The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-03-10
CITY REPORTS.
Report of the overseers of the Poor.
The following is the report of the overseers

OUTSIDE POOR.
Number OF families who have received aid for
the year., 262, represented by 1,0O3 persons;
husbands imprisoned for crime, 8 sickness S3;
old age or other disability Of men, 20; men with
large families of small children, 8; men out Of
work, "a; habits Of intoxiealion and idleness Of
father or mother, 13; husband in insane hospital,
Kind of aid rendered: fuel only 20; provisions
only. 4; medical attendance only 56; fuel and
provisions, SO; fuel and medical attendance, s.;
provisions and medical attendance, / ; fuel, pro-
visions and medical attendance, IT; whole num-
Der receiving medical attendance and medicine,
14O; pauper settlement IN the city, 1856; IN other
towns in the State, IS; number settlement in the
State. 80; whole number OF orders issued for sup
Articles delivered: 32535o pounds of coal;
$40 feet of wood; 10 800 pounds of flour; 3,99S
pounds pork 1898 pounds fish; 1894 quarts
692 pounds rice; 692 pounds oatmeal; 692 dozen
crackers; value of medicines on prescriptions,
$40o.65; total cost outside poor, 81, 1856.
AIMS HOUSE AND HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
Number at the beginning of the year, III; ad-
mitted, 1856; sent from Municipal Court, SO; dis
charged, ITO; sentence expired, 80; sent to hos
average daily humber H6s assregae cost so
46O.S2 average cost each inmate per week,
$1S6.
GREELY HOSPITAL.
Number at the beginning of the year, Al; ad-
mtted, 1O4; births, 4; discharged, 81; died, 81 I;
runaway, 8; present number, AZ; average daily
number, 49, aggregate cost, S5.273.O9; average
cost of each patient per week, S2.67.
Insane panpers at the insane hospital at the
beginning Of the year 81; committed, IS; dis
charged, 8 died. 8; expense assumed by other
towns, Q; paid by Unitod States government and
friends, 6; belonging to the State. 2; present
number for which the city is liable, 15 amount
paid, for the year ending November 80, 1885,
S2,412.33.
Total number of persons assisted In various
ways during the year, exclusive of trampS sent
away, l, ,493: sent away under the statue, 1Ol;
sent away at the expense OF the city, 45; expense
S12965; children provided with homes, 10; ag-
gregate expenses from April 1, 1885, 70 March l,
1885, So, ,569O6; a2pr rpriation, s23, 800; bal
meet the bills for March; estimated cash income,
81 200, making net cost for support of poor for
the financial year, S22 300.
The report suggests greater cooperation Of pub
lie and private charity and recommends that pri-
vate charity be confined TO that class Of pOpu-
lation, known to have legal pauper settlement
here, who are considered as worthy poor; leaving
those who are less worthy, who have settlement
here, and those who have no settlement In the
State TO be cared for exclusively at the public
pense, giving as reason or such recommends
ton that the present method Of dispensing pri-
yate charity has tendency tip enable many who
have not now legal pauper settlement in the city
to acquire such 80 that In caSe Of removal to other
towns in the state, where private charity is not so
freelybestuwed the paupers fall into distress tho
city is legally responsible for any public aid that
may be rendered them, which would not be the
case IL the only aSsiStan ce rendered them here
was at the expense of the public; and because too
this plan would prevent many, If not the most OF
those, whom misfortune has made poor and whose
further because by the national law under certain
conditions large number of the outside poor
could be aided at government expense, and others
al the expense of States where the legal Obliga-
tions relating to now settled persons are more
generally distributed than by the pauper law of
this state, so that in following our present meth
DDS we are as city, bearing burdens that belong
either to the national or State governments ac-
cording to the legal obligations of either nation or
states to these non settled persons.