Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-01-10


ords" but from these more vital
lsources do we form our opinion as to
the progress made, the promise and
the hope resident in these families.
And the answer of these workers is
that Their has been a decided trend up
ward in these famifies-physical, men
Etal and moral-that the money invest
led in these families is returning inter-
est in the way of lives made stronger,
in the bringing into homes where out
look was barren and hard-new hope,
renewed courage and ambition kind
ling outlook: that the adequatel relief
Iplus adequate personal interest and
ministration is meaning to these chill
dren opportunity = opportunity to
grow into healthy honest. capable
manhood; into gentle. intelligent
healthful. home making womanhood.
Standards of Relief.
We have not been engaged in relief
work for these many years without
learning that much is needed in the
lives of our people other than mere
material relief; that people do not al
ways need what they most want, nor
want what they most need. Yet have
we also learned that where the income
of a family is below a certain point
the family must of necessity de-
teriorate by reason of insufficiency of
food. lack of clothing and improper
land unfit housing; that the lack of
these elementary yet quite necessary
things will of itself mean dwarfed,
stunted. inefficient lives. Food, cloth
ing and shelter are for the poor as they
are for the more prosperous, essential
preliminaries to a humanized life, ne
cessary for the mere maintenance Of
the functions of the body in normal
state. Any adequate program of treat
ment of widows and their children
must give assurance that at least this
indispensable minimum" shall be
made possible to each and all alike.
Without it, by no amount of struggle
or self sacrifice can the mother reason
> ably look forward to a time when her
; fatherless children shall pass into fit
adulthood.
Further, the assistance given must
= be of sufficient amount SO that the
mother will not be required to work
under conditions that mean the break
ing of health and strength or the neg
lect of her children. We cannot reason
=, ably hope for results by way of strong
Ter, more resolute bodies and minds
(which shall In the children's later years
mean larger initiative, efficiency and
productiveness, unless we remove
from their lives today that constant
icrushing anxiety that surely deadens
,hope and aspiration, not only in the
mothers life, but that also gradually
lays its whitening, paralyZing hand on
the lives of the children, creating q
downward pressure on life instead of
an upward one, sapping and undermine
Ing the vigor, the energy, the hope of
every member of the family. The quail
tiles of courage, faith. hope and thrift
are not, generally speaking. bred and
nurtured in families where continued
.. poverty of life makes it impossible for
them to look upon today as the thres-
hold of better tomorrow.
Administration Of Mothers Pension
; Laws
The agencies by which the various
mothers pension laws are administer
ed may, for convenience, be divided in
two two classes: In II states the law is
administered by the juvenile court
where one exists, or by the county,
district or probate court, functioning
as a Juvenile court In all the other
states the execution of the law is en-
trusted to quasi judicial or admins
: trative board. Among these latter
states the law is administered in CAL
ifornia by the state board of control,
assisted by three childrens agents.
having statewide authority, and by an
advisory committee of three persons
in each county; in Massachusetts, by
the city and town overseers of the
poor, under the supervision of the
state board of charity: In New Hamp-
shire, by the county commissioners.
upon recommendation o. the school
board CT the district: in Pennsylvania,
by an unpaid board in each county, ap-
pointed by the governor, and consist
ing of not less than five or more than
seven women; in Kansas. by the board
OF county commissioners; in the CITY
OF st. Louis. by a non-paid board of
children's guardians. consisting of
seven members, appointed by the
mayor. with the approval of the coun-
Gil; in the state of New York, under
the terms of the recently enacted law,
by local board of child welfare in
each county. consisting of seven mem
bers. one of whom is the county su-
peiiuIeuOellL OIL the poor, eX- OfflclO,
and six others, two of whom are
women, appointed by the county
judge; and in New York City by a
board consisting of the commissioners
of public charities x-officio, and
eight other members, at least three of
whom must be women, appointed by
the mayor: the state board of charities
has general supervision of the work
for the entire commonwealth.
An analysis of the functions, char
acter and composition of these agen-
cies discloses certain prevalent char
acteristics, conspicuous among which
are the economy effected by the utili-
cation of existing institutions for the
administration of the laws; the lack of
centralized control and the gratuitous
services Of the members of the newly
created boards. Pennsylvania, St. Louis
and New York are the only states and
cities in which distinct administrative
members are unpaid. The only
states in which the local boards
are amenable to central au-
thority are California, Massachu-
sets, New York, New Jersey and Wis
consin. In California the state board of
control bos direct sllpervision. in Mass