Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-05-08
EX-GOY. ATKINSON
REGISTERS KICK :
He is Not Pleased With The Action Of
the Legislature in Establishing
state Children's Home.

ernor of West Virginia sends to the
Mail kick" against the action OF
the West Virginia legislature in
passing bill for the establishment
by the State OF "Children's Home:
His kick follows.
Washington, D. c.,
April 30. 1909.
To the Editor Of the Mail:
do not believe that / can be
classed as "a kicker" but in this case
/ am a kicker, genuine, straight
laced pure and simple. have al
ways tried to "toat fair" with my
fellows. Roosevelt with his muck
rake taught the idea that we should
look above the muck raker to real
conditions to conditions as We find
them. He was right. To be honest,
to be just, We must be fair and
square with one another.
About fourteen wears ago a body
of well known West Virginians as
sembled in the city of Wheeling and
organized society under the name
and style of 'sThe Children's Home
Society of West Virginia" The pur-
pose of the organization was to, first
find children without homes, and,
second to find homes without chill
dren and then to fit homeless chill
dren into homes without children.
The Correct Method
At first blush | was not impressed
with the correctness and reasonable
ness of the proposition, but after
giving thoughtful consideration to
the subject, | surrendered to the req
sonableness of the enterprise and
accordingly fell into line and took
hand in the work. The more | con-
sidered the matter, the more | was
convinced that it was the natural
method of caring for homeless, help
less, hapless children. ] therefore
joined with several of my personal
friends, and we organized "The Chill
drens Home Society of West Vir-
ginia" and secured a state charter
for the society under that name. This
was elected the first president OF
the society and have held that Office
to this day. Pardon me for saying
here that have held many public
positions, but now above all others
l appreciate this humble office the
most highly of all of them. To care
for hopeless, helpless, hapless chill
co n1C m q
highest ambition of man. l may be
but | think / am right
when l say that this is the highest
and noblest work any man can as
pire to in this life. St. James says
the first duty of man is to provide
for the needs of the widows and the
orphans. This our Society was or,
ganized to do, and this it is now
doing, and this it expects to con-
tinue to do if it is not hampered and
choked by state interference in it's
special line of work.
Tried in 20 States.
Twenty-eight states have organic
ed on the plan of our West Virginia
institution and as we are doing in
West Virginia, so all of these soci-
cites in other states are vigorously
pushing the child-rescue work. At
the head OF the state organizations
is a National organization which has
general supervision over the states
and in realty is the central, govern
ing power of the whole. The work
therefore, is not of the hap-hazard
sort, but on the contrary it is con-
Quoted along we'll matured and care
fully planned lines. Hence it is not
experimental but is real, well estab-
lshed, we'll known success wherever
it has been introduced
The old plan of providing for or
phans was to mass them together in
homes and then educate
them at public or private expense
until they reach an age when they
can care for themselves. Our plan
is the very opposite. We have learned
ed that one out of every ten families
is barren and We seek first the home
less, motherless child and then find
a home without a child and we place
the homeless child in the childless
home. Ours is the natural plan and
our plan must triumph in the end.
Value of Homelke Training.
Children to be useful and success
full in future life must have home
life training This they cannot have
if they are allowed to grow up in
children's homes. Children massed
together are deprived of every ele'
ment of home life. Our plan gives
them home life and home training.
Our method, therefore, as l have
above stated, is the natural method,
and all intelligent people should in
dorse it, and in the end will indorse
it, Somehow, however, our West
Virginia legislature failed to see it
in this light otherwise it would not
have deliberately throttled our Soci-
ETY. in its child-rescue work as it did
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