The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-23
NO MORE Sales OF PAUPBRs.
An OLD and SIuch-Practised RHsine Custeua
RalIiug unto Disuse.

FntItuG unto btsuae.
BANGOR, Me-, May 21.-This is tho first year
since Maine was SGT of from Massachusetts,
that tho support OF from one to Ave hundred
town paupers has not been nut up at auction
and sold of to the lowest bidders. Careful In
quiry among the selectmen and other town Off
Gers has failed to find n single case Of this kind
in 1897, though in former years the practice was
common In all the sixteen counties of the State.
In all the cities and in most Of the larger towns
of Maine arc almshouses with farms attached,
where the poor of the municipalities are housed.
clothed, and fed at the public expense, the pau
pcrs doing what work they can in order TO
lessen the cost. Tho smaller towns, having but
few paupors, cannot AFFORD to support an aims
house, so they let out their poor at so much n
week, and allow everybody of good repute TO
make bids. tho lowest bidder getting the pau
pcrs for the next municipal year.
Until long after the war there were dozens OF
towns in Maine that sold their paupcrs at auc-
ton, and nobody saw any harm in tho practice.
Tho auction was usually held on the day of the
annual spring election as soon as the officers
were chosen and tho money needed to run the
town was raised. The Moderator, or First
Selectman. was the auctionccr. Standing on tho
platform OF the Town Hall he would give au &C.
count of tho paupcr he was about to sell, telling
the work he was nblo to perform. When no had
made. II catalogue. of the paupcr's virtues no
would ask for bids, and the man who felt the
need of paupcr work. or who wanted the money
which the town would pay for tho panpcr's, sup
port, would make offers, splitting dimes and fye-
Gent pieces until they came to cents, when tho
lowest bidder would get the pauper, and another
unfortunate would be put up for sale.
h IN rrd th C aSys when every Name grocer Kept n
side Of the molasses hogshcad the annual auc-
ton sale Of panpers was looked upon as a gen,
eral holiday FOR the men. who came from all
parts of the town and never went home until the
last paupcr was sold off. Jordan Batchcldcr,
n pauper who died in the town of Prospect about
twenty years ago, was sold at auction thirty-ono
10 speak for himself and show his strength when
Greene, a paupcr of the same town. who was
also y shoemaker. used to tako his bench and
platform mending shoes while the citizens made
bids for his. keep. As this was before the
lies to keep in footwear were always impressed
with Grecne's talents, so the old man was fire.
auently sold as low as so cents a week, or $25 a
year. Clarke w. Menden of evansville. who
has been State Senator, says he has seen four
teen paupcrs ranged in line on the Town Hall
platform and sold off. one by one, like so many
slaves. Daniel Hartman. a reputable citizen Of
Scarsport., remembers seeing paupers sold at
auction in FRANKFORT. Stockton. orland and
For q few years after the war business was so
good that everybody prospered, and most of the
own living. When the panic of 1873 struck the
country many persons became .paupers. but the
HdDlt VI tIIlnV u auction nHu Iallcn INTO OlSre-
pute, and pauper market day, as It was called.
no longer drew big crowds OF spectators. In
spite OF the strong sentiment against the prac.
ticc, auction sales Of paupcrs were held in sew.
cral towns until the middle OF the present
decade. and two cases OF this kind were reported
in 1896. This year not a town official will con-
fess to having followed the old way.
Thu, new way is kinder. perhaps. but the re.
suit Is the same. Soon after they are elected
the Selcctmen put up notices in different parts
OF the town saying they will receive sealed pro-
posals for the support of the towns poor until II
fixed date. after which the letters will be
opened in public and the contracts awarded to
the lowest responsible bidders. Appended TO
this notice is a list of the paupcrs. giving their
names, ages. and an outline of their ability to
work. IL any ono of the paupers has q trade or
other accomplishment which will enhance his
value. the fact is mentioned in the notice. At
the expiration of the specified time. which is
always long enough to allow prospective bid
ders TO make a careful examination. the bids are
unscaled, and the paupers are redistributed for
another year.
From a purely Humanitarian point Of view.
no doubt the new way is better than the old;
but auction sales used 10 make keener COMPETE.
ton than sealed proposals can ever bring about,
and in consequence of this the cost of supporting
a pauper grows greater every year.