Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-01-05
ORR HANAGE TAXED
To ITS CAPACITY;
l4O ARE ENROLLED


The Franciscan orphanage for boys,
one of Albuquerque's largest charit-
table institutions. located just west of
the United States Indian school,
closed its books recently for the year
1919, with the satisfaction of knowing
that it had accomplished great
volume of good work during the year
for the community and thes state at
large, not to mention the very great
good bestowed upon the individual
residents of the institution. The or
phanage has one hundred forty boys
on the rolls at the beginning of this
year. 1t is estimated that between
Twelve and eighteen dollars, mini
mum, is required to provide food and
clothing for each boy, so that figured
out in dollars and cents, the orphan
age has taken off of the community
at large a great financial burden
The orphanage receives no assistance
from the state and has no organized
method of financing, depending
principally on the good will of the
charitably inclined, although boys
committed by district judges are
maintained by the county of their
residence
The orphanage has been in exist
ence only a little more than five
years, but is already thoroughly or
ganized and on an efficient basis. The
main building is in Spanish mission
style and very attractive inside and
out. The building is mOdernly equip
ped and contains a large number of
rooms, including dormitories, study
halls, school rooms, hospital wards,
play rooms and other facilities.
A visit to the orphanage is well
worth while. The honor system pre-
walls among the orphans Officers
are elected every three months to
have charge of the dormitories and
play rooms and they are held respon-
sible for keeping them in a neat and
orderly manner, The dormtories are
interesting-rows upon rows of little
white iron beds, neatly made, and
home-like in appearance. The mess
hall and the kitchen seem to be all
important places, too. On cold win
ter mornings when pan cakes are on
the menu-hundreds upon hundreds
of pan cakes are required to feed the
hungry boys, Fresh milk il a com
modify that is available in abundance
also there being eight fine milk cows
kept for this purpose. Hundreds of
chickens, mostly Plymouth Rocks
and Rhode Island reds furnish the
eggs for the table. Fifty acres of well
cultivated land make it possible for
the orphanage to produce all the veg
etables used during the year.
There are fourteen Franciscan sis
ters at the orphanage to keep the
wheels of the institution going. They
do all the work on the place from
keeping the books and teaching to
running the laundry and the farm.
Boys are kept at the orphanage,
unless they are adopted before, until
they are fifteen or sixteen years of
age. Since the institution was found
ed, seventy-five boys have been legal
ly adopted into good homes. Chill
dren are sent out on approval for
three months, to reliable persons who
wish to. legally adopt them. If att
the end'of threeemonths trial, the
child is satisfied with its new condi-
tons, and the persons wishing to
adopt, are entirely satisfied with the
child, the proper credentials are OBJ
tanned in the probate court and the
has no longer any legal
claim on the orphan. Care is taken tc
$50 ~ w "pp'iI''i'I W. q tHll"'
statement OF HtS pa
rentage, it's habits, degree of intelli- |
gence, possibilities in life along various
and any other information |
Lhat may pc OF assistance IN placing |
upon the chiid proper valuation anu
III making eohgenlal the relations
mat iater exist between the child and
US ADOPTED parents.
soys are taken at the orphanage |
titer they are liiteeh DAYS oid' Al |
ne present tlme there are al the or
DhahaSe tWehty-three llttle tots who |
ire undef TWO years old Ihey are
Nept III separate department. ana
siVeh all the care and comfort posi-
1le, -.
Inc ofphanage is exclusively Tor
,oNs' out at times very small girls
iSters OF orphan BOYS, are taken tenn