BABY FARMING.
A recent number of a city journal, contained the following account of
the system of bringing up and adopting out illegitimate children in New
York. We present it in place of any description of our own.
FEMALE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
[Footnote: The writer of this article is a woman.]
Having read in the English and Scottish journals of the day a great
deal of curious and startling matter in reference to the practice of
'baby-farming,' as it is called, and having constantly accumulating
proof submitted to our eyes and understandings of the existence of
similar practices in our midst, here, in this great Christian city of
New York--having also read with mingled shame and wonder, and with
suspended judgment (as to the vital question whether, as the world goes
and must go, they were criminally injurious or socially beneficial)
concerning the numerous private establishments where wounded love and
brazen immorality alike find refuge and concealment, and where the true
orphans of life, those innocents who know not and who can never know,
their fathers or their mothers, find a temporary home, prior to their
entrance upon life and their struggle with the world--a married lady
friend of mine and myself determined recently to personally inquire
into these subjects and to investigate their condition and practical
workings, so far as possible, and to make public our investigations for
the benefit of the world at large and of all whom it may concern.
Having arrived at this determination, the next morning we glanced over
the advertising columns of the papers, and having read and reread the
subjoined advertisement--
'Important to females. Dr. and Mrs.----(20 years' practice) guarantee
certain relief to married ladies. Patients from a distance provided
with board, nursing, etc. Private advice letter free. Office,----. New
York'--
We resolved to visit this establishment that very day.
We found it located upon Third Avenue, near----street, over a shop, and
situated in the neighborhood of a number of little stores, sandwiched,
as it were, between all varieties of trades. A sign on the exterior of
the building directed us to pull the bell and walk up stairs. This
injunction was probably designed to give the parties notice of the
approach of persons desirous to see them, and to put them, and whoever
might chance to be with them at the time, on their guard. The
correctness of this view was proved by the fact, that, as we entered,
we saw a woman peering at us from the floor above, who immediately
withdrew on seeing us. We were shown into what had evidently been
intended for a hall bed-room but now served the purpose of a reception
room or office. Here we were, in a few moments, waited upon, by the
very lady or woman who had just peered down upon us, but who, of
course, assumed to be totally unconscious of this fact. She was neatly
dressed, and of quiet manner; and bowing, awaited our introduction of
the object of our visit. We made a poor enough show, doubtless, in our
pretended statement of our design in calling, but between us we gave
her to understand, as we had previously arranged, that we acted in
behalf of a lady friend of ours who had been 'unfortunate,' and who
desired nursing, medical attention, and above all, secrecy. Mrs.----
listened to our statement in a matter of fact way, as though our story
was 'as familiar as household words,' and then, it must be confessed,
kindly enough, with more delicacy and feeling (or show of it) than we
would have, _à priori_, given her credit for, explained to us the
_modus operandi_ to be pursued. No patients were received at the office
in Third Avenue; they were all sent to another branch of the
establishment in----street, presided over by a Dr.----.
The terms were in all cases strictly the same. Twenty five dollars per
week were charged for board and lodging, or one hundred dollars for the
month, 'payable invariably in advance.' The fee for nursing and medical
attendance was one hundred dollars; while the charge made for receiving
and taking care of the child reached the same figure--making in all the
considerable sum of three hundred dollars, for which amount it was
guaranteed to furnish the most comfortable lodging, the best
professional skill, and the most inviolate seclusion--certainly a
convenient arrangement on both sides of the transaction.
"It must be here mentioned that no pay whatever, not even in the shape
of presents or equivalents, is received from the parties who 'adopt'
the children thus confided to the care of Mrs.----and Dr.----. On the
contrary, this amiable couple are only too glad to get rid of the
'infant darlings' in some lawful way, and thus to avoid any further
expense or delay upon their account. Those to whom the children are
really indebted for their birth are required to bear the expense,
which, as just stated, is fixed at one hundred dollars. And the only
fear entertained by the madame and the doctor is, that 'people will not
apply fast enough for the babies,' who are, from the day of their
birth, sent at once to wet-nurses dispersed over the city, who, if the
regular methods fail, are themselves allowed to adopt the children, or
to dispose of them, by 'adoption,' to other parties."
But few of these "private establishments" are well managed. The
majority are conducted by ignorant, avaricious quacks, who have no
knowledge of surgery or medicine, and who either kill or injure their
victims for life. Frequent arrests of these people are made every year,
but the punishment is seldom inflicted as it should be. It is, as a
general rule, only in such first-class establishments as that of the
wickedest woman that patients are well treated or skilfully served. In
the majority of them the most horrible suffering and certain death
await the poor creatures who enter them. There are very few exceptions
to this rule. The newspapers are full of the advertisements of the
wretches who conduct these establishments, and there are always an
abundance of applications from unfortunate women. They come here from
all parts of the country. In the best establishments nature is allowed
to take its course. In the others, the ignorant quacks attempt to
hasten the result by artificial means. The end in such cases is death.
A JUVENILE ESTABLISHMENT.
You will see in almost any city paper a number of such advertisements
as this:
"ADOPTION.--Two beautiful infants, male and female, five and six months
old. Call upon Mrs.----, No. 25 E.----th street."
The following will show the meaning of such advertisements:
There is located on 19th street, New York city, a large establishment
devoted to the obtaining and preparing of infants for 'adoption.' This
Temple of the Innocents is presided over by a Madam P----, and combines
with the features common to the establishments elsewhere referred to,
the new and novel feature of a 'nursery' in which the innocents are
kept, nursed, and clothed, after a fashion, until they are 'adopted.'
