The Washington herald., 1909-02-22

training and junior republics oIier lile-H
the advantages OF seIf-reliance and self
government. Nearly 800 cities throughout
the country have established public play
grounds at a great coSt, and New 4orA'
in addition 10 these, keeps open per
cent of its schools. summer and winter
"a recreation centers- TheateT. cBuren'
and 1fbrsrv and club for children nave
come IN answer to the call O. TINS ne" new
era. and are factors in the great e1'lo
conservation campaign
4 bill has been introduced IN congress
n-ovi6ing for children's bureau unoer
The DEPARTMENT Of the Interior. Ms
bureau would collect data relative 20 IA
fant mortality, birth rate, pnyslcdl
generacy. delinquency. dangerous 90
tons. diseases. legislation aHecuus IN
dren- and other matters oeaIlhs ull - -
an ehiId life. Recently the President IoT
-. 80 +fr,a in the history of the na-
ton. addressed special message 20 Ooli-
zress relative TO the welfare and pro
tac1ion Of children. with a view 10 giving
nracticsf effect 10 the suggestions OF tne
Conference on. the Care Of Dependent Cnll-
7ren. which he had invited 10 meet IN
Washington
The conference which inspired the Presl-
dents message was one Of the most I'M
portant ever called in the interest OF
American citiZens. Its principal object
was % formulate a plan toward Which
the whole country might work IN giving
the best possible care 10 dependent chill
5-en. There are now 10000 of these chill
dren IN the old-style orphan asyiUms ano
ike institutions Of the country. While Il
* recognized that those who are in charge
n these institutions aim TO give the chill
drpn the best they can IN the way OF ma
terial things. every child needs. for its
normal development. such care as can be
obtained only in a home. Under the mod
ern IDEAL such a home is sought FOR every
dependent child, whether it 90 there as
an adopted member Of the family or as a
boarder.
Institutional life received no wholesale
condemnation from this meeting Repre-
sentatfves Of institutions were among the
most keenly interested people present ana
accepted the conclusions favorlng the
hOme-placing idea and the cottage plan
asvIur7s. II IS known that Orphanages
can never take the place OF the real
home that The life Is necessarily roU-
comes submerged in the general mass.
and that the child who IS eventually sent
ont from an institution is not always
equipped 70 make its own way IN the
world. Usually children in such places
are given out at fourteen 10 go as farm
hands OF domestic servants, which IS not
the kind CT home-plaCing advocated by
The conference. a recent private research
as 10 the career Of former institution girls
in one OF the biggest cities in this coun-
try showed that large percentage OF
them had come 10 lead immoral lives be
cause they were unframed. homeless,
helpless in the big busy world.
a worker among the day nurseries OF
New York stated not long ago that she
had known the babies in a founding home
70 pine away and die. one by one. though
the hest medical attention had been given
them They needed mOJhering; that
was all" she declared. They had on
comfortable clothes. were lying on clean,
white beds and were drinking the best
milk. They had the attention Of experts
but they hadn't what they needed most
OF aIl-mOthers- arms about them"
Babies who have survived this lack OF
love and this loneliness have joined the
ranks Of older orphans They have found
homes in crowded buildings where money
IS always scarce. and where kind-faCed
uatrons and Eentle-v0iCed Sisters Try %
give them proper attention; but this can
not take the place Of the home and Of
mother love, nor can il put happiness into
sad little eyes. OF Sprightliness INTO list
less little feet
Many institutions Of the advanced type
are trying 20 make Up for loss OF family
life bv establishing the cottage plan for
their children. Instead Of a big iaiI-like
building where al would be herded to
cether, the newer plan calls for many cot
tages scattered over green lawns, with
about twenty children Of varying axes
gathered in each cottage. This allows
better opportunities for normal develop
ment. An even better plan is that Of the
State Of Massachusetts, which leads the
country IL a movement TO place orphaned
or dependent children IN good private
homes. and considers the $4,000 so spent
every year as money we'll invested Child
IS placing agencies are urgently needed in
all parts Of the country.
There are $500 children now in homes
for Juvenile delinqUents. There is No
census 10 show the condition Of the home
life from which IneE Sprang. but as the
Mansfield, Ohio. refOrmatory shows that
three-fourths Of its inmates come from
broken homes, It Is safe 70 take this as
an average representation. Had these
children been given homes when they first
lost their parents, or had provision beer
made u help q widowed or incapacitated
parent that home might have been KEPT
intact. and the refoTmatoTies Of the coun-
try. would. in the long run, have had g
population less dishesrtening 10 our IA
tional altruisTn.
This phase Of child rescue work that
received such an impetus from the Wash
ihgton meeting is not an Idea Of spOradi,
growth With membership such as il
has, and with an aim such as Il states
Il promises TO be nationwide IN its en-
durance Better stiIl, II is built on The
personal experience and integrity Of {
young man For once a six-year-oId lad
little fellow without a relative in tbs
world went 70 i've IN a washington OF.
phanage. As the years passed he watched
the hmgry-eysd children come and 60
and while he washed windows and
mended fences and did other chores, he
dreamed long dreams IN his lonely little