Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-16
Proposed by the State Poor Law Com
mission, Which Will Meet in
Harrisburg To-Day.
SOME POINTS FROM THE NEW BILL.
0verseers Are to be Done Away With, and
the General Supervision to be
Placed With One Man.
AN ALMsHoUsE FOB EVERY COUNTY.
Pttshurgs Representative Gives Some Facts and Figures
on the Subject

| SECRETARY u. ~. hcIOnulgle, Vi tue 6ie'
gheny County Light Company. left last
night for Harrisburg to attend meeting of
the Poor Law Commission. which will be
held at the Lochiel House, in that city,
to-day.
The commission was created by an act OF
Legislature on May 9. 1889, and is composed
of Messrs. Lewis Pughe, Chairman, Scran-
ton; R. D. McGonnigle, Pittsburg; j.
Nevin Hill, Sanbury, William N. Appel,
Lancaster; D. Watson Rowe. Chambers
burg; William Lawson, Philadelphia; Will
lam E. Marsh. Cory; and Elliot sRodgers,
Clerk. During nearly two years, the time
the organization has been in existence, a
vast amount of work has been accomplished,
and of kind that is of the utmost import
ance to the people OF the State at large.
At the meeting to-day, papers on various
subjects pertaining to the general question
| will be submitted and discussed, and bill
| for the consideration OF Governor Beaver to
be presented to the Legislature will be re-
ported.
| A Bill Ready for the Legislature.
! In fact, the bill has already been framed,
and it will not likely have to undergo any
changes. The reforms contemplated in 1t
are of a most sweeping character. and will,
if adopted. revolutionize the so-termed lame
and halting laws under which the charities
Of the State are now conducted. Its economic
| features are OF a character to recommend it
to every taxpayer in the State, and beside
this, it is calculated to simplify and sys-
tematize the work in all its bearings.
m Al Al I,
establishment of a Poor House Bureau at
Harrisburg and the appointment of State
Commissioner, who will have general su-
pervision of almshouses in the State. He
will make and issue rules and regulations
for the care and maintenance of the poor,
they to be subject to the approval of the
Governor and Secretary Of Internal Affairs.
Overseers to Be Knocked Out.
The present system of overseers, as pro-
| yided for under the old laws, will be done
away with, and almshouses will be erected
in each county of the State where there are
none at present. They will be established
much after the general plan of the poor
farm in this county.
Then each county will elect board of
three directors, who will receive such sala-
ries as may be fixed by the Court of Quarter
Sessions o: the county. These directors will
act in conjunction with the Commissioner.
Great care was exercised in framing the bill
so that its provisions would in no way con-
fict with counties or districts that are now
conducted under special acts of the Legisla-
rure. This will exempt institutions like the
| Board of Public Charities, in this city, from
| Tho pronoSod loU that the tf0n1 m
sioner will have general supervision over
them. So far as the old laws are concerned,
| the measure contemplates general wiping
| out of them.
The bill also authorizes the County Com
| missioners to raise funds for the establish
ment of almshouses in counties now with
| out them. Methods of admission and dis
cipline are also provided for, while the gen.
eral laws pertaining to the reliet of public
charges are greatly changed and simplifed.
Work Provided for Paupers.
Work for those inmates who are able to
toll will be supplied on the roads or farms,
or at such other occupation as is peculiar to
the district. The liabilities for support are
reduced to children and parents. The
| former may be held responsible for the keep
! ing of their parents in almshouses, and vice
versa. At present the law embraces grand
| parents and grandchildren. The proceed
| Jugs in desertion cases are also greatly
| simpliied.
Commissioner McGonnigle was given
| charge of that department of the work rela-
tive to outdoor relief. He recommended,
among other things, that relief of this kind
should be given only in cases of emergency,
| and that in no instance should the period of
relief extend over three months, and single
persons should not be granted the same.
| nd fro Shnuld ho fod 20
police regulations, and work exacted of them
| in payment for assistance rendered.
Another feature of his report was that of
/ new class of paupers to be maintained at the
expense of the State. At present q person
| with no fixed place of residence, and possibly
not citizen of the country, becomes charge
on the particular district IN which he or she
may become overtaken with sickness, acci-
| dent or misfortune. The idea is to have
their keeping paid for from State fund, as
is done under the new State law of New
York.
| -. Physicians to Care for the Sick.
The report also recommended that d.
rectors of the poor have power to appoint
| physicians in various county districts to
| care for the sick at stated salaries. They
are also to have the power of educating and
training all children whose parents receive
| outdoor relief.
Another report OF the highest excellence,
and one that has been of great value to the
| commission in its labors, was that made BY
Mr.. Hill. During the last summer be Wis
tied London, armed with special commits
sion from Governor Beaver and made an
| exhaustive study of the English poor law
| system of the British Isles from the tenth
century down to the present day. The i'm
portance of thorough understanding of
this system is based partly on the fact that
the general and special laws Of this country
have their roots in the legislation of that
country. The report is comprehensive and
has been an invaluable aid to the commits
sion, many of its suggestions having been
| adopted, as were those Of Mr. McGonnigle's
and other members.
A Reform Needed for Many Years.
In speaking of the work OF the commits
sion, Mr.. McGonnigle said: ''This Is the
first move toward reform Of our State poor
laws that has been made since 1886. As a
result, we are away behind the times, with
nothing like system in the work. The
regulations of the various counties are all at
variance with each other, whereas they
should be uniform. This is one point,
Another thing is that the cost to the State
cooperating their institutions will be greatly
| reduced"
"How many new almshouses will have to
| be established in the State?"
| "I think the number will be between 15
aad 20. There are 50 counties in the State
and 20 almshouses, but some of the counties
have as high as seven, while others have
none"