The daily sentinel., 1909-02-15
SMOTHER
MESSAGE OF
TEDDY'S
ma Associnted Press. /

BY Associated Press.
Washington, Feb. 15.-Legisla-
ton, which, it is believed, if enacted
into IA law. will make an important
epoch in the future well-being OF
the dependent children of the nation
is recommended in a special message
by President Roosevelt sent to con
gress today in which he makes d
strong plea in the interest of chill
dren coming within this class.
OF particular Importance is the
presidents recommendation for the
establishment of a federal children's
bureau; the enactment of such legis-
lation as will bring the laws and
practices in regard to the care of de
pendent children in all federal terri
tory into harmony, and certain legis-
lation in behalf of dependent chill
dren in the District of Columbia.
The president believes that such
Legislation is important not only for
the welfare of the children immed-
lately concerned, but important "as
setting an example of a high stand
ard of child protection by the ma
tional government to the several
states of the union. which should be
able to look to the nation for leader
ship in such matters"
The president also transmits with
his message to congress n copy of the
conclusions together with the full
text of the proceedings of the recent
conferences here on the care of de
pendent children. in accordance with
the request of that organization. De
claring that their conclusions con
stitute a wise, constructive and pro-
gressive program of child-caring
work" the president says that, if
given fun effect by the proper agen-
cies, existing methods and practices
in almost every community would be
profoundly and advantageously mod
| fed"
Statistics showing the large num-
| ber of dependent children in the
I country are presented by Mr.. Roose-
! velt
Each of these children represents
either potential addition to the pro.
ductive capacity and the enlightened
citizenship of the nation" says the
/ president "or. if allowed to suffer
! from neglect. a potential addition to
| the destructive forces of the commun-
! ity. The ranks of criminals and 9th
cr enemies of society are recruited
| in an altogether undue proportion
from children bereft of their natural
homes and left without sufficient
care. The interests of the nation are
involved in the welfare of this army
of children no less than in our great
material affairs
tp urging children s bureau one
of whose duties will be TO investigate
n report upon all matters pertaining
to the welfare of children and child
life, the president points out that
the national government is the only
agency which can effectively conduct
such general inquiries as are needed
for the benefit of all our citizens. "
1T is only discreditable to MS as
a people that there is now no recog-
nized and authoritative source of in
formation upon these subjects relat-
ing to child life declares the pres
ident. but, in the absence of such
information as should be supplied by
the federal government, many abuses
have gone unchecked; for public SEN
timent, with its great corrective pow
er. can only be aroused by full lnowl-
edge of the facts.
He adds that there are few things
more vital to the welfare of the ma
tion than accurate and dependable
knowledge Of the best methods of
dealing with children, partio ularly
those handicapped by misfortune.
The president makes a strong plea
for keeping the family intact. and
declares that poverty alone should
not disrupt the home