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POOR RELIEF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 SPECIAL BULLETIN No. 4 
 
 ISSUED BY THE 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES 
 AND PUBLIC WELFARE 
 
 RALEIGH, N. C. 
 1925 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/poorreliefinnortOObrow 
 
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 
 
 
 Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson, 
 
 Commissioner of Public Welfare, 
 Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 Madam : — I am submitting herewith a brief study of poor relief in 
 ^orth Carolina. The study, based upon figures available from reports 
 for the last three years, includes also a summary of progress for the 
 period since 1919, as represented by new buildings. The study is offered 
 for publication in the hope that it may be helpful to boards of county 
 commissioners, county boards of public welfare, county superintendents 
 of public welfare, and others who have to do with the administration 
 of poor relief in N'orth Carolina. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 Roy M. Brown, 
 Director Bureau of InstHutional Supervision. 
 October 30, 1924. 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 In 1922, the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare undertook to 
 make a rather intensive study of poor relief in the State. A comprehensive 
 questionnaire was sent to the superintendents of public welfare. The direc- 
 tor of the Bureau of Institutional Supervision of the State Board visited a 
 large number of homes. Within the last two years these visits have been 
 continued until practically all of the county homes in the State have been 
 visited, some of them several times. It has not been practical to repeat the 
 sort of survey made in 1922, for the succeeding years. Figures as to farm 
 products are, therefore, not available. For these reasons, and for the addi- 
 tional reason that the year 1921 immediately follows the census year, this 
 year has been chosen as the basis for this study. Such figures as are avail- 
 able for the succeeding two years are given as a basis of comparison. Thanks 
 are due Dr. J. F. Steiner of the University of North Carolina and members of 
 one of his classes in statistics for aid in tabulating much of the information 
 on which this bulletin is based. 
 
POOR RELIEF IN NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE COUNTY HOME FARM 
 
 The poorhouse of the early days of the State's history to a very much 
 greater extent even than the county home of today, was the dumping ground 
 for all the misfits of society. It was the direct descendant of the old Eng- 
 lish workhouse. It was maintained quite as much for the purpose of dis- 
 posing of certain undesirable classes of the population as of caring for the 
 indigent. The first attempt at legislation for poor relief in North Carolina 
 was a bill introduced in the Colonial Assembly, April 7, 1749, designated a 
 bill for the "relief of the poor and the prevention of idleness." Likewise the 
 first law enacted by the Colony, 1755, provided for the restraint of vagrants 
 as well as for making provision for the poor. 
 
 Since vagrants and other minor offenders, able-bodied people, were to be 
 sent to the poorhouses, which were gradually provided in the various coun- 
 ties, it was wisely decided that the able-bodied inmates should contribute 
 to their own support. The most natural thing in the early days of the State 
 was to decide that this could be best accomplished by putting these inmates 
 to work on the farm. It became the custom, therefore, to place the poor- 
 house on a farm and to expect it to be largely self-supporting. 
 
 There is little reason to believe that these farms, except perhaps in rare 
 instances, were ever successfully operated. Often the determining factor in 
 securing land for the poor farm was that a large number of acres could be 
 purchased for a small sum of money. Often the land selected was unde- 
 sirable for farming because of its lack of fertility, or its inaccessibility, or 
 both. The management, both from the point of view of equipment and of 
 supervision, was usually as unintelligent as the purchase. 
 
 The population of the county home has changed. "Vagabonds and rogues" 
 are still sent to the county poor farm, but not in so great numbers as for- 
 merly. Children are not found in nearly so great numbers as was once the 
 case. The violent insane and the epileptics have in large measure been 
 provided for. A beginning has been made toward State care for the feeble- 
 minded. But the poor farm remains. Practically all the county homes in 
 the State have considerable farms, or at least areas of land, attached. As 
 shown by a careful census made in 1922, of the ninety-four counties owning 
 poor farms only six counties — Beaufort, Carteret, Dare, Hyde, Pasquotank, 
 and Tyrrell — have holdings of less than twenty-five acres. Eight others — 
 Craven, Lenoir, Madison, Wloore, Richmond, Robeson, Wilson, and Yancey — 
 report acreages ranging from twenty-five to fifty. Twenty-nine counties have 
 farms of from one hundred to two hundred acres; twenty counties, of from 
 two hundred to four hundred acres; and nine, of more than four hundred 
 acres. Within the last two years Alamance, Chatham, Vance, Nash, and 
 Halifax have built new homes on reduced acreages. 
 
 As a rule the county home farms are poorly equipped with farm ma- 
 chinery and livestock. It is hardly necessary to add that they are poorly 
 farmed. Thirty-six county homes with farms ranging from a few acres to 
 three hundred acres report no farm machinery. The same number report 
 no livestock belonging to the county. It is most unusual to find any live- 
 stock belonging to the county except hogs — in some instances a fine herd — 
 and an occasional cow. The keeper of the home who operates the farm 
 furnishes his own machinery and stock. His financial condition is, almost 
 
8 Poor Relief in ]^orth Carolina 
 
 without exception, such that he cannot furnish the equipment necessary for 
 the efficient cultivation of the land entrusted to him. He, therefore, pro- 
 ceeds to work a portion of the land after the inefficient and, to the land 
 itself, as well as to the farmer, ruinous methods of the unsupervised tenant 
 farmer. Only occasionally do we find a farm that shows evidence of intelli- 
 gent management. Such an exception is the county home farm in Iredell 
 County. Here, under the direction of an intelligent superintendent who has 
 been in charge for eighteen years, the county home farm has been brought 
 to a state of productiveness scarcely surpassed in this excellent agricultural 
 county. 
 
 County homes in the State own approximately sixteen thousand acres of 
 land. Of this about one-fourth, or a little more than four thousand acres, 
 is in cultivation. Twelve thousand acres — three-fourths of the total acre- 
 age — are idle. Of this waste land, the keepers of the county homes report 
 that five thousand additional acres are cultivable. As a matter of fact, 
 nearly all of it could be put in condition for profitable cultivation. 
 
 Actual Conditions 
 
 A few specific instances may give a clearer picture of the actual conditions 
 on county home farms. Among the counties which own no farm machinery 
 or livestock in connection with the county home farm are Ashe, with farm 
 lands reported to be worth thirteen thousand dollars; Cleveland, with a 
 farm valued at thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars; and Johnston, with 
 lands worth twenty-four thousand dollars. Anson, whose holdings in lands 
 for the county home are valued at sixteen thousand dollars, owns no farm 
 machinery and had thirty-five dollars invested in livestock. Guilford re- 
 ported land worth thirty thousand dollars. She reported only two hundred 
 dollars worth of farm machinery and no livestock. Alamance had two years 
 ago farm lands worth twelve thousand dollars, and one hundred dollars 
 worth of farm machinery. She has since disposed of this farm and has 
 built a new home on a smaller farm. Now let us see how these farms are 
 equipped by the various superintendents of the homes. The Alamance farm 
 of eighty acres, valued at twelve thousand, was stocked with one mule, two 
 milk cows, four hogs, and one hundred and twenty-five hens. Ashe County's 
 farm of one hundred and forty acres is equipped by the superintendent. 
 He owns two horses, five milk cows, three hogs, and thirty-five hens. We 
 have no report as to the machinery which he owns for working the farm. 
 The Anson County home farm of two hundred and fourteen acres is equipped 
 jointly by the county and the superintendent of the home. The superin- 
 tendent owns two mules, one cow, three hogs, and forty hens. The county 
 furnishes one cow valued at thirty-five dollars. No farm machinery was 
 reported. Whatever is used is owned by the superintendent. Johnston 
 County's county home farm contains two hundred and forty acres, only 
 fifty acres of which are in cultivation. "This land," says County Superin- 
 tendent of Public Welfare H. V. Rose, "will produce a bale of cotton to the 
 acre, or twelve hundred pounds of bright leaf tobacco." The livestock and 
 farm machinery on this valuable farm are owned by the superintendent. At 
 the time of the survey there were two mules, one horse, ten hogs, and forty 
 hens. The report reads, "No cow at present." There had been none for a 
 year, or at least no milk had been produced. 
 
