Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-10-25
HUMANE
@
AGENT
INTERVIEWED
From the purango fIernld.

] Ahia liiOA A4tAirS ~ H't7NI AAl kAAil MS HI
vestigations of the Brotherhood OF
Light.
A reporter of thes Herald saw Mr..
Kerr al tile depot this morning and
elicited the Information that the cases
which he IS investigating are stGl In
the air. The county court OF Archu.
eta county will b@ appealed to to
place Vivian In the dare of some good
hospitsl and the other child, Thor,
where he can haye8 proper medical
care.
In speaking OF thetatiack on him by
the Pagosa Springsi New Era, Mr..
Kerr said that he had made the edi-
tor OF that paper ackiowledge that he
knew nothing at IN about the real
conditions at the Brotherhood colony
and that, for all he.might know the
conditions might be ~prse than those
depicted by Mr.. Kerr This was in
the presence of Mr.. ~ NJ. Biggs, who
remarked that Mr. Kerr had effect
ually disposed of the criticisms of the
said editor
Mr.. Kerr's latest report to the state
bureau of child and Rnimal protection
as follows:
81 visited the Brotherhood ranch
for the second time Thursday after.
noon. Found Mrs. Wheeler and MIR.
Robertson in charge. and the rest. Mr..
Ross, Mr.. and Mrs. iElliot, Grace, the
ieeble-minded girl, and Stanton, the
defective boy, awayiht Pagosa Springs
where thew had gone to peddle two
loads of squash.
although DR.. Sears, the state in
spector and myselfshad both ordered
that the children he given milk, our
instructions were ignored and none
had been given. They claimed that 1t
was discretionary and not an order,
though the doctor ssid. II there Is not
enough milk, do Without yourselves
and give It TO the children, with soups
and meats in addition
Mr.. Ross saidA there was not
enough milk 70 give the children all
they wanted, as they only had one
cow, and today they say that the chill.
dren do not care for milk, but that
they have never had airy, so far as
they are aware. They now claim that
tney hal brt ore COW, but there was
a time when they had two. Although
Or. Sears prescribed for the sick baby
week ego the medicine has not
been procured.
Il find 7 did not learn all the facts
the first time, for another little boy
Earl, sert from Detroit four years
ago, lies N the patch with the nine
that have died In the past seven
months-a little patch of bare ground
with no Enclosures, no little mounds
nothing of any description to show
that the little bodies lie there, and
only the tracks OF the lone cow are
deep in the loose, bare earth.
Mrs. Wheeler said she was mis-
taken when she told DR.. Sears and
| myself that the baby, Vivian, is only
fed three times in twenty-four hours
as he is really fed four. Poor Vivian
who should be Morton instead, four
teen mcnths cid. yet cannot sit alone
or hold his he'd without support-and
fed four times a day whether he needs
It or not. and not at all at night. He
Is kept in Il rough board house and
though the nights are cold there was
no fire. and Mrs. Wheeler sat until
dusk with him outdoors with nothing
on his head and wrapped ina blanket
which she threw over her own head
when | earlier took the baby's pic
ture.
"They say this house is warm, bui
though 1t Is only one room wide ant
about forty feet long, 1t contains foui
stoves, hot when the fires are on, and
like tent when they go- out-al
right for grown folks, but how about
ten little babies?
Il informed Mrs. Wheeler and Mr.
Robertson that | would ask the
county court to take the children
away. They wanted action deferred
until Mr Roses return, but said NJ
objections would be offered othel
than a statement of their position L
the court.
George Smith worked on the
ranch and says he has seen the chill
dren' given only few dates for sup
per and that in the winter they hat
but two meals, breakfast about Q a
M, and supper at or s p. M, ant
tnat they were constantly In some
ones charge. He says that when bal
ing hay he has seen them gather thu
leaves and eat them when none OF the
Brotherhood was looking, and tina
they frequently made themselves sicl
on field corn and hay. etc. |. Sando
val also worked there and had hil
attention called to the children eatini
hay by Mr. Smith, and Knows OF thu
close restraint kept over the children
, Mr.. Smith further remembers that HI
has heard the children laugh. bu
never saw the babies after night ant
, does not know as to their feeding.
81 shall ask the county court 4
place Vivian in the care OF some goo
hospital, such as st. Joseph's or 81
, Anthony's, at the expense of tn
J brotherhood. Also to place Tho
: where his ailment can be cared 70
at the same expense. and finally :
place the remaining six in the stat
: home OF Denver, all costs OF the pre-
/ ceedlngs to be at the Brotherhood
8 expense. as they are California chi
. dren and should not become burde
. on Colorado.
7 Later, Friday--Again visited tn
g ranch and learned Of more deaths. 8
D that instead OF twelve, as was frs
e reported. there are nineteen out Of
s total OF twenty-seven children take
0 by these people. or nineteen out {
the twenty infants.
11nl11u11I161<1H6o1nor