Hospital the death
rate is as low if not lower, than at
anything in the shape of a hospital
in the city of New York. These chill
dren are older, they have got better
clutch on life, the troubles of teething,
cholera infantum and other infantile
diseases are safely passed. These
are the only advantages they have
over the infants. 1t costs the city
more to keep these babies (by actual
figures taken from the books than it
does to keep the inmates. The com
mssioners, even when they have felt
poor, and the funds have been low,
have accorded the superintendent
and physician all they have asked
when the request has been for the
babies.
| NEW YORK CITY.