Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-03-30
SCHOOL FOR HOMELESS
The South Dakota children's home So
eiety is Doing Good Work-over
1000 Cared For.

Deadwood, S. D., March 20.-Tne
saving OF the children has become one
IF the great interests of the middle
Vest. Miss Allie Jewell, who is the
district superintendent for the Chill
dren's Home society in the Black Hills
and Wyoming, has just made a trip
through this section. Miss Jewell COW
ers the largest territory OF anyone en-
gagged in this work in the United
States, looking after the children IN a
district III 900 miles square. 1t Is IN
the winter that this society does its
greatest work, fol then the neighbors
begin to feel the responsibility for lily
cared for children; end ii is then, too,
that parents, poor or shiftless, feel the
added cost of food, fuel and clothing.
The National Children's Home So
ciety is distinctly a middle west in
stitution, having homes for children
in twenty eight different states. I'LL
nois holdS the first place with REFER
ence to the amount contributed yearly
to the society, Kentucky comes second
and Iowa third. lCwa's receiving home,
located at Des Moines, takes in yearly
some 260 children. The South Dakota
home at Sioux Falls a been estab-
lished for twelve wears. The superin-
tendent, Mr.. Sherrard, was the uper
intendent Of the first newsboys' home,
established in Chicago some thirty
years ago. Nearly LOO children have
been cared for at this home during its
life, n Miss Jewell figures that at
least 81 Per cent. OF them have turned
out we'll. Some other district super
~intendcnts do not place these figures
so high, giving the more conservative
figures of 80 per cent. If n knows
that only about sc per cent of children
in the private homes throughout the
country turn out satisfactorily ii will
be seen that these institutions are
making a great record. Most Of the
children taken to the Sioux Falls home
are from poor or ghiftless families.
There have been 100 children in all
taken from the state of Wyoming and
of these only II child was of illegitt-
mate birth. The per cent Of illegiti-
mate children in South Dakota is about
six, but this is snail compared to the
percentage In Iowa and Minnesota. The
great problem with the Iowa and Min
nesota homes is that Of the illegitimate
child, as IA the older states the mum
Der of these children is UNNECESSARILY
greater than in the newer states.
But few children received at these
homes could be called actual criminals,
yet there was the famous case a few
years ago Of the children from the
wilds Of Wyoming who had killed their
father. The murder was planned and
carried out by the two oldest children,
a girl of 10 and a boy Of 13. The boy
loaded the u and prepared it, but ow-
ing to his deficient eyesight II was tho
girl who placed the gun against her
fathers head as he lay sleeping in a
bed, pulled the trigger and blew out his
brains. These children, with five 9TH
ers of the family, were taken by the
society. They have all found good
homes and have developed as satisfac-
torily as the average child.
The report for the fiscal yea ending
May 81, 1905, shows the number re-
ceived for temporary care to be %;
number received for replacement, Al;
those placed in homes for the first time,
1l2; died, 3; sent TO reform school, 2;
whole number cared for, 1913. These
societies are supported entirely by per-
sonal contributions. They receive no
state aid and are wholly dependent
upon the charity of the public. The
expenses for the last year amounted to
something owe $500.