Placing Children Out West.rtf

							          Reverend Hastings H. Hart, “Placing Out Children in the West” (1884)
         Web version: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/archive/HartPOCITW.htm


. . . . Gentlemen interested in public and private charities in various parts of the West and South
have stated that many vicious and depraved children are sent out by the society; that they are
hastily placed in homes without proper inquiry, and are often ill-used; that the society, having
disposed of the children, leaves them to shift for themselves without further care; and that a large
proportion turn out badly, swelling the ranks of pauperism and crime. . . .

The inquiry will be grouped under four heads:

First. Is it true that many vicious and depraved children are sent out? A few such were found, but
there is no evidence that their selection was intentional. Six are known to have committed
offences against the laws, of whom I shall speak later. Nine have been sent back by the local
committees as incorrigible; and, in such cases, the society has promptly taken charge of them,
paying all expenses. Three or four depraved adults have come to the State under the auspices of
the society.

Second. Are children hastily placed in homes without proper inquiry, and are they often ill-used?
Some five or six cases of abuse are reported. The society has recently prosecuted one case and is
reported to be about to prosecute another. A third case was prosecuted, I believe, by the boy
himself. In two or three less glaring instances, the children were transferred to suitable homes.
Some false stories of abuse have been traced back to gossips or jealous neighbors.
To the first count of this indictment, however, namely, the hasty placing of children without
proper investigation, we fear that the society must plead guilty. The plan is as follows: A
representative of the society first visits the town where distribution is to be made, and secures
three leading citizens to act as a volunteer committee, pass upon applications for children, and
take general charge of the matter. A notice is published in local newspapers inviting applications
and announcing the day of arrival and distribution. I was myself a witness of the distribution of
forty children in Nobles County, Minnesota, by my honored friend, Agent James Mathews, who
is a member of this Conference. The children arrived at about half-past three P.M., and were
taken directly from the train to the court-house, where a large crowd was gathered. Mr. Mathews
set the children, one by one, before the company, and, in his stentorian voice, gave a brief
account of each. Applicants for children were then admitted in order behind the railing, and
rapidly made their selections. Then, if the child gave the assent, the bargain was concluded on
the spot. It was a pathetic sight, not soon to be forgotten, to see those children and young people,
weary, travel-stained, confused by the excitement and the unwonted surroundings, peering into
those strange faces, and trying to choose wisely for themselves. And it was surprising how many
happy selections were made under such circumstances. In a little more than three hours, nearly
all of those forty children were disposed of. . . .

Third. Does the society, having disposed of the children, leave them to shift for themselves,
without farther care? No, not in Minnesota. The agents of the society have revisited the counties
where children are placed, —most of them repeatedly. These trips, being hurried, have not
permitted visits to all of the children, special attention being given to urgent cases. Cases of
incorrigibility reported to the society have received prompt attention, —homes being changed or
the child removed from the State, as seemed best. . . .
Fourth. The crucial question is, Does “a large proportion turn out badly, swelling the ranks of
pauperism and crime”? . . .

From our experience, we are positive in the opinion that children above the age of twelve years
ought not to be sent west by the Children’s Aid Society. In this opinion, I understand that the
officers of the society concur. . .

Our examination shows, with reference to the children under thirteen years old, that nine-tenths
remain, four-fifths are doing well, and all incorrigibles are cared for by the society. If properly
placed and faithfully supervised, we are willing to take our full share of these younger children
in Minnesota.