Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-11-22

| crises, why the evils thhl starr uitIi III
the face IN their own streets and that
affect their own society, are passed by
and ignored IN a frantic rush 70 correct
a fancled wrong away ont two OF three
thousand miles IN the distant Vest
Passing by accounts OF shocking de-
pravty and wholesale immortality that
appear In the daily paf~--9f New
York, Chicago. Boston and other large
cities OF the land We win cite an In.
stance or two reported IN the World.
An Official report received by the gov
enor OF New Jersey from the State
Board Of ChIdran's Guardians, shows
that an Investigation had been made IN
the alms.houses OF Burlington, Salem
and Sussex counties that to use the
language Of the World have been dens
Of immortality for gears" The report
shows;
'Flrst-That the almshouses Of New
Jersey are swarmlhg with children
whose parents are able 70 support
/ them
"second-That conditions In some OF
! the almshouses have actually resulted
| I'm hurdenng the taxpayers with te
| support of Legitimate and feeble
minded infants, for whose birth the
umshuuses are RESPONSIBLE.
"Third-That the State has almost to-
! tally abandoned the children Of the
almshouses 10 Ignorance. Fully 20 per
cent OF the little ones IN these lnsti-
tutons, who have attended the So
called almshouse schools. can neither
read nor write"
Mrs. Williamson tells Gov Voorhees,
that details OF the conditions In some Of
the almshouses are absolutely imprint
able
In the pembertOn almshouse the
men and women are allowed 20 mlngle
freely and their rooms are Ia the same
building those Of the men being on
one side Of the han and those OF the
women on the other one Of the child
inmates Is Predetermined. There are
seven children there under one year Of
age. three under two years and two
under three years. many Of them born
IN the almshouse as Il result OF the
criminal negligence OF the manage
ment.
Mrs. Williamson found the condi-
tons I'm the pemberton almshouse so
dreadful, she says, that she did not put
them In her report 10 Coy. Voorhees,
but has reserved them Tor a special re-
port 10 the legislature, giving a de-
tailed history OF each case
Tn the Salem County almshOuse az
Salem, she found three children, two
" them babies. Two OF the children
were in the institution with their
mother. who Is hired by the county
committee Both children were born in
the almshouse, one being black, the
other white.
In the BrauchWlle almshouse, i'm
Sussex county Mrs. williamson found
one unmarried mother seventeen years
old She also found a fCcble-minded
mother twenty-soyen years old with
three children, all born there She
found there, too. a mother, twenty
seven years old who had been an in
mate since she was fourteen years old,
and with her were three ilegitlmate
children.
'rhe State Board Of ChIldren's Guar
dians already has removed li6 children
from the almshouses and restored them
90 their relatives The board has taken
out tweniy-six other children and given
them private homes, mostly with work.
ing people
In the Bridgeton AlmshCuse, in cum.
beflaud county. Mrs. Williamson found
one insane child and one del0rme1 child.
The insane child Is 20 be- placed In the
State hospital The def0rmcd infant
will be- nut In a private home.
In the Snake Hiil almshOuse, Hudson
county, Just outside Of Jersey city,
Mrs. williamson found nineteen feeble
minded children and TIVE child mutes.
Otherwise the conditions We're good.
There were seven diseased children at
Snake Hin. One hundred and four chill
dren were removed from Snake hin by
order Of Mrs. Willamson's board
she reports that. 80 FAR as the board
has been able Go ascertain. the depend
ent children In the New Jersey aims
house have hardly ever received special
treatment Fully nlne-tenth5 u all The
children have been committed and re-
cei.cd by the almshouse authorities
Without any special medical eXamIna-
ton.
"Of the three corrupt almshOuses.
that at BranchvIlle IN Sussex county Is
10y far the worst. The woman who has
borne three children is feeble-mindei
and the almsh0use Is responsible for
her condition. In this place we found
men and women all housed 10 one
building, There We're thirty-siX in
mates when We We're there. The aims
house Is more or less isolated. and u
was only through our investigation that
I IA a. 40 faIa
exposed, because, 10 The casual oh
server, nothing Of fragrant nature ap-
pears on the surface and the inspec-
lions OF the County Board OF Free
holders have been desultorv at best
In the burlington County almshouse
We also found the sexes housed IN The
same building. Four years ago the
| warden took 10 drink. but nevertheless
| has been retained. although the Free
holders undoubtedly We're awure Of the
lax manner in which the ins Mutton was
run. This place Is twelve miles back 10
| the country and hard 20 reach IN con-
| sequence the lie led by the inmates UNI
| observed, has been horrible beyond De.
| acription Through our agent. Mrs
| Avery. We FIRST learned OF conditions
| there and personally visited the instl-
| tuition.
"The law specifically states that the
| sexes in almshouses shall De kent eepa-
rate, but in The three Institutions In
which We found immortality 20 exist
| there We're absolutely no barriers, and
men and women Were able 10 mlngle
unrestNiuod"
The foregoing opens 20 view only one
q the numerous fields Of labor for
Christian exertlon, near at hand for the
ladies who ore afraid lest society
should become corrupied, II a man llv-
Ing IN Utah who Is reputed 10 be
polygamist and so wicked that he win
not rggudiate two out Of three women
whom be- Il said 20 have married many
years ago. should be permitted 10 take
tlp scat ga Courroee o., which no has