University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1908-12-07
"ILL-ADVISED CHARITY
FOSTERS PAUPERISM"
w. T. Cross investigator. Finds Glaring Defects
in the System Of Outdoor Relief by Missouri
Counties-Dr. Riley Tells of Work.

The State of Missouri eXpends in a
wear one and One-half million dollars
for the support of its poor. This is
equivalent to a tax levy OF IL cents
on the 500 of taxable valuation, and
is about One-eighth as much money
as is expended for public schools in the
State This enormous amount does not
include the relief given by the cities
of the State or by private societies and
individuals. 1t includes only the money
by the counties for the main
tenance of their paupers in their aims
houses or i'm their own homes, and the
of the appropriations to the
State institutions that is made neces-
sary by their INDECENT inmates.
OF the III counties i'm the State,
ninety seven gave less than $4,000 for
poor relief in 1906. while four counties,
not including the city of st. Louis, gave
81 .. 900 or more These four are Jack
son. Buchanan. Saline and Boone, the
former two containing large cities and
the latter two being among the richest
agricultural counties of the State. The
variation i'm the amount to poor relief
given by counties is found to depend
directly upon the taxable valuation of
their property and their population, de
pending more upon the former than up
OIL the latter. In general the counties
Of the State lying south of the Mis-
souri, river give less poor relief in pro-
portion to their taxable property and
population. than all those north of the
river In those counties where the per
,apita valuation of property is lowest.
The per capita amount of poor relief
is least.
Unprogressive Counties.
Out of the ia counties there are sew
,nteen that have no county poor house,
all of which. save one, are south of the
liver, and only eleven of them contain
titles of over 500 population. The
counties having no county poor house
nave not mature plan of relief, the
giving by them being found to be more
irregular than in the other counties of
he State; they are the undevelOped
Ounties of the State
The above facts appear in the results
# study of public outdoor relief in this
State just completed by the Depart
nent of Research in the st. Louis
school of Philanthropy.
Poor relief is given i'm the counties of
Missouri in two ways-maintenance in
he county poor house and temporary
elief to paupers in their own homes.
The former is ordinarily called indoor
elief. and the latter outdoor relief
here were almost $4,000 paupers who
eceived relief in their own homes from
he county courts of the State in 1906.
wO thirds of whom were receiving aid
lsO from private sources. These A.
30 constitute no small army and pos
ess greater potentiality for deteri-
ration and for public expense than
ny other class in our population"
Results of Investigation.
The investigation considered chiefly
ne pauper population that received re-
eff from the county courts outside of
he county almshouses. More than 200
lses of such paupers were visited by
he investigators, from which W. T.. |
ross. who wrote the report. gives the
blowing typical cases:
The family of Mr.. c. lives i'm the |
'ickly wooded country of Southern
issOuri. The head of the house is an
d man. though he has only reached
'e age of forty-five. BY accident. he
st his eyesight several years ago. and
: can do but little now at his occu-
'tion of tie cutting even with the
d of his eldest son who is not vet of |
.e and who is himself suffering from
sease. Two other sons. less than six
en- years of age. tend the crop on the
tie place they have rented. The
other is bedfast about half the time
ith heart trouble. and the remainder
the rapidly increasing family serve
ly to drain the meager resources of
e bread winner Yet withal they
ire found to be cheerful and exhibited
W southern hospitality"
In another case the beneficiary was
und to he a widow who told the Wis
'r that she had recently moved from
neighbOring county from which she
Is still drawing relief. Why should
2 take pains to cut off this source of
'ome if the county officials did not :
pn inquire where she lived." II
The Case of "Uncle Andy" q
Uncle Andy was found to have been
ting 81 quarter from the county
lrt for years. yet his cabin full of
'rthless men was testimony which