Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-04-21
Continued from 1st page.

she was already abundantly supplied with ofT- bring. This woma has been aided most munificently by the town for years; and feature of the case which would be almost amusing If 1t were not almost amazing Is the l fact that tue acknowledged father Of the Dapy ! was the woman's landlord, to whom the se- | lectmeu were regularly paying $10 month | as rent for the tidy apartments which sae
 occupied. We are gratifed 10 learn that since
 January her aid has been discontinued. "Family Con January Il, 1891, woman | who twenty-three days before had been of- | 1cially helped to the amount of $S was ar-
 rested for maintaing house of ill.fams. She 1 was convicted, fined and sent to jail She re, ceived a small amount of ald in 1S9O and | again in 1892. The resort of which she was l the proprietor wss particularly vile ana dis
 gustiu9. even for that class of institutions. Family This Is the case of a woman
 with family. Sue was helped to the ext mt
 of S5S 50 last year, and she has been on the
 outside poor record for not less than seven
 years. This is her police record
 Arrested in August Fbrseiv assz ,sss | tor Keeping n house of ill-fame; arrested
 in November, 1893. for drunkenness. Her
 ventures to the s-lectmeps office were ap- | parently more frequent and successful tnab | ner ventures in virtue.
 "Familv F-This family has trod the prim-
 rose path of public relief for ssven or eight | yenrs. Sometimes 1t Is the mans name that tppears on the records: at o'her times It Is | Ee wife who Is tho channel through which | the aId reaches the family. Between May,
 1884. and September. 1893, the husband was | arrested once Tor non-support. five times for | breach of the psace and twelve times Tor | drunkenness"
 The conclusions Of the committee are that, | while great ma 0rity of the families aldeo
 are worthy, official relief. like the rain from | heaven, tails on the just and on the unjust, and that If frequent and rigid investigations | were made tito the cases aided the percent | age ot unworthy benefciaries would be ma- | terialy les sened.
 AMOUNT CF AID GRANTED. During the last fiscal year, according to | the report, the expenditures for outdoor aims
 aggregated $40, ,275.57, which was equivalent | to 57 cents for each inhaoitant of the town.
 The magnitude of these figures is evidenced | by the fact that the per capita tax for out tide assistance was 10 cents n Providence m | I792, II cents in Sprinl field in 1892 and 53 | cents in Indianapolis in 1891. The amout o1 | public relief ad ministered in any community
 IS largely determined by practice and pre- l cedent. The average amount of a1d ais" | p-nsed to each of the S96 fam lies was Sol '";+
 Fifty families individually received dtrs m1 ,rs,ps,
 slOO from the town WI afE1 family i was ss6o. The
 an0ul aN"y, aifeady alluded to, which was super-
 aunu'ly enlarged last October by the birth of
 au illeRitmate child, was relieved to the ex- | teni of $224 last year. and between April 25, 1S90. anu January l, 1894, it cost the tax payers of Waterbury $SSS.
 NATURE OF RELIEF GIVEN. The report estimates the expenditures for d fferent classes of relet during the year to | have been as follows: Fual Sl ,341.05; rent. S. .9S4 70; provisions, $6, 831 20; mlsceilane-
 "us. $s,11S.62; total. S2O 275.57. The dis oursements for eacn of these forms cf aid are anaIyzed at length.
 | Last year orders for fuel were granted to | 159 families, tho largest annual grant being l $3I.:5. h the opinion of the committee considerable saving could be effected by
 awarding to the lowest responsible bidder
 the contract fer supplying the town with fuel FOrt hn SiA do md SNrf hn olp,p The report explains that while the outside pauper population has grown 6S per cent during the past ten years the expenditures for rent have increased 163 per cent h other
 words rent payments have bounded forward 23 times as rapidly as the pauper census. Ninety weight families were included in the rent'account last year and the average paId to each ona exceeded $40. Three families re- ceived $120 each, and in Al eases the amount
 paid was over $50. The committee recom- mend that, as in Hartford, the selectmen be prohibited from making an annual rent grant of over $4S.
