The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-05-20
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. DtreCtsE.
Washington. d. @.
THE TRAFFTC IN BABIEs.


New York City, May 17.-Children
used to be sold into slavery. Until
recently the Chinese were accustomed
to preventing an overabundance of
| females by abandoning a certain pro-
portion of girl babies. American
women always shiver daintily over
these foreign eccentricities, yet in this
| country today thousands of children
are being disposed of as tho they were
puppies or kittens.
| a six-months' investigation, recently
made by the New York State Charities
Aid association, revealed the appalling
/ fact that, in addition to the large
| number of infants annually abandoned
| in New York City, a baby a day Is
given away thru Advertisement in the
daily newspapers.
Several specially significant facts
| emerge as a result of this inYestiga-
| ton" says the associations report.
First. it is clear that large numbers
of unmarried mothers are surrender
\ ing their babies to strangers about
whose morals, personality, financial
\ standing and standards of living they
/ know nothing. Second, that married
/ couples are surrendering legitimate
children without adequate reason and
| in the same haphazard method. Third,
that children of unknown history and
family traits. who are possibly feeble
minded, Psychopatic or tainted with
| hereditary disease are being foisted
upon ignorant but in many cases we'll
/ meaning foster parents. Fourth, that
such indiscriminate giving away of
/ children not only works great hard
ships upon individual children and in
dividual foster parents, but also has
the effect of discrediting conscientious
| and intelligent home finding done by
competent child-placing agencies. In
all fairness to the babies and to per-
/ sons honestly seeking to adopt chill
/ dren, legislation should be enacted to
end this indiscriminate exchange of
infants"
The attention of the association was
first drawn to the matter thru the
appeal made to it by a desperate
young mother. who had been unable
successfully to dispose of her child
/ thru the advertising method. The
| girl-she was scarcely more than a
child herself-described her tremen-
dous difficulties in attempting to care
for the child; how eventually she had
| advertised for someone to adopt it:
how it had finally been placed-and
| then returned. After that, she ad
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 be
cause it cried"
Cases Investigated.
One of the associations workers was
/ imm ediately put to work on the case.
He clipped baby advertisements, fol-
/ lowed them up and made some aston
/ lSnlDB discoveries he 1OunQ IhaI 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
/ or previous environment.
| In one case the State Charities Aid
association was called upon by an &c
| centric bachelor who wanted to adopt
4 a LITTLE girl The OF oP int
rogations revealed the fact that he
! had no settled establishment and no
| prospect of ever having one, that he
was unmarried and that he lived in
communication with relatives or
| friends. These circumstances, to-
| gether with the mans peculiar person.
| atty, led the association to refuse his
application Some time later, he
/ called again, triumphantly displaying
| the photograph of little girl he had
secured for adoption thru an adver-
| tisement. Two years later the papers
announced that the child had been
taken from him on the ground of inn
proper guardianship.
In another instance, a little white
boy was found living in the home of a
colored couple, who had secure him
thru an advertisement They had
given him the best of care and were
devoted to him. but the city author
/ tiles interviewed, believing that the
child would be better off in the hands
of foster parents of his own race.
| The associations report goes on to
say that the mother of a baby who
is not wanted needs help-not help to
get rid of the baby quickly and easily,
| but help in working out a plan which
will preserve or re-establish so far as
possible the self-respect of everyone
| concerned. The mother needs to be
protected against herself. She may
| think that by giving away her baby
she can put him out of her life, that
she can forget that she had ever been
a mother, but this is not true.
| Presumably what has been going on
in New York has been going on all
over the country, and the children
who are placed thru newspaper adver-
| tisements are only a small part OF
1 those who, without any legal proce-
dure. are passed along from one in
dividual to another, on and on with
out any attempt to protect the interest
of the child or the foster family, or
to keep any record of the child's
identity.
This evil has flourished especial
ly during the past few years since the
demand for children for adoption has
become so great-greater than the
supply, in fact As in all cases of
| scarcity there has been rise In value,
so that babies can now often be dis
posed of at a considerable profit to
their parents.
A generation ago a woman was
looked at askapce who had the temer-
ity to take into her heart and home
an unknown child. Many arguments
were advanced against such course,
one favorite contention being that it
was flying in the face of Providence
that had the Lord intended you to
have a child one would have been
sent Many a woman carried an ach-
ing mothers heart because she would
not dare criticism enough to bestow
upon some other woman's children the
love she hungered to give.
But there has been almost an cpl
demic of adoption in the last few
wears. and MANY childless home has