 As would be expected under such conditions, the per acre yield from 
 county home farms is very small. Six thousand acres are yielding in crops 
 of all kinds, including vegetables, fruits, livestock, milk, butter, eggs, and 
 meats, a gross income of less than fifteen dollars per acre. Three thousand 
 
Poor Belief in ]^orth Carolina 9 
 
 acres of this are producing less than ten dollars per acre per year gross 
 return. And another area of twenty-six hundred acres is yielding annually 
 less than five dollars per acre. 
 
 Looked at from the point of view of income from the money invested, the 
 showing is quite as poor. In the cases of only fifty-five counties do we have 
 full enough reports to warrant the drawing of anything like definite con- 
 clusions along this line. In the cases of these fifty-five nothing more than 
 an approximation of accuracy may be claimed. In no county home in the 
 State is there a system of account-keeping that would enable one to form 
 even an intelligent guess as to the financial affairs of the county home farm. 
 The law requiring such account-keeping is ignored for the simple reason 
 that there are not one half of a baker's dozen of the county home superin- 
 tendents in the State who could keep the simplest set of books. All figures 
 as to the products of the farm are estimated by the superintendents of the 
 homes. But while there are doubtless inaccuracies in the figures in every 
 case, it is believed that they approximate the truth nearly enough to be 
 valuable. According to these figures nine county home farms bring to the 
 respective counties from all garden and farm products, including feed-stuffs 
 and livestock and livestock products, a gross income of less than five per 
 cent. Thirty-one of these fifty-five counties produce a gross income of not 
 over ten per cent. Twenty-four farms make a showing of more than ten 
 per cent. If we had complete figures from all the counties, it is extremely 
 doubtful that this group of twenty-four would be increased in number. 
 There is no way of getting at the net income. 
 
 Idle xlcres 
 
 Seven county homes, in 1922, had each two hundred or more idle acres. 
 These are: Surry, with 425 idle acres; Halifax, 340 acres; New Hanover, 
 300 acres; Rutherford, 300 acres; Nash, 252 acres; Orange, 250 acres; and 
 Rockingham, 200 acres. Taking the average value per acre assigned in the 
 reports from these counties, we have represented by these two thousand two 
 hundred and sixty-seven idle acres a total unproductive capital of one hun- 
 dred and forty thousand dollars. (Halifax and Nash have each recently 
 completed new county homes, on new and smaller farms.) A number of 
 other counties have as large a percentage of uncultivated land, bringing the 
 total to twelve thousand acres. 
 
 These figures, incomplete as they are, show that farming in connection 
 with county homes in North Carolina is not generally profitable. But it 
 would be a matter of little importance whether a county home farm pays, if 
 it could be shown that the farm is producing in as great abundance as 
 needed those foods which are best suited to the needs of the inmates and 
 which may best be had in desirable abundance and quality only when pro- 
 duced at home. But this is rarely if ever true. Very rarely is there an 
 intelligent effort to have a bountiful supply of vegetables for as nearly all 
 the year as is possible in that particular locality. As a rule the raising of 
 vegetables is secondary to the production of a money crop. Recently on the 
 county home farm in the finest trucking section of the State, a representative 
 of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare found no early vegetables 
 and no adequate provision for a later supply. While train-loads of early 
 vegetables were being shipped from the immediate neighborhood, the only 
 vegetable on hand for use in the institution was some spinach given by one 
 of the county commissioners. Preparations were being made for a crop of 
 corn. More often, as has already been said, the farming is done in such a 
 slipshod way that neither vegetables nor other crops are a success. Usually 
 the superintendent of the county home reports that he produces plenty of 
 
10 Poor Relief in I^orth Carolusta 
 
 vegetables, but in most cases a look at the county home garden is proof that 
 he does not appreciate the meaning of plenty of vegetables. What is true 
 of vegetables is also true of milk, eggs, and meats. An adequate supply of 
 milk and butter is as unusual as an adequate supply of vegetables. Very 
 few counties make any provision for a milk supply. This is true also of 
 eggs. Practically the only kind of meat produced on the county home farm 
 is hog meat. A few of the homes produce a considerable supply of this. 
 
 BUILDINGS 
 
 County homes in North Carolina still include every type and condition of 
 building from wretched shacks and log cabins to creditable and even elabo- 
 rate and expensive plants. The Wake County Hospital, as the county home 
 is locally called, is one of the most imposing looking buildings in the vicinity 
 of the State Capitol. The Guilford County home is one of the most con- 
 spicuous buildings or group of buildings in the neighborhood of Greensboro. 
 Nash County has just completed a county home at a cost of one hundred 
 thousand dollars, and Robeson is now building a home that is to cost one 
 hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. 
 
 Until quite recently the most common type of county home was a group 
 of two-room cottages. A number of these remain. Usually these cottages 
 are of wood — small frame buildings, often with a chimney in the middle, 
 providing an open fireplace in each of the two rooms. Occasionally the cot- 
 tages are of brick. More rarely we find a county home, coming down from 
 a still earlier period, with log cottages. The tendency, as has been sug- 
 gested, is away from the two-room cottage type of institution. The newer 
 home consists of a single building, or a group of connected buildings, usu- 
 ally of brick. In the latest of these, the quarters of the inmates are one- 
 story. 
 
 Thirty-nine counties each have buildings alone valued at $15,000 or more, 
 Twenty each have buildings worth $40,000 or more. Three other counties 
 are now constructing buildings to cost $75,000, $114,000, and $175,000, re- 
 spectively. Since 1919, twenty-five counties — Alamance, Burke, Caldwell 
 Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Durham, Guilford, Halifax, Jackson, Johnston 
 Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Person, Polk, Randolph, Robeson, Rowan 
 Rutherford, Stanly, Vance, Watauga, Wayne, and Wilson— have erected, or 
 now have in process of erection, new county homes. With three excep 
 tions — Cherokee, Clay, and Polk — these are substantial brick structures cost- 
 ing from $20,000 in Watauga to $175,000 in Robeson. The aggregate cost 
 of these new buildings has been $1,000,000. Measured in terms of money 
 invested, or in terms of equipment as expressed in buildings, progress has 
 been made. The extent of that progress is suggested by the pictures in 
 another section of this bulletin. Judged by any standards there has been 
 progress. But in too many cases the progress has been more apparent than 
 real. Some of the better buildings have been poorly planned. The number 
 that show evidences of having been planned by one who had some concep- 
 tion of the problems presented by the county home is increasing, but there 
 are still too many of the other class. There is often inadequate provision 
 for the segregation of the sexes. There is not always complete segregation 
 of the races. In the newer homes, infirmary wards have usually been pro- 
 vided for the sick; but these wards are usually either inadequately fur- 
 nished or not furnished at all. Quite frequently they are not used, or are 
 used as other rooms for the housing of inmates. 
 
