Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/788

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THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

a difference of $420,212.57. The counties which had been most extravagant, and which therefore contributed most largely to the reduction, were found to be St. Joseph, Elkhart, Grant, Allen, Cass, Bartholomew, and Porter. These are among the most popu- lous and the wealthiest in the state.

A means of showing the reduction in the cost of poor-relief more effective than a statement of the amount by dollars and cents, is the two maps, numbered i and 2, found herewith, which give the relative cost to population of the different counties. One shows the condition in 1895, the last year before the enactment of the first reform law; the other is for 1905. In 1895 the cost of poor-relief was 29 cents to each inhabitant of the state. The lowest per capitas were 6 cents in Crawford County, and 7 cents in Ripley County. The highest were 68 cents in Lagrange, 66 cents in Henry, and 64 cents in St. Joseph. In two counties the per capita was below 10 cents; in thirty-five it was above 30 cents. In 1905 the cost of poor-relief was 10 cents to each in- habitant of the state. The lowest per capitas were 3 cents each in Washington, Ripley, and Floyd Counties; the highest were 29 cents in Montgomery County, 24 in Wayne, and 23 in Morgan. In forty-nine counties the per capita was below 10 cents; not a single county reached as high as 30 cents. The difference between these two sets of figures is more readily grasped in the following tabulated statement:

1895

1905

Cost of relief to each inhabitant

of the state

So. 20

Jo. 10

Highest per-capita cost

0.68

0.29

Lowest per-capita cost

0.06

0.03

Number of counties in which the cents

per-capita cost was below 10

2

4Q

Number of counties in which the cents

per-capita cost was above 30

35

Another means of measuring the reduction in the cost of poor-relief is afforded by the rate of taxation for each $100 in each township. The following table is self-explanatory and needs no comment :