Evening journal., 1913-12-30
Ash PILES
AND SEWERS
GET BABIES
Police Hunt for Parents Who
Throw Away Four Lit
tie BODIES
LAST OF CORPSES
FOUND YESTERDAY

Dump heaps and sewers seem to
be the most popular places just now
for parents to dispose Of undosira-
BILE babies. Notwithstanding the fact
that 1t Is only necessary to send word
TO the coroncrs Office in n case whore
baby has died. or is stillborn. TO
assure proper burial for the child at
least -four parents have preferred
lately to wrap their little ones In a
newspaper or some rags and TO throw
away the little bodies as they would
so much trash or q dead animal.
-Four such cases have been brought
TO light within the. past two months
by the discovery Of the bodies of the
babies. Two of these bodies we're
found on dump heaps, where they
had probably been dumped with ashes
and refuse Another little body was
found at the mouth OF a sewer while
the fourth was picked up in the
bushes of Brandywine Park In none
Of these cases has the identity of the
parents been ascertained, although
IN at least two cases murder rather
than natural death. seemed to have
caused death In the case of the
child found AT the mouth OF the Rat
tlcsnake Run sewer Il is believed that
the child was killed, inasmnch as IT
was not a new born child. but one
that had the appearance of being at
least two weeks old. The little body
was so badly decomposed that 1t was
impossible TO ascertain whether IL
had been drowned in the sewer where
it had bcen thrown. or whether IL had
been first killed and then tossed into
the water
About two months ago Coroner
Spring was notified of the finding OF
the body of a baby on the ash heap at
Sycamore and Scott streets. The body
was wrapped in paper and was par
tally covered With ashes. II
was supposed that some one had
thrown the body into on ash barrel.
which was emptied into the collecting
wagon. and from thorc in turn was
dumped on the ash heap. II was al
most impossible to ascertain from
what house the body had been taken,
as a number of wagons dump ashes
on this heap.
Some weeks later. on December rs. |
Park Guard Quincy. while walking on
his rounds In Brandywine Park. found
the body of another infant wrapped in
newspapers lying beneath some
bushes by the side of a park path
One side OF this child's head was
crushed, but an examination by three
physicians revealed the fact that the
child had probably been born in that
condition.
Some boys playing along the banks
of Rattlosnake Run. near old Rosen-
dale Park. on December 26, found the
body of a two-weeks-old child hang
ing to the roots OF tree along the
bank near the mouth Of sewer.
which ompties into the run at that
point The little body had evidently
been in the water several weeks
Yesterday the fourth dead body was
found by Daniel shelton. living on an
ash heap AZ Twepts-tbird and Monroe
streets The condition of the body
Indicated that II had been thrown
there some time Sunday night
The last baby's body had been
squeezed into a galvanized iron bucket
which. from all appearances, has been
used for a long time to contain ashes
IL was wrapped in a piece of white
underskirt, an old piece of blue skirt
and some paper. There was large
bloody bruise on the forehead OF the
child. but il could not be determined
whether or not the injury was caused
before or after birth
The bodies Of all the children were
removed to the morgue and from
there taken to Potter's field where
they were inferred in unknown graves.
Each body was incased in little
wooden casket, not much bigger than
large cigar box.
The police department is investigat-
ing the cases.