Evening star., 1939-07-09

and are happier in institutions de-
signed for them.
One solicitor is said to place most
Of her babies outside the city, leav-
ing on the train with nurse and
! six or eight infants at time and
dropping them off for waiting adop-
ters or agents along the way-Balti
more Philadelphia. New York and
New England. Although there are
no figures available on children dis
posed of in this fashion in and from
the District annually, Mrs. Trevvett
estimates that the total would reach
past the hundreds.
| Shows Evils.
! Alarming in its significance is a
current case which illustrates the
evils of a third person soliciting
children for adoption without any
legal check.
| Recently a married couple in a
nearby Maryland town, already the
parents of four children, had fifth
Belonging to a low but adequate in
come group, the mother, who was
very i'll after the birth of her child
and in financial difficulties. was ap-
preached by baby solicitor the
only instance known to the Division
| of Child Welfare in which married
woman is involved. Stories were
told of New England people with an
income of 5000 year who wanted
to adopt her baby.
During a period in which the
mother was suffering from convul-
sions, as well as quarreling with
/ her husband over finances, the So
hcitor arrived opportunely and con-
sent papers were signed. A day or
so later the parents were frantic
over the loss of their child but the
solicitor would not reveal its where
abouts. In this case it is hoped by
the division that there may be some
legal redress and that the child
may be restored to its own home.
Hit-Or- Miss Method.
The hit-or- miss method of dis
posing of children in the District is
illustrated by another story told by
Mrs Dorothy Cotton. supervisor of
investigation and temporary care in
the division. under whose super
vision Mrs. Trevvett works.
'I was sitting in my Office not long
Err Coft
woman came rushing in with new
born infant in her arms She was
wearing house dress and gave her
name as the wife of Government
official. The resident of a nearby
Virginia town, she had read in a
newspaper about a baby in need of
home. She told me that she had
read about twins available for
adoption not long before but had
arrived too late to get them. 1t was
a case of first come, first served
This time she took no chances
She rushed from her kitchen to the
house, snatched the baby from a
group of four or five other women
and drove at once to see the Divi-
sion of Child Welfare about adop-
ton.
Upon investigation I found that
the infant was born of a notorious
feeble minded prostitute and that
no one knew the identity of the
father.
Without the adoption laws pro-
vision for investigation this woman's
very real maternal desire would
have expressed itself at once by
adopting the child, and as it is she
still has the infant in her care"
Let us, then. see how the Divi-
sion of Child Welfare, in contrast
to baby solicitors, operates to ar
range adoptions. 1t is its duty un-
der the adoption law to look into
the backgrounds of both children
and adoptors. even though funds
were not made available for addi-
tional personnel to do this work
AS result, Mrs. Trevvett, with
many other duties, investigates all
cases referred to the Board of Pub
lie Welfare.
Minor wards of the division num-
Der 1900 children Most of these
are maintained in temporary foster
homes because they have parents or
parent hoping to be able to support
them eventually. Mental tests show
that others are not suitable for
adoption and, with other handi-
capped children benefit most from
specialized care in institutions.
Few Suitable.
OF these 1900 children Mrs. Cot
ton estimates that less than q
dozen are both suitable and available