Infant Abandoned on Auburn Porch
An unknown motorist dropped a two-hour-old baby boy on Alfred Collins' doorstep in the middle of the night.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Rushing up in an automobile, unknown persons carefully deposited a 2-hour-old boy baby at the doorsteps of Alfred Collins, of this city, about 3 o'clock yesterday morning, and then, putting on the high speed, hastened away. In a few minutes the cries of the baby aroused the family, which had heard the strange actions of the persons in the auto, and the infant was taken in. There was no clew to the babe's parents and it is not known whether the auto came from Seattle or Tacoma. Mr. Collins has six children of his own. The babe will likely be adopted by another family here.
“In a few minutes the cries of the baby aroused the family, which had heard the strange actions of the persons in the auto, and the infant was taken in.”
Public interest in 'foundling' cases was immense in 1909, serving as a stark reminder of the era's lack of social safety nets for struggling parents, a contrast to modern social services.
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