The Washington times., 1918-12-25
The State and
the Home
By Loretto G. Lynch,

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~ NE OF the really intsrssttns
things OF life Is 20 see how
NJ differently people handle the
same problem For instance.
there is the woman who does her
own work and always looks the
part OF a-drudge. Then, again., there
~ the other woman. who does her
town work.. takes care OF half .
dosen children and never seeIhas ksr.
be working At all I knowra litflo
woman .whe had six children down
In bed With influenza all at the
same time,1, I had, always. known
her as a very neat. tidy creatures,
but under Sueh circums tances7sf
never. expected to see what greeted
nay eyes upon entering her home
Her little home was irnmaeuI9nas
She herself had a covcraii- apForsr
such as Is worn by the Red CrOss
workers. A hair net coafined her
hair I stepped into her. bathroom
and there were the bottles with. the
names Of the little sufferers pasted
on each There was a. Aot-watar
bottle that works, and an ice bag.
too. There were no signs Of eon-s
fusion While anxious and worried,
she was equal to the occasion
Contrast with this the .wonan
with one child to take care OF. Her
house was IN wild disorder. She
was beside herself. There was NOT
q single convenience in her home
for the care of the sick child. Sh0
had money to purchase these things
but she never bothered until-and
then, having no idea what TO do
until the doctor arrived. she COM
plicated the situation by jumping
from a nfth-story window and kill
ing herself. OF course, with good
care. under the direction of few
level-headed people. the child ~
covered.
I'm not so sure that this lattsr
type OF woman Is 80 great a loss -
her child and the community. In
stead OF being reared in q shiftie8.
disordered atmosphere. the child
has come under the guardianshAD
OF a woman who realizes the -
sponsibility OF parenthood.
In the cosmopolitan city In which
1 live, notice so much OF this
shiftiessness. In the terrific greed
OF the parents for money, the chil-
dren, those priceless treasures of
the state, have no home life at all.
There's little Rebecca- Her father
10 tailor. Her mother works IN
the feather factory. The family
consists Of the parents and four
children. who live in one HI-ventd-
lated room in the back OF the
store Rebecca goes out In the
morning and buys a herring, a few
rolls, and sometimes a pint of poor
milk. And " the push-cart. peddIer
isn't looking-Sometimes there's
an extra all pickle or a piekIed
apple for breakfast She. attends
school with her body dirty. her
clothing soiied. and her hair un-
kempt The teacher can talk
hygiene to her, but with no one to
guide her at home and practically
no accommodations for making her
toilet IN the one room in which the
family live, she goes right on being
dirty.
As she becomes a couple OF years
older. personal adornment. to. cover
her dirty body becomes her ideal
her standard of what Is worth
while. Her food comes from "a
delicatessen or ready cooked from
the .push-eart. Her clothing a
always loud and sweatshop made.
And there are thousands OF Re-
beccas like her in my big city. Her
mother-is too ignorant to Know the
influence OF a good home. And ths
mother works from early morn
till late at night to get an extra =.
dollar TO put in the bank. And my
state Is losing. losing all the time
I have no remedy TO suggest, but
surely, some OF the serious thinkers
among our readers ought to think
about this matter with a view
toward heiplng, suetF as RebeSca
we take such good care. % our for
eSts, our roads, our birds and GENE
cant somebodZ suggest what, may
be 6one, by the State. to give Re
becca a home and a home-maKlnG
mother?