Evening star., 1925-02-14
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

| the child. and shall decide what re-
lief is needed. Thereafter inspection
shall be maintained to see that the
child is properly cared for and
| schooled, under the rules of the
board. 1t is estimated that there are
| approximately 1000 widows in the
| District with from one to four chill
dren who need such help.
| ~ =
The idea of social obligation of
| the public care of widows and or
phans Is already recognized in the
| laws of many States. but 1t has never
| crystallized in the District of Colum-
| bia, which Is wholly governed by
| Consressmen from the States where
such help has been given for years
| 1t was here In the National Capital
| that the idea was first discussed and
approved. in the time of President
| Roosevelt-Is0s-at a White House
| conference called by Mr.. Roosevelt
The fundamental principle was adopt
| ed that children should not be taken
| from their homes. Up to that time
the public had not conceived sneh
| obligations as belonging to the state,
and SO. after discussing the great need
| that 1t be given, the only practical
| method indorsed was that the funds
should come from private subscrip-
ton and not from the public treasury.
| The principle that the public treas
| ury should support public schools as
! a means of developing good citizen
| ship had long been recognized, but
the same argument for public support
OF orphans seemed too radical. In the
1912 Bull Moose campaign Col.
Roosevelt vigorously advocated pub
| lie pensions for widowed mothers.
Prior to that conference at the
White House a very few sporadic in
| stances of such public aid to orphans
had been given. In 1905 the Juvenile
| courts of some counties OF California
granted county aid to children in their
| own homes. and In 1911 the State re-
| imbursed the county treasures such
outlays. School aid was given in q
few cases in Oklahoma, Michigan and
Wisconsin, and in New Jersey charity
/! from county funds was voted to aid
! orphans. The first legal provision of
aid to mothers of dependent children
was adopted by the Missouri Legisla-
! ture in 1911, but it applied only to
Kansas City and st. Louis. The first
| Statewide aid to mothers was adopt
| ed by Illinois In that same year.
In the last IL years the mothers
pension plan has grown in favor
rapidly, 30 that today 1t exists in ~
States and Alaska and Hawaii. but
not yet in the District of Columbia.
fOFtO ftlCO, hSHtuchy, f1idpdHd' hcOi-
gia. South Carolina, New Mexico or
| Mississippi.
| In some States, where the law has
| been on the statutes for several years
| the appropriations have been made
quate and the application OF the law
has been incomplete. especially out
side Of the large cities. There is no
other city OF the class OF the Ma
| tiena1 Capital without such provision.
i NJ a
An analysis Of the causes of the
needs of 9,1s4 cases in Ave States
| shows that in IS per cent of the
families the father was dead, in 1S
per cent the father was physically or
mentally incapaoitated, in 10 per cent
the father had deserted the family,
In per cent the parents were di-
voroed and in 1 per cent the father
was in prison.
Between 1915 and 1890 the number
| of cases aided in the United States
| increased 100 per cent. and the ex-
penditures for their aid, grew 255 per
cent. The inadequacy OF the home aid
| given, even where. the law has been
| In existence several years. is indicated
| by the report that the amounts paid
to boarding houses by private agen-
Giles for the care OF children averaged
| $50 a month, but the amount given
| for the aid of dependent children
kept In their own homes averaged in
seven States only between t22 and
] no State higher than s55. The
amounts in each case are fixed by the
authorities after thorough investiga-
tion of actual conditions
Copyright, 1925, by Paul v. Collins)