Canada's Child Saving Conference 1894
"Conference on Child-saving
Work" in Toronto which was attended by about 150
'professionals' and other interested persons and
organized by J J Kelso.
From the Toronto Globe October 20 1894
Baby farms are the result of bringing together of many
betrayed girls from outside for their confinements,
their babies then being placed out in the homes,
abandoned, or on 'baby farms.' In 1885 the Baby Farms
Act was passed which forced their licensing. Police
Inspector Archibald spoke at this conference and
remarked:
"The baby farm operators got to dislike the licence
system, and to evade the law they had recourse to
adoption. For $35 or $50 or $100 the child was
'adopted' and the money once paid the process of
baby-killing began." Some disgusting cases had
recently come to light and Archibald thought that the
time had come for a change. "Legislation was needed to
make such adoption illegal. Further there was no need
for baby farms-- the mothers need not be known. Their
concealment might be respected so long as they evinced
a readiness to help their children, but at the
hospital a system of registration might be adopted,
was in fact absolutely necessary whereby the mother's
name, her home address, and especially the name of her
betrayer should be placed open to the inspection of
the authorities so that the man could be made to 'toe
the mark.'"
The Lacys, he said, had not been licensed; they had
been watched by the police for 2 years, and had moved
6 times in that period, until the passing of the
Gibson Act [Ontario 1893] allowed the police to raid
the establishment.
http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1989-0/haller.htm
http://books.google.ca/books?id=3Bmvk5r_4ZUC&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=child+saving+conference+1894+kelso&source=bl&ots=UPa5BhuJlm&sig=2GTVeH_3zON6T6XFMmLt3-TF58M&hl=en#v=onepage&q=child%20saving%20conference%201894%20kelso&f=false
Baby farms are the result of bringing together of many
betrayed girls from outside for their confinements,
their babies then being placed out in the homes,
abandoned, or on 'baby farms.' In 1885 the Baby Farms
Act was passed which forced their licensing. Police
Inspector Archibald spoke at this conference and
remarked:
"The baby farm operators got to dislike the licence
system, and to evade the law they had recourse to
adoption. For $35 or $50 or $100 the child was
'adopted' and the money once paid the process of
baby-killing began." Some disgusting cases had
recently come to light and Archibald thought that the
time had come for a change. "Legislation was needed to
make such adoption illegal. Further there was no need
for baby farms-- the mothers need not be known. Their
concealment might be respected so long as they evinced
a readiness to help their children, but at the
hospital a system of registration might be adopted,
was in fact absolutely necessary whereby the mother's
name, her home address, and especially the name of her
betrayer should be placed open to the inspection of
the authorities so that the man could be made to 'toe
the mark.'"
The Lacys, he said, had not been licensed; they had
been watched by the police for 2 years, and had moved
6 times in that period, until the passing of the
Gibson Act [Ontario 1893] allowed the police to raid
the establishment.
http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1989-0/haller.htm
http://books.google.ca/books?id=3Bmvk5r_4ZUC&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=child+saving+conference+1894+kelso&source=bl&ots=UPa5BhuJlm&sig=2GTVeH_3zON6T6XFMmLt3-TF58M&hl=en#v=onepage&q=child%20saving%20conference%201894%20kelso&f=false
