Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/392

 THE LAW RELATING TO THE RELIEF AND CARE OF DEPENDENTS. 1 I.

THE public is under obligation to relieve and support all indigent residents of the community, who, because of old age, sickness or other disability, are unable to support themselves, and who have no relatives upon whom this legal obligation of support rests. The word " residents " is used because in some states the obligation does not extend to " non-residents." The provision for this latter class will be spoken of later. Here we speak only of the resident poor.

'This is the first of a series of articles based upon a study of the laws concerning the care and treatment of the dependent and defective classes. The credit for the general plan of the work is due Professor C. R. Henderson, who has also done much in collecting the material here used. The series will contain articles on (i) "The Law Relating to the Relief and Care of Dependents," (2) "The Law Affecting Immi- grants and Tramps," (3) " The Law Relating to the Care of Dependent Children," (4) "The Law relating to the Education and Treatment of the Defective," and (5) " The Public Supervision of Charities." It will be closed with a sixth article tabulat- ing the laws of the several states.

This is a study merely of the law and not of its actual administration. From a study of the statutes and available decisions, we attempt merely to give the present legal provisions of the several commonwealths. Doubtless an extended study of the poor laws as administered would throw much light upon the present study. Perhaps to us seemingly unimportant points, when taken in connection with the administration of relief, may be very important, but are unnoticed by us. We shall be very grateful to any who may be able to correct any mistakes which may have been made, or who may be able to suggest new points, if they will send us their corrections and sugges- tions.

In this study the law has been brought down through the statutes and decisions to, as nearly as possible, the present time. We have succeeded in bringing it down to 1897 in Indiana and Nebraska; to 1896 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Ohio, and Washington ; to 1895 in New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and California ; and to 1894 in Vermont, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Iowa, and Utah.

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