The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-01-26

Charity Workers Discuss
Breaking of Homeby Re-
mOval of Children

WIS tue central theme OF discussion
at the conference of the care OF de-
pendent children which was opened
by President Roosevelt at the White
Mouse late today. The subject under
consideration was Should the break
ing OF home be permitted for rea-
sons OF poverty or only for reasons
OF inefficiency or immortality
II was the unanimous opinion OF an
array of notable charity workers that
children can best be removed from
the family circle only when proper
supervision at home has become i'm
possible. 1t also was the concensus
OF opinion that where poverty exists
in the home, state aid should be CIV
en-. President Roosevelt. previous to
calling the gathering to order received
the delegates In the East room. AT
ter outlining the scope OF the work
before the conference, the president
called Homer Folks, president OF the
state probation commission OF New
York, to the chair, and he spoke in
part as follows:
There can be no more important
subject from the standpoint of the
nation than that which you are TO
deal with, because when you take
care of the children you are taking
care OF the nation OF tomorrow. and 1t
is incumbent upon every one oil TO
do all in his power to provide for
the interests of those children whom
cruel misfortune has handicapped at
the very outset of their lives. l earn
estly hope that the members of this
conference will take a progressive
stand so as TO establish n goal to-
ward which the whole country can
work. In other words, ! earnestly
hope each of you will consider not
only the interests Of his own imme-
diate locality, but the interests OF the
nation as a whole.
There are, of course, several diff
ferent types of conditions which you
are trying 10 meet / believe we,
all OF u.s. have come to the conclu-
sion that where possible the thing TO
be done for the child is to provide
for It. and that where it is not pos
sible, we should make the conditions
as nearly as possible like those which
the child would have in a home.
There are a half a dozen differ
ent 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 permn-
nent provision. My own belief is that
the best kind of permanent provi-
sion. If feasible, is to place the child
in a home.
1--WE then have to meet the Ques-
ton most distressing of It's kind.
where the father has died, where the
bread-winner has gone, where the
mother would Ike to keep the children
but simply lacks the earning capacity
Surely In such Il case the goal towards
which we should strive is to help tho
mother so that she can keep her own
home and keep the child in 1t; the
best thing to be for that child.
Then we come to the case of the
child who must temporarily be taken
away from the parent or parents, bur
where 1t is not desirable that the sep
aration should be permanent. Those
children offer cases for which the in
stitution is peculiarly fitted. There
are other problems of course, that
you Will have to deal with-for In
stance, the crippled child the child
that cannot be treated at home for
a disease. but yet can be cured in a
hospital; and the case of the child
whose parents are hopelessly undesir-
able or hopelessly inefficient. Here
we must provide for the exercising
OF the greatest wisdom obtainable In
knowing where TO draw the line; SO
as to know Just when it becomes nee
essary to say that even the undoubted
advantages of keeping the children
in pretty poor home, ii that home
is It's own, are counterbalanced by thu
fact that the home has become not
a source of benefit but a source of
menace and danger to the child.
The government can do much. But
never forget that the government can
not do everything; that there must
always be help by individuals and as
sociations outside. that religious and
phllanthropic associations of many diff
ferent creeds must operate with the
government or we cannot get the best
results.
Remember always that government
is not merely an abstract term. The
government consists OF the men in
It. and If you do not have the right
Idea in handling any part of a great
governmental system, then that part
will work badly In the last analysis
the human equation Is the vital ques-
ton equation In dealing with all
these institutions"
The speakers who made strong
pleas for the preservation of family
ties included NJ ] Scanlan. president
of the New York Catholic home bu-
reau: Ernest P Bicknell. president
OF the conference of charities and
corrections, 1909; James f. Jackson.
superintendent of the associated char
De Lacey, Of Washington d. c., jul
venile court md DR.. Edw. T. Devinc
of New York
An emphatic affirmative was given
to the question, should the state In
spect the work of all child caring
agencies. including both instructions
and home finding societies.
An affirmative answer was given tn
the question, Should child caring ag
encies aim to cooperate with each
other. or with other agencies of social
betterment for the purpose of dimin.
fishing or relieving altogether the
causes of orphanage of child destitu-
tIon and child delinquency"
Among those who discussed this
were Prof. Charles r. Henderson, pres
Only One "BROMo oUININE." that 1.
| ,axative Bromo Ouinine