The babies are housed in a large and airy room, plainly but neatly
furnished, and are attended by a corps of nice-looking nurses. Each
babe has its own cradle, and a rattle or toy or two, and the little
creatures are really well attended to, as it is evidently and directly
the interest of Madam P----to have her stock in trade as healthy-
looking as possible, in order to dispose of them rapidly and to
advantage. Madam P----is a stout brunette, gaily dressed, and has made
a great deal of money by the practice of her peculiar 'profession.'
She possesses a large wardrobe of baby-dresses, in which the infants
are attired when 'presented,' in order to look as captivating as
possible; and the lady is a thorough 'artist' in her way. She has been
'assaulted' by the papers, and 'interfered with' by the police, but,
nevertheless, the facts are stated as we have found them.
"Another institution, located near that portion of the metropolis
denominated Yorkville, is of a much more nefarious description. Here
children are left by their unnatural parents to be 'disposed of,' and
'disposed of' they are--not killed outright, but neglected--given to
suspicious characters, to mere strangers, and never heard from or
thought of afterwards. A pensive-seeming, expressively-faced young
woman clad in black, with a shawl thrown over her person, is engaged
occasionally to appear as 'the mother'--'the poor, heart-broken mother'
of the babies. By her appearance and well-feigned tears, she excites
the sympathies of such ladies (few in number) as visit the
establishment in good faith for the purpose of 'adopting' infants, and
her bursts of maternal tenderness and grief when imprinting a 'farewell
kiss, forever' upon the lips and cheeks of her departing darling,
seldom fail to draw an extra fee from the benevolent pocket of the
'adopting' patron."
Many mothers offer their children for adoption, simply to get rid of
the trouble and expense of supporting them. Others part with them with
tears and heart pangs, in the hope that the little one's future will be
bettered by the change. Various causes are assigned for such acts.
AN INCIDENT.
"A French schoolmistress, a pretty young woman, who taught her native
language to the younger scions of several of our 'first families,'
having been brought to Dr.----'s establishment, expressed her
willingness to allow her child to be adopted, and it was accordingly
placed at the disposal of a fashionable lady and her husband, who
visited the establishment, and were about to bear the child away, when,
suddenly, the poor young mother rushed down stairs, and, seeing her own
flesh and blood, her own baby, clasped in another's arms, and about to
be torn from her heart and her grasp forever, fell at the feet of the
lady of fashion, and plead piteously, passionately, desperately, for
permission to retain her child. In vain the lady of fashion
remonstrated; in vain she argued the matter; in vain she offered the
girl-mother money; in vain, too, were the upbraidings of the astonished
housekeeper and her assistant; nature would have its way, and the
mother would have her child, and the contest of Gold _versus_ God
terminated, as all such struggles should, in the victory of God and
Heart, and the French mother kept her child."
A FASHIONABLE "INNOCENT."
Some strange, almost romantic incidents have occurred in the history of
the 'patients' of the establishment of Dr.----.
"A lady of the highest fashion, residing in Madison Avenue, accompanied
by her husband, (not like the poor girl, who, seeking a refuge, must
come secretly and alone,) called, one day, in reference to the
receiving within the accommodating shelter of the asylum, her own
sister, who had been 'unfortunate,' as women go. The 'sister'--a fair-
haired brunette, with exquisite eyes--was accordingly admitted, (it
being announced to her circle, the curled darlings of society, that the
young lady would be 'out of town, visiting some of her friends in the
country' for a limited period.) In three months, the young lady
returned to her admirers, and a delicious cherub (given out to nurse)
is at the present writing almost daily visited by a beautiful young
lady, 'who has conceived a great liking for it,' and by an older and
more matronly lady, who speaks of, at some future time, 'adopting' the
little darling (who, _apropos_, bears a strong resemblance to the
younger lady) for her own."
FACTS.
Some years ago, a handsome young woman, of respectable parentage,
sought the shelter of the convenient establishment of Dr.----. The lady
subsequently married a well-to-do farmer, from the West, and in the
full confidence of the marriage state, trusting to the passionate
devotion of her husband, she revealed the secret of her early
misdemeanor to her liege lord, who proved himself well worthy of her
confidence. The wife, who resided in Illinois, came to New York;
visited Mrs.----, (the lady who acted as Dr.----'s agent, and a call
upon whom has already been described,) and begged Mrs.----to restore
the child, who had been separated from her and 'adopted' by other
parties, years before. With this request Mrs.----refused to comply. She
knew the whereabouts of the child well enough, but she also knew that
it was now the _protegé_, the pet, the heir of a wealthy old couple,
who were devotedly attached to it, and whose hearts would be almost
broken by parting with it, while the worldly interests of the child
would also be materially injured by the removal. Above all, the
revealing of the child's _locale_ would be a violation of a
'professional obligation,' and would be initiating a very dangerous
precedent in matters of this kind; and so Mrs.----'s lips were sealed,
and to this day the real mother knows naught of her own child; would
not even be able to recognize her offspring, if they were to meet face
to face in the streets of New York.
"A rising young politician of this city has recently married a lady,
whose early history resembles that of the mother just mentioned. But
the politician is of a different mould from the Western husband, and
having ascertained the 'little episode' in his wife's history, is now
negotiating with her for a separation. Unlike the mother just alluded
to, however, the politician's wife has recovered her child, and finds
consolation in the fact, even in view of the contemplated separation.
"A terrible scandal, which was on the verge of becoming the property of
the greedy public of New York, compromising a young Jewess of great
wealth and high social position, has been recently, and let us trust,
finally 'hushed' through the invaluable aid of Dr.----'s establishment.
A horrible revelation of domestic depravity has thus escaped
publication, and a woman who would otherwise have been an outcast from
her circle, and a blot upon the religion of her people, is now, thanks
to skill, secresy, and money, the admired wife of a leading Hebrew
merchant."