Dewey County advocate. [volume] (Timber Lake, S.D.) 1910-1913, 1912-08-23

the way down On the street. carr An
I had to do at tho second "baby farm"
was to look around.
Room In General Dlsarray.
On the floor In the kitchen lay four
babies kicking first one pink sock In
the air and then a white one. mo-
ticed that the stockings Of most Of the
babies were not mates. On the kitch-
en- table stood three clothes baskets.
and In each was an infant wailing
piteously. In the corners. on chairs.
beside the kitchen range, hanging like
cocoons everywhere were baskets
with babies sleeping on pillows turned
brown from uncleanliness.
There were nine in the kitchen
alone. In the next room were more
frail babies, bowling from their 60
carts, cribs, and baskets. And in
the front room more babies cried. An
infant covered by mosquito bar lay
apart. She had sore eyes.
MIX Not Even Boiled.
A seventeen-year-old mother stood
leaning over sleeping baby in the
parlor. Hes mine. His name is
Fred" she whispered. Doesn't he
look bad? They almost killed him
after l left him here six weeks. He
was so neglected that he had spasms.
had to give up my work in the fac
tory and watch him for three weeks.
He's still thin. The doctor said he
was starving by inches.
"One time when I came to visit him
I found him drinking raw milk that
had not been boiled. Another time
when I came Unexpectedly to see my
baby found a strange baby wearing
my baby's clothes.
"The superintendent of the baby
farm is cruel to the older children.
She's too strict. doesn't allow them to
play In the yard, and makes them sit
in chair all day when she Is around.
She sends them of to school without
breakfast, and they have only bread
and molasses for lunch. One morning
I had spare hour before had to be
at the factory. ran down to see my
baby. did not see the older children
eating breakfast. asked Mary, the
Oldest child. If she had had her break.
fast She answered that none of the
children had.
las punishment, the superintend-
emit Of the baby farm makes the
children stand in corner for hours
when they are naughty. She has a
dark closet for the mischievous ones.
She pours castor oil and other lubri-
cants down the threats of youngsters
who tell falsehoods or washes their
mouths out with strong soap to keep
them from telling Stories They
must play in subdued way in the
kitchen. II they play at ALL"
Little incentive to Laughter.
glanced at the three little girls
and the one. little boy sitting around
the kitchen table stacking a deck Of
greasy playing cards. They looked
as II they never smiled.
The maid fished a bottle of milk
from the tin boiler, full Of hot water,
on the kitchen range. She carried H.
into the second room. A loud screara
of pain came from the second room.
The seventeen-year-old mother and I
ran to the rescue of the infant in dis
tress. The mother reached the child
first. She cooled the hot bottle Of
milk under a faucet in the kitchen.
How they attend to babies, giving
them boiling milk" snapped the moth
or, trying to relieve the burned child's
pain, while the maid mumbled: II
know how the milk should be. It's
not too hot"
It Is usually one long, hard struggle
with neglect and continuous discom-
were killed from undertaking at one
farm" the records show; one child
Is whipped with a rawhide by an at
tendant, the mother claimed; baby's
fingers were burned; an infant was
scalded on the side when the mother
called for a visit. Anyhow, the six.
teen infants in this "baby farm" In
the third floor fiat down in the yards"
looked like plants kept away from
the sun.
Many Reasons for seciusion.
The children are kept housed TO.
many reasons: because the neighbors
do not like to have SO many children
around, and give the superintendent
of a baby farm" trouble in finding a
fiat, because there is danger from
contagious disease when infants are
taken abroad, or because the woman
farmer" is too proud to let It be
known that she boards babies for q
living.
One proprietor of "baby farm" has
four grown daughters who are deyo-
tees Of fashion, These daughters oh,
ject to the ''baby farm" and the in.
fants, although they have no com.
Functions against spending the In.
come from this source. One daugh-
ter attends normal school from money
earned by her mother in the baby
farm" yet daughter will do nothing
for the babies when at home. She
dislikes to have them around.-Chi-
cago Tribune.
Az to the Saving Habit.
Archie Levy at recent banquet given