The diamond drill., 1920-05-29

control over all institutions, insane.
corrective and educational. under one
/ central board, the members OF which
will be paid an annual salary and de-
vote all OF their time 10 the work.
Al present the individual boards draw
no pay whatever. They are allowed
their actual travelling expenses only.
While the care or the insane OF the
state has made much advancement
owing TO Se fact that men have been
induced TO enter such institutional
work and devote their lives 10 IL. the
care OF the INDECENT or the poor, as the
class Is commonly termed, has made
comparatively slight advancement.
The local poor commission. generally
composed of some elderly gentlemen
needing the few dollars recompense
or some small county or local politi-
clan who IS supposed 10 spend as
little money as possible either in re-
| lief or In overhead. still exists. In
some counties advancement has not
yet been made TO the county system,
the Job being reserved TO the super
visor who considers II political pre-
rogative with which TO hold follow
ing sufficient to insure HIS reelection
10 Office.
A state board OF charities and cor
rection was provided for some few
years ago and under the direction OF
this board there has been considerable
effort made to advance status OF the
care OF the INDECENT, yet there Is
much chance for improvement left.
One OF the principal steps in the
advancement OF local care OF the in
digent came with the passing OF the
mothers pension law and the placing
I'm the hands OF the probate judges OF
the counties OF the state the manage
ment OF this fund. or course there
have been mistakes made in its APP
plication but in the main the law has
proved a blessing and its success has
resulted in the increasing OF the pow
ers OF the probate Judge over the in
digent OF the county. The tendency
Is TO further increase the powers OF
that official.
OF recent introduction Is the work
OF the social worker as an employe
OF the county or townships In care OF
the INDECENT II Is an embryo yet but
there are great hopes for its expan-
sion.
Thus we see that there Is ample
provision made for the care OF state
dependents so far there Is no cor
relation OF these agencies. no group
ing OF them, no team work so that
the problem may be attacked scienti-
fically at its source.
II is with a view TO outlining what
seems to me would be a good plan for
the correlating of these agencies into
one team, a spike team, the pole
horses OF which are the social work
ers in the county, the intermediate
teams the probate judges OF the dis
trict and the lead team the psychopa-
thic hospital adjunct of the state hos
pital of the district.
| begin to think the time Is at hand
when the local and county poor COM
missions should be abolished. The
name poor commissioner" is mis-
nomer. Like that OF asylum" IL is OBJ
solete and should not be used.
We have come TO recognize the fact
that poverty results from causes Just
as other diseases. In a very large
majority OF cases IL is the result of
a mental state and ought to be treated
as a mental problem, not a gastronom-
ical one to be relieved with a crumb
Of bread. Tine days OF the elderly gen |
ilemen to the political nondescript.
on poor commissions doing out pro-
gender TO the needy OF the county
ought TO be numbered. In their
places should come men and women
rained to promote public welfare.
Iunger is but one of the many phases J