The Topeka state journal., 1899-12-21
HOMES FOR WAIFS.
Rev. o. s. Morrow Writes an Open
Letter to Governor Stanley

1ntendent OF the Kansas Children s
Home society, warmly endorses Cover
nor Stanley's suggestion to put the
boys in the reform school in good fam
lily homes. He has written an open let
ter to Governor Stanley on the subject,
in which he gives his ideas of how the
project can be carried out. The idea
is not a new one, however, as DR.. J. F.
Buck, who was for many years superin-
tendent of the reform school has adVO-
Gated the same Uning for ten years
In his letter to the governor Mr.. Nor
row said:
ITO his Exceuency, Governor W. E.
Stanley:
Dear Sir-I have read with much in
terest and pleasure your reported eX-
pressed convictions and desires on be-
half of the boys of the Kansas state re-
form school, in the State Journal of De
cember Is. In this interview you are
quoted as saying, Many of these boys
are mt to the reform school by par
ents or guardians simply to get rid of
them and to avoid taking care of them
You give as an illustration case com
ing under your own observation Fol-
lowing this you continue:
6" I have given this subject careful
consideration and believe that the best
plan is to adopt the system of finding
homes for the boys in tn Erection we
have been experimenting, that is, to
place them in carefully selected family
homes; and / shall ask the next leg1S-
lature to enact something of this kind.
Many of the boys now in the reform
school should not be there, but there
IS no way TO improve their cOn0lClOns
except by getting them out into good
homes and giving them something to
do
proposed reform, or rather, you are
with US in this matter. Possibly you
are not aware that there is a. society
organized under the laws of this state,
and chartered by the state, known as
the Kansas Children'S Home society,
which IS practically an organized pro-
test against putting any wel-tO-dO
- AI,r,
reform school This society during the
past six years has fully demonstrated
the fact that there are at least as many
excellent families in Kansas wanting
a child as there are homel children.
All that is needed to solve this home
less child problem in Kansas is some
adequate machinery by and through
which the child needing nome and the
home wanting a child can be brought
together, and the placement afterward
watched over so that no injustice
shall be done to either party.
This is just the mission of this So
cfety. It has a board of managers COM
posed of fifteen representative business
men. Judge J. I. Clark is president;
S. S. OFT, secretary; and DR.. J. E. Min
ney is treasurer. This board of man
ayers elects a state superintendent who
has charge of the work throughout the
state. He appoints district supertn-
tendents, who take charge of the work
in given territory, and under the direc-
tion of the state superintendent.
THE mOduS Operandi of the society
is to awaken local interest in the work
by public addresses in the various
churches on the Sabbath, these ad-
dresses calling special attention to our
homeless children and what we are do
ing for them, also pointing out the real
mission of a little child to the home,
calling attention to the fact that there
are at least hVe times as many child
less homes in Kansas as there are home
less children, urging these child1ess
homes to take a child, organizing in
a1 Of IONS an1
board into whose hands we place ap-
plica ton, recommendation and petition
blanks, on which the board reports to
our central Office the home wanting a
child and their fitness to have the child
asked for, and also the child needing
home.
I'VE now have more than seventeen
hundred of these boards and fully
seven thousand persons scattered all
over the state, whose duty it is to re-
port children needing homes and homes
wanting children, and also to supervise
a. child when placed according to their
recOmm
''The state and district superintend-
entS promptly take up any matter so
reported and carry it out to completion.
During these six years the local boards
referred to have reported to the cen
tral Office over $40 carefully inspected
and approved families wanting chill
dren, while they have reported only $50
children needing homes. Thus after
taking all the children offered to us
through our local boards we have left
over nearly enough good homes wanting
children to supply a home for all the
boys of the reform school and the
children of the State Orphans asylum
that could be safely placed out
I'VE are also so organized that we
can and do take local and personal
supervision of each child placed, by
means of our local boards We Join
with you in saying that, if not already,
such legislation should be enacted as
will make it practicable and right to
take these children and put them with
good families wanting children.
Our society, through its attorney
and other legal advisors, prepared a
bill having this general object in view
and presented it to the legislature last
winter. 1t was known as House Bill No.
388, but it failed to pass with many
! other good measures which were con-
signed to a similar fate. But the mod
ern movement of placing homeless chill
/ dren in carefully selected family homes
and there carefully supervising them,
| instead of herding them together in
poor houses, orphans homes and re
form schools, is now too firmly rooted
in the hearts of it's advocates and too
! far demonstrated as the most direct,
economical and Christian method of
solving the homeless children problem
to be defeated, or even sidetracked, by
a single failure
Doubtless there are many battles to
be fought yet all such philanthrOpic
reform movements have had to fight.
But the cause will win because it is
right I am glad to know that you are
with US in this movement. Whenever
each good, childless family in Kansas
gets the child it needs and really wants
there will not be a single child left in
our state institutions, sound in mind
| and body and not vicious in character,
! for the state to support and supervise.
May God hasten that day.
Truly yours,
REV. o. S. MORROW"