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Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
annual expense to keep a home for delinquent and underprivileged boys in operation. It was important to look well into the material aspects of the project before tackling it. Undismayed, the Knights of Columbus of Texas entered into an agree- ment that summer with the Child ·welfare League of America, Inc., to make a study of the problems of such an undertaking. The survey revealed that there were only eight Catholic agencies in Texas at that time serving orphans of both sexes or boys alone; that these institutions took care primarily of abandoned or unwanted children; that there were practically no provisions made for private care of delinquents; and that there was no program to speak of for boys over twelve years. The survey then went on to make some definite proposals. Although these were far beyond the foreseeable means which the Knights could muster, it was granted that Texas still needed a model program for both delinquent and orphan boys. Several projects, largely visionary, were proposed by a special committee at the Waco Convention in 1948 along the lines suggested. The most conservative estimate for the establishment of a home for underprivileged boys required an initial outlay of $200,000 to $300,000 and an annual operating expense of $75,000. It was recom- mended therefore that ( 1) the project of building a home for boys be adopted in principle, ( 2) the Committee proceed with a study of the details involved, and (3) no action be taken by the Committee on fiscal policy but that the matter of financing the project be submitted by the State Officers to the subordinate councils before the next annual meeting. Much speculation on the future of the project prevailed when the State Convention met again in 1949 in Laredo. The Committee hopefully re- ported it had been fortunate to learn that the Missionary Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a teaching order of Belgian priests, was willing to operate the projected home on certain conditions. The mission- ary padres had just purchased a 440 acre farm on the outskirts of Dallas for $125,000. On being approached, they had expressed a willingness to found a home for underprivileged boys, but not for delinquents. On the land bought, there were se,•eral buildings. One of them could be converted into a home for boys at a cost of $15,000. If the Knights granted them financial assistance, they were willing to take care of the boys. Concretely, they asked for $5,000 in cash and a promise of $10,000 more when the surplus of the treasury warranted. The proposal was accepted gladly as a means of starting a boys' home. The matter proved to be far from settled, however. At the El Paso
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