Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-06-03
TO CARE FOR HOMELESS
CHILDREN.

j Governor Griggs has decided to end the
State scandal Of keeping of young children
! il Aims Houses to be tutored 10 pauperism,
He named last week Tuesday special
commission Of inquiry, who will investigate
the subject and report to subsequent
Legislature some scheme to remedy the
evil The commission consists of Mrs.
Emily Williamson, secretary of the State
Charities Aid; Hugh H. Fox and Paul
Kirk, both of Jersey City.
A remarkable state of affairs presents
itself in New Jersey. Hundreds of small
children are treated as paupers and kept in
the Aims Houses The children are not
separated from the old persons. An agita-
ton has been going on for ten years to
secure remedy for separating the child
rem from the adult paupers or finding
homes for them in small fami' les.
There are in the State forty-one poor
houses. Pauper children are to be found
in all these places. There are about five
hundred children in these institutions.
Mrs Emily williamson as the secretary
of the Board of Managers of the State
Charities Aid Association, in her last re-
port to the Governor, says
Something must be done for the pau
per children now in the Aims Houses Of our
State An Aims House education kills all
sense of moral right. The stigma of pau
per goes through life with all children
brought up in such institutions. y
There are 275 children in the Hudson
institution. The warden of this Aims
House is continually petitioning for relief,
and states in his last petition
:" ] try to take good care of the children,
but l real re the fact that such an educa-
ton ii jures forever the moral life of the
child"
In Cumberland county there are five sets
of twins, members Of one family. The
authorities are trying to find places for
them. In Union county an attempt was
made to se-d the pauper children TO the
public school, but the scheme had to be
abandoned, because the children from the
Aims House were badly treated by the
other pupils, and the pauper children re-
fused to attend school.
The Salem county branch of the State
Charities Aid was recently obliged to put a
girl of thirteen in cell.
One of the schemes under consideration
TO remove pauper children from vicious
associations is to place them in the care Of
the Children's Home Society, an organza
ton with branches in nearly all the counties
in the State. The children are given to the
society, which finds home for them. The
persons receiving the child know nothing
of its antecedents
1t is estima ed that one out of every
twenty families in the State is childless,
and nearly all of that PERCENTAGE desire
children. The officers of the society use
their discretion in placing the children.
Steward Westherby, of our Aims House,
informs us that the only inmates of our in
stitution under 80 years of age, are two
boys aged 5years.
Mr. EDITOR =
In the last issue of your paper I noticed
the article written by the Mickleton cor
respondent, w. P Haines. He certainly
has been in state of excitement concern
ing the action of the Freeholders in buying
and presenting a chair to the old and
venerable member, Uncle" John Pierson
suppose he has learned by this time that
they did go down IN their own pockets and
pay for it, consequently are not giving the
county's furniture away before it is paid for
He also suggests what had better be given
to Cooper, Hannold and Miller. These
gentlemen l believe are fully able to-
answer for themselves. Give Weatherby
the County House, he seems to own it." |
would like to state for mis- special benefit
that when Weatherby advertises in all the
papers IN this county, and asks for that
donation it will be time enough for him to
get worried, and even then think the
probability is he will decline to accept it
on account of age, as he will be to old to
enjoy it. See! GEO. G. WEATHERBY.