The San Francisco call., 1909-08-22

The hahv's face was covered with scars
and sores-its hands were bruised ana
scratched At first 1 hesitated to bring
the child into the house, fearing IL was
afflicted with some contagious diseaSe'
a few moments inspection, however
convinced me that the child was merely
suffereing from improper attention ana
lack of suitable nourishment me
family with which the child had been
placed is one of the families which
should be in a position to give the child
every attention-every care Those
clothes and the shameful condition OF
that child have served to make me more
wary of the family system.
During my fourteen years OF insti-
tutional work / have always made
every endeavor to place my wards with
desirable families. In all but Few
instances my efforts have been fruit
less. found home placing difficult
and unsatisfactory IA years ago
II find it increasingly difficult and un-
satisfactory as the years advance IN
fants I have sometimes been able 70
place successfully. But grown cnH-
dren-those between the ages OF
and al have always found it
advisable and necessary to keep at the
institution This, also. has been the
experience of the directors of the Fred
Finch orphanage, of which institution
we constitute the local branch"
During the 21 years have
been connected with this institution.
said superintendent Mauser of the local
Hebrew orphan asylum to me a few
days ago Il have not succeeded in
placing one child in a family home.
Nobody believes more firmly than that
the good private family is the most
suitable place for the rearing OF the
child. OF. these good private families
willing to care for children there is,
however. distinct paucity. There is,
it is true, many worthless familles
willing TO adopt infants, but it is al
most impossible to find families dis
posed or able satisfactorily to care for
children between the ages of and
IA. People come to me protesting
Willingness to take a little boy or
a little girl as a companion But IL Is
not companionship they seek. 1t ts the
money we are willing to contribute
toward the child's care-it Is the man
ual labor the child is able to perform
Experience teaches us that the children
placed in private families are used as
little draft horses; that they are
sometimes abused; that their education
is sometimes ignored; that their proper
moral development is frequently over
looked, and that their comfort, their
education and their physical well being
are not as adequately provided for as
in the institution. While we are al
ways on the alert for good homes, we
have practically dispensed with the
placing out system.
All this may sound strange in view
of the resolutions rAently adopted at
washington. You know and I know.
however, that the Washington child
caring conference was not the great
and infallible assemblage the general
public believes 1t to have been The
conclusions reached by that body have
been vigorously criticised. Assertions
have been made. by men whose utter
ances carry weight. that the conference
was composed of men acquainted with
the theory rather tnan the practical
work of child caring. The influence
exerted in certain directions by the
washington conference has been wide
ly deplored. In one OF the eastern
magazines. Doctor Wolfenstein, secre-
tary of the Cleveland orphan asylum,
and who at the conference Of last jan
uary was conceded to stand preeminenr
for all that is best In child caring, re-
futed and condemned many Of the as
sertions made at the Washington as
sembly. Nor has Doctor Wolfenstein
ceased to assail some of the impress
sions given circulation by the confer
ence. Only yesterday 1 came across
an article in which Doctor Wolfenstein
seeks to remove some misapprehen-
sions In regard to charitable institu-
tions."
Here Mr.. Mauser read several para
graphs from the June issue OF the Jew