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and placed in good homes. The parents usually have the sympathy and support of a number of well meaning, but ill-informed, people of influence, and this lends strength to their cause, though they may be entirely unworthy of consideration. Eight years ago I investigated the home of a mother who made a desperate effort to secure her children and was furious when refused. Everybody was moved by her mother love to assist her and I reluctantly reported against her, but I felt the children's interest demanded it. Recently her oldest girl attained majority and the mother went to her foster home to visit her. The girl met her mother with arms opened to embrace her but was greeted with a "hello there" and a cold handshake, after which the mother left her and walked in to inspect the home. This was the demonstration of her much talked of love for her child and it was further emphasized before she left by a demand that the girl come to the city and work for $4.00 a week at a job she had waiting for her. The girl was heart broken and has, so far, refused to return to her mother. (It is not uncommon to have children oppose the efforts of their parents to get them.) I confess that my sympathy for that mother has been considerably reduced and I feel justified in opposing her eight years ago. The girl is now a competent housekeeper while her mother can do only the coarser tasks of the household, and was letting the children wallow in filth before they were taken from her. I have met many of our former wards during the past two years and their positions in the activities of life are proof of the success of our work. It is a fact, however, that many people do not consider that our work is effective. A business man recently told me that he knew of but few of our children that turned out well, and he named some who had been failures. I admitted his point, but in turn named about a dozen others with whom no fault could be found. He was much surprised to learn that these were from our school, he had supposed they were the peoples' own, or relatives' children. It is a satisfaction to know that the children succeed even though we do not get credit for any part of it. Among officials and those who carefully observe our work there is no lack of appreciation and their support and confidence has been a matter of gratification and encouragement to me during all these years of ever-changing associations.

Respectfully submitted,

MR. SWANSON'S REPORT.

H. J. JAGER.

Mr. Galen A. Merrill, Superintendent.

Dear Sir: I herewith respectfully submit my report as state agent for the biennial period ending July 31, 1910.

I began this biennial period in the fifth district, comprising the counties of Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood, Brown and Nicollet, and have since covered the entire state except the counties of Ramsey and Hennepin, and in the spring of 1909 I visited our children in the states of Iowa and South Dakota.

During the two years I have visited 859 children in their homes, inves tigated 230 applicants for children, attended 107 special cases, transferred 35 children to other homes and accompanied 44 children to homes selected for them or on their return to their counties. The necessary travel to accomplish this work has been a total of 35,530 miles, of which 28,750 was by rail and 6,780 by team. This is exclusive of travel by street car and on foot

which in the aggregate would amount to many miles of which no account is kept.

My expenses, including salary, were $4,576.04, making an average cost per visit of $3.59.

I have become better acquainted with the children placed in homes, many of whom I have visited two or three times. I am satisfied that the great majority of them are developing satisfactorily and in many instances away beyond all expectations. The environments of the home and community in which a child is placed often work wonders, as was demonstrated in the case of little Thomas, who was returned because he was so unreliable and untruthful that, after laboring with him two years, his guardian found it necessary to give him up. He was again placed out and showed the same tendencies in his new home, but fortunately his new guardians were people who would not tolerate an untruth and emphasized that fact upon Thomas the first time they found him untruthful. The result is that after a few months of patient training he is almost a model boy and his foster parents are confident that in time he will be absolutely reliable.

The compulsory school law, passed by the legislature of 1909, has been of great benefit to all children of school age, and ours have benefited with the rest. When a future legislature shall pass a law fixing the minimum school year for any district receiving state aid, we shall have less trouble in getting for our children what is justly due them in this respect; but as long as the fellow "higher up" is giving people advice how to evade the existing law we will have short schooling to contend with.

It is gratifying to note that applications for our children continue to be plentiful, and it seems to me that a better class of people are opening their homes for them. While all applicants are not supplied with children, the percentage of disapproved applications are less each year.

The motives for taking children are many and varied, and are sometimes hard to ascertain with a reasonable degree of certainty, except when the conditions are very pronounced. For example-I have an applicant in my present district who owns a farm of 250 acres and employs no hired help. He wants a strong healthy boy of fifteen and is willing to send him to school three to four months each year. Another applicant wanted a baby boy from two to three years old to help reform a drinking husband, who, it is said, is very fond of children. The assurance was ventured by the prospective foster-mother that if they had the company of a small boy the husband would spend his spare time at home and refrain from his convivial habits. It took considerable good natured argument to convince the woman that a baby boy would have too many odds against him as a temperance missionary and it was somewhat reluctantly that she admitted that the experiment would be too dangerous for the boy.

