Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-12-02
CHILDRENs' HOME SOCIETY
WORK IN NORTH CAROLINA

~
Almost miraculous are some of the
effects. in the transformation of the
young lives, that the ministrations of
the ~reorganized Chiidren's Home So
ciety of North Carolina are permitted
tJ perform. Those active in the work
must feel that it is a great privilege,
as they reflect on the results of their
nterpos1tion in the destinies in the
scheme of things, says the Greensboro
News.
We can judge of things only as they
are presented to-. us. Here is a chill
whose coming into the world might
appear to have been altogether a mis-
take. He is born of parents not fit in
knowledge, not fine enough in fiber, to
assume the responsibilities of parent
hood, which must largely create the
environment of the young life, that
will mainly shape it's entire course.
Or misfortune comes, one of the par,
ents succumbs to disease, or both are
lost, and here is a fraiI bark adrift
upon the sea of life. With a dull
I starved, lOveless, cherries, hopeless
; or evil environment 1.-THE. boy or girl
Will, usually, in his development, re-
fleet that environment through life.
VII "Cdh1C0S, 1dCh Ol physical ana
spiritual nutrition, circumstances are
apt to develop a criminal bent. An
other irregular, ~unsocial, useless, law
less individual struggling in the
throng; another Ishmael; a puny frag-
uent struggling against society be-
cause not fitted to struggle in harmony
with society,"; finally the penitentiary
or the gallows-and serves him quite
properly as all respectable people
agree.
Who knows what law of compensa-
ton run throughout the ages? If he
stop short of crime, if he develop any
usefulness to society, the homeless
child-and thereby we mean the child
that has not a proper home-will bear
through life the scars of his homeless
ness; upon the homeless Fortune new
er ceases to inf1ict wounds. Now and
then a boy Of girl is so fortunte in the
selection of his parents that fate can
not harm him. So superior a speci-
zen of humanity is now and again
BON into the world the bantling may
be cast upon a rock and left to grow
With the young wolves; naught a
misshape and naught defile; cOmetn
forth with b years of maturity a SUI
perman, a superwoman. The way
1~NAAN44ANJ * AAOo AO"2 L IN -
and tear of the centuries upon it, ana
the flesh, and the devil. such parents
are not so very PLENTIFUL the demand
is UNEQUAL to the supply. Besides, it
is utterly unlike such parents to leave
their offspring to the mercy of fate,
the ~ferOcity of a charitable world.
They have stamina and purpose to
stay by.
The state society, have as yet done
nothing about it as a whole-this prob
lem of the homeless child. IndividU-
ais and societies enter upon the field
here and there. They make no pre-
tense of trying to solve the problem,
ot correcting destiny in whatever in
justice or determinations she may be
about to infict. If any law of COM
~pepsat;on rams through the ages, hui
man society as a whole has not per-
ceived itself as the agency of that
compensation. 1t neither acknowi-
edges nor accepts any responsibility
In the premises. Indeed these individ-
uals and societies are hand and hand
with what appears to mortal ken 10
be a ranky unjust fate, for they Gre
ate more determinations. Consider if
you can without losing sleep about it
the host of homeless little mes. 1t is
q oSN I'll . . Oil OAOoA1I vi
inequalities. Lift one out and give
him a home and the others might be
justified in a vote of indignation-men
do much less logical things. Here
come the Methodist cutting into one
little corner, the Baptists, the Presby.
terians, the various denominations;
the Masonss the Odd Fellows, the Ply
thinas; the Children's home society,
individuals seeking to help other indi-
viduals; correcting fate in small, leav-
ing it uncorrected in large.
But that they are in the field, doing
what they can as groups of individ-
uais, surely indicates a growing sense
of human responsibility for human
conditions. Perhaps it indicates that
n day society as a whole will &C
cept complete responsibility for the
whole problem.
It is a blesstl m~inistration, so far
as it goes; and with some men and
women it goes far-as far as their
capacity. Some give their lives to il
with no regret but that they cannot
give more. And when a little man or
woman is TAKEN all hungry and cold.
forsaken, out of the throng and given
the riches of a home, put into an en-
where there can be proper
expansion and development Of the
flower: then indeed are they who are
concerned permitted to see that they
have wrought well, that their task is
a high privilege.