LINDBERGH'S GIFT

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 35, 10 August 1933, Page 9

LINDBERGH'S GIFT

HOME EOS CHILDREN

FUTURE OF FAMOUS DWELLING

Sornewhero furtive readers of the Press who stifled the last spark of conscience to raven a cot and bring unutterable anguish to two parents will jeani that Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh and Mra. Anno Morrow Lindbergh are turning their house of sorrow into a happy home for children, says the "Literary Digest." Sourland Mountain in the Jersey hills, where the first-born of tho Lone liagle and his young wife passed a brief infancy before he was kidnapped and slain on the night of March 1,1U32, will awaken again to tho sound of childish revel. And perhaps those who hardened their hearts against a baby's feeble cry way soften to at least a momentary admiration for those who have turned their tragic IO3S into a priceless boon for others. The announcement that the spacious white-stone home near Hopewell is to be converted into such a use is made with the Lindborghs' characteristic modesty. It is received with . spontaneous acclaim by the Press. The home, to be known as High Fields, will be operated by a non-profit corporation. Trustees will include Colonel Lindbergh, Mrs. Lindbergh, Colonel Henry Breckenridge, attorney for Colonel Lindbergh; Dr. Abraham Flexner, director of the Institute for Advanced Study, and Owen Lovejoy, executive secretary of the Children's Aid Society. According to the papers of incorporation, the purpose of the home is to "provide for the welfare of children, including their education, training, hospitalisation, or any other allied purposes, without discrimination in regard to race or creed." The property, consisting of 300 acres and a house built according to plans prepared by Colonel and Mra. . Lindbergh, v said to have cost the young aviator 50,000 dollars. SAVED FKOM VULGAB, EXPLOITATION. ; In thus turning the homo they built with such anticipation and care into a memorial for their first-born, Colonel and Mrs. Lindbergh also save it from becoming vulgarly exploited by others. It is said that repeated efforts to get possession of the estate have been made by persons who wished to exploit the kidnapping by turning'the home into a roadhouse. Tho trustees of the project represent a wide range of abilities. Colonel Breckenridge has been Colonel Lindbergh s ' closest adviser most of the time smeo he made his historic flight to France. Dr Flexner is a world authority on education. He was formerly director of studies and medical education of the General Education Board, and is noted as a keen'critie of modern trends in education. . , . Mr. Lovejoy, as guiding spirit oi tne Children's Aid Society, has been particularly active in providing for the homeless boya of depression days. ENTHUSIASTIC COMMENT. "What more noble use could the two make of the home which tragedy had wrenched from their personal enjoyment than to dedicate it to the welfare of children unfortunately situated with respect to their Physical needs I exclaims the Charleston ''Mail." "And what could be a more fitting memorial to their first-born than to make such use of this home? The unselfishness of the action and-the high motives that inspired it will be applauded by the country as typical of this young couple who hold the love of tho entire nation. The Lindbergh philanthropy is not a subject that iends itself readily to words, remarks the Pittsburg "PostGazette." "It is rather an act that calls for reverent regard for tho bigness of mind and charity that can exclude bitterness from sorrow, and maintain faith in humanity. Hopewell may remain the scene, but not the home of tragedy; it will become instead a home of noble service." "Hopewell," says the Minneapolis "Journal/ "may appropriately become a symbol, the house that bears the name a. shrine of parental love, for heartful folk to whose sympathetic, respectful regard Charles and Anne Lindbergh might 'justly claim title, if it were in their natures to assert such a claim."