 Of the eighty-five homes reporting two years ago on lighting systems, 
 thirty-five had electric lights; two had gas; forty used kerosene lamps; 
 
PooE Relief in J^oeth Carolina 11 
 
 five, lanterns, and one, candles. Many county commissioners living in the 
 country do not have electric lights. Certainly the average citizen does not 
 have this convenience. Commissioner, grand juror, and taxpayer alike, 
 therefore, naturally concludes that there is no good reason for taxing the 
 people to provide these luxuries for the poor. He forgets that with the 
 scant supervision usually provided at the county home, the kerosene lamp 
 endangers not only the property of the county but the lives of the inmates. 
 Within the last few months the building for colored inmates at the Lenoir 
 County home was burned at night and with it the only colored inmate. It 
 is surmised that this inmate, a feeble old woman, who was in the building 
 alone, attempted to light her lamp and accidentally set fire to the building. 
 
 A large number of the homes, including some of those with substantial 
 buildings, are poorly furnished. Often the furnishings are of the crudest 
 sort. A cheap bed — usually a double bed — a cheap straight chair for each 
 inmate, sometimes a table — these are the typical furnishings of a room in 
 the majority of our county homes. Such luxuries as closets, bureaus, chests, 
 or mirrors, in the rooms of inmates, are the exception rather than the rule. 
 
 An interesting point in connection with the building of new county homes 
 is the number that have been relocated— brought out from the back country 
 to the main highways near the county-seats. There are still twenty-one 
 homes, however, that are not on a public highway. I found it impossible 
 in 1923 in dry weather to reach one of these, in the eastern part of the 
 State, in a Ford. And after one day's rain late in September, 1924, I was 
 advised not to attempt to reach the new county home in Burke County. 
 
 SUPERVISION 
 
 Supervision in the county homes in North Carolina is of a lower type even 
 than the equipment. It has not yet become the general custom to pay sal- 
 aries that will attract the type of men needed for the difiicult task of operat- 
 ing a county home. Thirty-seven counties pay their superintendent of the 
 county home less than one hundred dollars cash per month. Nineteen pay 
 six hundred dollars or less per year. Twenty counties sell the keeping of 
 the county home to the lowest bidder. The same number pay a stated 
 amount per month per inmate. In addition to his salary, it should be borne 
 in mind, however, that the superintendent gets a house to live in and, usu- 
 ally, board for himself and family. In the eighty-three counties reporting 
 on this item, the average age of the superintendent is forty-seven years. 
 In many cases there are large families of children. These are usually sup- 
 ported by the county. In one instance the county was supporting seventeen 
 members of the superintendent's family in addition to paying eighteen dol- 
 lars per month per inmate for sixteen inmates. He had a house and a hun- 
 dred acres of cultivable land free of rent. As I write, a county superin- 
 tendent of public welfare tells me that a new superintendent of the county 
 home has just been elected in his county. The retiring superintendent has 
 ten children. He received house rent and food for his family in addition to 
 his salary of seventy-five dollars a month. A cook was paid twenty dollars 
 a month. Under such conditions seventy-five dollars per month is not a 
 salary to be despised. 
 
 About twenty counties have paid matrons. One county pays its county 
 home matron $900 a year; three pay $600; two pay $240; the others of the 
 group pay less than $400. More often the wife of the superintendent serves 
 as matron without pay in her own name. Not infrequently she does the 
 cooking, looks after the inmates and the house work, and cares for several 
 small children of her own. This may be the chief reason for the type of 
 
12 Poor Relief in J^orth Carolina 
 
 superintendent most common in the State. Whatever the reason, it is not 
 unusual to find a superintendent who belongs to a class only slightly supe- 
 rior to a majority of the inmates. He is rarely in the class with the other 
 officials of the county. He is not the type of man who could be elected 
 register of deeds or clerk of the court. There are a few exceptions, but 
 they are exceptions. Two instances in counties in widely separated sections 
 of the State illustrate the type of superintendent and matron that is quite 
 frequently found. In a county in which the tumble-down shacks called the 
 county home are a disgrace, the single inmate, an old half-crazy negro man, 
 was telling the visitor about the fat meat he had to eat. The keeper flew 
 into a rage and hotly protested that he did not buy fat meat, but "good 
 shoulder meat." Two representatives of the State Board of Charities and 
 Public Welfare were visiting another county home. The superintendent was 
 away. His wife was working in the cotton field. After a while she came in. 
 She was barefooted. Her baby was nursing as she walked along, and her 
 dress was thrown open from the neck to the waist. Her mother, her mother's 
 sister, and her father's brother are inmates of the home. She is matron 
 without salary. In our survey we tried to secure some information as to the 
 education of superintendents. Eighty counties gave some sort of informa- 
 tion on this subject. In seventy-four of these the superintendent had less 
 than a high school education. Six are recorded as having a high school 
 education or more. Since then the only superintendent who had any college 
 training has been removed because he did not belong to the same political 
 faction as the county commissioners. A large number of these superin- 
 tendents are practically illiterate. A few cannot read and write. Most of 
 the superintendents were farmers before they came to the county homes — 
 sixty-nine out of eighty from which information on this item was obtained. 
 Thirty of these were tenant farmers. The eleven who were not farmers 
 came from various occupations — merchant, salesman, carpenter, mason, 
 jailer, policeman, "moonshiner." 
 
 Until recently there has been but little supervision over the superintend- 
 ent. The county commissioners, who, since the Civil War, have had the 
 general oversight of poor relief, have usually contented themselves with 
 employing a superintendent every two years. Sometimes he is chosen be- 
 cause he is the cheapest man; sometimes because he has been of service to 
 the political faction in power. Sometimes the commissioners are genuinely 
 interested; but they are usually busy men giving one or two days a month 
 to the affairs of the county. In any case, the county home, as a rule, gets 
 little supervision from this source. Some time ago a representative of the 
 State Board of Charities and Public Welfare was visiting a county home. 
 It was his first visit. Some other gentlemen were also visiting the institu- 
 tion that day for the first time. They were members of the board of county 
 commissioners of the county. The wife of the superintendent, who had been 
 matron of the institution for five years, did not know at sight the members 
 of the board under whom she had been serving. 
 
 Since 1919, the law has provided that the county superintendent of public 
 welfare shall "have, under the control of the county commissioners, the care 
 and supervision of the poor, and administer the poor funds." This law seems 
 to have been variously interpreted by various boards of county commis- 
 sioners. A few boards, even in counties that have full-time superintendents 
 of public welfare, are apparently ignorant of the existence of this law. In 
 the larger number of these counties, however, all new cases of relief are 
 referred to the superintendent of public welfare for investigation and recom- 
 mendation. The number of counties in this group is constantly increasing. 
 
Poor Relief in North Carolina 13 
 
 In a few counties the superintendent of public welfare has the actual admin- 
 istration of the poor funds, the commissioners retaining only general over- 
 sight. 
 
 Some Notable Instances 
 
 In a few instances the results of turning the active supervision of the 
 county home over to the county superintendent of public welfare have been 
 notable. In Avery County, for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1921, the 
 county treasurer paid for the maintenance of the county home, exclusive of 
 money listed as spent for additional land and for farm machinery, $594.91 
 per inmate per year, or $49.57 per month. This home consisted of a very 
 cheap wooden building without any modern conveniences. It was wretchedly 
 kept. Mrs. Lillian Edmonson, superintendent of public welfare, was told 
 to try her hand. Mrs. Edmonson became the real superintendent. She 
 bought the supplies, and supervised the management of the home. The work 
 at the home was done by a woman whom Mrs. Edmonson took from the 
 county jail where she was serving a sentence for violation of the prohibition 
 law. The institution was made as sanitary as possible with the equipment. 
 The cost for 1922 was $206.45 per capita, or $17.20 per month. But Mrs. 
 Edmonson was not satisfied with even this showing. Watauga County has 
 a comfortable brick county home with more room than is needed for the 
 poor of that county. Upon the superintendent of public welfare's recom- 
 mendation, arrangements were made to transfer Avery's poor to the Watauga 
 County home April 1, 1923. For this year, three months in the Avery County 
 home and nine months in the Watauga County home, the cost was $116.10 
 per capita per year, or $9.67 per month. The care that these people are 
 receiving in the Watauga County home is not ideal, but it is better than the 
 care they were receiving in the Avery County home before Mrs. Edmonson 
 took charge. The cost for 1923 was less than one-fifth the cost for 1921. 
 
