Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-29
WARDS OF THE STATE
Meeting Of the Poor Law Commis-
sion 10 Take Measure for the
RELIEF OF STRANDED STRANGERS.
What the Department of Charities Has
Been Doing Lately.
A Law THAT COVERS THE WHOLE CASE

At a meeting of the Poor Law Commission
Of the State, to be held some time next
month, a recommendation will be made to
amend the laws to cover such cases US spoken
of by Mayor Gourley in yesterdays issue of
THE DISPATCH. The resident member OF
the commission is ex-Secretary R. D. Nc
GonnigIe, of the Allegheny Poor Board,
who stated Yesterday that the commission
has been considering the matter for some
time. In this event it would not be neces-
sary to establish fund to assist poor people
not residents of the city. Mayor Gourley
claims that STRANGERS are turned away by
Department of Charities, and they either be-
come burden on the Police Department or
subsist on the charity of the public by
begging. Mr. McGonnigle has had NOR e
experience in dealing with the poor than
any man in the city, and he was asked yes
terday for bis opinion on Mayor Gourley's
scheme.
II received letter this morning from
Lewis Pugh, Chairman of the Commission"
Mr.. McGonnigle said, Sin which he spoke of
the necessity of holding meeting in Sep
tember. One of our members is in Europe
investigating the poor laws Of the old
country and he will be back in a couple. of
weeks. As soon as he returns, we will come
together and adopt recommendations for
amendments to the present poor laws.
CARING FOR STRANGERS.
"We will take up the matter of caring for
strangers not having residence in the
district in which they apply and have had
this matter under consideration for some
time.
"In New York State. they have what is
called the State pauper law An APP
preparation is made annually, and expended
by the Board of Charities. to assist strangers
who the District Poor Boards do not want
to care for. For instance, if a, man applies
at Albany, and has walked from Buffalo or
some other city, he is assisted and the ex-
penses paid OUT OF the State fund. We have
a woman being cared for by the police
authorities, who is here looking for her
husband. Ii we had State pauper law
she could be assisted and il would not cost
the city cent.
"Pittsburg has to take care of large
floating class on account of it being a manu-
featuring town. The dependents, you will
find, always drift to the centers of popula-
tion, and Allegheny county has more poor
people to take of than an agricultural
county like Lancaster or Chester. The way
the present laws are interpreted, when a
stranger applies for relief he or she is
buffeted about from pillar to post, with no
place to go to. If they apply to the De-
partment of Charities they are told accord
ing to reports that they have no legal settle
ment in this district and nothing can be
done for them. Then they 60 out on the
streets and beg from people who have
already paid taxes to support them. Atthe
next session of the Legislature something
will be done to amend the present laws, and
such cases as Mayor Gourley complains of
will be remedied."
IT COVERS ALL CASES.
From another source it was learned that
the present laws cover all cases of appli-
cants for charity, no matter whether they
belong TO the city or not. In view of this
fact there is no necessity for such fund as
the one Mayor Gourley suggests. The
gentleman who called the attention OF the
reporter to the fact, hunted around and
secured a COPY of the general poor laws of
Pennsylvania. Section 1 of "an act relating
to the support and employment of the poor"
approved June 13, 1886, covers this point.
There is no repeating law passed since then,
and the original laws has been backed up
by decision of the Supreme Court. The
first section says: "That it shall be the duty
of the overseers of every district, from time
to time, to provide as hereinafter directed,
for every poor person within the district,
having settlement therein, who shall ap-
ply to them for relief"
Section says: 1T shall be the duty of
the overseers OF every district to furnish re-
lief to every poor person within the district,
not having settlement therein, who shall
apply to them for the relief, until such per-
SON can be removed to the place of his set
tlement."
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.
As will be seen by the last section, the
laws explicitly state that every person must
be helped, whether they reside here or not
The police records show scores of cases
where people have been turned away from
the Department OF Charities because they
were strangers.
Chief Elliott said yesterday that within
the last 80 days the Department of Charities
had issued 232 railroad passes exclusive of
Yesterdays list. These tickets were for New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati,
Cleveland and other cities. The holders in
cluded discharged convicts from the peni-
tentiary, who brought letters from warden
or chaplain, unfortunates gathered into the
police stations, and all others who were
deemed worthy. The denial of assistance
to able bodied women, unencumbered, who
are travelling about the country in search of
runaway husbands, he says is the exception
not the rule.