Intervention into the lives of children in the case of Wilmington (Delaware) indicates no evidence to substantiate claims that child savers were trying to control and resocialize children of the dangerous classes. The child savers did not come into being until 1863 and their beginning was connected to the tragedies that resulted from the Civil War. Had there been an ulterior motive behind their work, they would have begun earlier in the century. With respect to the treatment of children who were institutionalized, there is no evidence whatsoever of the exploitation of children. The Home for Friendless and Destitute Children was apparently the sole facility of its kind between 1863 and 1879 and perhaps the major one for the remainder of the century. It housed relatively small numbers of children, but more important it turned over the population rapidly. Most of the children were either returned home or placed out. Moreover, there was an emphasis on education rather than work. There is little evidence to show any support for the radical perspective of child saving. 1 table, 1 note, and bibliography