New Britain herald., 1919-01-01
AMERICA THE LAND
 OF OPPORTUNITIES
Former Governor Of Alaska Was
 Waif Of New York

New York, Jan. 1.-America as a
 land of opportunity, even for street
 Waifs. orphans and foundlings, was re-
 called by the recent death in Sitka,
 Alaska, of John G. Brady, former goV-
 ernor of that territory, and the fact
 that when a child young Brady had
 been taken from an almshouse and
 placed in the custody of the Children s Aid society of New York which edu- cated him and placed him on the road
 to fame and fortune.
 Hundreds of other cases similar to
 Fx-Goyernor Brady's, it is said, could be cited by the organization, which, for more than half a century. has been ia king homeless boys and girls off city streets ana sending them to farms in the West. where they grew up to be seIf-rc!iant, trustworthy and honored citizens A certain delicacy surrounds the names of the more noted of these
 former waifs, but the report of the C'hildren's Aid society for 1918 shows the following harvest of "careers" up E to date:
 One governor of a state, one gov
 ernor of a territory John G. Brady,
 of Alaska), two mem bers of congress, two district attorneys, two Sheriffs, two mayors, a justice of the supreme e
 court, a federal judge, four state judges, two college professors, seven
 high school principals, two school superintendents, an auditor-ge of a state, nine members of state legis- lature, A clergymen, one cashier of a life insurance company, two artists, a senate clerk, six railroad officials, pa1 cf ha 'cians, 35 lawyers, 12 postmasters, three contractors, 97 teachers, four civil engineers land vast number of other business and professional men,
 clerks, mechanics farmers and their wives and others who have acquired property and filled positions of honor and trust
 Among the American forces sent l overseas, it is pointed out in the re- | port, are 12 commissioned officers and 1 about 1000 soldiers and sailors who 1 were once wards of the Children's Aid 1 society. All were rescued from the
 streets or from asylums and corrective { institutions.
 l The society, since it's foundation on I January 9, 1855. has placed 32,031 orphans and deserted children in good
 
 I them were later adopted. Tn addition ] S1, 472 older boys and girls have been 1 sent to farms in the West where they l have been put on their feet and, be- coming owners of ranches have shown l their appreciation in later years by I taking orphans into their homes. ! It has been estimated that the cost 1 of salvaging a child from the streets, 1 according to the plan of the Society, 1 is $50 which not only defrays the l cost of placing the youngster in a comfortable country home but pro- vides for supervision so long as it is l necessary. The society keeps in touch ' with the boys or girls thus sent out and has on file thousands of grateful | letters written by them after they | have grown to manhood and woman | hood.
 An instance of this gratitude was afforded in the report for 1918 of l Edwin c. Merrill, treasurer of the
 society, who acknowledged bequest
 of $5,000 from the estate of Dr. Michael A. Jordan, a physician and
 educator of Logansport, Indiana. Dr. 1 Jordan many years ago was a friend
 less orphan in New York City and was
 befriended by the Children's Aid So-
 ciety. Many similar legacies from
 former wards have been left to the
 organization in the past.