The Indianapolis journal., 1898-11-30
AID GIVEN TO THE POOR
REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF CHAR
ITIEs CONCERNING RELIEF WORK.
Complete Reports Received from
Township Trustees-Enect of
Truancy Law.

For the first time in the history of the or
ganzation the State Board of Charities has
received reports from all the township trus-
tees of the State, covering the business done
by these officials during the past year. The
following statement, issued by tho board
yesterday, is therefore the first complete re-
port concerning expenditures for charities
q 5er prepared I'm this State. In dealing with
the statistics the State Board makes use
OF the term outdoor poor relief" in order to
distinguish the assistance given to families
and persons living in their homes from that
extended to inmates of institutions.
The total number of people aided during
the year was 75 119, and the township trus-
tees distributed poor relief to the amount of
1915, ,20692. Last years report showed that
&, 2,23j persons were aided at a cost of
1888, ,34367 This shows a decrease of 7,116
persons who were recipients of aid, and
lessenng In expenditure of $l3 1865. The
necessary expense imposed upon township
trustees by reason of the truancy law is n
How feature. The assistance given children
in this State, in order that they might at
tend school, amounted to $15.8O6. a large part
Of which was borne by the township trus-
tees From what is known of the unreported
facts of last year it is supposed that the aid
omitted in the reports for that period
would amount to $4,000. The total saving
will amount to nearly $4,000, which the
State Board believes will more than pay the
entire expense of operating the truancy law
in this State
The figures given for the year show that
one person in twenty-nine throughout the
State received relief and that the average
amount of aid given to each person was
about S.. This help was given to 36 500
males and $3.50 females. OF the males 1882
n hnV n fVHFA
Aid was given to 16O15 families. OF those
helped $3.50 We're given temporary aid,
meaning for less than three months. A
large number of those assisted received aid
for more than temporary period; 81
were aided three months or more at an ex-
pense of 1898, ,349 S. Assistance was given
The occupation of 13, 406 OF those helped was
given in the reports to the board, and of
this number 9,447 were laborers, as distin-
guished from farmers, skilled tradesmen,
clerks and office employees and the profess
Sions.
In concluding the report the State Board
says: THE law requires that the town
ship trustees shall report fully concerning
each person aided to the auditor and the
Board of State Charities, and that these re-
ports are to be forwarded quarterly. Here
tofore the township trustees could draw
such amounts as they saw proper from the
county treasury for poor relief. The last
Legislature passed law providing for levy
ing a tax against the township for reim-
bursing the county treasury for relief given
during the preceding year. Thus the town
ship trustee became directly responsible to
his constituents In some townships the poor
relief was notably extravagant, and great
abuses had developed through time as a re-
suit of carelessneSs and poor business
methods and from some of these came the
greatest opposition to the laws. After a
years experience many of them have been
led to see their usefulness. BY reason of the
supervision thus imposed many instances
are noted of great saving to the townships
IT is difficult to judge of the effects of
law from one trial, vet the information
given is of great value. and it is believed
the reduction will be much greater in flu
ture Indiana is the first State TO gather
such complete information"