The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-11

no objection to making dependent children
vagabonds. the almshouse or county in
firmary is no place for them For children
such places. a rule. are primary schools
for the workhouse and the penitentiary.
New York has a system by which chari-
table Institutions are paid TO look after the
dependent children. AT first thought this
will seem an admissible plan. The State
transfers the responsibility TO charitable
institutions, which it pays. In practice it
has proved an unwise plan. In New York
5000 dependent children more than one
third of the number in the whole country.
are cared for by these charitable institu-
tons at an annual cost of $i,000.0OO; and yet
not defective child, weak-minded, blind
or deaf. is cared for by these institutions.
New York city has twenty-five charitable
homes, caring for 5000 children. or one in
thirty-fve of its child population, and
one in III of its population. This means
that the charitable institution has become
a very thrifty close corporation for MAX
ing money out of the State. Inasmuch
as but one child to 1000 of the general pop
ulation Of Philadelphia is dependent. and
one in $50 in Boston, it is evident that the
New York system is a device to stimulate
pauperism at the expense of taxpayers.
Another bad feature of the system is that
children spend the earlier years of their
lives in the institutions, knowing nothing
of home influences and the conditions of
life with which other children are famil-
lar. For that reason these dependent chill
dren are turned into society defective,
since there is no institution which can take
the place of very ordinary home and no
instruction for life's work so valuable as
early contact with decent community.
While New York has been spending mil
lions to increase the number of dependent
children the State of Michigan assumed
charge of such dependents twenty-five years
ago. The system is for the State
to assume entire control of depend
ent children, collecting and placing
them in a state school, but keeping
them there only until permanent homes
can be found for them. The Michigan sys-
tenn has been adopted by Minnesota Wis
consin, Rhode Island and Kansas. Judged
by its results. it has proved very satisfac-
tory. Since its adoption by Michigan the
population of the State has increased more
than 60 per cent. while child dependence
has decreased more than 80 per cent. There
is now but one dependent child in ten thou
sand of general population. In 1874 when
the law went into effect. there was de-
pendent child to about two thousand. The
present rate OF one in ten thousand is a
marked contrast to one in III in New York
city, even when the marked differences in
conditions are considered. Minnesota un-
der the Michigan system, cares for 100 chill
dren, at n cost of So. 900 a year. There are
only 100 because soon as possible after
being taken TO the state school the chill
dren are put into permanent homes. In
two or three States a modification of the
Michigan plan has been adopted, by which
the county assumes official control of the
dependent children outside of the aims
houses While that plan may have its ad-
vantages it does not compare favorably
with the results of the unmodfied state
system. Connecticut, with the county sys-
tem has one dependent child in eight hun
dred of population, while in Rhode Island.
with state control, there is but one de-
pendent child in three thousand inhabit-
ants.
BY the act of the last Legislature Indiana
begins the work, not by assuming actual
control of dependent children, but by hav-
ing an agent to look after them under the
direction OF the Board of Charities 1t is
believed that this is preliminary to the
adoption of the Michigan system