"When the old king demanded of the Spartans fifty of their
children as hostages, they replied: 'We would prefer to give you a
hundred of our most distinguished men.' This was but a fair
testimony of the value of the child to any commonwealth and to any
age. The hope of the world lies in the children. The hope of this
nation lies in the little children that throng our streets
to-day."--_Sarah B. Cooper, before the National Conference of
Charities and Correction._