Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-10
Little Talks by
Bedtr Fdirfdc

The world is growing kinder to or
phans.
Nowadays 1t dosen't follow in
evitably that if your parents are dead
somebody will clip your hair very
close and put you in a blue gingham
apron and make you an inmate of a
co-called "home" that has many of
the features of Jail
On the contrary, there's a very
good chance that somebody will
adopt you and give you a chance TO
grow up in really human surround
ings.
In fact. there never was a time
when it was so easy for the home
less child to break into the child
less home and to stay there as it
is now.
1t used to be the case that mar
ried couples either had children of
their own or else remained sternly
and forlornly childless. IT'S such a
risk to take in a strange child" peo-
pie had a way of saying. You can
never tell how he will turn out"
lHtS lOIBOl ludl lHe same lnlHE
is true when a child is of ones own
flesh and blood. Who knows whether
baby will grow up to be tall or
short-a useful servant OF his coun-
try or an idle waster? Guarantees
as to a child's future can't possibly
be issued, even If his parents are the
most sound and praiseworthy in the
world. There's chance in 1t always
ny, ,at a co1x
ancestored progeny or the nameless
baby from the orphan asylum.
This is what people with empty
homes have been learning to realize.
They are coming to see that a home
less. parentless baby isn't an object
to inspire fear in anybody. So one
by one they are letting down the
bars, both the bars you can see and
those that you can't, and they are
deciding to give the orphans of the
world a chance.
Home and Love Needed
Warm hearted, sensible men and
women have always known that rigid
institutional life was bad for chill
dren. A few years ago scientific peo-
PIE found this out too. They said
that living by machinery, having no
freedom and never being happy, had
actually a bad physical effect.
And they came to the conclusion
that even from a scientific stand
point children need, not only shell
ter and food and clothing. but free
dom and happiness and love.
I suppose there aren't many in
FAINT asylums in the world that can
supply love in anything like the
measure that it's needed. But any
normal, happy home should be able
to supply plenty of 1t. And when
every such home reaches out to de-
mand an extra baby to love and care
for, the orphans millennium will be
on it's way.
And it will be a much prompter
and pleasanter millennium because
women are seeing that chiid-adopt-
ing isn't just a matter of being char
liable and kind.
If two lonely people, disappoint-
ed in their own hope of parenthood.
take a baby that happens to be
friendless. but that hasn't a bit less
infant charm on that account, the
baby surely isn't more to be con-
graduated than they are.
Perhaps they are even going to
profit u good deal more by having
a beautiful little human creature to
love than the baby himself will profit.
At the very least. it's an even thing.
There's no charity about adopting
children, unless you make a pretty
big sacrifice to do it. And even then
you're sure of big returns-in the
way OF love and adventure and added
life. There's reciprocity in it al
ways.
A normal woman has mother emo
tions, and hunger for a child toward
which to direct them. What is she
to do with this extra, unsatisfied love