Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-23
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
The "Motherlns" Of Little Children a
Very Necessary Part Of Institu-
tional TraInins-klds Should
Be Cuddled
BY SARAH ID. IOMRIE

TuIERE is in Philadelphia curious in.
L heritance of philanthropic positions
About two generations ago. perhaps more,
It was the custom to organize charitable
boards with n provision in the bylaws that
there should be among the board of directors
a limited number of members Of Friends
Meeting. of the Episcopal Church and Of
the Presbyterian body. The effort to attain
sertarian represcntativeness did not appar-
emily go beyond these three religious sects.
To this original limitation there has been
added yet another in the course of years
daughters or near of kin succeed their
family chiefs as retirement from old age or
death makes n vacancy.
I remember a genial head Of family who
was, incidentally. also n drectress on the
Philadelphia Orphans Board. I remember
hearing her bewail the fact that her own
daughter, having turned from Presbyterian
to Episcopal. could not succeed her, as there
would be only Presbyterian vacancy az
her death
I was reminded Of that incident one day
when | drove out to Wallingford and was
taken over the Philadelphia Orphans Asylum
by the enthusiastic director who had sue
Ceeded her.
It is a charming building. The architect
was William Delano, and it was one Of his
first serious undertakings, I think, and
model in Its way even still, not only for
charm Of appearance but for convenience In
taking care of lot of children Of the same
Net' tie 'HlIuTen IOOKod well taken care
Of and very cheerful and robust and ready
for life-lifc adjusted to n fixed plnn and
regimen Of the school sort where there are
no rclaxations of drill from summer vaca-
tlons with absent minded uneXppctcdly in
duIgcnt.. absurdly childish persons of the
stuff of which fathers and mothers and
grandmothers are made to be sure. but where
there are good food. good teaching, good
work and good play.
THESE children do 60 home to visit where
l. that is possible, but they 60 to n mother
or to father who has "signed them away
TO the Kind and conscientious board Of direc
tors during their years Of minority. Or, at
least. If this is no longer required of the
parent legally. as IL was when ] used to
listen to an oppressed director make the final
arrangements for the 'signing away" with
sheer stupidity to sheer desperation. 1t is
done practically. And indeed. if an insti-
tuition Is to be responsible for a child during
the years of adolescence. things are simplifed
II the parent, inadequate or callous or handi-
capped BY poverty or by n new family. can
not interfere to the childs hurt but the
remedy at best is makeshift
institutional children have lost the hest
thing that belongs to childhood--n home and
parents of their very own.
T USED to be able to talk like an orphan
my mothers guests by that mimicry of a
recognized type. We had at one time i'm
ported into our nursery an orphan girl of
sixteen TO help our nursery tyrant with the
chores incident In our dressing and our
walks abroad. Her name was Callie and
she was fresh from an orphanage. She knew
more games than any young person | have
ever met. We delighted in her at playtime
and for the rest of life found her a broken
reed in the matter of kindly Offices. She did
fllyA
We were ordered or we were fought or we
were sent to Coventry.
MY MOTHER had had like experience
1Nl in her own childhood. Only in the case
OF the orphan nurscmaid who minded her
the climax had come when the duty Of help
Ing with the supper dishes nterfered with
q game OF croquet
The "orphan" sent Indignantly for an
aunt to come and take her away from the
scene of such divided play. and sent back
this apt quotation by way of a bread and
butter letter:
Il was not born little slave
To labor In the sun
Poor child! Probnbly the orphanagcs of
her day and Of "Callie's" were not so en-
lightencd and kindly as the Wallngford one.
where the atmosphere is that of a very good
boarding school. with kindly traditions and
with pleasant special observation.
But ] was interested to see the last time
was in Baby s Nursing Home that the need
of every growing child for n mother had
been considered and met. Every baby of the
thirty or so others had to be lifted up and
held in the arms and-yes. Cuddled-part Of
each twenty four hours. II was as much
the duty Of a nurse as feeding or bathing it.
Being held on lap, being spoken lovingly
to. being touched affpctionate!y has been dis
covered to be scientific way to awaken the
mind and to control the imagination and to
stimulate wholesomely the growing intelli-
gcnCe.
\ child has actually to be taught to laugh
and to look merry and to play happily and
to respond lovingly. And some one who has
it in her to be moth"ry has to do 1t for the
sake of child's health and reason If he is
n well child, and how much more if he Ia
that sad thing, an invalid child
TNIIE latest experiment in motherinr in.
l. stitutional children that has reached nv
State Sanatorium for Tubercular Children
at Mont Alto by the social service worker,
Alice Campbell. Apart from the regimen of
the cure, 1t was found that some one who
could just go about looking after the good
spirits of the invalids among the children.
some one who could play quietly or talk ten.
derly or listen gently or come in and out and
help weak little fingers divert bored little
minds, would greatly expedite the cure.
Some one, not nurse nor q teacher, but
JUST up play HIHle, VINO was yet
somehow like ones mother, was what was
needed.
T SAW one OF the letters Of this friend of
L the little sick" Yesterday. and asked
permission to quote parts Of it. II this
represents State maternalism, ] say three
cheers for the State
MY work has been arranged to fit in
with the schedule Of the children. It varies
in this way: When the new children ar
ID nj phg IN !
half hours there Cthree times daily. If any
camp girls are confined to their rooms or in
the hospital I visit them every day, take
work for them to do, leave magazine. tell a
story or anything feel is ncodful 10 cheer
and keep up morale. AS different groups of
rIrls 70 the m NIlinn rlnr,.Lr r... - -