The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-05-19


dren used to be sold into slavery.
Until recently the Chinese were
accustomed to preventing an over
abundance of females by abandon
ing a certain proportion of girl Da-
bies. American womoE "-ways
SILVER daintily over these foreign
eccentricities, yet in this country
today thousands of children are be-
ing disposed of as though they were
puppies or kittens.
A six months investigation. re-
Gently made by the New York
State Charities Aid association. re-
vealed the appalling fact that. IN
addition to the large number OF IN
fants annually abandoned in New
York city, baby a day is given
away through advertisements In
the daily newspapers.
Several specially significant
facts emerge as a result of this IN
vestigation," says the association s
report. First, it is clear that
unmarried mothers are surrender
ing their babies to Strangers about
whose morals, personality, imam
cial standing and standards of liv-
ing they know nothing. Second,
that married couples are surren-
dering legitimate children without
adequate reason and in the same
naphazard method Third, that
children of unknown history and
family traits, who are possibly fee
le-minded, psychopathic or faint
ed with hereditary disease, are be-
ing foisted upon ignorant but in
many cases well-meaning foster
parents. Fourth, that such indis-
criminate giving away of children
not only works great hardships
upon individual children and 1ndl-
vidual foster-parents, but also has
the effect of discrediting conscien-
tious and intelligent home finding
done by competent child-placing
agencies. In all fairness to the
babies and to persons honestly
seeking to adopt children, legisla-
ton should be enacted to end this
indiscriminate exchange of in
fants"
The attention of the association
was first drawn to the matter
through the appeal made to it by a
desperate young mother, who had
been unable successfully to dispose
of her child through the advertis-
ing method. The girl-she was
scarcely more than a child herself
described her tremendous diff
culties in attempting to care for
the child; how eventually she had
advertised for someone to adopt it ;
how it had finally been placed-and
he 4
vertised several times, always with
the same result. Each time she
thought she had seen the last of
the infant. it was returned to her,
usually because it cried"
Cases Investigated.
One of the associations workers
was Immediately put to work on
the case He clipped baby adver-
tisements, followed them up and
made some astonishing discover
les. He found that in most cases
the parents cared little for the
moral and financial character of
the individual willing to adopt
their offspring. On the other hand,
he found that the persons willing
to adopt such children exhibited
surprisingly little interest in the
child's heredity or previous en-
vironment
In one case the State Charities
Aid association was called upon by
an eccentric bachelor who wanted
to adopt a little girl. The usual
list of interrogations revealed the
fact that he had no settled estab-
lishment and no prospect of ever
having one, that he was unmarried
and that he lived in almost COM
plete isolation, without communi-
cation with relatives or friends.
These circumstances, together with
the mans peculiar personality, led
the association to refuse his appli-
cation. Some time later he return
ed again. triumphantly displaying
the photograph of a little girl he
had secured for adoption through
an advertisement. Two years later
the papers announced that the
child had been taken from him on
the ground of improper guardian
ship.
In another instance, little white
boy was found living in the home
of a colored couple, who had Sc
cured him through an advertise
ment. They had given him the best
of care and were devoted to him.
but the city authorities interviewed,
believing that the child would be