Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/646

 632 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

The conditions for securing a legal settlement are designed to fix definitely the responsibility for the care of the immigrant class and to guard against those transients who would become a burden upon the community. The usual requirement is that the person shall have resided within the town or county for a given time. 1 This is the only condition found in twenty of the forty- old common law a bastard had neither father nor mother. Then he took his settle- ment from the place of his birth. A few of the older commonwealths, as New Hamp- shire and New Jersey, which provided settlement regulations while holding closely to the old common law, still retain this provision. In the newer states, however, it is a matter of statutory regulation that the bastard child shall take the settlement of its mother. As to the settlement of apprentices, another exception needs to be made. In a number of states an apprentice does not immediately take the settlement of the master, but must pass through one year's service. Among these states may be named New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, and Minnesota.

'The courts have construed the term "residence" in various ways. In some states time spent in a penitentiary or a hospital for the insane is considered as time in residence, because the person is detained by law. In other states the contrary rule obtains. In some cases the place of one's employment is to be taken as his residence. This obtains in Illinois (17, ch. 107, Hurd's Statutes, 1895, an <i 74 Hl-i JOl), an< * in Colorado, where the Illinois construction has been taken as a precedent. In New Hampshire the courts have held (3 N. H., 203, and 30 N. H., 71) that in order to secure a settlement one must have been in actual residence for the time required. In Min- nesota (29 Minn., 240) likewise " continuous residence " is required. Residence in Iowa (50 Iowa, 439) means " personal presence in a fixed permanent abode." In Ver- mont (68 Vt., 487), Connecticut (29 Conn., 74), and Ohio (2 Ohio S., 32) it has been held 'that one's settlement is in that place from which he may have removed if he returns there at intervals and would return there in case of unemployment. It is impossible to appreciate these rulings when thus put, but when applied to cases diverse results are obtained.

When references are given by section numbers only, it is understood that they refer to the statutes used of the state in question. The statutes used were given in a preceding paper, but for convenience's sake are repeated here. They are : Ala., Code of 1886; Arizona, R. S., 1887; Ark., Sandell and Hill's Digest, 1894; Cal., Deering's Code and Stat., 1889; Colo., Mill's Annot. Stat., 1891; Conn., Gen. Stat., 1888; Del., Rev. Code, 1853, as amended in 1893; Fla., R. S., 1892; Ga., Clarke, Cobb, and Irwin's Code, 1882; Idaho, R. S., 1887; 111., Hurd's R. S., 1895 ; Ind., Horner's A. R. S., 1896 ; Iowa, McLain's Annot. Stat., 1888 ; Kan., Taylor's Gen. Stat. 1889; Ky., Barbour and Carroll's Stat., 1894; La., Stat., 1884; Me., R. S., 1883; Md., Gen. Laws., 1888; Mass., R. S., 1892; Mich., Annot. Stat., 1882; Minn., R. S., 1894 ; Miss., Thompson, Dillard, and Campbell's Annot. Code, 1892 ; Mo., R. S., 1889; Mont., Annot. Stat., 1895; Neb., Comp. Stat., 1895; Nev., Bailey and Hammond's Gen. Stat., 1895; N - H., Pub. Stat., 1891; N. J., Gen. Stat., 1896 ; N. M., Comp. Laws, 1884 ; N. Y., Birdseye's R. S., 1890 ; N. C., Code of 1883; N. D., Rev. Code,