The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-11-01

a Former Resident of Garrett COun-
ty Opposes the Purchase of a Farm
and the Erection Thereon of Home
for the INDECENT Poor Who Are Now
Supported by the Taxpayers.
To the Editor of The Republican.
l was interested in reading in The
Republican the discussion by the Oak
land Civic Club concerning the pro-
posed poor house for Garrett county.
The Civic Club is to be congratulated
in doing constructive community
work.
The election on November will
be the most important election ever
held in Garrett county. 1t will decide
the fate of many old people, not only
of this generation but for many gen
erations to come. Once public money
is invested in land and buildings for
this purpose it will be difficult to
change the system.
The Civic Clubs report from Gar
rett county safes that there is list
of twenty men and sixteen women
cared for, along with fifteen families
and three couples at a total cost of
about $4,000 each year. Allowing
four persons to each family there
would be one hundred and two persons
cared for at present at an expense of
$4,000 per year. The expense of keep
ing one person at that rate in $72,42
per year, or $1.51 per week. Does
any one think that Garrett county can
build, equip and maintain buildings
and pay salaries to officials and help
ers. and feed and clothe the poor for
less than $1.51 per week each?
At the last sessionof the Maryland
Legislature there was a bill intro
duced by Hon. John McFarlane, Of
Allegany county, creating a Mary
land Old Age Pension Law. The bill
passed and became a law. The chief
argument in its favor was that it
would be a more economical way of
providing for the poor than by the
poor house system.
But there is another angle from
which to view the question. We not
only have poceketbooks. We have
hearts. The Chinese worship their
ancestors. The kind-hearteo people
OF Ireland treat their old with great
consideration. Australia and many
European countries have old age pen
sions, but America, America the
beautiful, America the promised land,
America, Gods country, America, the
hope Of humanity, America upon
whom nature has lavished her choic-
est gifts, America which God has
prospered beyond the dreams of man,
America whose wealth, excluding
South America, is greater than the
combined wealth of all the rest Of the
world, America sends her old people
to the poor house.
And what do the old people them
selves think of it? A few months
ago an old man in Westmoreland
county, Pa, near Greensburg, died.
For twenty years he had lived alone
upon his farm since the death Of his
wife. The sheriff came and posted
sale notices on his buildings. The poor
house stared the old man in thy face
He took his gun upstairs to his room
to shoot himself. Before he fired the
fatal shot his heart mercifully failed
and he died. An old person will live
upon a very small pension before he
will submit to the stigma and degra-
dation Of going to the poor house.
A man may spend his lifetime earn
ing for his family. A woman may
spend her lifetime saving for hcr
family. The more generous and un-
selfish they are, the more likely they
are to become dependent. Shall we
force them to eat he bitter bread Of
charity in a poor house in their old
age?
Let Us not wait until we die and goI
to heaven to be happy. Let US make
an Eden of this hard old earth. Let
us help to answer our own prayers,
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven"
MRS. U. G. PALMER.
For RENT OR SALE-Furnished