Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/705

 PUBLIC CHARITY AND PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY 689

in recalling faithless persons, especially relatives, to their duty and their rightful obligations. Often the visitor has connections with some private chanty to which he can appeal in the interest of especially worthy people. Frequently he will even supply an immediate want from his own purse, seeing that the case is only a temporary exigency and that the applicant has never before been dependent upon public relief. In many cases, too, the visitor is able, through his own personal influence, to find employ- ment for his charge, thus making it possible to relieve the latter's distress by a temporary allowance only. The training of the citizen [in the duties of a visitor and helper is productive of excellent results, arousing in him a most manifold interest for his ward, and teaching him to search out all possible ways in which the needed relief may be supplied most promptly and most thoroughly. It is unnecessary to state that this principle, which is, of course, emphatically expressed in the regulations, is not obeyed by all, that many slight their duties as visitor and helper and regard the whole work in an altogether too perfunctory manner ; on the whole, however, this work is not only very successful, but of very great variety both in manner and direc- tion of their efforts.

Whenever the conditions in any case are found to be such as to warrant relief at public expense, the total receipts of the fam- ily are to be ascertained and the allowance fixed accordingly. The length of time for which and the amount in which assist- ance is to be given must depend upon the nature of the distress and its probable duration. This aid consists principally in money, provisions being used only in a supplementary manner, chiefly clothing for children of school age (schulpflichtige Kinder)^ together with such articles as bedding, underwear, and the like In general, however, the principle is held, that the dependent himself will know better than any other person which of his needs should be satisfied first of all ; it is furthermore believed that the expending of money is the best possible means by which to acquire frugal, economic habits. The visitor oversees the expenditure of the money in a general way, to see that it is rightly