Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-02
That Is What an Expert From Fay
ette County Says Pittsburg
Needs for Paupers.
ELLIOT'S THEORY KNOCKED OUT.
The Chronic Insane to Be Transferred to
Hospitals as Wards of the
Commonwealth,
TIE PLUPER LAWS TO BE REVISED.
Township System to Be Abolished and Outdoor Relief
Regulated.

the commission chosen to revise the pauper
laws of the State and a recognized authority
or papers and poor houses, was in Pittsburg
on business yesterday. Mr.. Carr was born
in Allegheny, and he hoed cabbage and
weeded onions where Recreation Park is
now located He has been in charge of the
Fayette County Almshouse for many
years, and he has made his position the
study of his life. He is close observer and
he talks knowingly on the poor and poor
farms. He,is positive in his opposition to
large tracts of land for poor farm purposes,
and in an interesting talk yesterday he told
his reasons for his belief
The State must assume charge Of her in
sane" said Mr.. Carr. "The commission to
revise the laws governing paupers will,
among its first acts, make such a recon-
mendstion and will draft law providing
for such step. All legislation of the last
eight years has tended toward the State
assuming charge of her insane. In 1888,
the counties of Pennsylvania paid So per
week to the insane asylums for keeping
their INDECENT insane. BY an act Of 1883
the amount was reduced to 81 per week and
the State psidS2 per week for each patient.
This amount is paid outside of the regular
State appropriation. BY an act of 1889 the
amount paid for each inmate By the county
sending them to the asylum was reduced to
81 IS, but the States amount was not re-
duced. Now We propose to relieve the
counties entirely by securing legislation
that will make all the insane the wards of
the State.
State Hospitals for Paupcr Insane.
"I say" Mr.. Carr went on, "such bill
will be prepared, and 1 am satisfied it will
be made a law by the next Legislature. The
effect of such legislation is what 1 am
driving at In Pittsburg for instance, it
would take from the care of the city the 80
chronic insane patients now under the
charge of Chief Elliot. 1t would also take
from Mr. Elliot that small army of men
with which, he argues, he. can work a large
poor farm, and by SO doing Chief Elliot's
,heory of large farm would fall tc tie
ground. Experiences has proven to my
mind that paupers are positively OF no
service as farm hands. Th. chronic insane
are some better, bus in my Judgment Chief
Elliot could buy in the Pittsburg markets
all the farm and garden products his people
consume mucn cheaper than he can raise
them by pauper labor on ground that
threatens to cost anywhere from 5000 to $500
per acre.
''When the State takes charge of the in
sane. as it surely will, Mr.. Elliot's pro-
posed big farm would have to be worked
bv hired help. That would be an expensive
luxury and no system ofmanagement would
maize it pay"
What size farm would you advise for
Pittsburg?" was asked.
Under no circumstances should the Pitts
burg poor farm consist of more than 100
acres. A farm of 75 acres would answer all
purposes. That territory would prevent the
closing in of the buildings by other enter
prises, and it would be plenty of ground to
supply recreation and exercise for the in
mates. All the garden truck that could be
used in the institution could be grown on
that amount of land, and paupers as rule
can be of some service about the garden and
potato patches. They are of little, if anv,
service in any other way, however.
Will Abolish the Township System.
while the new law our commission con-
templates knocks the props from under
Chief Elliot's theory of large farm to be
worked by chronic insane. it will be strictly
in harmony with the Chiefs ideas on the
subject. The insane asylums of the State
have always persistentlv refused to admit
the insane patients of Pittsburg and Phila-
deiphia. In 1889 Chief Elliot had intro
duccd into the Legislature bill reimburs-
ing Pittsburg for keeping her insane, but
the bill was defeated. Then Mr.. Elliot at
tempted to have the State asylums take
charge of the untortunates, but the asylums
insisted that thev were overfiowing with
patients, and refused to receive them. ALLIE
gheny county and all the other counties in
the State except Philadelphia have been
able to send their insane to the State insti-
tutions, but they sent them in small num-
bers. Mr.. Elliot wanted to dump mis- 200
or 500 patients on the asylu:ns all at once
and he was unable to do it"
"Will your commission recommend any
further change in the poor lawso"
~'Yes We will adopt the advice of THE
DISPATCH and viii. draft bill providing
for the abolition of the township system of
caring for paupers. The township system,
as we know it, is purely relic of the
darker ages. 1t is system that provides
for selling the paupers to the highest bid
ders. As rule the highest bidder is as
poor as the pauper he buys. He keeps the
poor slave in abject poverty and want. The
system is damnable and it is blot upon
our State. 1t is used in Butler, Armstrong,
Indiana, Jefferson and other northwestern
counties We propose to abolish it COM
pletely and when we do 1t will wipe out
criminal practice in Pennsylvania
"When will your commission meet?"
'We will have a meeting within fou.
weeks in Harrisburg. We have invited
many prominent people to appear before U.S.
DR.. c. C. Wiley, of this city, has promised,
among others, to attend, and we will not
act ignorantly in the matter. Our aim will
be to secure the enactment of law that
will protect the unfortunates as we'll as
those who pay for their keeping. The poor
laws of the present are being violated every
day, and every county in the State has
law of its own. The township system is
gross evasion Of the law and there are many
other systems practiced in almshouses
throughout Pennsylvania that are just as
Questionable. D
The system of granting outdoor relief is
one that has caused no end of annoyance to
the poor authorities of Pennsylvania. The
system as it is now practiced by most of the
counties, is one that is calculated to add
more distress to the unfortunates than to re-
lieve their want. We contemplate correct
ing this evil.
Fitzsimmons Visited Cora Wyatt.
Mr.. Carr yesterday for the first time saw
a photograph of Fitzsimmons, the escaped
convict. THAT man." said Mr.. Carr point
ing to the photograph, "spent the night at
our house a week ago last Sunday. There
is certainly no mistaking the man. He
come to our institution about dusk on Sum