New-York tribune., 1908-07-21
NO PLACES FOR BOYS.
Women Who adopt Babies Aluays
Choose Girls-The ChiId's Right.

Throughout a great part OF the human race TO-
day. il a man who has two daughters and two sons
Ia asked how many children he has he will reply.
Two" The daughters not counted at all
This extreme disfavor in which girl children are
held extends all over Asia and In a more OF less
modified form all over Europe. and IT is as old as
history It il curious. In face of this word-vde
and world old preference. to know that American
parents. or at least American mothers. invariably
prefer girls; that is II their choice fer adoption
has any Significance.
People always want girls-al~ays said Mrs
Martha p Falconer,s superintendent OF the girls
department. of the Philadelphia House OF Refuss.
speaking on the placing out of homeless chiidren
Mrs. Falconer. who at the School OF Phiian-
thropy yesterday. has national reputation IN or
eanized charity and has had of experience n
placing out children. both East and West
They write for girl baby: they wait for a girl
baby" said SIZE >"There will be a OF nice little
boy babies waiting for a home. and every home
that wants a baby waits for girl Wy own chill
dren were boys and I sit and tell them how much
easier 1T bring up boys. but it all does no
good. You place any kind of a girl at any age.
but 1t is always much more difficult to place a
boy"
Mrs Falconer's experience has led her TO think
that while people who want to adopt babies are
usually very nne people. any one who wants to
adopt child old enough to work will bear strict
watching.
child eleven twelve fourteen years old for adop-
ton. I reply, oh. no; you want IT for the work
you get out of it They want a good, strong
girl they say, willing TO work for company
why, there's only five In the family, they viii
say; she won't have anything to do. We Just want
her for company
'.PIacing-out agencies beth Catholic. Protestant
and non-sectarian. have been shamefu1ly lax about
placing out children and about watching their in
terests afterward They have placed young girls
families and left them grow up little slaveys.
sent to school even in states where there Is
compulsory school Law. and sometimes subject
to grave dangers IN the home Itself Girls should
be placed In homes where there are boys
near their own age. always dangerous And
some terrible things have happened where the girl
was not safeguarded from hired men, Years ago
big Catholic and Protestant societies in the East
used to carloads of children West. advertise.
and the farmers would come down to the depot and
pick the biggest. strongest boys they could get
The society would never visit the boys again. and
often the farmers would never send them TO school,
would work them like slaves and treat them SO
badly that they would away and in time come
to the reforrnatory In the Western states This
happened often that many Western states viii
longer permit the placing Of such children with
out a heavy bond Then there the old bind
ing out system which still exists The boy was
to live with the farmer till ne tweuty-one years
old and then receive $780, suit Of clothes and a
Bible Meanwhile the farmer had had eight or ten
years of hard work from the boy; and often such
boys were treated meanly just before they were
twenty-ons that they away. and so didn't get
the $780, suit of clothes and the Bible after all
II is not safe to leave any child without watching
Its interests 1t is safe place any child with
out seeing the home and people first Letters of
recommendation worthless The banker.
hatcher or baker will give them Any minister viii
give one. Things can be made very unpleasant for
him II he will not went once to the home Of a
minister who had sent letter commencing
family in his town which Wanted TO take girl.
The minister not at home. talked With bis
wife. She said: You know the woman is insane,
don't you?
She didn't know her husband had recommended
the family The had property and a
member of the church, and of course it was hard
for the minister TO refuse; he recommended
sending little girl to wait on a.woman who had
a mild form of insanity
And yet there such beautiful homes open
to children. where children Will be welcomed.
loved trained. educated and grow up a part OF the
life OF the community. such good people. who have
lost their children never had any. who
will love and for these homeless children All
that is necessary is the right care. inellf-
senee and sincerity in the agent to bring these
homeless children and chiIdIess homes together.
I'm Indiana and Illinois there is law that
state agent shall visit and protect the interests Of
every child placed out by any agency, private
public In the state The Catholic institutions
fought that law strenuOusly There is. however.
no Church which has done this work which is not
open to criticism for its neglect of the children it
places out
People should be asked to take child
when 1t Is little. il. train it il. and
,nen have to give it up because it's mothers
love has suddenly returned when il is fourteen
and old enough TO work for her. The orphans don't
trouble at ALL They can all be placed 1t IS
the worse than orphaned children, whose wretched
parents Will leave them to be supported by some
one else and then turn UP TO make trouble when
the children old enough work When
chd's mother is debauched incOrrigible there
comes a time when her interests should longer
be considered. but only the chd's She should be-
set aside and prevented from again claiming
her child"