Arizona republican., 1920-05-05

young baby. it is usually because they want to keep secret the fact that it is not their own, and so they want its coloring to be of the type that prevails in their respective families. It would never do for a couple without a blond hair or blue eye between them 10 go back home escorting a blond young offspring, if they wanted to convince their friends and relatives that it was their own.
 Sometimes family traits are care fully described in requests for infants, and we must hunt vigilantly about the various agencies until we find the one desired asset. We have had requests for infants with moles on different parts of their anatomies, and one West Virginia woman wrote in for a baby who had a cowlick. Cowlicks had Gourished in her family for gen erations, she said, and so the new baby must have one. I didn't know what under the sun a cowlick was when I first got the letter, but l made it a point to investigate and eventually sent her a baby who showed signs of developing one"
 Another difficult request which re- gently came to the City Charities of flee was from a couple of young, un- married school teachers, sisters, who wanted a pair of twins to adopt. They wanted, infant girls, of course, and these being practically out Of stock at present it has been impossible so' far to fill the order.
 Unless it is absolutely necessary, children belonging to the same family are never separated. Brothers and sisters are not scattered to the four corners of the nation but are at least placed in the same town, if not in the same home. Sometimes the children, adopted as infants, are not aware of the family tie, but the parents are. The adoption authorities are great be- lieyers in the integrity of the family, and of the value of home life. The shade of Samuel Butler never hauntS their careful administration, or casts any doubts in the path of their staunch policy. The place for a baby any way, is the home, they assert, and not in an institution. They call attention to the fact that human beings are born as individuals and not in herds, as are many other animals, and that consequently they do not thrive un- der such conditions. 4 baby needs d mothers love, as much as it needs her milk say the adoption authorities, and they do not like to be thought sentimental about it either. If you are inclined to argue about it, they hand you innumerable statistics, prov ing that children die like flies ia n stitutions and survive in the homo. ~or inStance:
 From 1909 to 1913, in New York state institutions for the care of or phans and foundlingS, almost half of those under two years of age died or APP out of every 1000. In the same four years. taking the entire number of children of that age in the state, only S7 out of 1000 died.'
 But do you believe that even a bad home is better than a good institu- tion?" a matron of one of the agencies was asked. "On the East Side there are some rather appalling homes," suggested the visitor
 The matron hesitated moment, and then nodded in the affirmative. T have lived among the people on the East Side,'' she said, and I know all about their homes and yet I be- lieve that in the majority of cases the average baby is better off with its mother in one of those homes than in an institution"
 In view of this statement, it is good to reflect that the adoption boom is achieving such tremendous propor- tions. Eventually, when the children are all disposed of, it may even be ex- tended to include some of us who dwell in hotels, boarding houses, and kind red institutions.