 The expenditures for provisions were
 larger by S1S5 than the total disbursements for all kinds of nublio outdoor relief la Indt.
 anapolls in 1891. and they outstripped by $2 900 the net outside aid furnished by
 Spripl field in 1892 Provision orders were
 ssued to 202 families. representing over 700 persons.
 ADMINISTRATIVE METHODS. The business methods which obtain in the
 
 committee to be defective in at least three nportuRt particulars.
 q. As to Grocery Orders.-Wheu the selectmen issue an order for provisions the recipient IS permitted to elect the grocer on rhruoI itStff0 hh ufSff T6e a5ld9ra aEP ma te3ss l pense of the town, with supplies to the ex- | tent of he amout specified in the order. No restrictions are posed on the pauper in the
 .noice of provisions The selec men do not require the grocer to render an itemized bill, with the articles furnished and the prices hal ged. The beneficiary can select what he sHOoses and the dealer can charge what be | oesses, and the theological dogma of the r edom Of the will finds delightful express
 sion. We do not, in truth. intend 10 imply hat unjust charges are actually made: only | that opportunity exists for so doi"g. 'At the first conference which we had with the seectmen we were informed, with engaging franknees, that the recipients of orders could buy ice-cream with them If they chose. AS several of the dealers on whom rders are drawn are licensed liquor sellers is not an improbable assumption that Waterbury occasionally furnishes some of its | outside poor with a brand of groceries which can best be carried home in jug and which If consumed in sufficient quantities. are less lable to cheer than to inebr at
 "ln view Of the recognIZ-d Improvidence
 'f Isnpers as class the presumpt o1 is in- 'vitab!e that, in the al sence of limitations on heir choice, they frequently get articles which, however much they may contribute
 70 the momentary happiness of the recipi-
 'nts, are not esse ntialto thelr welfare Under
 he present system no opportunity IS lacking for the gross misuse of provision orders They can be used for the purchase of luxur-
 ies as Well as Of necessaries, and they can be r9ndty converted into cash If the grocers are sufficiently amiable and accommodating Any method of alms under which 1t Is easily
 possible for paupers to, Ob'ain at the public expense other articles thtn necessaries is unjust to the taxpayers, wrong in principle
 lud demoralIzing in practice.
 ''We most earnestly recommend, if the 1 system Of RT ocery orders is to be continued | hat itemiz4d bills be required in every case part Of the beneficiary be rigidly limited to a specified class of necessities. But we believe that grocery orders should be abolished altogether and tba, the town should establish store room in | which not more than ten or twelve articles oI l tood be kept and on which the selectmen ] may draw orders for the benefit of worthy persons in necessttous circumstances and without relatives legally liable tor thetr SUD- port. We think that the reduced cost of the articles As the result of purchases made at wholesale prices would more than cover the tt mtnistrative expenses of the store room, while the abundant opportunities now exist- ing for the abuse of orders would be reduced to their lowest terms and no beneficiary ot the town could transform the public funds into luxuries and liquor. We understand
 hat the seiectmen endorse the principle of 8 store room."
 II. As to Registrstion.-The report ampli- hes and emphasizes the importance Of ob tainlng and permanently recording a com pete history Of every person aided by the town. The committee think that the present system of registration is inadequate and in com plete snd several recommendations for | its Improvement are sufg-s cd.
 III. As 10 Investigatlon.-The report re- grets that a frequent and rigid investigation into the cases aided Is not 8 feature of Wa terbury's poor relief system, The eom mittee recommend that except Tn special and cases no aid should be granted until A rigid inquiry into the circumstances and merits of the applicant has been made and a favorable report rendered by the h. spector; and that relief, when once granted, shall not be continued longer than two months without another such investigation. It Is suggested that perhaps the functions of superintendent of the store room and of in- spector of tho poor might be united in one persoE il the selectmen find 1t i'm possible to