Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-08
Especial correspondents.

III
Muriel, Lady Helmsley remark
ed during a recent interview at
her charming town house in Pont
street. But the attitude of the gen.
eral public towards them remains still
akin to that of the young man in
Punch who, when told by friends
that they had just returned from a
most interesting lecture on Keats. re-
piled Indeed! So glad,-er-by the
way. what are keats"
It is true, many people in London
have heard In a vague sort OF way
that there are places called crecheS
OF day nurseries. but most of them do
not know the reason for their existence
and the work of vital human interest
they are doing and hope to accomplish
In the future.
Murel, Viscountess HelmSley, has
been a warm friend to all movements
TO ameliorate the condition of child
life. and is keenly interested. there
fore. in day nurseries, which she mas
done much to forward. Had her nus
band lived, Lady Helmsley would
have been the chatelaine OF the 1alnlly
country seat at Duncombe Park, one
of the most beautiful of the stately
homes of England. until it was burn
ed down some years ago. In It's
grounds stand the famous ruins OF
Rievaulx Abbey. which in picturesque
and romantic beauty arc second only
to Tintern. In consequence of her
tremendous sympathy with the move
ment, Lady Helmsley was asked to
help organize the National Society Of
Day Nurseries, of the council of which
she subsequently was elected chair
man.
However much one may deplore 1t,
the fact remains that in many poor
homes a sad necessity drives the
mother to become the bread-winner.
unemployment. sickness. imprison-
ment. or deSertion too often put the
man of the family out of the reckon
ing when 1t comes to a questl0n VI
Ways and means, and so the children
of the working woman have TO L De
"minded" during the hours she Is
away at the laundry factory. or some
other sweat shop.
The "minder' Is generally 1rlenuiy
neIghbor or an old woman VINO. is
obsessed by powerful "thlrst. one
takes as many babies as She can-tuck
into one room, charges enormously
for the doubtful privilege and SYSTEM
atically neglects the forlorn mites.
while she adJourns to the nearest
private bar with a conyiviel crohy;
The mother of several children VIII
often prefer to leave one of the elders
in charge. Scarcely out of babyhood
10 & n q wondered at IL
these Young foster-mothers and faith
ors arc not always equal to the re-
sponsibility thrust upon them!
A HAVEN FOR BABIES.
It is the creche which obviates these
difficulties. In the heart OF a dlngy.
crowded neighborhood n haven Is
provided where little insignificant
beings may enjoy in sheltered peace
the wonderful novelty of undisturbed
sleep, regular meals, and organized
play during the long hours when
mothers" are at work.
At the creche. for eight cents day
the mother can leave her child from
a. m TO s D. m. or whatever hours
Ureyail in the district where she lives.
Small as the charge appears eight
cents is a considerable sum to n
working woman, and the fact of haV-
ing TO pay 1t enables her to retain her
Self-reSpSct ana inuepehue"Se' ""'s
matter II, through the generosity OF
others she gets a little more than
she pays for,
Besides giving every assistance In
establishing new crechcs in neighbor-
hoods where the need is greatest the
National society has taken under It's
control n number of day nurseries In
! Iordon Some of these were among
the nurseries which closed their doors
to iilegitimate children on the follow
ing grounds: that crcches were started
for the respectable poor; that the
danger of desertion is greater IN the
case of the illegitimate chlIo, ana I'M. ti,...
n Is uniting a premium on immortality
10 enable the mother to provide for her
child more easily Contrary to this
view. II Is the wish OF the National So
ciety that every poor child of this class
should be taken in and cared Tor In It's
nurseries as long as the mother Is