The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-12-28
FRANK n. HOWE. Editor and Put
Tuesday, December %, 1915.
KILLING CHILDREN


ent children has been opened at Bran
don. Vermont now has two asylums
for the insane, a state prison ana
house of correction for those who fail
of self control, an industrial school
for children who start on the road to
wrong, a home for the deaf, the dumb
and the blind, a home for veterans of
war and now home for detectives.
What Vermont has not is home
for normal, healthy orphan children;
children of parents who die friendless
and penniless; children of the crimi-
nal the insane, the divorced; children
born out of wedlock; children who,
for one cause or another, are left
little and folorn, without home, de-
pendent on the mercy of relatives
who have enough burdens OF their
owner on the community.
Right here is where civilization
makes its worst failure-in not look
ing out for the future. Children OF the
classes above referred to often have
some hereditary weakness or ten
dency to fault If sent to the town
farm TO grow up with group OF hui
man derelicts their fate is scaled
they are started on the road to hell
without even being told that there is
better path--for the town farms
must of necessity be the home of
those who have failed.
If they do not go TO the town farm
they do not starve or freeze except
morally and mentally. They live a
furtive life on the streets and alleys.
in cellars and back rooms often
among people Of doubtful character
and vile habits. The result is certain
from the first. The boys grow up to
be loafers and drunkards and, fire.
quently, thieves. The girls too often
become prostitutes or worse. Socie-
ty has failed in its most important re-
sponsibility which is to safeguard it's
own future.
Thank God there are a few places
like the Kurn Hattin home and st.
Joseph's orphanage. supported by pri-
vate beneyolence, which are doing all
they can and are daily proving that
these unfortunate boys and girls can
mostly be made decent, self-support-
ing and respected men and women,
But the private institutions cannot do
it all. There are scores of children
left to grow up. live distorted lives
and produce fruit of their own kind.
The state should provide a decent,
healthy home and proper upbringing
for these unfortunate kids. 1t doesn't
seem as though anybody could be OPP
posed does it, but the Vermont legis-
for three successive sessions.
Vermont pays out more than mil |
lion dollars a year to maintain |
prisons and iails and their aces
sories. Most of this yearly expense |
could be saved in the course of time |
by taking care of the unfortunate |
of the exceedingly poor, the |
the insane and the unfortun- |
ate 1t is poor business Judgment to
keep handing down weakened |
legacy when it would be cheaper, cas-
Ter and more creditable to hand down |
a strengthened heritage.
During the present war we have
heard much about killing children,
and women and non-combatants. Yer
mont is yearly killing children and
in the battle of life
by neglect as fatal If not as cruel
as the most hideous acts of war.
p. S. The Banner has said all this
before and will say it again--not be.
cause we like to harp on sad topic,
but in the hope of sometime stirring
he state to an action too long de.
TERED.