New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-04-23

work was manifested and a society
to be known as the Connecticut Chlld
Welfare association was organized at
once with the following officers beng
elected: President Austin Cheney,
SO. Manchester; vice-president, Mrs.
p. It. Walden, New Haven't; secretary
and treasurer, Professor r Fl. Fife, Jr
MiddlctoWn; executive committee,
Miss l.. Al. Phipps, New Haven; DR..
w. II. Brown, Bridgeport; j. P. San
dersOn, Jr., Hartford: Miss Louise
Merritt, Stamford; and Rev John F.
Ryan, Hartford.
Don't Break Up Families.
At the afternoon session yesterday,
presided over by John =. Sanderson,
Jr, of the Connecticut Children,s Aid
society of Hartford, G. Y. Williams
spoke on 1.-THE States responsibility in
the care of it's children. Mr.. Will
liams has a national reputation as a
child welfare worker and is director
of the child welfare department Of the
Ohio State Board of Charities. Mr..
Williams deplored the fact that the
state does not really interest itself IN
the welfare of a child until prosperity
rights are involved until the child
steals something or commits some Of
Tense which causes the state to act.
1T is the duty of the state to have
an active interest in the welfare OF
all of its children, Mr.. Williams
said. Speaking of his own state OF
Ohio, he said there are about 25O dill
ferent institutions caring for children,
but nowhere, he said, will children
aid work become really efficient
until all such activities are co-or-
dinated Mr.. Williams openly said:
"If it is necessary for the Allied
armies on the Western Front to CO.
ordinate their activities and possibly
lose their own identity, it is even
more imperative to coordinate the
activities for children's Welfare.' Tx
planning the Childrens Code as 1T is
effective in Ohio, Mr.. Williams said
that the mothers pension is one of
the most important things because
mo children should be taken from
their mothers for reasons Of poverty
alone" The matter of placing chill
dren out in private homes is a very
serious matter and should be care
fully considered, the speaker said,
and added that Of 1000 inVestiga-
tons with which he was familiar there
were % per cent. who were placed IN
bad homes THE state has too much
machinery for breaking up home
and not enough for the conservation
of q home" Mr.. Williams said. He
also classified all parents into two
groups He said there is a small
minority of vicious parents, where
mothers send their daughters out to
prostitution and fathers send their
sons out to lives of crime; but there
is a larger majority where the parents
are delinquents only because of their
environments such as liquor traffic,
inefticiency and sickness. The chill
dren should be taken from theis,.
parents, their homes broken pand
families separted only as a last
resort Mr.. Williams said.
Responsibility is the States.
The next speaker, J. Prentice Muir
ply, general secretary Of the Boston
Children's Aid society, spoke on the
same subject and said there is no
organization in Connecticut which
has the right to investigate and
order changes in the institutions to-
wards which it contributes The
state spends it's money but cannot
distate the standards of the institu-
tons or dictate What the food shall
be, or the educational opportunities.
Inc state ShOulQ De dDl6 20 inspect
the work of every public and private
institution and the state should also
have the right to dictate the kinA ef
workers these institutions shall have
declared Mr. Murphy as he positively
declared that the state has a real and
definite responsibility in the care of
its children.
Others Give Short Talks.
An informal gathering followed
these addresses and papers dealing
in the child welfare were read, under
the direction of Professor Robert H.
Fife, Jr.. of Middletown, by Professor
A H. Gazelle, of Yale; Miss Phipps,
president of the New Haven Orphan
age; Mrs. Percy T. Walden, of New
Haven't Rev. DR.. G. w. G. Hill, of
New Britain; and John P. Sanderson,
Jr., of Hartford.