Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/654

 640 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

persons not having a county residence of sixty days in New York are state charges and are under the supervision of the state board of charities. The state has no almshouse, but has selected fifteen county almshouses at which its charges are kept. At the expiration of sixty days the pauper becomes chargeable to the county in which he became dependent. 1

Thus we find that, with the exception of a few states, those making special provision for this class leave much of it to the discretion of the poor authorities, and the matter is largely one of convenience. Looked at from the standpoint of legal pro- vision, the treatment of non-residents of the second class those having a legal settlement in some town or county of the state is, on the other hand, not so much a matter of mere convenience. Here the purpose of the law is to provide for the immediate necessities of the indigent person and to remove him to his place of settlement, both relief and removal being at the expense of the place of settlement. The details of the pro- visions for this second class are diverse.

The most highly developed provisions are that the non-resi- dent applicant shall be given temporary relief and notice of his indigence be sent to the authorities of his place of settlement. Upon receipt of this notice the authorities must remove the indi- gent to his settlement and pay all costs of his temporary relief. This provision is found in some sixteen states, mostly northern and eastern. 2 The regulations are such as to cause early notice of the person's indigence to be given and to effect his removal immediately upon receipt of the notice. 3

'31, ch. 463, Acts of 1896.

2 Massachusetts (29, ch. 84 ); Connecticut (3304-3306 ); Vermont (Act of April 14, 1886); Maine (4, ch. 24); New Hampshire (i, 13, ch. 84); Rhode Island (29, ch. 79); New York ( 1 8, p. 2259); South Carolina (883-886); Michigan (1768-1770); Ohio (Act of 1892); Illinois (16, ch. 107); Wisconsin (1513, and 51 Wis., 185); Nebraska (3937); Iowa (2144-2146); Nevada (1988-1989); and Colorado (3391-3394).

3 The intent of the law is that notice of a non-resident's indigence shall be given the authorities of his place of settlement as soon as possible, and that, upon the receipt thereof, such authorities shall remove the indigent person without delay. Some states have definitely limited the time for which recovery for expense of relief may be had. For example, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire this limit is ninety days. On the