The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-01-13
RELIEF OF STATES POOR
ACTS SET OUT IN SECRETARY
BUTLER'S ANNUAL REPORT.
Number of Persons Helped and the
Cost in Various Counties-Pe-
cuIiar Conditions.

The operations Of the law for the relief of
the poor passed by the Legislature of 1895
and of the amendments thereto made by
the legislatures of 1897 and 1899 are set out
in elaborate detail and discussed in an in
teresting manner by Amos w. Butler, Sec
rotary of the State Board of Charities, in
his forthcoming report, which is nearly
ready for the printer. On this subject the
report will say:
six years ago the total expense of the
county and township poor in Indiana
amounted to over $1,000, 900. OF this there
was paid out by township overseers of the
poor and for medical relief $780, 16S. 70. The
number of persons helped by the township
trustees was beyond belief. Money was
drawn at will from the county treasury,
and frequently was paid out without rea-
son. The Legislature of 1895, recognizing
the looseness of the methods employed and
the necessity of some supervision, required
that detailed reports of every person helped
should be made to the Board of State
Charities. AS a result of the operations
of that law the Legislature of 1897 provided
for each township TO levy a tax for the
support of its own poor. The last Legis-
lature provided for more business-like
methods in this work. The result of this
succession of wise measures has been re-
markable. The value of official aid and
medical relief in 1900 has fallen TO SOS, 956. %,
a decrease Of $420.212.57, over &c per cent.
III six years.
1.-THE favorable labor and financial condi-
tions have made more easy the adoption of
improved methods. Notwithstanding this
great decrease, we are, assured that no
needy one has suffered. The poor-asylum
population is less than it was a year ago,
ana the number Of dependent children re-
| mains substantially the same.
1.-The number of persons receiving aid
from the townships in 1897 was 2,235, in
800 46. 1863. OF the latter 2,S22 were chill
dren sixteen years of age or under. TIL
NnQr nndinU Af1O u 1907 10 mead for NOM
parison because ii is the first complete
year in which full reports were received
from the different townships throughout
the State. While in the poor asylums the
proportion of inmates is two males to one
female, it is to be noted that more women
than men are helped by the overseers of
the poor. In 1890 %, 075 men and "a, 294 women
were aided by the township Trustees. Ir
1897 aid was given 1853 times; in 1900
1856 times.
NOT UNIFORM.
"While these notable reductions have
been made, they have not been uniform.
Some counties showed no reduction. In
Allen county the value of relief given in
1898 was s13. SOC. q, and in 1900 it was s11.-
So. 80. In Clinton county in 1898 it was So.
1896; in 1900 1t was $4,327.41. In Marion
| county in 1898 it was s1s, s1s.S3; in 1900 s11.-
FL. "A. In Owen county in 1898 it was ST.
PSI. Al: in 1900. 81. 234.17. "A few counties show
an increase; these are Blackboard, Daviess,
| Dubois. Greene, Hendricks, Lake and Sui
Ivan.
I'm certain counties a large part of the
decrease has been due to particular town
ships in which there were trustees who
were deeply in sympathy with the law and
who ~intelligently endeavored to administer
il. In other townships in the same county,,
where the law was not so we'll enforced,
results were different, and the aggregate
showing for the county was not so great as
ii might have been. The two most notable
xample of the operations of this law were
in CasS and st. Joseph counties Certain
of the trustees, notably those in Eel town.
ship, of the former, and Portage township.
o. the latter, have been very efficient. In
Cass county, it will be observed that the
number of persons helped decreased from
S5 in 1897 to 23 in 1900. The value of the
aid given was S7.730.1S in 1897; s911.S So in 1900.
In the former year pensioners received of
the amount just mentioned $6,S19, and in
the latter year S466.6l. In Eel township in
1897, 5S people We're helped, to the value
of $5,S4f.24, of which amount pensioners
received :. 216.1 In 1900, in the same town.
ship, 81 persons were aided, to the value
of SILL of which pensioners received
$l3.1S. While this has been accomplished,
we are informed no hardship has been
wrought to any one. The county has the
lowest poor asylum population for several
years, and while there was a tax levy of
ten cents for poor purposes in Eel town
ship in 1899, no levy has been made on this
account for the past year. 1t was not
needed.
STRIKING REDUCTIONS.
"Other counties showing striking reduc-
tons are Boone. Delaware. Elkhart. Foun-
tain, Grant. Huntington, Jennings. Miami,
Ohio and Porter.
BASED upon the census of 1900, Bartholo-
NEW county shows the greatest proportion
OF its population receiving relief from the
township trustee; that is, one person In
every twenty OF It's population. In Posey
county one in twenty-five. in Clinton one
in twenty-six, in Johnson one In twenty
seven. in Montgomery county one in twen-
ty-eight, in Jefferson county one in thirty
were aided. On the contrary. in Franklin
county one person in 40 received aid; in
Cass and Crawford, one in AS; in Washing
ton one in $50; in Dubois one in $50; and i'm
Orange one in gag. This is the smallest
proportionate number receiving aid in any
county.
.'The amount of the levy in each town.
ship is also a measure OF the burden the
giving OF relief lays upon it. Some town
| ships gave no relief, and consequently made
no levy. In others the levy Is small and
ii ranges from this to twenty cents on $1o0.
which is the highest in the State. This is
the levy in Lost River township, Martin
county, and Northwest township, III Orange
county. 1t will be noted that while Orange
county has the smallest proportionafe
number of its citizens receiving aid, 1t has
a township with the highest levy for out
door poor relief. The total levy for all
State purposes, including sinking fund and
for school purposes is q 2-3 cents. Leaving
those out. all the other expenses of the
State, of every kind, including the sup
port of its benevolent and correctional in
stitutions. have been paid by a fourteen
/ cent levy. and each year a considerable sum
has remained TO be applied to the payment
of the State debt There are several town.
ships thai require a higher levy than that
TO support their poor. These are Boone
: township. Martin county; Point township.