The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1937-11-12

Gentlemen:
At special meeting OF the We'll
fare Board held last night, l was
authorized to forward to you the
true facts concerning the Welfare
situation within the County. The
Board hopes that you will give this
article the same front page publicity
that you gave your article in last
weeks issue of the Wing.
Your implications as to Mrs. Coles
integrity and ability are wholly with
out foundation as anybody who
! knows Mrs. Coles and is familiar
with her work realizes Mrs. Coles
| was appointed by the Welfare Board
in April, 1895, after the Board had
spent approximately three months in
search for an efficient Executive Sec
rotary to fill Miss Beardsall's posi-
ton.
Mrs. Coles position does not de-
pend upon the number of people re-
ceiving relief nor upon the size of
her staff, since under the Federal
Social Security Act it is necessary
that each County have an Executive
Secretary to administer old age pen
sion funds, blind pension funds, and
aid to dependent children, and their
salaries are set by the State on the
basis of County population.
Your statement that the general
public assistance fund is entirely
spent because of ineffic.e ncy and
recklessness is not true. The fiscal
year for all relief funds begins July
1st of one year and extends to June
30th of the next year. The general
public assistance fund for the year
1896, ending June 30th, 1897, was
stretched to include July, August.
September, and most of October of
this year. The Cecil County We'll
fare Board has received no funds
from the County Commissioners
from this years appropriation for
general public assistance fund for
the year beginning July /, 1887,
which the County Commissioners
have officially approved is $4,000.
None of this has been received nor
has any part of it been spent by the
Welfare Board.
The Legislature leveied State in
come tax estimated to raise a sum
sufficient to take care of general pub
lie assistance within the State. How
ever, this tax is not payable until
March Is, 1898, and will consequent
ly- not be in the hands of the County
Commissioners until sometime in
April. The County Commissioners
cannot borrow funds unless those
funds are repaid by May LIST. AS
they have no positive assurance of
the amount of money the income
tax will raise. and as there may arise
legal obstacles to the collection of
this tax, they feel that they cannot
borrow in anticipation of this posi-
BILE revenue.
You state that the general public
assistance costs increased during the
summer months, yet your own article
shows that they actually decreased
during those months. At our meeting
last night, each and every case of
general public assistance was review
ed by the entire Board, at which
meeting a representative of the
County Commissioners was present,
and it was determined by the board
that those people now receiving gen.
eral public assistance needed this as
sistance and that by elimination or
reduction of some of the needy cases
savings of approximately $3.50.
could be shown. We have been ad-
vised that the County Commissioners
will be able to grant us funds to the
extent of $500. month until such
time as they receive funds from the
State. The problem, then, is to
make this allotment stretch as far as
possible.
Up to few months ago the We'll
fare Office sent to the County Trea-
surer's Office list Of people who
were to receive old age pension
checks approximately two weeks be-
fore the checks were to be mailed.
1t is obvious that between the time
the list was sent to the Treasurer's
Office and the actual drawing of the
checks some of the pensioners died.
In the event the Welfare Office learn
ed of the death Of the pensioner 1t
Immediately notified the Treasurer's
Office not to draw the check and we
presume the Treasurer's Office would
comply. However, it is conceivable
that an old age pension check could
be mailed to a living pensioner and
not be received at his home until