The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-02-16

the care dIIu eoo1cLlo1 " NiC
dependent orphan children Of North
Carolina. [ am giving the best
thOught and service hat | can COM
mand to one OF the institutions or the
State that the church has created Tor
this end. And I am doing this work
closer to III heart of Jesus than l am
here. This is distinctiyely a work
that has sprung out Of the doctrine
and spirit OF His immaculate and I'M
selfish life and that must lie close to
His heart. I am, therefore, Profound
Nv Interested in any serious discussion
of this work.
Hitherto. in presenting the cause OF
the orphan child to q North Carolina
audience, I AVE felt that there was
no need of making a plea tor the IN
stitutional work for hat child. l nave
felt that the institution was right, and
hat all that ! needed to say was to
tell our people of the needs Of the IN
stitutiOn for its roper equipment ana
support.
But recently there have been utter
ances made in our State by reputable
and wise and influential men that
seem to me to Gepreciate the instltu-
tional work, n to be in effect an ar
gument against the continuance OF
such institutions. A gentleman of
prominence and q worker IN TINS
cause. has been quoted as saying that
several million dollars given by a
good man in the North to one of these
institutions were SO many million dol
lars gone wrong, This was said with
reference to q particular beQueSt ana
to conditions existing in q certain sec
ton of our vast country; but such q
statement, with whatever ~nfiuen IT
carries is destructive to the interests
of the institutions that we are trying
to build in North Carolina. And as
a worker in this noble beneflcence |
5anronofa C,1oh lttpr2nCoS. EOc l &C
not believe that our institutions shouio
be destroyed, or that their mission is
at an end, or that money gwen 10
them is so much money gone wrong.
There are two agencies at WORK
among us for the maintenance and
care Of dependent orphan children
one is the institution, known as the
orphanage or asylum, the
idea of the home and the schoot ana
the church; the other IS the ChlldrenS
Home Society representing the IDEA OF
finding a suitable home for the child
and placing him in it. And the argu-
ment against the institutional Work
has come from some who,
ly or remotely, are connected with the
home-pIacing work. And this | de-
plore. In reference to these two
lines of work let me say that, as l
see the field, both are needed-and
both have q wide mission. This great
world with its many sorrows and its
vast d.1o =
homeless orphan children has room
for both-and will have for the next
years-and it is not neces-
sary to argue against the one In order
to prove the other. This orphan
world is a big world-biger than you
suppose-and the work is too sacred
for these differences Of view as to
method to hurt any part Of the work
The question comes. to the front
which is the better way OF dealing
with the destitute orphan pTootem :
Ny answer is, Both ways. There are
many cases that the home-placing
agency can deal with-and there are
many others that only the institution
can deal with. Let me say q per
osnal word. Since the children s
Home Society began its work IN North
Carolina l have recognized its true
mission among us. and l have earn
estly ~co-Operated with it. But there
are limitations upon this k-t
are not enough homes Of the right
sort tina are open to these dependent
children-and there are not enough
children of the right sort to place N
these homes-for you've got to make
the thing fit both ways.
Now if you remove the institution
and turn this great business over to
his home-placlng agency, then you
will have more children than you
will have homes of the right sort to
take them-and you Will be forced to
place children in the wrong sort Of
homes where they will be but servants
and where their condition will be
much worse than it would be in the
average Orphanage. Under such con-
ditiOnS you would see acted owe again
in many cases the old time thing of
"~binding-out' the child-and some
people would be getting servants to
work for them instead of children to
train for God and for country. MY
Flea is this: Let the ~home-placing
business go on With it's blessed work
it has its legitimate field. but that
IS not the whole field, and when it
mas done it's work there will be more
than enough dependent. orphans to.
~ an our 4nstitutions-and they will.
90 'he most needy class. too. and