One family was actuated in taking a child in rather a novel manner. They had gone to town to celebrate the national holiday and, being childless, had only themselves to amuse and soon tired of the sights. They tried to bestow kindness on children in the street but, aside from a hurried "thank you," the children paid no attention to them and they were soon left alone. Before the day was half spent they tired and returned home pondering over the problem of where to get a child that they might have someone to labor for and make happy, and whose happiness they might share. The following morning they came to the school bringing with them a number of excellent

recommendations and the result was that they returned home with a little girl. When I visited them a few months later, they applied for permission to adopt the child legally and also made application for her little baby brother, who was sent to them and both are now legally adopted and made heirs to their property. In this as in nearly all cases, where people take small children, they are actuated by genuine love, as was plainly shown in one instance where a child was placed in a home in a remote part of the state. The foster mother walked sixteen miles, following a lonely trail to meet the child and returned in the same manner, carrying the child in her arms. Surely, it was all love that actuated this woman and when she said "Annie is worth all the effort she cost me" I believe she meant every word of it.

Another family who took a small baby girl some three years ago made this remark: "It is not fair to place a commercial value on a child, but we would not exchange our Lillian for the entire Jim Hill railway system." Lillian will be legally adopted and her foster father has taken out an insurance policy of two thousand dollars in her favor.

It is always interesting to accompany children to homes and to witness the manner in which they are received by their foster parents. Not long ago I took a boy to the northern part of the state and when the foster mother met us at the station she came forward with the remark, "How do you do, Russell. My, how you have grown! Do you remember your three little sisters and the buckskin colt? Well, the girls are all grown up and the buckskin horse is the one you and I will drive when we go to town." Two small boys whom I was taking to homes were the admiration of our fellow passengers and several times I was congratulated on having such a fine pair of twins. When one of them was placed in the arms of his guardian, she embraced him very tenderly and exclaimed, "He is just the kind of a boy I wanted and you may feel sure we will take good care of him!"

After having worked in the southern and central parts of the state, it was with great anticipation that I started for the "Range country" early in March of the present year, and great was my surprise to find that it is being so rapidly built up with homes, schools, churches and public buildings. They are second to none in our own section and in regard to schools in the range towns I believe they can say to us "follow me." Their schools are built on a large scale and, being equipped with all modern conveniences and of fireproof construction, they furnish ample proof of the progressiveness that exists in the iron country.

Our town homes in this locality are almost without exception of the best. Though we have children placed with people of moderate means and in some instances where real self-sacrifice is required to properly care for them, the first thought of the foster parents is for the comfort and advancement of the children. As they are applying for our babies in this district, this is an excellent field for work. The Duluth humane officers are all interested in our work and I wish to express my appreciation of the hearty cooperation given me by Captain Resche and Mrs. Forgy in locating applicants and guardians and in giving information regarding them.

The country districts in this section are as yet too primitive to permit of the general placing of children in them, but as the country is fast improv

ing we shall be able in a few years to place a goodly number in the northern part of the state.

In conclusion I wish to thank you very cordially for your kindness and consideration.

Respectfully,

P. G. SWANSON.

MISS MCGREGOR'S REPORT.

Mr. Galen A. Merrill, Superintendent.

Dear Sir: I herewith submit my report as state agent for the biennial period ending July 31, 1910.

