The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-12

self accusation, The following is from
 a 15-year old girl:
 T have never regretted coming West
 and I think 1t Is the most beautiful
 part of the country. can do almost
 all kinds of house work. except nice
 pastry cooking. My guardians have
 lived in the same house nearly thirty
 eight years. shall stay in my home
 after am of age if my guardians are
 willing. hope shall get to be a
 better girl soon, but 1t seems doubtful:
 and make SO much trouble that
 sometimes wish I had never come
 West. It Is a trying ordeal for my
 guardian to keep me. and I sometimes
 think I will never come to any good.
 but will promise you to strive to do
 better. Mrs. Warren thinks am very
 slovenly. and she gets out of patience
 with my work and my tongue. I was
 always left to run loose in New York
 and I think l was put in the Asylum" | Mrs. Warren's view of the case was
 not quite so black. She wrote:
 | "Annio has improved in ability to
 work and live in hopes that she will
 do better as she grows older. She has
 a good education and can write a very
 good letter, but she has a saucy tongue
 that Is very trying to endure"
 | Most of the discomfort which occa-
 sionally leads a boy to decide to try
 life on his own feet is due to interfer-
 ence from outside. either from his old
 home in New York, if he has any, or
 from neighbors who talk to him of in-
 dependence and his ability to earn good
 wages. Last year Q 17-year Italian girl was the object of habeas corpus proceedings in the course of which an | order from the court compelled the Asylum authorities to bring her from her home in the West to New York
 Her parents, who had paid no attention whatsoever to her for years, were now frantic in their appeals to the judge. to the girl. to the Asylum authorities. to the spectators, and to everybody within ear-shot to restore their long lost child to them. The judge decided that as the girl had reached years of discretion she could deAde for herself what value should be placed on this newly discovered longing which had lain dormant so many years. The girl at once declared her intention of re- turning to the West and did SO.
 What the ultimate fate Is of these young colonists from the streets of New York. Is as interesting as their life as apprentices. The following let ter is a specimen, not of the brilliant careers which are of particular value Is texts with which to lecture children on the necessity of industry and good behavior, but of the average hard working life of a man who was given a fair show and nothing more. It was received by the Asylum authorities some years ago:
 T was brought out to Illinois by the Asylum thirty-seven years ago. I was apprenticed to Mir. Dennis Rouse, of Danville and remained with him six years, until 1861, when enlisted in the Thirty-ffth Illinois Infantry and served my country as a soldier through the war, & period was spent at Ander- sonville as a prisoner of war. After the war I went to Kansas and took possession of a quarteS section which I afterward sold. and ink ,sted the pro- ceeds in a drug store; but that venture was not a financial success, although I gained a knowledge of business which has since proved beneficial I always desired to obtain a good educa- tion and after my failure in the drug business I attended the Kansas State Agricultural College. As I had no money I paid my expenses by manual labor and I found 1t hard to prosecute my studies successfully under such disadvantages. After leaving college I returned to Illinois and taught school for several years. Two years ago re- ceived the nomination for county treasurer for Vermilion county, and was elected for a term of four years by a majority of nearly fourteen hun dred. I was required to give bond for $6OO,0O0 and my bond was signed by the most substantial citizens of the county. My salary Is sl.soO per annun.