128 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



mortality in these institutions varies from 75 to 95 

 per cent. The mortality of infants nursed by their 

 mothers is less than 10 per cent. 



CALL IT MURDER. 



" We do not attempt in this study to settle the 

 many complex problems relating to the illegitimate; 

 but we believe that the facts show that society's 

 method in many instances is one of repression and 

 virtual murder. This is a harsh word, we grant, 

 and would fain substitute a gentler term; but after 

 all is said and done, that which we have reported 

 is virtual murder, and slow and cowardly at that. 

 It would be far more humane to kill these babies by 

 striking them on the heads with a hammer than to 

 place them in institutions where four-fifths of them 

 succumb within a few weeks of malnutrition and 

 infectious diseases. It is a lew weeks of suffering, 

 a few weeks of going down to death by a process 

 that is slower than the hammer, but in most in- 

 stances just as sure. Hedged in by our system of 

 shams and our fabric of lies, we refuse to call it 

 killing them; we dignify it by the softer name, the 

 smoother term, of putting them into institutions 

 where they will be cared for. But nearly all of 

 them die, and many of us know that they die, and, 

 moreover, may think that it is better that they 

 should die. 



" All of this is done in the effort to preserve a 

 family's good name; to prevent a girl's reputation 

 from being smirched, to save the man in the case 

 from facing the consequences of his act. All togeth- 

 er, it is a well-organized hushing-up by a system of 

 subterfuges and repression in order that the certain 

 individuals shall not have to face openly what they 

 have done." 



And now comes the sad final summing- 

 up: 



" A calculation was made concerning the infants 

 under one month of age that had been placed in the 

 institution by the city for 1900 to 1914 and had not 

 been removed, except by death, under a period of 

 six months ; among all these children there ^^as not 

 a single survivor — a mortality of 100 per cent." 



Under another section, devoted to geni-ral condi- 

 tions, the report states: 



"The dead infants are buried in a large hole, 

 which serves to accommodate from 75 to ]00. From 

 time to time, as they die, their bodies are placed in 

 the hole and covered with a few shovelfuls of earth. 

 When the hole is filled with bodies another hole is 

 dug alongside of it, and the bodies of infants that 

 have been buried for several years are taken out 

 and their bones thrown away to make room for new 

 burials. In a small plot of ground it is estimated 

 that about 5000 infants have been buried. 



I read the above to Mrs. Root just before 

 retiring; and in thinking it over I decided 

 that all the police in the world, and all the 

 legislation, and, in fact, nothing would 

 avail Baltimore but a visitation of the Holy 

 Spirit ; and then our last text came to mind 

 ■ — " None other name under heaven." When 

 the wicked men and women who are respon- 

 sible for the untimely death of these inno- 

 cent babies shall be converted and go down 

 on their knees before an angry God, then 

 will help come to Baltimore and other 

 cities like her. Finally I knelt down and 

 prayed the good Lord to move Billy Sun- 

 day to go to Baltimore. At that time I had 

 no knoAvledge he had any such plan in 

 mind; but nest mail brought the welcome 



news that the great city was already " up 

 in arms," preparing the way for his com- 

 ing. Below is the heading of an editorial 

 from the Baltimore Sun: 



15,000 kneel in prayer; 1250 meetings held to 

 pave way for Billy Sunday; all classes represented; 

 devotions last for half an hour, and blessing is asked 

 on evangelist and work. 



Some of you may say, " Why, brother 

 Root, your prayer was not answered in the J 

 above, for the matter was planned long be- ^ 

 fore yon prayed." To which I answer, 

 from Isaiah 65 :24, " Before they call I will 

 answer; and while they are yet speaking, 

 I will hear." 



Let us look at the matter a little. Men 

 and women break God's holy command 

 against adultery; and to conceal the crime 

 they commit murder or pav money to some 

 one else to do the murdering. It is not 

 gTown-up men who can protect themselves, 

 but helpless bahies — their own offspring, 

 because they are respectable people (or 

 claim to be), and dare not own their own 

 children. We read about and sing about 

 " the heathen in their blindness bow down 

 to wood and stone;" but are there any worse 

 heathen in the whole wide world than in 

 " Glorious America," " the land of the free 

 and the home of the brave" ? May God 

 give Billy Sunday grace to realize the size 

 of the task he has undertaken. 



" CHIGGERS " AND BEDBUGS. 



As to '" chiggers," I am sometimes attacked by 

 them, but not often, and never, I think, when in my 

 work clothes. This I ascribe to the fact that, when 

 dressed for work, I always use the spring-steel trou- 

 sers-guards commonly worn by bicyclists. The guards 

 are well worth wearing, too, to keep out dust, tickle- 

 grass, weed stubble, and other rubbish when one is 

 working in the farm or garden, tramping the roads, 

 or exploring the woods and fields. 



Carthage, Mo. Benjamin C. Auten. 



I think very likely the trousers-guards, 

 or, in the absence of them, tying a string 

 around the ankles, would largely keep off 

 these troublesome insects. I would suggest, 

 however, that at the same time you put 

 kerosene around the tops of your shoes, as 

 I have frequently had the redbugs get 

 around on to my feet below the ankles. 

 Perhaps I have failed to mention that there 

 is seldom any trouble from these insects if 

 you keep away from the wild grass and 

 other vegetation in the woods. Where the 

 land is under eultivalion there is seldom any 

 trouble of this kind. Keeping down grass 

 and weeds around the home will very much 

 aid in keeping the premises clear of such 

 pests. 



