The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-05
FROM POOR HOUSE TO POOR HOUSE.
Statistics On Pauperism and Pauper
Tramps I'm Indiana.

The State Board OF Charities keeps q rec
ord of all persons in the institutions through
out the State. So far possible. these rec
ords show the family history OF the unfor-
tunates whom they concern and by the board
it is often possible to trace the cause of
pauperism. crime and insanity. Each unfor-
tunate who is charge Of the State has
card on file on which appears his family
history. Some OF these small cards tell
stories both sad and distressing. They show
one thing very conclusively. and that is that
crime pauperism and insanity are frequently
inherited, for il appears that these conditions
are given by one generation to another.
The cards relating to the paupers in the
poor asylums are the most interesting. Re
Gently the family history OF one notorious
family has been obtained with the result that
it is shown that the blood Of this family is
not the kind of which good citizens are
made. In the Decatur county poor asylum
there is man who is forty years OF age.
His mother was notorious character. who
lost her life in a drunken row. The Decatur
county pauper has credited to him mother,
an uncle four aunts and five cousins, who
have been paupers. He is recorded as being
of a feeble mind himself. He has, or has
had, two aunts who are, or we're, idiotic and
two cousins who are Predetermined. He is
the nephew of another pauper in the same
asylum. His aunt is some older than he and
she has been at the asylum for many years.
She is recorded as being of feeble mind,
while it is written that she has a brother,
a sister and daughter In the same unfor-
tunate condition. She has a nephew and a
sister who are idiotic. Her father and
mother were paupers, as are also brother
and three sisters. She has five nephews, all
of whom are paupers, one of them being the
first case to which reference was made.
Among the RECORDS OF the office it appears
that a very small per cent. OF the paupers
have no Objectionable family history. Nearly
all have relatives as unfortunate as are they.
while all through the records runs the story
Of drunkenness, crime and feeble-minded-
ness.
The records also indicate the weakness
some of the paupers have. for travelling. The
most striking illustration Of this weakness
is in the case of George Foster, an old man
eighty-two years of age, who was in the
Jennings county asylum when last heard
from. He goes from one place to the other,
knowing that In his helpless condition he
will not be turned away from any one Of
them. Since 1891 he has divided his time in
the asylums Of White, Clinton, Crawford
Clinton, Newton, Crawford, Harrison, Law
renee, White. Newton, Clinton, Decatur,
Dearborn, White, Lawrence and Jen-
nings. He remains at one place
until he becomes tired of the board.
then he picks up and travels to an
other county, only to become tired again and
return to his first place or greener pastures.
He halls from New York and nothing is
known of his family history, although it is
thought that he does not come from family
Of paupers.
Another good traveller is present resident
of the Tippecanoe county asylum. who, since
1892, has been boarder at thirteen different
asylums. He is fifty-seyen years of age and
a paralytic.