The San Francisco call., 1909-05-09
THE STORY OF THE SECOND
OF THREE NOTABLE
ACHIEVEMENTS BY THE
ASSOCIATED CHARITIES

belonged to her. the loss or which
brought her grief's portion. No mother.
laying her own baby to rest. could have
been more desolated than was this
poor woman.
To explain the foster mother sys-
tenn" is to tell of the most important
sociological innovation ever made in
San Francisco and of the most inter
esting and significant work ever done
by the Associated Charities. 1t will tell
that the San Francisco founding asy-
lum has been closed and that the de-
serted children are placed in homes
and given mothers. and that, In con-
sequence, the city undertaken is not
opening little graves every few days
as he used TO. but that. instead. there
are a lot of happy, healthy tots grow
ing UP like those that were born into
homes of love.
Employing foster mothers began
when the Associated Charities took
over the work and all the responsibility
OF home finding, previously done by
self appointed agents. It's officers
found, when they commenced the work
Of Investigating different philanthropic
movements for the charities indorse-
ment committee. that there was some
thing almost criminally careless in the
home finding methods employed by a
lot OF people and institutions. Chill
dren were given over to homes which
had not been subjected to proper in
vestigation. Once placed" they were
never looked up afterward. Out of
this material, boys too often were made
into tramps and girls into something
worse.
The merchants said:
I'VE will not give money to any
charity that is not indorsed."
The charities Endorsement committee
said:
I'VE viii not indorse any of the ex-
listing home finding societies. People
are making livings out OF the traffic;
children are being sold and placed
in homes without reference TO their
futures"
The Associated Charities said:
We will undertake the work Of In
vestigating prospective homes for de-
serted or orphan children and will
place them"
And so IT was that the home finding
department Of the Associated Charities
was organized. Being just to the peo-
pie willing to take children, as well
as to the children. who deserved a fair
start in life, the cases of both were
duly considered. The Associated Chari-
ties held that tuberculous children or
those otherwise III, or children of
vicious habits should not be placed in
homes until they were cured. On the
other hand they declared that people
who asked for these children only to
make drudges of them should not be
allowed to get them.
Il was found that an astonishing
number Of children registered for adop-
ton were not in At condition to go into
homes. The care OF them until they
were became a serious question. Then
it was that the Associated Charities
commenced TO utilize mother love, that
greatest force in the world In the be-
ginning a few women well known to
the charities as thoroughly dependable.
took the physically sick and the NOR
ally lame children that had never
known anything more of home and
affection than they got in an institu-
tion. They cuddled and helped them.
giving them care that no money could
secure. The small compensation that
the charities could pay was certainly
no great inducement to the women who
were pioneers among the city's foster
mothers. AS II stands now these an
gels OF mercy get only $3.50 a month,
the states allowance for its children.