Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-02-20
TOWN RESPONSIBLE
FOR ITS DESTITUTE
Roxbury Told to Get Busy in AL
leviating Misery of One Pow
erty Stricken Family

Mortified. Feb. IA hearing was held
before Judge e. NJ. Harvey in the town
of Roxbury on Friday. February 13. at
which a certain family in that town was
brought before the court, together with
the overseer Of the poor, the heath Off
Ger. the truant officer and other town
officials. This family is made up Of
father, mother and u children, nine of
the children being in court.
The oldest child appearing in court was
not over IA. The others ranged down to
q baby In arms. Five OF the children
were without shoes or stockings, in the
middle of February; one had shoes. but
no stockings; one boy had pieces of car
peting tied around his legs In place Of
trousers; none of the children had any
Undertaking; one of the little girls had
her back badly burned. where she had
crawled under the stove to get warm
and gone to sleep there. None of the
children had outer clothing fitted for
Vermont at this time Of year.
The father Of this family is about 60
years Of age. The mother is 80 and the
second wife. 1t is said that the father
has an $3.50 farm on which he has paid
about $500. He seems unable to meet
his bills. owes a large grocery bill and
other bills and the interest on his mort
gage has not been paid for some time.
All that the mother does, according to
witnesses, Is to sit and do patchwork all
day. She seems to be stolid and entirely
unaffected by the conditions of the chill
dren.
One of the girls (about 10 years of age)
who has been obliged to go barefooted
and barelegged, has great blotches and
1ar h1r no utth
ing up and breaking out of the circula-
tory system through the legs. The cold
has caused the veins and arteries to
swell until her legs are in very bad
shape.
w. H. jeffrey, secretary of the State
Board Of Charities and Probations. APP
peared for the State in this case. When
Judge Harvey asked him to bring in his
evidence. Mr.. Jeffrey lined up the chill
dren along the wall opposite the Judge
and said:
your honor. the evidence. Here I rest
my case"
When asked If he had ever given any
help to his family. the overseer Of the
poor in the town OF Roxbury answered:
mo, they never asked for any"
He was then told that he might con-
this time forth. and that he and the
health officer were to see that these chill
dren were supplied with the necessities
of life; that the home, which was said
to be In a filthy condition, was cleaned
up. and that it was visited every week
by the health officer to look after con-
ditions. In other words, the case was
put up to the town of Roxbury squarely
fhat fhay axnpctpd 10 look after
this family, and II they did not do 1t as
1t should be done. the case would be
taken out Of their hands. after a reason
able length of time had elapsed. and the
expense Of the States care Of the family
would be charged to the town.
1t had previously been stated by the
town officials that the truant officer and
the health oftcer had agreed to put the
children out Of school because they were
not properly clothed. and because theiI
sanitary condition was not satisfactory
for the school room. This, however, wa.
as far as they had gone, and when told
that they would have to provide thu
necessities OF life for this family, the
| overseer objected on the ground that tn,
mother never took care OF anything anc
| never did anything for the children her,
self.
The health officer thought 1t woult
| take up a good deal of time to visit this
| family every week and look after theil
sanitary needs. but he was politely in,
| formed that that was a part OF his duty
| and the overseer was made to under
stand that, whether the mother did al
| that she should, or otherwise. the chill.
dren must not be allowed to suffer an,
longer.