Evening star., 1913-03-02

the age OF seven years
SOME of the measures to which women will resort be-
fore giving up their children were startlingly
brought to light in the closing weeks of 1912,
ton with the revelations made in New York by the
Factory Investigating Commission. In order to
enough pay only the rent widowed mothers
found to be working nearly eighteen hours day
in foundries and textile mills. And even appalling
the disclosures about very young children
four and five years DID, work early apd late arti
hcal flowers dolls clothes merely enough to
buy the bread Obviously 1t was not from choice that
these mothers of the tenements slaved, played the
role of hard askstresses and kept the needles busy in
little hands. These poor unreservedly
sacrificing themselves fighting merely to sustain
stenCe,-al they hoped for themselves possibly
lift the children they loved of the slough
Is it surprising that these remarkable showngs have
given fresh impetus in New York the movement for
widows pensions? 1t had its inception there IN the dis
covery the part of many pubcsprited citizens that,
in spite of the tremendous collected by the private
charitable societies. homes among the poorer sections
were being rapidly broken up than imagined.
Although twenty per cent OF all who received the
casual aid of the charities in New York City were wild
ows with children too often the practice was to grant
them only five dollars when twenty-five dollars was
needed. Not more than six per cent. of the
mothers applying for aid satisfactorily relieved,
according to Morris d. Wadman director of the United
Hebrew Charities In October last it announced
that practically all the relief giving societies
record to the effect that they entirely unable to
give adequate assistance to the destitute families in
their care.
Another indication of the seriousness of the situation
out early in December, when President Cyrus c.
Miller of the borough of the Bronx said that he knew
of teachers the public schools who buying bread
and milk to feed the boys and girls in their classes who
arrived without having breakfast. The widowed
mothers of of them evidently unable to cope
with the problem of three meals day.
THE former financial secretary of the Charity Organi-
zation Society, DR.. Orlando F. Lewis, in inter
view October l3 referred to report made at char
liable conference which declared that the relief policies
of the societies in New York City did result such
reduction of need in the of destitute widows with
children to warrant continuation of such policies,
and that there result grave and often rreparabe
injury to widows and their children. There We're hun
dreds of women and children hungry in New York for
whom apparently only the State could effectively
The conclusion was that deserving widows should be
helped adequately in their homes rather than have their
children placed in an institution.
On the heels of this the announcement through
the State Board of Charities that the thirty hun
dred private charities and the Department of Public
Charities collected annually thirty-fve million dollars
from the public; but that according expert of the
Charity Organization Society," only six hundred thou
sand dollars in material relief and money dispensed
by all OF them to the poor their own homes. While
undoubtedly philanthropy had done much in cultural
way. perhaps than necessary it had neglected
the essentials and failed relieve the obvious need of
the hour.
In the last year the city of New York expended
Sl0S96O9 of the taxpayers money S,S4S dependent
children aSyums. Half of these boys and girls had
widowed mothers who because of their lack of little
money saw their homes broken up. The weekly allow
ance two dollars and seventytve cents for each
child in an institution with seventy cents additional
for schooling and other sums for medical attendance
In the case OF fully twenty-five per cent. of the fam
lies of these widows who applied have their children
committed, it reported by the Childrens Bureau of
the Department of Public Charities that their homes
should not be broken up merely because of their nab
itv to support them.
That it would be equally economical and infinitely
for the city pay widows for the maintenance of
their children is the verdict of all qualified Judge
A conservative estimate is that mother could take
of two children for the paid by the city of
New York to institution for child, and still