Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-07-28
Madonnas of the Curb


A LITTLE girl-she cant have been more
"A than twelve years old-stood up gravely
and said: 1.-THE meeting will please come to
order. The secretary will read the minutes
of the last meeting"
The gathering of small females--some
ragged, some very trim, ranging in age from
eight to fourteen-sat cXpectant. child
in a clean pink dress with neatly braided
blonde hair advanced seriously and read the
minutes of the previous meeting.
care there any corrections?" said the
president.
There were none and the meeting pro-
ceeded to business. On long table in the
schoolroom was a large laundry basket,
small quilted mattress, sheets, blankets and
other accessories. There was a baby there,
a life size doll, amazingly realistic. The
business Of the meeting was the discussion,
under the guidance of Miss Matilda Needle,
the teacher, of the proper way of making
baby's bed, putting him to sleep in the
basket and ventilatng the room. 1t was
the Little Mothers League of the Ware
School, on Morris street, holding its weekly
meeting.
MISS NEEDLE took the chair. II saw
AV1 something the other day." she said to
the children, that pleased me very much.
| was coming down the street and saw Elsie
Pulaski holding baby like this. (She illus
trated by picking up the doll, letting its head
sag, and all the Little Mothers looked very
grave.) Il was about to speak to her when
Bertha Fitz ran across the street and said
to her You mustn't hold the baby like that.
You'll hurt him. And Bertha showed her
the right way to hold him. Now can any of
you show me the way Bertha did it?'
Thirty small arms waved frantically in the
air. There was a furious eagerness to show
how the luckless Elsie should have held her
baby brother.
well. Mary" said the teacher. ''you
show us how the baby should be picked up.
Blushing with pride, Mary advanced to
the table and with infinite care inserted one
arm under the large doll. But in her excite
ment she made a false start. She used the
right arm where the position of the artificial
infant demanded the left This meant that
her other arm had to pass diagonally across
the baby in an awkward way. Immediately
several of the juvenile audience showed signs
of professional disgust. Hands vibrated in
air. Another member of the Little Mothers
League was called upon, and poor Mary took
her seat in discontinue. '...
THEY passed to another topic. One of the
l. members demonstrated the correct way Of
making the DaDy s Deu. w lln prOuu correct-
ness she disposed the mattress, the rubber
sheeting. the sheets and blankets, showing
how each should be tucked in, how the upper
sheet should be turned down over the top of
the blanket, so that the wool would not irri-
tate the baby's chin. The others watched
her with the severity of judges on the bench.
The teacher began to ask questions.
'Who should the baby sleep with?' she
said.
One very small girl carried away by the
form of the question, cried out, His
mother" The others waved their hands
"Well, who should he sleep with?' said
Miss Needle.
"Himselfv cried several triumphantly.
"Why should he sleep by himself? Rosa,
you tell u.s."
Rosa stood up. She was dark eyed little
creature, with hair cropped .short-we will
not ask why Her face worked with the ex-
citement of putting her thoughts into Ian
guage.
''If he sleeps with his mother she might
Law on him and smother him."
They all seemed to shudder. 1t ySps as
though the unfortunate infant was pershing
before their very eyes.
THE Little Mothers Leagues are groups of
small girls, ranging IN age from eight to
fourteen, who are being taught the essentials
Of caring for babies, pader the direction Of
T.