Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-26
Varied Problems to Solve.

| Varied Problems to Solve.
| There are. of course. several different
types of conditions which you are trying
| to meet I believe that we all Of us have
| come to the conclusion that, where pos
sible. the thing to be done for the child
Is to provide a home for it: and that
| where that is not possible we should
make the conditions as nearly as possible
| like those which the child would have in
! a home.
There are half dozen different types
OF children for whom we need to care.
| There Is, first of all, the complete orphan,
the child who has lost both father and
mother. For this child we wish to make
permanent provision. My own belief is
| that the best kind Of permanent provision,
If feasible, is to place the child in home
We then have to meet the case-one of
the most distressing Of cases.where the
| father has died, where the breadwinner
| has gone, where the mother would like to
| keep the child, but simply lacks the earn
ing capacity. Surely in such case the
goal toward which we should strive is to
| help that mother, SO that she can keep
her own home and keep the child in it;
that is the best thing possible to be done
for that child.
How the relief shall come. public. pr-
vate or by mixture of both, i'm what
! way, you are competent to say, and l am
not. But I am competent to say what l
| think the goal should be.
Then we come to the case of the child
/ who must be taken away temporarily
from the parent or parents, but where it
is not desirable that the separation should
be permanent. These children offer cases
for which the institution is peculiarly
| fitted. There are other problems of
course. that you will have to deal with
| for instance, the crippled child. the child
that cannot be treated at home. and the
case Of the child whose parents are hope
llessly vicious or hOpelessly inefficient
| no
cising of the greatest wisdom obtainable
| in knowing just where to draw the line.
SO as to know just when it becomes
necessary to say that even the undoubt-
ed advantages of keeping the child in a
pretty poor home, if that home is its own,
are counterbalanced by the fact that the
home has become not source of bene-
fit but a source of menace and danger
to the child. You will have to consider
a dozen such problems.
| 1.-The government can do much. But
never forget that the government can
mot do everything: there must always be
help by individuals and associations out
side; that religious and philanthropic as
sociations Of many different kinds must
cooperate with the government or We
cannot get the best results: Another
| thing as to the government itself. Re-
member always that government is not
merely an abstract term. The govern
ment consists of the men in it, and if you
do not have the right men handling any
l III,
then that part will work badly.
I'm the last analysis the human equa-
ton is the vital equation in dealing with
all these questions. The wit of man cam
not devise a system SO perfect that it
will work we'll unless it Is worked by
men both good and wise and unless out
siders who take a genuine interest in the
matter also give their aid and exercise
their supervision.
Let me say again before leaving how
much / appreciate your having come
here. and the Importance of the work
which has brought you. l look forward
| to meeting you tomorrow evening, when
| l shall hear what plan or plans this body
has adopted and what resolutions it pre-
sents.'
| Maintaining the Home.
| After spending nearly half an hour in
receiving and shaking hands with the
delegates the President called the meet
| ing to order q little before 3 o'clock He
babe them welcome and thanked them
for the inconvenience they subjected
themselves to by coming to Washington
in response to his call At the suggestion
conference. three vice chairmen were
chosen to preside at the sessions which he
! could not attend. The men chosen were
Homer Folks. Thomas NJ. Mulry and
| Julian w. Mack. ]. E. West was mad.
secretary. committee on resolutions, APP
pointed by the President. is composed of
Dr. Hastings H. Hart Edmond ]. Butler,
Julian w. Mack, Homer Folks and James
e. West.
The topic taken up for discussion yester-
day was:
''Should children of parents of worthy
| character but suffering from temporary
| misfortune. and the children Of widows of
| worthy character and reasonable eff
| ficiency be kept with their parents, aid
| being given to the parents to enable them
to maintain suitable homes for the rear
| ing of children? Should the breaking up
| of the home be permitted for reasons of
poverty or only for reasons of inef1ciency
and immortality"
Michael J. Scanlon. president of the
| New York Roman Catholic home bureau.
| was the one designated to formally open
| this subject, which he did by reading a
paper whose title Is given above. After
reviewing certain cases and instances that
| had come under his observation Mr. Scan
| lon declared with absolute emphasis in
favor Of maintaining the home. He even
| went SO far as to say that in extreme
| cases of children born out of wedlock 1t
was frequently better to allow them to re-
main with their mothers than to send
| them to asylums. since separation often
| meant ruin to both parent and child.
| James F. jackson of Cleveland, Ohio,
| following Mr.. Scanlon, took practically
| the same position, pointing out that the
keeping together of mother and child,
| even in cases of gross immortality, was
known to have been the salvation of BOTH
particularly the mother, whose separation
| from her child tended to weaken rather
| The question. as specially applied to