 In Vance County the results have been even more notable. Here the 
 county owned some wooden buildings situated on a farm a few miles from 
 the county-seat. The institution was poorly kept. In 1921 Mrs. W. B. 
 Waddill was elected superintendent of public welfare. She took stock of 
 the welfare problems of the county. One of the immediate needs was some 
 way to care for the inmates of the county home. The county commissioners 
 agreed that something must be done. The superintendent consulted the State 
 Board of Charities and Public Welfare as to the advisability of building a 
 new county home, or county hospital as she conceived it, on a smaller piece 
 of land near the county-seat. The Director of the Bureau of Institutional 
 Supervision was dreaming of district hospital homes for the care of the 
 aged and infirm, so she got but little encouragement. She went on, however. 
 An attractive but inexpensive building of brick was planned and built. It 
 was attractively furnished under the supervision of the superintendent of 
 public welfare. During the months while the new home was under con- 
 struction she was skillfully preparing the inmates for the change. They 
 were led to look forward to moving into the new home as an event in their 
 lives. Finally the day came. Each inmate was moved to his or her own 
 small room, or in the case of one or two old couples into a suite of two small 
 rooms. One old negro man, who, according to his own account, is "goin' on 
 more than a hundred" years old, had his first experience with a bath tub and 
 enjoyed it so much that he did not want to get out. A low-grade, feeble- 
 minded negro woman, whose room at the old home had always been filthy 
 as a pig pen, was given instruction in caring for her new room (for in this 
 new type of county home, where each inmate has his own room, the inmate 
 is led to feel a responsibility for that room and to take pride in keeping it 
 
14 Poor Relief in N^orth Carolina 
 
 in order). This woman has rarely forgotten to make her bed, clean up her 
 room, and raise her windows before leaving the room in the morning. The 
 writer recently visited this home without warning at 8 o'clock in the morn- 
 ing. The inmates were just finishing breakfast. With the exception of one 
 room, occupied by a very old inmate who had remained late in bed, the beds 
 were already made and the rooms in order, this work having been done, 
 practically without supervision, by the inmates. Every inmate was eager 
 that his or her room should be seen. One negro man, partially paralyzed, 
 stood in his door pathetically anxious lest his room should be overlooked. 
 
 The old county home, without any of the modern conveniences, cost the 
 county for maintenance, in addition to any products of the farm used in the 
 institution, five thousand dollars a year. The superintendent of public wel- 
 fare estimates the cost for maintenance for the first year in the new home, 
 with its individual rooms, its attractive living rooms, one for each race, its 
 commodious kitchen and dining rooms, with all modern conveniences, at 
 two thousand five hundred dollars, or one-half the cost of the old home. 
 
 There are counties, too, where the county commissioners have secured 
 competent supervision directly through the superintendent of the county 
 home. 
 
 A third case of a county that has recognized the importance of intelligent 
 supervision for its county home is Chatham. This county until recently did 
 not have a separate superintendent of public welfare. Two years ago, when 
 the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare asked for a detailed report 
 on the county home, the superintendent of public instruction, who was also 
 superintendent of public welfare, objected to making such a report, on the 
 ground that he did not want it known how bad conditions were. He added 
 that there was then under construction a home of which the county would 
 not be ashamed. When this home was completed the commissioners em- 
 ployed as superintendent a man who had served as register of deeds for the 
 county and whose wife also is superior to the average county home matron. 
 The result is that this poor rural county has one of the most attractive 
 county homes in the State. 
 
 In two of these counties the credit for the improvements is due primarily 
 to the superintendent of public welfare. In the third it is due to the wisdom 
 of the county commissioners in choosing a superintendent for the new county 
 home. In the last case that I shall cite, also, the county commissioners may 
 with some right claim the credit; but the most that may be said in this 
 instance is that succeeding boards of commissioners through many years 
 have had the wisdom not to change the superintendent at the county home. 
 For thirty-seven years the present superintendent has been in charge. The 
 home is composed of a group of two-room cottages arranged around a quad- 
 rangle. There is a larger cottage for the superintendent. The buildings are 
 neatly painted, and the whole presents an attractive appearance. But such 
 necessities as running water and a sewerage system are absent. The super- 
 intendent is allowed to believe that the county is too poor to spend the few 
 hundred dollars needed to relieve her of useless drudgery. But in spite of 
 these handicaps Mrs. Williams has made the Craven County home one of the 
 most homelike and attractive in the State. 
 
 Methods of Discipline Vary 
 
 Methods of discipline in county homes vary as widely as the types of in- 
 stitutions. There are institutions in connection with which one does not 
 even associate the word discipline. They are in fact homes for the aged and 
 infirm. There are others which in this respect do not differ materially from 
 
PooK Relief in ^orth Carolina 15 
 
 the old-fashioned workhouse. The board of commissioners of two counties 
 in North Carolina have enacted and had printed rules for the govern- 
 ment of their county homes. Those of one of these are especially interest- 
 ing. They are twelve in number. These rules provide for confinement in 
 cells for a number of minor offenses. For each additional offense the punish- 
 ment is to be doubled. Two of the rules are as follows: 
 
 "Second Rule: None of the inmates will be allowed to leave the institu- 
 tion without permission of the superintendent or matron, and any inmate 
 violating this rule shall be confined in a cell not to exceed one week for the 
 first offense, and each additional offense the punishment to be doubled." 
 
 "Twelfth Rule: Any inmate that takes, conceals or disposes of in any 
 
 manner anything that belongs to the County home, shall be 
 
 punished by confinement in the cells for thirty days, and for each additional 
 offense the punishment shall be doubled." 
 
 In our 1922 survey twenty-six of the inmates of this institution, including 
 three children under sixteen years old, are reported feeble-minded. Eleven 
 are insane. There are no physical examinations, and, therefore, no basis 
 for determining to what extent they are otherwise diseased. Sixty of the 
 sixty-eight inmates, however, were reported as unable to do any work. These 
 people are punished by imprisonment, under laws enacted by the county 
 commissioners, for offenses ranging from disobeying the orders of the super- 
 intendent to larceny. For the purpose of enforcing these laws the super- 
 intendent is judge, jury, and jailer. 
 
 For the purpose of discipline, the main building for white inmates has 
 eight or ten punishment rooms — that is rooms with the upper half of the 
 door barred to make it resemble a jail. In addition there are two separate 
 buildings with steel cells, one for the white and one for the negroes. These 
 are used both for the insane and for punishment. 
 
 On the occasion of a recent visit I found a negro woman in one of the 
 cells. This woman has "falling spells." It is her duty to milk the cows. 
 One rainy evening she decided to defer the milking until the next morning. 
 For this offense she was sentenced by the assistant superintendent, also a 
 negro, to one week in jail. 
 
 A few counties maintain workhouses in connection with their county 
 homes. To a number of others, prisoners, especially women, are frequently 
 sent. The presence of prisoners at the county home greatly complicates the 
 problem of supervision. This is especially true when there are young feeble- 
 minded women among the inmates. 
 
