The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-03-08
CHARITIES WAR
Ghildren's Guardians and
State Aid Fighting for
Supremacy.

| TRENTON, March g. 1904 bitter
struggle mas been engendered between the
| State Board of ChiIdren's Guardians and
| the New Jersey ChiIdren's Home Society
as result of the formers efforts to in
crease It's powers and the scope of its
operations by means Of legislation.
! The bane of contention. is Assembly
| bill No. 1S3. introduced by Mr.. stalter,
at the instance of the State Board Of Chill
drens Guardians, and which is being
generally opposed by similar organizations
throughout the State
| hearing on the bill is to be given
next Monday afternoon by the House
Committee on Revision of the Laws, TO
and lively fight is promised at that
| time
The New Jersey cnildren's Home So
ciety, which regards itself as especially
aggrieved by the bill, will be represented
at the hearing by former Judge William
NJ Lanning, of this city, and former Vice
Chancellor John r Bird. The Union
Home, on Chestnut avenue viii also pro-
test against the passage of the bill
through Mayor Frank S. Katzenbach. its
counsel.
The particular feature of the bill to
which exception is taken may be found
in the following paragraph forming a
part. Of section of the bill:-
"And said board shall have a care Of
ard maintain supervision over all chill
dren adjudged public charges who may
now be in the charge, custody and con
| troll of any county asylum, county home,
a.mshouse, poorhouse, charitable insti-
tuition, home or family to which such
child or children may be and have been
confined. adopted. apprenticed, indentnr-
ed or bound out
| As indicated by this extratc the pro-
posed law is very sweeping and pIo-
poses the undoing of a vast amount Of
work accomplished by organizations
other than the State Board of Chiidren's
Guardians If the bill becomes law
it is argued that it VIII compel the char
liable institutions of the State to lay
aside their fatherly and motherly care
for the orphans of the State.
Members of the New Jersey Children's
+ Home Society contend that there is an
other serious reason for opposing the bill.
! 4 child they say is not to blame for being
a pauper or for having been a pauper,
and ought not to be punished with life
long entailment of the pauper's brand If
/ it can possibly be avoided. He has the
| right to have the fact of his early hapless
condition disguised as far as possible
! If the bill being advocated by Mrs.
Emily E. Williamson and her followers
| on the state Board of Children's Guar
| dians prevails such a condition would
be rendered impossible according TO the
/ opponents of the bill; for it would impose
| upon the board the duty of visiting all
! such children at stated intervals. thus
keeping constantly before them the fact
/ that they are wards of the State and
/ dependent upon It for their support.
A gentleman actively interested in the
work of caring for homeless children CT
| the State has this to say of the bill:-
Assembly bill No. 1SS, introduced by
Mr. Stalter provides that all children
adjudged public charges shall come un-
der the care of the State Board of Caii-
/ dren's Guardians, except in. counties
where there is a county home, where
| freeholders commit the childrenAto such
an institution.
| ..Inasmuch as there are only three or
four such counties in the tSate, Morris,
/ Camden and Burlington. it provides spe-
. cial privileges for special counties.
"The real import of the bill is against
the New Jersey Children's Home Society
and all other charitable institutions where
( pauper children have been cared for, ex-
cept in above counties. The provisions
of the bill under which the Board Of
Guardians were created provides that
the child adjudged public charge. be re-
moved from the Almshouse and boarded
in some family or institution until a free
home can be found, the County to pay not
~ r0 aoly for IFS ord
til that time, together with incidental ex-
fpenses.
.sThe mischief in the bill is that some
of these children could be given good, free
dren's Home Society. and for all such it
is a pity that they should constantly
carry the hand of a pauoer inasmueh as
the board of guardians have difficulty in
securing free homes for many of their
children That fact being demonstrated
by the big bin that they monthly charge
the city of Paterson for the care of the
few children they took a long time ago
Assembly bill No 1888 should never
become a law. as it is unjust 10 grea,
number of little unfortunate children
who will become wards of the public,
and again unjust to the people Of Pater-
son, who must in this way for a long
time pay board for cal-dren, many OF
whom could be paced, without expense
to the taxpayers. in good family homes
by the charitable Institutions incorpoi- i
ated for that purpose
The almshouse committee of the Conn
Den county board Of freehoiders has |
adopted a resolution requesting the-Cam- |
den delegation in the Legislature to OPP
pose the passage OF the bill. claiming
that it would be detrimental to the in
terests of the taxpayers. The bill, they
contend, is designed to keep the mem
bers of the New Jersey Children's Home |
socsety and the majority of all other
charitable societies in the State from Wis
iting or having anything to do in the
future, directly or indirectly. with the
care ana rescue of any child that shall
become pubic charge.