The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-03-21
CRIES BROUGHT
AID TO BABY
Three Years Old Girl Left on
Porch to Freeze.
AT HOME OF ALLEN SMITH
Woman Kept Child in Her
Home but One Day.
WANTED TO ADOPT IT
And Took 1t to Her Home
Wednesday Evening.

A baby girl three weeks old was found
late Wednesday night on the front porch
Of the home Of Allen Smith, 2l47 Shirley
avenue. just southwest of the Friends
university. An day yesterday the police
worked on the case and it is expected
that an arrest viii be made today
Mrs. Ella Glenn Shields, police matron,
went TO work on the case as soon as the
announcement was made yesterday morn
ing at the police station. Last Wednes-
day morning middle aged woman. neatly
dressed went TO the home of Mrs. Miller
near College Hill, and asked for BABY
girl for adoption. Mrs. Miller is manager
Of a private home for children and SHOW
ed this woman a three weeks old baby
gisl The woman was we'll pleased with
the child and decided TO adopt it.
She tried very hard to conceal her iden-
tity, but Mrs Miller would not let her
have the child until after an inveStiga-
ton. The woman requested that Mrs.
MHler say nothing as TO who took the
baby, and that the child be delivered to
her after dark. Mrs. Miller was willing
TO comply with this request. The woman
said she lived on the West Side and near
the Friends university and made ar
rangements to meet Mrs. Miller at the
end Of the West Side street car line short
ly after o'clock Wednesday evening.
Mrs. Miller took the child 10 the corner
OF University and Charles street, arriving
there at 7:I2 Wednesday evening. She
waited at the corner and about two min
utes after arriving there the woman came
up and took the child carrying it south
with her.
Mrs Miller came back TO the center of
town, and while waiting at the corner of
Main and Douglas met Mrs. Shields and
casually mentioned her taking this child
10 a woman on the West Side. Nothing
particular was said about ii at this time.
Yesterday morning Mrs. Shields was
called to the police station and the aban-
doned baby was reported TO her. She went
Immediately to the Smith home and
brought the baby back with her. Mrs.
Miller was sent for and positively identi-
fed the child. Yesterday was spent in
trying to find the woman and getting evil
dence and the case has been formed into
such shape that arrests will come this
morning.
The abandoning of a child and convic-
ton for this crime means at least five
years in the penitentiary for the culprit. |
IT is an offense where clue is hard to |
find, and very few persons have ever been |
convicted of the charge. IN this case, |
however, there is plenty of evidence.
Those who heard of the case and its |
details yesterday took a great deal of in
terest in the matter. Why did this wo-
man, when she knew that the child was
known and that she could be recognized, |
abandon this child? Why did she not |
take 1t to the home from whence it came? |
Why did she adopt it and keep it but one
day, and then select night cold and |
clustering, when half an hours exposure |
would endanger the life Of the little one? |
Did this woman take the child with the |
intention Of leaving it Immediately for |
reasons known only to herself? These |
and many other questions were asked by |
persons cOnversant with the case yester- |
day. A woman so hard-hearted as to |
abandon a child in this manner, leaving |
it on a porch facing the north with a |
hard, chilling wind blowing directly in its |
face, and with insufficient clothing, could |
hardly be less than a degenerate. She |
made little effort TO arouse the atten- |
ton Of the inmates of the house.
During the evening the members Of Mr.. |
Smiths family were startled by a violent |
rapping on the front door. Mrs. Smith /
was the only one downstairs. as the rest
OF the family, with the nurse, Miss Chap |
man, were in the room of the son Her !
bert who has been very sick with ty
phoid fever. Mrs. Smith hurried 10 the /
door, opened it and stepped back. asking /
who was there but saw no one, and as !
lAit N4llQ was IloNAllS Sharply lI0ll AilN /
north she hastily stepped inside, boiling
the door after her.
Perhaps half an hour had elapsed. and |
the mother and daughter were sitting in /
the dining room, when il seemed as
though some one was on the front porch.
and both listened for the bell To ring: but
soon all became quiet again. As there
was no man In the house, the women were
Inclined to feel nervous. Presently Miss
Chapman thought she heard a baby cry
and came huuiedly down the front stairs
asking Whose baby is that crying?"
Like a fash the loud knocking upon the
door and the subsequent noise revealed /
tie truth to the startled household. as
the pitful wall Of the abandoned waif
was borne in upon them. sure enough,
there it lay on the cold porch with only