Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-10
CARING FOR PAUPERS.
A PittSburger's Plan of Relief From
the Evils Of the Present System.
VIEWS OF ROBERT D. MGONNIGLE
To Be Put in Practical Form Before Poor
Directors of the State.
he PROPOSES AN ENTIRELY NEW LAW

Next Wednesday the State Association
of Poor Directors will officially notice and
discuss The DIsPATCH's complete e1-
posure of the evils growing out of the oper-
ations of the poor law of 1886. The organ
ization is composed of Poor Directors in
most all the counties of Pennsylvania.
This is their seventeenth annual meeting.
Ii will be held at Reading. beginning on
Tuesday and lasting until Thursday even
ing. Mr. Robert d. McGonnigle, of this
city, will be one of the delegates to repre-
sent Pittsburg and Allegheny at the con-
vention
81 have been intensely interested in the
articles which The DISPATCH printed this
week, showing up the eXpensiveness and in
humanity of the system still in vogue in
many counties, TO trust to township over
seers the care of the poor" said Mr.. Nc
Gonnigle Yesterday. Something must GER
tainlv be done to overthrow the system.
Enough has already been shown by THE
DISPATCH to convince people of the wis
dom of repeating the act of 1886. / will be
in attendance at the State Convention of
Poor Directors, in Reading. next week, and
shall advocate immediate steps for re-
form.
A PLAN FOR RELIEF.
81 am now formulating plan which l
will get before the convention in the shape
of resolutions 1t will be for the appoint
ment of a committee of six or seven able
LAWYERS to take hold of this subject, review
the testimony taken last year by the State
Commission, the exposures made by THE
DISPATCH and the skeleton of new law
suggested bv the aforesaid State Commits
sion in the early part of the present year:
and from them all to formulate the draft of
a new State law that will abolish township
overseers and compel each county to take
charge of the poor of all townships, under
proper State supervision.
'This committee, - continued Mr.. McGon-
nigle, could take ample time and extra care
with its work for its report need not be
presented until the Poor Directors meet
again in State convention, and that would
be in October of 1892. Our association
could then discuss the report of the COM
mittee in all its bearings, and the result
would be the draft of a new poor law as
nearly perfect as it is possible to get one.
This could then be introduced in the State
Legislature. which would meet in regular
session in the following January.
OTHER PLANS TO COME UP.
Besides this plan which have outlined
the question will be generally considered at
Reading next week. Mr.. d. s. Brumbaugh,
of Blair county, will read paper, entitled,
The Different Systems of Caring for the
Poor in This State Mr.. Brumbaugh is a
gentleman conversant with the inefhciencies
of the old pauper system in all its phazes
I have Just received letter from him, by
the way, in which he commends THE DIS
PATCH articles. They have set people TO
thinking all over the State.
Immediately preceding Mr.. Brum-
baugh's paper, will be an address by f.
P Gould, Of Erie on The Work of the
Poor Law Commission
Mr. McGonnigle was a member OF the
State Commission appointed by Governor
Beaver to codify the poor laws of Pennsyl-
vania. When that commission got down to
work they ran against the same obstacle the
State Road Commission was encountering at
the same time. Like the innumerable hun
dreds of laws on roads in this State, there
were scores and scores of special acts for
counties and townships providing for the
care Of the poor.
The lack of uniformity involved the COM
mission in an intricate maze, and it was i'm
possible for them to codify anything. I'm
derneath all these special laws were the
cumbersome features of the ancient general
parts of the State on the results of the oper-
alton of this general law, the rottenness of
the entire system was uncovered.
THE EVIDENCE HELD BACK.
This evidence, however, was never printed
on account of no appropriation, and the
public did not know the startling facts it
contained until THE DISHATCH gained ac-
cess to them. and pushed the investigation
For hpr NJ
sion made in general terms a report to the
Governor. recommending the Legislature of
last winter to adopt d new law which they
submitted
Through the haphazard policy of the last
Legislature this new act, although printed
and placed on the calendar, was lost sight
Of 1t served a good purpose, however, in
forming 4 good basis on which TO formulate
another law to be presented the next Legis- |
lature.
UNDER THE STATE CONTROL.
''I believe the State should have super
vision over all the counties when they do |
establish almshouses," said Mr. McGonni- |
Gle. ''It need not be a new department of |
State government, however. At present |
the State Board OF Charities is required to |
visit all alm>houses once year. That is |
not sufficient. Almshouses should be in |
wear, and yct even ence year is scarcely |
aS much time now as the State Board of /
Charities can spare.
Its present duties-the supervision of |
Uenitentiaries. iails the study of lunacv
and the almshOuses-are too heavy. |
i cannot do Justice to all of |
them. should say. continue
in our new law the supervision of the Board |
of Charities over the almshouses, but let |
there be appointed under that board a sepa-
rate chief for the Department of Charity
apart from the penal and medical lines of |
their work. In Massachusetts the same
State Board has charge of health, lunacy
and charity, but there is chief, or single |
head officer for each. Something after the /
same plan l would advocate for adoption in |
Pennsylvania. -
THE HALF NOT YET TOLD.
Mr. McGonnigle said that, bad as the /
state Of affairs is which THE DISPATCH has /
shown up, the haif has not vet been told |
He knows personally of many instances
where the evil of the system is apparent
One he mentioned was pauper whom But
Ter county once foisted upon Allegheny
CITY. The CITY sent him back to Butler as
one Of their legal inhabitants. He was
turned loose on Adams township of that
county. Adams township repudiated and
drove him off her soil, making Cranberry |
township take him
Cranberry rebelled, and, at last after
years Of litigation in the courts over this
ono pauper, ne is given permanent reliet in
Cranberry township to-day. But $500 at
least was spent in law over his case. His
keeping costs less than 500 year, SO that
if the other $500 had been given to him in