PUBLICLIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND R 1899 L Entered according to Act of Congress, A. D, 1898, by A. N. BELL, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. THE SANITARIAN. JANUARY, 1898. NUMBER 338. DEPENDENT CHILDREN AND FAMILY HOMES.* BY WM. PRYOR LETCHWORTH, LL.D. It is not necessary at this time to emphasize the importance of saving homeless and wayward children. It is now conceded on all sides that, if we would make social progress and strengthen the foundations of good government, into the minds of this unfortunate class must be instilled principles of morality, thrift, industry, and self-reliance. It only remains to consider the best ways and means of accomplishing this. At one time the orphan asylums and similar institutions were thought to be the only efficient means of saving homeless children; but the difficulty of providing in this manner for the large number to be cared for, and the disadvantages resulting from massing children under the artificial conditions of institutional life, have led to the utilization of family homes as a substitute for the orphan asylum, the latter now being regarded more as a temporary refuge and training school for suitably preparing the child for admittance into a desirable home. The family home has come to be accepted as the natural provision for all children, the unfortunate as well as the fortunate. The story of "Your Little Brother James," ingeniously and effectively told by Miss Pemberton, forcibly and truthfully illustrates what can be accomplished by providing a good home for a homeless and wayward child—a home in which kindness and sympathy and love dwell in the hearts of a wise father and mother. Read at the National Conference of Charities and Correction, held at Toronto, July 7th to 14th, 1897. |