 SAMTATIOX 
 
 Two years ago eleven county homes reported complete modern conve- 
 niences for all inmates — hot and cold running water, adequate bathing facili- 
 ties, steam heat, electric lights and sewerage, including separate toilets for 
 the different races and sexes. The new homes completed within the last 
 two years add nine counties to the list. Three others now in process of 
 construction double the number reported in 1922. 
 
 Taking separately several items that contribute to sanitary conditions, we 
 have twenty-four institutions reporting steam heat; forty-five, stoves, and 
 the remainder open fireplaces. Of eighty-seven counties reporting on the 
 existence or nonexistence of bath tubs, thirty-four had one or more; fifty- 
 three had none; twenty-nine used galvanized wash tubs; six had no facili- 
 ties. This statement must be modified by the evidence that some of the 
 county homes having bath tubs do not use them for the purpose of bathing. 
 In one small new county home a representative of the State Board of Chari- 
 ties and Public Welfare found each of the two bath tubs partially filled with 
 
16 Poor Relief in ^North Carolina 
 
 straw to give the hens a place to nest. He does not believe that the hens 
 were often disturbed in order to give the inmates a chance to take a bath. 
 In another county the superintendent, in reply to a question as to the fre- 
 quency of baths, said: "Don't take 'em. Make 'em clean up about every two 
 weeks — change clothes and bed." In a third home, it is reported, the in- 
 mates refuse to make use of the bath tubs, preferring "local applications." 
 It is not surprising, therefore, that of the eighty-one counties reporting on 
 this item, only about one-half — forty-three — say that the inmates are clean 
 of person and dress. Only twenty-one out of seventy-nine reporting had one 
 or more living rooms for the use of the inmates. Thirty-five out of seventy- 
 five did not have window space sufficient to give the amount of light desirable 
 in the rooms used by inmates. Thirty-four counties, two years ago, reported 
 modern sewerage systems. Eighteen others had sanitary privies. Thirty 
 had open closets. Three reported "no facilities." 
 
 The source of water supply is reported as follows: open wells, twenty- 
 nine; springs, eighteen; pumps, fourteen; deep wells, twenty; and mains 
 from city systems, four. A total of forty-seven counties use either open 
 wells or, for institutional use, the almost equally dangerous spring. One 
 county home superintendent in a county in the northeastern section of the 
 State told the writer proudly that he had fine water — he had never seen any 
 "wiggle-tails" in it. 
 
 The kitchen and dining-room of the average county home are the least 
 attractive places about it. They are poorly furnished and often inadequately 
 screened. There are several county homes in the State, of course, which are 
 exceptions to this. Usually the superintendent's wife has been accustomed 
 only to the most primitive mode of living, and is helpless when confronted 
 with the problems of an institution. Frequently dirty and diseased inmates 
 help with the work in the kitchen and dining-room. In one county home in 
 the State a filthy-looking, old insane woman continually potters about the 
 flour bin. Few county home kitchens or dining-rooms are free from flies. 
 Often they are present in swarms. In other parts of the home, also, there is 
 often lack of cleanliness. I am not sure but that the man who is responsible 
 for the disinfectant of the sort commonly used in jails and county homes 
 should be shut up in one of the former for life. To go about squirting vile- 
 smelling stuff out of a "gun" appeals strongly to many county home superin- 
 tendents, as it does also to the average jailer. It is a poor substitute for soap 
 and water; but it is more easily applied, and it is not yet so definitely asso- 
 ciated mentally with labor. It is not particularly surprising that twenty- 
 eight homes report the presence of bed-bugs. Recently when a progressive 
 board of county commissioners in one of the largest counties of the State 
 decided to renovate the county home, a painter employed on the job reported 
 that occasionally when he started to paint over a particularly dark place on 
 the wall, the dark place began immediately to scatter in all directions. 
 
 On a slight eminence overlooking a beautiful river valley, with mountains 
 in the background, stands an attractive brick building that cost several tens 
 of thousands of dollars, the county home in one of the best of the mountain 
 counties. "You will want a picture of this for your bulletin," said my com- 
 panion as we stopped in front of the institution one afternoon in September, 
 1924. We entered. He may still think a picture should appear in this bulle- 
 tin, but for a somewhat different reason. There was little evidence of intelli- 
 gent care anywhere within, but the climax was reached in a room whose 
 walls were covered with finger prints — hundreds and hundreds of them. 
 "What caused these?" asked my friend. "That's where he's killed chinches," 
 replied the son of the superintendent, indicating by a nod of the head the 
 old man who occupies the room. 
 
Poor Relief in North Carolina 17 
 
 INMATES 
 
 There are in round numbers seventeen hundred and fifty people in county 
 homes in North Carolina. These are distributed among ninety county homes. 
 Ten counties do not at present maintain county homes. These are Avery, 
 which maintains its indoor poor in the Watauga County home; Bladen, 
 which has a home not occupied; Dare, which also has a home not operated; 
 Graham; Hoke; Jones; Onslow, which is now building a home; Pender, 
 whose last inmate was transferred to the Soldiers' Home a year ago; Polk, 
 whose home was not occupied at the last report; and Tyrrell, whose home 
 is not operated. Polk had a peculiar experience. In 1922 this county opened 
 a new county home. Within a year all of the inmates died. Twenty-six 
 counties have fewer than ten inmates each in their respective county homes. 
 Seventy-one have fewer than twenty-five. Nine have forty or more. One, 
 Wake, has more than one hundred. The reports to the State Board of 
 Charities and to the reorganized State Board of Charities and Public Wel- 
 fare, which are fairly continuous since 1891, show that there has been but 
 little increase in the number of inmates in county homes within thirty 
 years. The actual numbers have increased since 1891 in twenty-six counties. 
 In fifty-three counties there has been a decrease in actual numbers for the 
 period of thirty-two years. In ten other counties there has been a decrease 
 for several years. Considered in relation to the whole population of the 
 county, the figures are still more interesting. Thirteen of the twenty-six 
 counties in which there were increases in numbers are eliminated. The 
 number of inmates of county homes per thousand population has increased 
 within the last thirty years in only thirteen of the counties. And in two of 
 these thirteen the ratio has decreased within the last twenty years. 
 
 This general decrease in the ratio of indoor poor is due largely to the 
 elimination of certain classes of persons who were formerly sent to the poor- 
 house in large numbers, or to progress toward such elimination. Children 
 were formerly found in county homes in rather large numbers. The develop- 
 ment of orphanages and of the North Carolina Children's Home Society have 
 taken most of the children. The hospitals for the insane are caring for a 
 large part of the insane. Caswell Training School has relieved the counties 
 of the care of some of the feeble-minded. In many of the counties social 
 investigation is taking the place of political expediency in the admission of 
 inmates. 
 
 These facts should be carefully studied by counties contemplating the 
 building of new county homes — especially by small counties. Only three 
 counties in the State — Graham, Hoke, and Jones — have no county homes. 
 Jones once had some provision for caring for indoor poor. Thirty-three 
 counties have some sort of county homes that have fewer than ten inmates. 
 Seven have none. There is little reason to believe that there will be a large 
 increase. There may be a number of people in many of these counties that 
 should be in the county homes. On the other hand, as the plan of public 
 welfare develops, as local social workers develop the technique of poor-relief 
 work, and as the State provides for a larger percentage of the insane and 
 feeble-minded, the ratio of inmates of county homes to the whole population 
 should continue to decrease. 
 
 But notwithstanding the fact that progress has been made toward elimi- 
 nating certain classes from the county homes, these institutions still give 
 shelter to a varied group, the majority of whom are not merely aged and 
 Infirm. 
 
