Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-03
ITS WORK DEFENDED
House of Mercy Is Not Aided
From Public Treasury.
FEW CASES FROM COURTS
Bishop Harding Writes to Secretary
of Board of Trade.
ITS SUPPORT IS VOLUNTARY
Bishop Points Out That Injury May
Result From Criticisms
Declared Unjust.
FEW CASES FROM COURTS
ITS SUPPORT IS VOLUNTARY

Defending the House of Mercy and it's
management. and asserting that the Dis
trict owes it's directors a debt of gratitude
rather. than criticism. Bishop Harding to-
day forwarded to the Board of Trade a
letter replying to published reports re-
fiectfng on the institution.
The letter, which is addressed to the Sec
rotary of the board. reads as follows
With reference to reports in the daily
papers of the proceedings of the standing
committee of the Board of Trade on char
tiles and correction, and with regard to
certain statements in connection there
with as to the House Of Mercy and char
table institutions under the auspices of
the Episcopal Church. l beg to bring be-
fore your honorable board some facts
which. in justice to the management Of
the House of Mercy, you ought to know:
Not Reform School Cases.
From the Juvenile Court we have had
only three girls-one a fourteen-year-ol
maternity case, hardly fit for a reform
school, l should think, and one sent at
the special request Of her father, and one
that was here only for three months.
For these girls We received nothing from
any one. except the one sent by her
father, and he, out of his own pocket,
provided for her clothes. i think the
District owes us debt of gratitude,
rather than criticism, for caring for these
girls and for maintaining them by private
charity.
THE board of children's guardians has
sent us in the last ten years seven girls,
all young: and all having gone astray
and in need not of a reform school but
Of the mild influence of a Christian home
Such money as the House of Mercy
has received for the care of these girls
has been paid from fund especially
designated by Congress for such wards
of the above mentioned boards as are
cared for in sectarian homes; this money
could not be used for the support OF
these girls in reform school, Tor that
would be non-sectarian.
Twenty Girls in Home.
There are twenty girls in the home at
the present time, one sent by the Juvenile
Court, and two by the board of chill
dren's guardians. The others are our
own private cases.
THE statement in one of the local
pa pers of Wednesday, February -. that
the money paid for girls sent to us by the
board of chldren's guardians was pa1d
out of money appropriated by congress
for charitable uses is erroneous 1T Is
children placed in what are called sec
tartan institutions. For the few chidren
sent by the Juvenile Court nothing was
received At the present moment, as Is
the case all the time. very much larger
proportion of girls is cared for through
the charitable efforts of the ladies who
carry on the home.
1T would seem proper to call your at
tention to the act of Congress. dated &c
tober 10. 1888 entitled An act regulating
th1 incf ASSO-
citation for Works of Mercy in certain
cases. and for other purposes by winch
full power is gwen to certain or the
courts to make commitments to the House
of Mercy in the manner prescribed IN
said act. Whether the action of the Juve-
nile Court comes under the power given
in this act is a matter for lawyers to de-
termine. but your committee will observe
that this institution is recognized by on
gress as a proper place for the care of
Aim Not to Punish.
Il would add that our institution is
not prison-we do not aim to punish,
but to help to promote the welfare and
happiness of young women by remedial
and preventive means, and to bring to
holy religion. We are sure that the
Board Of Trade would not Intentionally
give rise to conceptions of our work
that would be detrimental to it's use
fulness and hinder our people from max
ing their voluntary contributions to it's
support, and which contributions are
absolutely necessary to it's maintenance,
inasmuch as we receive no apprOpri-
atoms from Congress for this any
other of the charities conducted by the
Episcopal Church.
"a generous churchwoman. fully in
formed as to the work and methods of the
home has, within the past year. shown
her confidence in the institution by pro-
viding for it a good home i'm favorable
surroundings where the little children.
born in the home, and who are kept with
their mothers in this institution. can have
the best and most helpful surroundings,
while their mothers are being trained to
lives Of usefulness.
"Such an institution is a credit to any
community, and is doing the work which
no secular institution can do