I began my work with this institution January 1st, 1909. The first four months was spent in visiting the children in Faribault, Blue Earth and Waseca counties. I then made several special trips, accompanied children to homes in the northwestern part of the state and took up the work in Duluth. I was then assigned to the work in Wisconsin. There are not a great number of children here, but they are scattered over the state. The territory covered was from La Crosse to Milwaukee and Geneva to Ashland. The homes here in almost every instance are excellent. One of the girls had just completed her junior year in a normal school, another I found teaching in a country school. One who had recently attained majority and expected to be married in a few months, showed me her clothing and household sewing that she herself had prepared for her new home. She had assumed full charge of the household and was learning to cook in order to be ready to properly take charge of her own a little later. A number were juniors and seniors in high school. One case that gave me particular pleasure to visit was that of a young girl whose foster mother had met with much sorrow before she took her. The father and three boys had been killed and the property destroyed. The mother came and selected an ordinary looking little girl and with her started back to face her new situation. She has prospered. The child is a young lady now, a graduate from high school and is receiving a musical education. The foster mother stated to me that she could not ask to have Anna different. She had developed beyond her fondest hopes. She is a beautiful girl and has proven herself worthy of the opportunities she has received. There was only one situation in this district that I considered unsatisfactory. This, I believe, is due to the fact that guardians from Minnesota are not permitted to take children from the state if there is any question about the situation, and it is very seldom a child is placed in Wisconsin unless with relatives. I completed the work in Wisconsin in about six weeks. I then took up the regular work in the northeastern section of Minnesota in St. Louis, Lake, Cook, Koochiching, Itasca, Carlton, Pine, Aitkin, Kanabec and Mille Lacs counties. The work in our larger cities is necessarily less definite than elsewhere. The work in the lumbering and mining districts was instructive and most interesting. To meet the foreign element in their locations where they are segregated by themselves, adhering to the customs and manner of living of their native country was a new experience for me. Their suspicion of every one but their own is marked. My work here was for the most part investigating conditions of families whose children had been sent to us and who wanted the children returned. I was looking for one of our girls who had been returned to her father when he married again and was

directed to the foreign location in which they lived. I called at every house in the location, thirty-eight, and found not one who appeared to understand anything I said. I went to the next town and consulted a business man whom we consult as reference frequently. He drew a diagram of the street and marked the house. I had been there and not admitted. In a few days I went back, told my business, was answered in perfectly good English and they seemed glad to see me. Our "Little Italies" are not all in New York.

Many excellent homes are opened for our children in this part of the state. I have placed babies in the homes of bankers, contractors and prosperous business men. Many of the applicants in this section take babies and a large per cent adopt. After one trip I made eight recommendations that permission for adoption be given. My experiences in this district were wide and varied. In one case I visited and recommended a home for a little two-year-old boy. The references were excellent, the home one of more than ordinary comforts. The man was an engineer earning a good salary. Everything looked promising and I selected and brought them a little browneyed boy. In less than two weeks we were notified to come at once. I went, and found that the woman was intensely jealous because the baby liked her husband better than he liked her, and trouble ensued. Fortunately another family was waiting for us to select a baby for them and I put an end to their trouble by an immediate transfer.

In October I made a drive of 42 miles along the banks of the Mississippi to visit one of our girls whose guardian had removed from southern Minnesota to this new country. About 25 miles of the 42 was over corduroy roads. The trip took two days and cost $12.00. I found the family located on the bank of the river in a ten-room house with hardwood floors, plate glass windows and many conveniences. They owned 640 acres of land. The father had given two of his sons a tract of 80 acres each and our little girl is to receive the same at the proper time. She is in the eighth grade at school, takes music lessons from the teacher who boards with them and can do plain sewing neatly. In another instance I wanted to visit a child away from a railroad. I went by boat for some distance on the Rainy river to do so. It would have been necessary for me to wait over three days for the return trip had not the captain stopped the boat in front of the house, limiting my time for the visit to one and one-half hours. I found that the child had been legally adopted, the situation excellent and less time was needed.

The work in the northern part of the state presents many difficulties in the new sections, poor railroad accommodations, poor hotels, poor roads, some seasons of the year impassable. Yet with all this we are able to secure for the children opportunities that in some sections of the older well settled and wealthy parts of the state guardians are unwilling to give. In three counties in the southeastern part of the state many of the school districts have the minimum number of months school per year, poorly paid teachers, school houses dilapidated, with few supplies. In many of the northern districts where people are poor and struggling to get along, they have good school buildings well equipped, first grade teachers commanding good salaries for eight and nine months in the year and in some cases a driver is hired to collect and bring the children to school. I completed the work in Northern Minnesota the latter part of November and was then assigned to the work in the southeastern part of the state, including Houston, Fillmore, Mower, Freeborn, Steele, Dodge, Olmsted and Winona counties. Many good

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