18 Poor Relief in ^oeth Carolina 
 
 Feeble-minded and Mentally Diseased 
 
 In the survey made two years ago superintendents of public welfare re- 
 ported 663 cases of feeble-mindedness among the inmates of eighty-one of the 
 county homes in the State. Investigations by Dr. Harry W. Crane, Director 
 of the Bureau of Mental Hygiene and Health of the State Board of Charities 
 and Public Welfare, indicate that these figures are approximately correct 
 as to definitely recognizable feeble-mindedness. Dr. Crane examined all the 
 white inmates in seven county homes and twenty-eight white inmates in 
 another county home. These county homes were selected in every section 
 of the State. In the case of feeble-mindedness, definitely recognizable as 
 such, the examinations showed about ten per cent more than reported by the 
 superintendents. So there are perhaps approximately seven hundred feeble- 
 minded inmates, who may be definitely classified as such, in the county homes 
 of the State. One hundred and seventeen insane persons were in the county 
 homes in eighty-one counties, according to the reports on this item. But in 
 the seven county homes studied by him. Dr. Crane found two and one-half 
 times as many insane as indicated in the reports. If this ratio holds for 
 the State, there are more than three hundred insane in county homes in the 
 State. Of these, fifty-five were forcibly confined in their rooms or in cells. 
 Sixty-four cases of epilepsy were reported. Five of the epileptics were 
 forcibly confined. Of the one hundred and twenty-six tested by Dr. Crane, 
 two were epileptics; one was a drug addict; eighteen showed some abnormal 
 mental condition, but the form of abnormality was not determined; and 
 fifteen, for one reason or another, could not be tested. Only five of the one 
 hundred and twenty-six were adjudged normal mentally. We believe that 
 it is a conservative estimate to say that eighty-five per cent of the inmates 
 of the county homes of the State are mentally abnormal. 
 
 Of the feeble-minded reported, one hundred and thirty-three were women 
 of child-bearing age. 
 
 Children in County Homes 
 
 Forty-six counties reported having no children as inmates. The remaining 
 thirty-nine counties reported a total of seventy-nine children under sixteen 
 years of age. The ages of fifty-one of these children were given. Twenty- 
 seven, or 53 per cent, ranged in age from one year or less to five years. 
 Sixteen, or 31 per cent, were between the school ages of six and eleven; and 
 eight, or 16 per cent, were between the adolescent ages of twelve and fifteen 
 years. Of the seventy-nine children reported, thirty-seven, or about half, 
 were adjudged by those making the report to be definitely feeble-minded; 
 and some of the children, too small as yet to be classified in regard to mental 
 status, are the children of feeble-minded mothers and, therefore, probably 
 feeble-minded themselves. 
 
 In addition to the seventy-nine children reported as inmates, three coun- 
 ties reported a total of eight boys serving sentences at the county homes as 
 juvenile delinquents. 
 
 Forty-two children were reported as having been born in the coi^nty homes, 
 some now being inmates, and some having died or been taken away from 
 the homes and been put in other institutions or otherwise cared for. Of 
 these forty-two births, thirty-four were reported as illegitimate. In nine 
 cases of illegitimate children, it was reported that conception took place 
 while the mother was at the county home, and in two instances it was be- 
 lieved that the former superintendent of the home was the father of the 
 child. 
 
 Fifty-nine married couples were reported; 267 widows, and 180 widowers. 
 
Poor Relief in N^orth Carolina 19 
 
 FOOD 
 
 There is usually, we believe, an honest effort to furnish to inmates of 
 county homes a sufficient quantity of such food as the wife of the superin- 
 tendent knows how to prepare or has been accustomed to herself. This does 
 not mean that inmates of all county homes are properly fed. In many of the 
 homes they are not. Vegetables, as has been observed elsewhere, are not 
 supplied as constantly or in as great variety as is desirable or practical. 
 The county home farm produces practically no meat, except hog meat that 
 is produced on a considerable number, but a decided majority of the county 
 home farms and the average county home table know no other, except on 
 rare occasions. "Wouldn't it be possible for us to have just a bit of red 
 meat once in a while?" begged an intelligent negro girl, in an advanced stage 
 of tuberculosis, of the chairman of the board of county commissioners in a 
 certain county. This county home farm contains one hundred and seventy- 
 five acres. The county has no livestock on this land. No provision has been 
 made by the county to insure a supply of milk or of eggs. There is not an 
 adequate supply of either. "The inmates of our county home are as well 
 fed as the average family in the county," declared a member of a board of 
 county commissioners. I had been at his county home that morning at 
 breakfast. The inmates had two slices of fat bacon fried, one spoonful of 
 molasses, and three biscuits each. I suppose there must have been coffee, 
 but I cannot remember it. This is in the finest diversified farming section 
 in North Carolina. 
 
 MEDICAL CARE OF INMATES 
 
 Most of the counties have failed to make provision for anything approach- 
 ing adequate medical attention for the inmates of their county homes. Our 
 survey showed more than four hundred, or approximately one-fourth of the 
 entire number, sick. A much larger number doubtless need medical atten- 
 tion. Many should be in regular medical hospitals. Paralysis, tuberculosis, 
 gonorrhea, syphilis, and cancer are among the more serious ailments re- 
 ported. Forty-one of eighty-three counties reporting on this item say that 
 the doctor comes only when called. In forty-two he is supposed to make 
 regular visits as well. In fifteen he comes less often than once a week; in 
 twenty-one, once a week; and in five more often than once a week. Thirty- 
 three counties report physical examination before admission. But examina- 
 tions are often of the most perfunctory sort. Superintendents of county 
 homes with little supervision buy and administer large quantities of drugs 
 and nostrums. In several counties the bills for drugs assume astonishing 
 proportions. 
 
 Usually there are no special facilities for the care of the sick. Very few 
 of the homes have even a practical nurse. Hospital wards, equipped as such, 
 are almost nonexistent. In the majority of the homes it is not possible ade- 
 quately to segregate the sick from the well. There are cases of horrible 
 neglect and of brutally crude methods of treatment. Usually the superin- 
 tendent, or more often his wife, gives the sick such attention as he or she 
 knows how to give, and as a multitude of other duties will permit. 
 
 Eighty-one counties made some report regarding the health of the in- 
 mates. Four hundred and thirty-three inmates were reported as able to do 
 some work; 441 inmates as being chronically sick; 39 as having tuberculosis; 
 47 as suffering from venereal disease; 20 as wholly paralyzed and 132 as 
 being partially paralyzed; 24 as suffering from cancer; 96 as partially or 
 totally blind; 7 as deaf; and 33 as both deaf and dumb. 
 
20 Poor Relief in N^orth Carolina 
 
 In forty-six counties the statements regarding physical diseases or defects 
 were reported as based on the diagnosis of a reputable physician; in twenty- 
 five cases as simply the opinion of those in charge of the homes or of the 
 county superintendent of public welfare; fourteen reports did not state 
 whether or not the answers were based on a physician's diagnosis. In six 
 reports there was a question mark after the figures reporting tuberculosis; 
 in seven reports there was a question mark after the figures given on ve- 
 nereal disease; and in some no figures were given at all in regard to these 
 diseases, simply a question mark. 
 
 RECORDS 
 
 Section 1337, Consolidated Statutes, reads: "The keeper or superintendent 
 in charge of each county home in North Carolina, or the board of county 
 commissioners in each county where there is no county home, shall keep a 
 record book showing the following: Name, age, sex, and race of each in- 
 mate; date of entrance or discharge; mental and physical condition; cause 
 of admission; family relation and condition; date of death if in the home; 
 cost of supplies and per capita expense per month; amount of crops and 
 value, and such other information as may be required by the board of county 
 commissioners or the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. Such 
 report to be filed annually on or before the first Monday of December of 
 each year." 
 
