Evening star., 1913-03-02

service pertunCtorlly
Thus Cook County Illinois, on July last was help
ing 325 mothers, with 200 children. The entire
of doing this for June S6936.96. An average
of S21 80 paid to each mother the families approx
mating three children each. This is at the rate of
seven dollars for each child During the last
Sl6,67O month paid in the entire State. This
year there will be required total OF S2OO,OOO 1t Is
expected that Illinois will ultimately expend 100000
maximum for widows pensions
HEARTENED by this example. Missouri set to
IL work similar lines, and adopted law to COM
pensate mothers While the amount of the grant is
not large it is sufficient to keep mother from leaving
her children seek living away from home and with
what she earns by taking IN sewing washing and other
work enables her to keep the family together.
Last October Judge Porterfeld of the juvenile court
Kansas City ascertaned that Mrs. John Jacobs,
widow with several children, worthy of pension,
and directed that fifteen dollars month be paid her
from the public funds. Usually the allows from
ten to fifteen dollars month for bereaved mother
with child, twenty dollars to a widow with three
children These allowances are continued, OF course
only after the mother has satisfied the court OF her
cessful discharge of her duty Before any pension
granted there public hearing and residents free
to offer objections in court.
Gratifying evidence that the law IS beng admins
tered with evident from recent decs-
ion by Judge Porterfeld On the ground that she at
tended motion picture shows and used powder on her
face, protest had been filed by the ne1ghbors OF a
whose application for pension was under con-
sideration by the Judge In allowing the pension he
declared that anyone had right to go to see motion
mother of eight children and that the charge OF using
face powder was too trivial to be noticed
Recognizing that the pensions granted at present
small, the Missouri authorities have under consld
Grafton readjustment of the allowances more
liberal scale.
1t is encouraging find that the movement for the
compensation of mothers is making rapid headway in
parts of the country. AS result of the
full referendum at the general election in Colorado last
November, widows pension measure will now be
passed by the Legislature of that State The details
but Judge Ben B. Lindsey of the juvenile court in
Denver has drafted bill containing liberal provisions
this The measure will undoubtedly become
law before the close of 1913.
On the Pacific Coast public spirited woman, DR..
Nina ]. Crooke has brought about the introduction in
the Washington Legislature of mothers pension bill,
which is of particular interest the feminine contin
gent of the there She considers that the
nomc value of the will soon be generally ap
precated When asked to give her reasons for advoca
ing the bill, she said:
"a moments consideration will convince any un-
peudced mind that far better for the State to sup
port the mother and the fatheresS children and keep
them together than for the children to be left to
the without control, and thus
become criminals, for the children to be cared for in
institutions at the expense OF the State
As DR.. Crooke has recently been elected to the Wash
ngton Legislature from Pierce County, she expects
have considerable time to devote to bringing about the
passage of her bill in the Assembly and Senate, and
securing the approval of the Governor.
In California, Oklahoma, and Massachusetts, where
the movement is making headway, it has been made
special feature of the work of women's clubs and
noble groups of alert and hopeful striving
earnestly to get laws enacted that will give to the
mother the money that from time immemorial has
been paid to the asyums where her children
clustered The battle cry is to set the children free
and let them go back home with their mothers One
OF the effective arguments is that mothers should
their living from the State by doing the most
full thing they possibly do,-brng up their
chidreni
Throughout their campaign for pension laws, these
clubwomen making significant of individual let
ters from widows which illustrate better than anything
else the hardshps of existing statutes in of the
States. One young woman wrote: