Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/702

686 German and American conditions. When the American reader has informed himself concerning the Elberfeld system, its working and application, and compares with it the methods and institutions in vogue in the larger cities of America, he will immediately and entirely concur in the statement that only a system of careful investigation of the individual case is in accord with correct principles of poor-relief. Moreover, he will fully understand why, in Germany, the development of this principle has led to outdoor relief as the principal form of public relief, while in America indoor relief, the almshouse, is predominant. This contrast results from that between a system of honor offices and one of salaried offices. If, in Germany, each commune has hundreds, if necessary even thousands, of citizens who are willing to assume the task of helping the poor, it is evident that they can rightly perform this duty only by entering into some sort of neighborly relations to the poor. And if, in America, it is not possible to disburse public funds and public means otherwise than through salaried public officials, it is no more than right to demand such control and supervision as is possible in the almshouse. Add to this the fact that the frequent changes of administration, both state and municipal, place public offices within the grant of each new ruler, that appointment to office has become, in no small degree, a reward for services rendered elsewhere, and the need of some means of control is very much augmented. Especially does this hold true for poor-relief, where there is danger lest the aid granted be made a reward for political services rendered by the recipient.

It is not mere chance that Warner, whose book is a summary of rich experience and a fine theoretical understanding and insight, arrives at the very same conclusion and expressly says: "It is through the development of a system of honor offices that outdoor relief in Germany has been robbed of its dangers, and it will be in part by the extension of the honor-office system in this country that the spirit of willingness to serve the state may be developed."

So long as one holds to the principle of individualization he