legal protectors, and that therefore special legislation was necessary to secure their proper treatment. To ameliorate the condition of children has therefore entered largely into the scope of modern legislation. The principal purpose of the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is to shield them from abuse and to care for them, at least temporarily until their cases have been disposed by a court.
CHILDREN'S BUREAU, a bureau of the United States Government, established under the supervision of the Department of Labor in 1912. It is authorized to investigate and report on matters pertaining to child life. These include the birth rate, infant mortality, juvenile courts, accidents and diseases of children, etc. The chief of the bureau in 1921 was Miss Julia C. Lathrop.
CHILDREN'S COURTS. See Juvenile Courts
CHILDREN'S CRUSADE, THE, a singular movement in 1212, preached in France by Stephen, a peasant boy, and in Germany the same year by Nicholas, also a peasant boy. Some 90,000 chil dren left their mothers and schoolmas- ters in the spring "to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels," and ships were placed at their disposal. The French contingent embarked at Marseilles in August; part perished the same month by shipwreck on the island of San Pie- tro, and the rest were sold into slavery to Mohammedans. The German contin- gent reached Genoa in August, and was utterly dispersed by various disasters before the next spring.
CHILDS, GEORGE WILLIAM, an American philanthropist and publisher; born in Baltimore, Md., May 22, 1829. He published the Philadelphia "Public Ledger," 1864-1894. He gave a Shakes- peare memorial fountain to Stratford- on-Avon, a memorial window in West- minster Abbey to Cowper and Herbert, and assisted in establishing a home for printers at Colorado Springs. He pub- lished "Recollections of General Grant" (1885), and "Personal Recollections" (1889). He died in Philadelphia, Feb. 3, 1894.
CHILE, a republic of South America, bounded on the N. by Peru, E. by Bo- livia and the Argentine Republic, S. and W. by the Pacific Ocean; area, 290,829 square miles. In 1918 the population of was 3,945,538. Some of the leading towns Santiago, 397,550; Valparaiso, 201,507; Concepcion, 68,902; Iquique, 45,502; Talque, 41,618; Chillan, 38,543; Anto- fagasta, 56,295. Santiago, the capital, is beautifully laid out and adorned with ca- thedrals, parks, and imposing public buildings. It has two universities. Val- paraiso is the chief seaport and is a handsome and thriving city.
Topography.-The Andes extend in two parallel lines throughout nearly the entire length of the country. Between these two ranges of the "Cordillera" there is a central valley or tableland which attains its greatest breadth be- tween 33° and 40° S. The streams in the N. are of little importance, being mostly shallow brooks; in the S. they are larger and more numerous, though most are navigable for only a few miles. The principal rivers are the Maipu, which waters the valley of Santiago; the Maule; the Biobio, the largest river in the country; the Cautin, or Rio Impe- rial; the Bueno, and the Callecalle, or Rio de Valdivia (100 miles), the most important of all, because of the sheltered harbor at its mouth. In the S. are also many deep lakes, such as Llanquihue (30 miles long by 22 broad) and Ranco (32 by 18 miles). The most important is- lands are those constituting the province of Chiloe; Juan Fernandez also belongs to Chile. Owing to its great extension from N. to S., Chile comprises regions of very different nature and climate. The N. provinces are arid, rainless dis- tricts, where the principal industry is mining and extraction of saltpeter. The middle and S. provinces are agricultural and viticultural, and have also valuable coal fields. The Patagonian region is densely wooded and sparsely inhabited by a few Indians. The Andes are al- most everywhere visible, covered with perpetual snow. The highest peak is Aconcagua, 22,867 feet. The average height of the range is 8,000 feet. There are many volcanic peaks, mostly extinct. Among these may be mentioned Tupungato, Descabezado, Chillan, Osorno, and Villa Rica. Chile is subject to frequent shocks of earthquakes, and occasionally to destructive floods. The most notable of seismic movements recorded was in 1822, when the coast near Valparaiso was thrown up permanently between 3 and 4 feet; this elevation extended over 100,000 square miles. In 1835 Concepcion and Talcahuano were destroyed by a fearful earthquake which produced disaster all over the southern provinces.
[Climate and Productions. The climate Chile is temperate. In the N. it is moderately hot and rainless, but banks had the following population in 1916: of clouds always hang overhead, and
heavy dew falls at night. In the S. it is dry for about eight months of the year, and rainy the other four. The tempera-
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