Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-04-21

...........-......... as Sickness or disability. .......'..........' SS SS Insanity ..........'...'''' ''''''... az aS Old age. ................ 1l No home. .............-.' .... Iu EreUnancy. y........ A0 No WoCk. Childhood. ............. ..'......'.''..' . 2 Feeblemindedness
 Total..... ..........-........'. -4io
 "In general terms" the committee say, we estimate that in about two-thirds or the c lses he causes of pauperism originated in the individual and that in the other third the causes originated in the environment of the individual. The fact that 95 ot the 175 in- mates. or 54 per cent, had been occupants f almshouses before Is pregnant with sug- .:estIon. Indeed some of these have been ID an almshouse many times, and collectively
 hey are a pendulum betwlyt the institution !; ud the outeide world. Under the present system the intermittent inmates are much more liable to devaop into permanent in- mates than 10 undergo rehabilitation and be- ( roma useful members of society. We are not ;l epared 10 believe that when the remedies , f restoration and the processes or Teeuper- ,riou are scientifically and patiently applied
 0 the occupants of American aimshou~es nd when motives to thrlft and industry and { em p+rapce are intelligently inculcited, such \ large percentage ot the inmates will lind sritten over the door of the institution the ,!oleful Dantean legrnd, All hope aeandon, ye who enter here.
 The report calls attention to the AS victims . lnrem perance in the list aud expr essas the hplniou that under existing conditions many Sf them will become permanent and expen- i've public burdeps. Looking at the matter from tho standpoint of taxation ana or public economy, the commit ee rec" mmend that the selectmen be instructed to inquire into the ,dvlsAbility of testing he value of medical treatm ment for alconolism on few of the in tenn perate tenants of the penthouse. The questions of children ut the almshouse and ot the women who, in the last sta es oi pre- snancy, go to the institution to be delivered )f their offspring, usually illegitimate, are touched upon.
 employment at the almshouse. In the opin'
 on cf the committee the opportunities tol providing the able-bodied male inmates with work during the winter and when the weather is unsuitable for outdoor labor are made uuate. The principle is laid down that the precepts of public policy demand that each inmate of the almshouse shall be regularly em pIoyed to the full extent of his physical capacity. and the establishment Of coottnu- ous industrial sSstem Is urged.
 BUSINESS METHODS.
 "Tpe purchases for the almshouse," say the committee, "are usually made by the superintendent on orders drawn by the se-
  lines of pati onage are distributed in monthly rotation among different merchants who render it mixed bills to the overseers of the LOOT. Retail prlces are paid for ever, thing md the institution. with 8 hundred inmates, ias no deduite advantage in rates over a prl- vate family in securing supplies. We are confident that under a more economical sys- lem of purchases several thousand dollars 'ould annually be Saved to the taxp tyerS of the town. We recommend that staple ar.
 a a n shoes, be purchased in wholesale quantities md at wholesale prices, ard be kept in stock TO be used as needed. Such storage room ls may be required can readily be provided house could be bought jointly With those for ' he outside store room. We also recommend that the contracts for furnishing the almS- house with such provisions as meat and bread, which must be supplied daily, be awarded for a definite period to the lowest responsible bidders, under suitable condI- lions. In general, we urge that in making purchases tor the pco' house vigilant anu rigid regard for the interests of the taxpayers be exercised"
 The system of registering the inmates of the alnshouse Is believed by the committee 10 be faulty. The report recommends that | he town adopt. under section S309 of the general statutes, system of bylaws for the management ot the institution.
 CONCLUSIONS.
 i've have considered at length the opera lions and results of Waterbury's system of official relief," say the committee. "Under that system the support of the public poor is pockets large levies of money which might otherwise be employed in productive lpdus- tries. That system has created h the com nunity vast amount of hereditary and chronic paurerism. It has encouraged the spirit of mendicancy and dulled the sense of personal responsibility. It has taught scores of people who. under ordinary conditions, ought to be self-supporting, confidently to rely on official bounties and to give their in- dependence and ambition in exchange for the gratuities that are distributed from the the lhdustrious and the independent for the benefit of the idle and thriftiess and 1t has not infrequently rendered the condition of the pauler easier than that of the self-sup- porting taxpayer. IL has naturally sngender- ed certain administrative defects which have fostered the general evil and conduced to unnecessarily large expenditures. Under that system and, indeed, under any system of public relief, that delicate personal minis- tration on the part Of the almoner and that feeling of gratitude on the part of the recili- ent. which are the most helpful features of true charity, are absent: for the dispensation of public relief Is contest. in which the ap- plicant battles to get Q large grant while the of1"Ial fights to make the dole small.
 "We are profoundly convinced that Water bury should aim, to secure the ultimate abe i- ton of outdoor relief. Brooklyn has abolished 1t. Baltimore has abolished it. Philadel- phia has abolished 1t except for medicin. and medical attendance. Other progressive cities, spprectat1ng the grave social disc Sos that are caused by the microbe Of liberal ofnclal charity, are vigorously ourtnIinx their outdoor aims. The abolition of outside aId iD Water bury cannot be accomplished at a single stroke, for we recognize that the present exceptional conditions require ex- cePtlonaf treatment ana, again, that the sud- den and complete withdrawal of the town assistance on which people have unfo:t tu- nateIy been taught 10 lean might in some cases involve hard hIp.
 "Fhe dictates of civiliz stion demand that toe impotent poor who are not able to earn ther own subsistence shall not be permitted to starve. But, as Prof Francis A. Walk-r has pointed out, 1t is of tns highest import ance tha' pauperism shall not be made invit- ing that, on the contary, the laborsr shall De stimulated to the utmost possible exer- ,lons. only accepting relief as an alternative 10 actual siarvation.' Churches, voluntary charitable organizations, relatives and pri- Vate benevolence are, in general terms, com Jetent to relieve the distress of the provideut md deserving poor of Waterbury. whlie, in >ur opinion, the worthless indigent ought 10 to be assisted outside of the almshouse. This goal, although 1t cannot be reached bs .nort cut, ought to be kept steadily in view. We are Con 6dent that many outsl ie psupsrs, I they were required either to go to the lmshouSe or be deprived of further relief would decline to accept the hos- 'ttalittes of the institution and would find lnsus spectod resources by which an inde- pendent living could be obtained. Indeed, Ve do not believe that. in the long run. u general reduction Of outdoor ald would arRely increase the population of the poor louse. Dr Gladden., an authority on scien- inc philanthropy, says: The abolition of utdoor relief, involves 8 moral change in he community. upon the whole subject of dependence, which finds expression not onl, D the homes of the poor but also in the lmshouse. If you want to reduce ths num- CT Of dependents Tn your institutions cut n the distribution of outdoor relief
 The recommendations whlch We have made re emiEently conservative. They are de- igned. on the one hand, to cause the dlscon- nuance ot aid that is clearly ipjudictous nds on the other hand, to modny certsin administrative details Tn the interest of efa ient and economical results bur they wil, ot render tt necessary for any case ot 'orthy suffering to go unrelieved. We have not deemed it necessary to reduce formal votes ali of the sug yestlons Of this 1 sport. bot If they command your endorse lent we may reasonably assume that the, hA HDtR fu.lt. hw. RkA AnEI