 No county in the State is keeping this record. Most of the county homes 
 have some sort of record of the inmates, usually giving the name, the date 
 of admission, and of discharge or death. A few counties have somewhat 
 fuller records. Some have no records. No county, we believe, keeps a per 
 capita cost account record, or a record of the amount and value of crops. 
 Figures as to crops and crop values given in this report are mainly esti- 
 mates by the superintendent. In cases where the superintendent was changed 
 at the end of the preceding year and in some others it has been impossible 
 to get any sort of figures. In making statements as to the cost of county 
 homes, county officials commonly ignore the value of farm products used 
 in the county home. In an audit recently made for Orange County by a 
 State auditor the products of the county home farm do not appear. 
 
 DISTRICT HOSPITAL-HOMES 
 
 The number of inmates in many county homes is so small that it is not 
 economical to maintain them in well-kept, modernly-equipped county homes. 
 The ratio of paupers in proportion to the whole population is decreasing. 
 The classes of inmates are such as to require a type of institution widely 
 different from the old type of county home and a type of supervision greatly 
 superior to the present type. The average county does not feel able to main- 
 tain an institution of the type needed. Many boards of county commissioners 
 would not dare attempt to maintain a home of the type suggested in this 
 bulletin — an institution that provides for the proper segregation of races 
 and sexes; for the segregation of the various types of infectious diseases, 
 and for adequate facilities for the care and treatment of the sick. In such a 
 home there would be a superintendent who in general ability and intelligence 
 would be the equal of the best of the courthouse officials. There would be a 
 matron of the same high type, paid, of course, for her whole time. There 
 would be one or more practical nurses. There would be a paid cook and such 
 other helpers as might be necessary. There would be thorough medical at- 
 tention and supervision by the county physician. This I believe is the 
 
Poor Relief in ^oeth Carolina 21 
 
 minimum. Three-fourths of the counties do not have enough paupers to 
 warrant the maintenance of such a home. Three-fourths of the remaining 
 fourth think they cannot afford it. 
 
 There are two possible solutions. The State might take over the problem 
 of poor-relief and district its territory for the care of indoor paupers. If 
 this solution were desirable within itself, there is little probability that the 
 people would look with favor on it. The second possible solution is the dis- 
 tricting of the State by the voluntary action of the counties. 
 
 The last biennial report of the State Board of Charities and Public Wel- 
 fare points out that this is not a new idea in North Carolina, and discusses 
 the proposition as follows: 
 
 "In 1915, Mr. J. J. Laughinghouse, of Pitt County, secured the passage of 
 a law providing for such a district, composed of eleven counties in the north- 
 eastern part of the State — Beaufort, Chowan, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Martin, 
 Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, and Washington. This law provides 
 that these counties shall jointly build and operate an institution to be known 
 as 'Community Home Number One for the Aged and Infirm.' This home has 
 not been built. 
 
 "There are objections to such a plan. The most frequently urged are the 
 following: First, the district home would take some of the inmates a con- 
 siderable distance from their homes, so that their friends could not easily 
 visit them. Second, it would be a step toward further centralization of gov- 
 ernmental powers, and away from local self-government. Third, the district 
 home would cost more. 
 
 "The first objection seems, until it is studied rather carefully, more for- 
 midable than it really is. Except in rather rare cases the visits of friends 
 may be dismissed, because such visits are rare enough to be negligible. 
 These simple people, especially if they be old, often do feel a shock at being 
 removed from the immediate neighborhood of their old homes; but in most 
 cases, after the journey is taken, it probably would make little difference 
 whether the new home were twenty or a hundred miles away. 
 
 "The second objection, translated into plain, every-day language, means 
 that some fellow in the county may lose a job, or that a county office may 
 lose some of its prestige. We need to learn that government is a business 
 enterprise undertaken by a whole people. For the sake of convenience, 
 economy, and efficiency, we have various units ranging from the school dis- 
 trict to the whole State. Certain enterprises may be undertaken by the 
 school district. Others may be more economically and efficiently done by 
 the county. Others, such as the employment of a solicitor for the Superior 
 Court, may require a group of counties. Still others need to be backed by 
 the resources of the whole State. The government of the State, or of any 
 one of the larger subdivisions of the State, may be just as much government 
 by the people as the government of the county. 
 
 "The district home would cost more. This objection is hard to answer 
 because we have little data upon which to base an intelligent discussion. It 
 probably would cost some counties more — it certainly would, because they 
 are not caring for their poor under present conditions. It would cost a num- 
 ber of counties less than they are now spending. 
 
 "Let us take the district proposed by Mr. Laughinghouse. If we add Cam- 
 den, Currituck, and Hyde, the other three counties in the First Congres- 
 sional District, we have a territory with a county home population, taking 
 the average per month for last year, of 89. There are now 77. To care for 
 80 or 90 people the counties in the district are attempting to maintain twelve 
 institutions. Two others are standing idle. The cost per month per inmate 
 
22 PooE Relief in ^orth Carolina 
 
 last year varied from $14 in Pasquotank to $89 in Pitt, The average for the 
 district was $38.65 per capita per month as compared with $23.30 for the 
 State Hospital for the Insane at Raleigh. Only one county fell materially 
 below the cost of the State Hospital. Bight went considerably above. Two 
 more than doubled it, and one cost almost four times as much. For one 
 county (Martin) we have been unable to obtain any figures. 
 
 "The counties of this district have invested in county homes a total of 
 $157,627. Of this amount $71,867 is the total value of buildings. This leaves 
 $85,760 as the total value of farms and farm equipment. The total cost of 
 maintenance for eleven county homes in the district for the year ending 
 November 30, 1921, was $37,011.57. 
 
 "Suppose these counties should decide to build one institution. They have 
 property on which they should be able to realize at least $100,000 for the 
 central plant. There would have to be some readjustment as to the propor- 
 tions of the maintenance fund raised by the various counties, but with the 
 total they could meet the following budget: 
 
 Superintendent $ 2,500.00 
 
 Matron 1,500.00 
 
 Two practical nurses 2,500.00 
 
 Physician's services 1,500.00 
 
 Board, etc., at $20 per month per inmate 21,360.00 
 
 Miscellaneous 1,000.00 
 
 Surplus 6,651.57 
 
 Total $ 37,011.57 
 
 Present expenditure for maintenance of eleven county 
 
 homes $ 37,011.57 
 
 "In selecting a congressional district we do not intend to suggest that the 
 congressional district furnishes the best unit for the district hospital home. 
 The almshouse district should be geographically more compact. We mean 
 merely to suggest that a small number of district homes of a creditable type 
 may be operated at about the same cost as the present large number of 
 county homes." 
 
 The Legislature at its 1923 regular session passed a law providing for the 
 forming of districts and the building of district hospital-homes for the aged 
 and infirm. So far no district has been formed under this law. Several 
 counties have discussed the matter, but they have been unable to agree. 
 Usually the trouble has been that the counties could not get together on the 
 location of the institution. Local jealousies must be overcome and local 
 pride sometimes violated if we are to make progress. The Legislature has 
 made it possible for the small county to solve the problem of the county 
 home by cooperation with its neighbors. The district home cannot be located 
 in all of the counties of the district. It cannot be located on neutral ground, 
 because there is no such ground. Concessions must be made. It is a chal- 
 lenge to the efficiency of county government. The law will be found near 
 the end of this bulletin. 
 
