Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/404

 390 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

the cities are divided into six districts and an overseer appointed for each of these at a salary of $600 per year. 1 In Virginia, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Kansas, the councilmen, or the coun- cilmen and mayor, act as overseers in their respective cities. 2 Special officers are also found in those states where the muni- cipal charities are separate and distinct from those of the town or county. Most of these have already been referred to. Others are New Hampshire, New York, West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Washington. 3

From all these confusing details, it is seen, (i) that all officers administering relief serve for short terms ; (2) that in the great majority of ,the commonwealths, relief is administered by officers as one, and a minor one, of their many duties; (3) that relief is administered by councilmen, selectmen, township trus- tees, county commissioners, justices of the peace and county judges, who are not elected for that purpose.

Little need be said concerning the records to be kept and reports to be made of relief given. Records are to be kept and accounts rendered to the town, to the court, to the county commissioners, or to the county auditor, as other accounts are kept and rendered. Where the relief system has been placed under the supervision of the State Boards of Charities (this will be seen later), reports of the "outdoor relief" as well as of the almshouses must be made.

The statutes of many states prescribe a number of points which the records kept by the overseers shall show. Little, however, has yet been done toward securing uniform records. Taking advantage of their power to prescribe the form of records to be kept, the Board of State Chanties of Indiana, the State Board of Charities of New York, and the State Board of Public Charities of Pennsylvania, have prescribed systems of uniform records to be kept by the relieving officers. 4 Reports are made

1 2173. 3 See references given above.

2 876; Louisiana, art. 163. Const.; 1974 ; 4027, 4028.

4 This power could be exercised by a number of the other state boards, as their authority is sufficiently broad.