Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-08

without babies in arms; boys and girls,
and even fathers and grandfathers, to say
nothing Of uncles and aunts have been
gathering in the waiting room, and now.
when the door to the distribution room is
thrown open, all make a mad rush Tor 1t
and only get in line when ordered to do so
by the attendants. Over the counter lney
hand the bottles emptied by hungry mouths
the day before, and each person receives a
number OF filled bottles corresponding to
the number of feelings ordered by ply
sician or visiting nurse.
1t is at the distribution counter that the
superintendent and her assistants see the
pathetic side of the work
Women just out of bed and living miles
distant from an institution hear of Ii In
some way and appear with their sick babies
and plead for the milk that will surely give
health to their little ones. Perhaps such a
woman can afford to pay the few cents daily
for the supply of milk necessary; perhaps
she cannot, and in that event, after the
superintendent is fully satisfied of this
and a physician has prescribed the kind
and number of feelings, the poor woman
receives help as cheerfuly as any who
brings a handful of pennies with her 10
the counter. Sometimes parents are SO
poor that they not even aSke d to make
an initial deposit of cents on a bottle, to
insure its return from day to day.
Instructing Mere Man.
Whenever a man appears at the counter
the superintendent knows that the baby's
mother is either dead or seriously ILL., So,
kind-hearted woman that she always is.
she instructs the man how to heat the
milk, how to put the nipple on a bottle
and gives him a whole lot of motherly ad-
vice on how to look after the baby And
frequently these men are so grateful that
the tears flow freely In spite of them and
when their babies flourish and grow lusty
on the milk, they make desperate attempts
to express their gratitude in various broken
languages, and call down the blessings of
God on their benefactress' head Little
mothers also receive close attention and
much valuable advice from the superin-
tendent
Not long ago a woman appeared at GER
tain milk depot and asked for milk for a
baby.
Your chld?' the superintendent aueried.
NO, was the reply ITS my cousins"
rs she sick?'' the superintendent asked:
and then 1t came out that the cousin had
died in childbirth; that the father was be-
side himself with grief; that there was no
older child In the house to look after the
baby, and SO the applicant. though she had
seven children of her own. and the youngest
was only a year old. had taken the infant
to raise Il couldn't see it go to a hos
pital." she said. by way of explanation of
her act, while the tears streamed down her
cheeks In her anxiety over the baby.
Needless to say, the woman got the milk
and, though she offered to pay for it, she
was not permitted to do SO. ANY woman
who will do you have done for the love
of a poor little motheress baby cannot pay
here" the superintendent told her.
One of the triumphs of this same institu-
ton was the rearing of triplets to sturdy
two-year- oldS after the babies had been
given up by several physicians. When they
were placed on the pasteurized milk they
were little shriveled up piles of skin and
bones and their little stomachs could
scarcely accommodate the ounce of milk
nreSCrihp6 for each child q q
the end of eighteen months they were strap
ping healthy babies; and then because 1t
was summer they were not cut off from the
milk, as is usually the case when q baby
reaches this age, but were allowed to re-
ceive 1t until cool weather set in the next
autumn.
Plain Printed Directions.
When it comes time to cut off a child
from the milk the superintendent does not
tell the parent that she can receive no
more bottles. That would cause the par
ent to swear by all that's holy that the
child is sickly and a crying baby, and
would surely die If such misfortune were
to oyertake 1t. Instead some morning sew
eral days before the time to drop the
baby's name from the books has arrived
the superintendent casually asks: Flows
the baby getting on?" or, Bring around
the baby ana let me see it, And IL the
proper answer is given to the question. in
all motneriy prlue, or the chllu proves 10
be riotously healthy on inspection, off goes
its name from the list of patients, and the
mother sheds tears and protests in vain.
The really trying times for the employees
of a milk depot occur when some such I'M
toward event as blizzard or railroad
wreck prevents the daily supply of milk
from arriving. AS 1t is the aim of these
institutions to furnish fresh milk daily to
the babies, very little milk is carried from
day to day, and so. when the regular sup
ply fails. there is stinting all along the line
and the lamentations which arise among
the mothers and the little mothers" and
grandparents and the aunts and the cous-
ms are loud and wen-nigh distracting. And
there's nothing to do-thats the worst Of