The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1913-11-22


to which wish to call your attention. I
They were only ordinary photographs,
such as you see every day. but each
portrayed story-one of happiness.
the other of unhappiness. One was the
likeness OF a young mother holding In ,
her arms her first-born, a son of a few /
weeks. At her side was the happy |
father. The fact that the God-givea |
spark that had been buried in the |
heart of that mother had burst forth |
into motherhood could not be doubted |
1t has been said that this wonderful |
mother-love forms the hub OF the uni |
verse, and projecting from 1T like
spokes in a wheel are self-sacrifice,
self-control hope, patience. truthful
mes, wisdom, forbearance. sympathy; in
fact. all the highest attributes of the
human race. AS l looked at this pic
fture l though i could see all these
qualities written on the mothers
Icountenance. 1t would be impossible
to describe the happy expression on the
face of the stalwart father as he stood
beside the mother looking into the face
of their child. ready to protect them
and to help the mother bear the re-
responsibilities of motherhood. We all
reverence and love the name of mother.
but the name OF father is just as i'm
/ L
should be as that of the mother Be-
low this picture had been written by
the mother. the following words: This
picture has been named by one of our
friends the happy family and we GER
tainly are"
The other picture was the likeness
OF a first-born son also, yet the story
which 1t told was very different He
was as beautiful and as attractive
the other child. yet how different were
the conditions OF his life. He was the
son of an unmarried mother. The
mother of this child had the same
Imother instincts as the mother in the
tother picture for motherhood is
motherhood under any condition: but
because of social conventionalities she
INSTEAD of expressing her joy. was try
ling to hide her shame from the world
fShe must bear the responsibilities of
motherhood alone, for she does not
have the father at her side.
1t is appalling when we think of the
large number of the latter pictures in
real life in our state today. You know
THAT there are many such mothers, but
have you been brought in close touch
with any of themf Have you heard the
Istory about what brought them to
their terrible fate? Please do not
condemn all of them until you have
!, done so. Yes. they have sinned, yet
, they are human beings like the rest of
u.s. but. unfortunately, many OF them
have not had the protection that we
have had. As visit the Institutions
lwhere some of these unfortunates are
cared for and hear the story of their
downfall. I am convinced that they are
not all bad at heart. Many sin the
! result of circumstance rather than of
3 intentional evil Many of these I'M
> married mothers have never known a
real home nor a mothers love. Many
are victims of men whom they trusted
] and loved too well. Some have been
ruined by their own fathers: others by
a brother. recall a girl thirteen years
, old who was an unmarried mother
Shall she be condemned? The super
e intendent OF one of the rescue homes
g has said to a number of times
I "Only very small percent OF the girls
: who come to are really bad. Many
of them except for this mistake have
beautiful characters"
1t has always been the natural thing
: for the unmarried mother to try tc
hide her shame from the world. This
:. fact has been recognized by a class OF
: persons who were not concerned about
: the welfare of the prospective mother
y They were interested solely in the Fl.
4 financial gain that the care Of such un-
lfortunates would bring to them. AS 9
result there were In Indiana a few
Years ago a number of so-called ma
ternity homes. The equipment OF
many OF these homes was inadequate
land the sanitary conditions were de
lplorable. In many cases exorbitan
, prices were charged for the care o.
q charged for the disposal Of the child
Very seldom did a mother receive an,
encouragement from the keeper of tn,
house to keep her child. Infants were
lgiven into homes of low standard botf
financially and morally. Some of yot
may have heard me tell of the woman
was given $25 to find a home for ar
e Infant few hours old. but not salts
: fed with that she tried to double /
l. iby selling the child. She first asked
= s25. then SIS, and finally SO. She fail
ed in her effort and the child remained
- in her home until 1t died from tn
y effects of improper feeding when abou
three months of age. Another pro
@ fessional" who found homes for in
- lfants and who did her work withou
II due consideration for the welfare o
d the infant, received all the way from
"a $25 to $500 for her services in eacl
/; case.
The knowledge of such conditions in
l. cited the interest of a number of so
he cial workers, which resulted in tn
drafting of a bill later passed by tn
81 Legislature, which placed maternit
homes and all child-caring institution!
both public and private. under the sup
n ervision of the Board of state Chair
10 ties
The law defines the term "maternit
hospital to mean "a house or othe
place maintained or conducted by any
one who advertises or holds himself ou
as having or conducting a maternit
e. hospital or boarding house: hous
/. or any other place in which any pei
son receives cares for treats. within
period OF six months more than or