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THE GEORGIA INDUSTRIAL HOME. ‘"Faith in God and Humanity.'" By S. T. DALSHEIMER. HILANTHROPIST and philosopher, moralist and materialist, poet and po tentate must have at least one com mon ground whereon they may meet in equity of thought and feeling, and in viewing actual results of the effort agree that the effort itself was well directed and the need for it clearly defined. Facts appeal alike to all P classes of thinkers, and so many and so vigorous are the facts connected with the great work be ing done for the children of the state in the Geor gia Industrial Home at Macon, Ga., that we are tempted to give a bare unvarnished statement of conditions as we know them to exist, believing that they will appeal more potently to each mind than if we were to surround the telling with every available grace of rhetorical expression. It is a temptation, too, to resist ethical comment on the work accomplished by an institution founded whol ly and solely on a basis of divine conviction and by a man so uplifted * above the bounds of ordinary human difficulties that he literally soared above their reach. The Beginning of the Work. Some eight years ago, Rev. W. E. Mumford, of lb * 't • ■ ■ - • ■ . 18k ■■■ • »■ ■ REV. J. R. GUNN. Macon, rose in his pulpit one memorable morning and revealed to his listening congregation a picture of the work to which he felt himself strongly called, and so eloquently did he tell his story that his hearers felt the tide of the speaker’s wonderful enthusiasm engulf themselves as well. Mr. Mumford was a man of family, a min ister of prominence, and yet his great heart heard a human cry which seemed to call him from the appointed ranks of his chosen work, and to urge him into new and untried fields. This cry was the voiceless appeal of the destitute children of the state who. by reason of unfortunate birth and surroundings, were far worse off than natural orphans, and yet for whom there was provided no sheltering roof, no wise guidance and no pos sible escape from criminal careers unless some brave man found away. His own life having been a hard one, and his childhood deprived of all that makes youth lovely, Mr. Mumford could but listen when the sacred call came. His struggle with worldly considera tions was short, and soon he had severed his offi cial connection with the church of his choice and without money and with only one small frame cot tage and two hundred acres of land, he began to care for three destitute children, hoping, pray ing and believing that the way for more would be provided, and the great work would be at least begun. The Golden Age for December 20, 1000. The Work Today. Todaj one hundred and fifty homeless children are being cared for and trained into paths of use fulness; property has been slowly gathered which represents a capital of $30,000, and the current expenses of the institution average SI,OOO each month. •‘And how is this accomplished?” one will ask. The answer is, because the founder and his followers have lived close to the Spirit which prompted the work at the beginning—.because “Faith in God and Humanity” has been justified and the “way” which seemed so hard and dark and beset with untold dangers and difficulties has, at last, been cleared, and the path of the future seems to be clearly revealed. Class of Children Helped. It will readily be seen that there is, necessarily, a large class of helpless children who, because of crime alone, are destined from birth to a condition far worse than that of ordinary orphanage. This class cannot, in the nature of things, be cared for by the denominational orphanages which are designed for the care of children without living parents, and whose inmates are confined to those of the different denominations. Each city and . '.I-';- WWnB !• '-m®- 'y. /H •• ’ I MHh 11 '/ ■ lIA- * . IJI ’ F R-I •" - I "’-f I’ RH ‘ w wWe '• * ' ' r C « IWVKF ■*' \ 'sag aWr jMR< nMMf . wWr 1 v ■•. *•*l* BT BESIrW InyMMBBy'SM*/• ■ J Hr% tJHr b| county has more than one of such institutions, each one could testify to the number of applicants each year which it is impossible to accept because they do not come under the specified conditions of the institution. The Georgia Industrial Home is designed to meet the needs of this very class, and the recognition of this urgent need constituted the call which Air. Mumford heard, and the an swer to which is shown in the wonderful insti tution under consideration. Its Striking Features. As has been said, the class of children cared for in this home is helpless and homeless, and without some strong influence for good they would, in all probability, grow up a menace to the state and so ciety. They are given here 1 ‘ religious, moral and industrial training, which prepares them for useful citizenship.” Both boys and girls are taken, be tween the ages of four and fourteen years, and their young lives are guided and directed until maturity. At present it is impossible to provide for infants, although one or two have been accepted when the appeal has been too urgent to refuse. While being a non-sectarian institution, it is highly Christian, and the moral training is one of its most distinctive characteristics. It is, also, non-sectknal, children being accepted from any county - c the state. The only requisites for admis sion are the applicant’s need; a need which, in TUE “11GME" OE THE BABIES. most instances, is amply testified to by a mere statement of the conditions surrounding the small outcasts of society who seem almost pre-ordained to the fullest heritage of suffering. Personality of the Children. The visitor to this unique and unusual institu tion is, perhaps, first of all, impressed with the personality of the small inmates. Unlike most or phanages, here it has been possible to preserve a certain individuality in the children themselves, and the fact that each one is encouraged to devel op any special talent or bent, or even inclination which he or she may have, is, in a large measure, responsible for this. Then, too, the location of the home among the picturesque and salubrious hills of middle Georgia, affords an opportunity for a wholesome system of outdoor life, which tends to the amplest physical development as well as to a certain broadening of mind and soul which only contact with Mother Nature can ever truly give. Again, the dormitory system is so divided that the children of different ages are together, and each one serves as a sort of educational stimulus to the other, and the pride shown in the different dwelling houses has in it a pathetic touch of the . ...\ ■< : • ;• / /• ‘ ’ A-’-. •Jf v home-spirit, which is so often completely lost in an ordinary orphanage where the institutional feature is the mainspring of the life. Training of the Boys. Necessarily the children cared for here must take rank as workers in the world, and that, too, at the very earliest possible moment. No attempt, however, is made to place either boys or girls in positions of outside employment until the age of eighteen, but pending that age, the most careful industrial training is given them in addition to a graded school course, which corresponds to that in use in the public grammar schools of the state. In addition, the work for the boys is directed to ward productive (training and every branch of farm work is taught with the thoroughness which can only be derived from actual practical elfort. The broad and fertile acres which now surround the home form an ideal field for this kind of in struction, and it is designed to give a thorough agricultural training, both from a practical and theoretical point of view. The farm supplies both good and bad lands so that it is possible to teach fertilization and reclaiming of bad lands which is a valuable adjunct to the ordinary farming knowledge. Everything for use in the home is produced on the farm and there is even some cot ton raised in order that it may be studied. Canning of fruits and vegetables is also taught REV. W. E. MUMFORD 3