The Belding banner-news., 1921-08-31

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are welcome TO space here,
Claims Churches Negligent
Editor Banner News,
Belding, Mich.
Dear Sir.
THIS letter is from retired
cigar maker and intended. for Michi-
gan church members-a retired cigar
maker appointed by Governor Groes-
beck on the State Institute Commi3-
/ sion supposed To look after the fee
ble-minded, the deaf, the blind and
the orphans.
! At the state public school at Cold
water are 268 children. not bad chill
| dren but simply unfortunate, the
I normal and sub-normal together. On
/ the walls of this institution are the
favorite notices, "In God We Trust"
and "God Bless Our Home.
Now, honestly, good people, If God
IS the all seeing eye, what would he
have seen besides these notices and
biblical quotations? He would have
seen that while the children are
ting around the tables and reverently
w it h bowed heads saying Their
prayers, swarms of flies come In
through the unscreaned windows. The
bathing facilities, especially IN the
nursery, are disgrace. The laun-
dry and so hot and ill-ventilated that
you pass through it in hurry. The
children's clothes are cheap and poor
and most of the buildings are dam
gerous fire-traps.
The superintendent of this insti-
tuition asked the last legislature for
$127 1926 and he needed every dollar,
but it was cut to $92,175. Do not
blame the legislature. They would
gladly do more but they have their
ear to the ground and have to do
our bidding. When we economize it
is always with "The Least of These.
If that legislation had proposed to
take down the rel gious notices or
discontinue the prayers in that insti-
tuition all the churches throughout
the state would have Joined hands
and let out yell that would have vi
brated around the world, but when
that same legislature cut down the
much needed appropriation one-third
did you hear a peep from one of
them?
The next visit was at the Michigan
Home and Training School. the home
for the feeble minded at Lapeer.
Here are 1868 inmates and it is esti-
mated that there are about 1000
feeble minded running around the
state who should be segregated.
Michigan handles this problem most
clumsily. We build building, then
fill it up, build another building and
fill it up and the feeble-minded on
the outside keep reproducing them
selves faster than we can afford to
erect buildings to care for them.
There is only one way to stop this
menace. The legislature could en-
power a board of reliable citizens
qualified to judge those who are fee
minded, to have them sterilized
so they could not reproduce. But
what stands in the way of this much
needed reform? The church. If the
legislature would propose a practical
measure you would find the church
loud in its protestations.
| wish it were possible to take all
the bishops, priests, ministers, rabbis
and Christian Science Practitioners
into this institution, take them into
what is called the lower mentality
wards. Here are hordes of men and
women. In age they range from II
to 20 years See them with their i'll
shaped heads and distorted brainless
bodies. .
If | could paint pen picture of
hell ! would let YOU see that room.
If I had nv way | would have all the
leaders of the different denominations
n that ward at least "a hours with
a promise of one dav week until
they solve this problem. Believe me,
we would soon find way out
The next visit was at the school
for the blind at Saginaw. Occasion
ally some one goes and talks to these
unfortunates about the "sweet by and
by" but he saws nothing about the
cheap, thin, hard, dirty mattresses
that have not been cleaned or reno
waited for II years and as he rolls
his eyes heavenward he cannot see
or smell the unsanitary, sinking law
atory. ! wish it were possible to
blindfold all church members in
Mich gan, place them in this insti-
tuition, let them grope around in the
dark and in their blindness they
might see God.
Is the church responsible for this
condition? / saw "Yes". ! hear you
say '.But it is because of the church
we take care of them as well as we
do. But do we take care of them or
only get rid of them, so they may
not display their misery on the door
step of us well-to-do? Does not the
church advertise itself as follower
of Jesus, the one who said Gas you
do unto the least Of these so do yoV
unto Me-? Do they do it? Do they
practice what they preach? If all
these untold millions of dollars worth
of untaxed church property cannot
help "The least of these, then may
ask what good are they, yes what
good are they?
Remember, church members. re-
gardless Of our different religious
opinions, some day the undertaken
will close our eyes and if we stand
before the bar of judgement we may
learn that those who surround them
selves with creed may not be able
to get near God and the man who
draws a circle around himself and
his own and cries, "Oh Lord, save
me and mine'' is ungodly. We may
1 n n IN