New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-05-14

commenting On q recent review OF
Fannie Hurst's Star Dust, Miss Flor
ence Kurtz, of j. a. Deknatel & Son,
writes and explains 10 US how mother
may pick out her newborn baby with
out the aid of either luck or maternal
instinct. Oily has tray Of babies
brought to her." she writes, sand Miss
Hurst says that her mother instinct
guided her to pick out her own baby.
You said it was not the mothers in
stinct, but dumb luck. wish to point
out that neither was the case. The
baby probably had on Nursery Name
necklace which was put on the minute
it was born, and all doubt as so iden-
tity henceforth' vanished. To simplify
my meaning I inclose necklace and
pamphlet"
The necklace bearing the name of
81. Sd. has been received and thanks
are duly noted. 1t is now too small for
his neck and little big for his wrist,
but he will grow up to it in time. Still,
we have never been able to understand
the fear of some parents about babies
getting mixed up in hospital. What
difference does it make 30 long as you
get good one? Somebody else's may
be better than your own, and Lilly, with
the advantage Of first choice in the tray,
should not have grabbed immediately
for her own. Of course, to tell the
truth, there isn't much choice in the
little ones. They need much more than
names to be really persons. There
really ought to be acme system where
by after birth they could be kept in
the shop for period, like puppies, and
then turned over TO their parents or
guardians in condition more disci-
plined than usual. None Of them
amount TO much during the first year.
We can't see, for the life OF us, why
your own should be any more interest
ing or precious to you than that OF
anybody's else during this time.
After two, of course, they are per-
sons, but parent must have good
deal of imagination ii he can see much
of himself in child. Oh, yes, nose
or the eyes or the color of the hair
or something like that, but the world
Is full of snub noses and brown eyes.
To us it never seemed more than a CO.
incidence. And if it were something
more, what of it? How can a man
work up any inspiring sentimental sat
isfaction over the fact that after he
has gone his nose will persist in the
world? The hope of Immortality through
offspring offers no solace to us. The
Joys Of being an ancestor are exag-
gerated.
Mind you, we do not mean to cry
down fer a moment the undeniable
pleasure which arises from the privi-
lege Of being associated with a child
of more than two years of age To
person in rugged health who is not
particularly dressed up and does not
want to write q letter or read the
newspaper we can imagine few diver
sions more enjoyable than to have a
child turned loose on him. His own,
If you wish, but only in the sense that
| it is the one he is used to. The sense
of paternity has nothing on earth to
do with the fun. Only a person ex-
traordinarily satisfied with himself can
derive pleasure out of having this
child in his house, little person who
gives him back nothing but ref1ec-
ton. You want new story and not
the old one, which wasn't particularly
satisfactory in the first place. We
want u. Sd to start from scratch with
! cut having TO lug along anything wa