When the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the land for its immense new station it took over among other property the West Side Lodging House and School for Homeless Boys in West Thirty-second street, near Seventh avenue, which the Children’s  Aid Society received in 1885 from John Jacob Astor. The railroad had to have the site of the home, and to get it willingly paid the charitable institution so generous a sum that the society has been able to erect with the proceeds two fine buildings, thus more than doubling the value of Mr. Astor’s original benefaction. The West Side Lodging House, at 225 West Thirty-fifth street, is one of the buildings. The other is the West Side Industrial School, at 419 West Thirty-eighth street.

The story of this notable gain by one of New York’s foremost charities s an incidental result of the carrying out of the Pennsylvania’s great improvement was made public at the annual meeting of the Children’s Aid Society yesterday. Because of the increased facilities afforded by the new buildings and of substantial gifts from trustees, Secretary C. Loring Brace said, the society would ge [sic] able to develop its manual training work greatly.

Nearly 16,000 poor children attended the society’s industrial schools this year. The society is making a special effort to attract truant children. Among other things a newsboys’ industrial school, which Mr. Brace said would be the first in the country, will soon be opened in the downtown Newsboys’ Lodging House.

Mr. Brace said that 4,302 boys and girls had been sheltered in the society’s lodging houses during the year, against 13,717 in 1883. “This enormous falling off in homeless, wandering boys is a striking fact,” said he, “and is due to the effectiveness of the life saving agencies.”

There are still many boys idling about low resorts, he asserted, and to reach these the society is making its homes more attractive.

More children were placed in good homes during the year than ever before, the total being 869. The society also returned 350 runaways to their parents. Since 1853, when the society was founded, it has placed in family homes 23,061 children, obtained places for 25,200 and restored to their parents 5,551 runaways. Treasurer A. B. Hepburn reported the years receipts as $696,057 and expenditures as $695,628. The officers and trustees were reelected.