Poor Relief in j^orth Carolina 
 
 23 
 
 NEW COUNTY HOMES 
 
 The following pages tell graphically the story of the progress in poor- 
 relief as represented by new buildings for the last five years. Nearly all of 
 these new homes have been built in accordance with plans approved by the 
 State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. 
 
 The first of the two pictures above represents the Stanly County home as 
 it appeared in 1920. The second presents the new home as it appears today. 
 
24 
 
 Poor Relief in N^orth Carolina 
 
 1 
 
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 In 1920 this building took the place of the wretched shacks, shows in the 
 first picture above, as Watauga's county home. It cares at the present time 
 also for Avery County's poor, by special arrangement between the two coun- 
 ties. Watauga is one of the counties that still sells the keeping of the county 
 home to the "lowest responsible bidder." 
 
Poor Relief in IvToeth Carolina 
 
 25 
 
 When Dr. William McDonald of the National Committee for Mental Hy- 
 giene visited a number of the county homes in the State in the early part of 
 1920, he reported conditions in the Guilford County home extremely bad. 
 The report caused a storm of protest; but with her characteristic progres- 
 sive spirit, Guilford County replied to the criticisms by erecting an up-to-date 
 county home plant at a cost of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. 
 The old and the new homes are shown above. 
 
26 
 
 PooK Relief in ^orth Carolina 
 
 Above the Wilson County home in 1920. Below the new home as it ap- 
 pears today. 
 
Poor Relief tx Xorth Carolina 
 
 27 
 
 The first picture above is the Chatham County home as it appeared in 
 1920. The new home below was opened in 1922. 
 
28 
 
 Poor Eelief in ^oeth Carolina 
 
 
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 '• ■•'-"''■■'•■■'•;%Vk;.; 
 
 The Chatham County home has two comfortable living rooms for its in- 
 mates—one for whites and one for negroes — that are actually used. The 
 fire was not built in order to have a picture made. The visitors who made 
 it dropped in unannounced on an autumn day when it was barely cool enough 
 for a fire to be comfortable. Two inmates are shown as they were dressed 
 when the visitors arrived. 
 
Poor Relief in N^orth Carolina 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 
 
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 This new county home replaced the cheap wooden cottages above, in Ran- 
 dolph County, in 1921. Owing to the location, it was necessary to take the 
 picture of the new home from the rear of the building. 
 
Q ^ 
 
Poor Eelief in ]^orth Carolina 31 
 
 The new Burke County home, built in 1922, also replaced a group of cheap 
 wooden cottages. It is, unfortunately, located off a main highway. The 
 county should make it accessible by building a good road to it. 
 
PooE Eelief in ^N'orth Caeolina 
 
 33 
 
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 ■ /^^«i 
 
 fc ^m ' ' '^S 
 
 HH^^^B^ k<^, iMs.^^, 
 
 w 
 
 ~'^^^ 
 
 ihi 
 
 
 
 
 *-i 
 
 Two years ago the Halifax County home was as shown in the first picture. 
 Her poor are now housed in the modern building shown in the second 
 picture. 
 
34 
 
 PooE Relief in I^orth Carolina 
 
 This is the new Johnston County home. This home replaced the cheap 
 wooden cottages used for white inmates. The better of the old cottages are 
 still used for the negroes. The new home was opened last year (1923). 
 One of the cottages of the old home is shown. 
 
Poor Relief ix Xoeth Carolina 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 The first of the two pictures above shows the AVayne County home as it 
 appeared February 29, 1920. It consisted of four small wooden buildings. 
 A fifth was burned the night before the picture was made. Three insane 
 negresses were burned to cinders with it. One of these, it is supposed, set 
 fire to the building. The second picture shows the new county home built 
 in 1922. 
 
36 
 
 Poor Relief in ^N'orth Carolina 
 
 Perhaps no county has received so much for its money in building a county 
 home as Vance. The attractive building shown above, with single rooms for 
 all inmates, two large living rooms, two dining rooms, commodious kitchen, 
 pantry and storage rooms, and all modern conveniences, cost thirty thousand 
 dollars. It was adequately, comfortably, and attractively furnished through- 
 out, under the supervision of the county superintendent of public welfare, at 
 a cost of one thousand dollars. The first picture above shows the old home. 
 The new home was completed last year. The frontispiece shows the front 
 entrance. 
 
PooE Relief in JSTorth Carolina 
 
 87 
 
 Two years ago Nash County sold the four-hundred-acre farm on which her 
 county home was located and erected a new home at a cost of one hundred 
 thousand dollars on the State highway between Nashville and Rocky Mount. 
 The new home is modern in every respect, and is one of the three most costly 
 plants in the State. Durham and Robeson also now have under construction 
 buildings the cost of which will exceed one hundred thousand dollars. The 
 old home, consisting of a group of wooden cottages without modern conven- 
 iences, is shown in the first picture. 
 
38 
 
 PooK Relief in I^orth Carolina 
 
 i^'-i^i^r*, .i^' -"i, '' ''^ 
 
 wumwr 
 
 The Alamance County home shown in the first picture above was replaced 
 in 1923 by the modern institution shown below. This building is of brick 
 veneer. 
 
Poor Relief in Worth Carolina 
 
 39 
 
 This new county home in Rowan County replaced a group of very old 
 cottages. In the building of the new home, the county superintendent of 
 public welfare, Mrs. Mary 0. Linton, has worked in cooperation with the 
 board of county commissioners, and her name appears with theirs on the 
 tablet in the wall. Due largely to her influence, this is one of the best 
 equipped county homes in the State. 
 
 This picture shows a corner of the operating room in the Rowan County 
 home. 
 
40 
 
 Poor Eelief in E'orth Carolina 
 
 A modern building, in process of construction, to cost one hundred and 
 seventy-five thousand dollars, will replace this county home in Robeson 
 County. 
 
Poor Relief in North Carolina 
 
 41 
 
 The following group of buildings shows additional types of county homes. 
 The Wake and Iredell homes illustrate types of excellent buildings, but are 
 not so well planned for the care of sick and decrepit inmates as the newer 
 
 Wake County Hospital (County Home) 
 
 The Iredell County Home 
 
 institutions, such as Guilford, Nash, and Vance. Both the pictures shown 
 here were made in 1920. The trees have grown since, giving each institution 
 a more pleasing appearance, but making it more difficult to get a good pic- 
 ture. Craven is the best of the type with small two-room wooden cottages 
 
42 
 
 Poor Belief in JN'orth Carolina 
 
 in the State. This type is rapidly being replaced by the Nash and Vance 
 types. The Granville home is of a slightly different type from the Craven 
 institution. Here we have two wooden buildings of considerable size for 
 inmates — one for white and one for colored. The two-story building is the 
 superintendent's home. The writer recently had what was for him a unique 
 experience at this home. He found both the county health officer and a min- 
 ister visiting the home in their professional capacities. The Yadkin County 
 home is the last of the log cottages in the State. 
 
 The Craven County Home 
 
 The Granville County Home 
 
Poor Relief in I^orth Carolina 
 
 43 
 
 The Alleghany and Pamlico homes illustrate types of institutions that 
 should not exist. The number of indoor poor in these counties, however, is 
 so small that it seems unreasonable to demand the expenditure of money 
 necessary for a modern institution. The Legislature has now provided that 
 such counties may unite with other counties in building a district hospital- 
 home. 
 
 This cheap cottage represents the provision made by Alleghany County for 
 her indoor poor. 
 
 Pamlico County Home 
 
44 
 
 Poor Relief in I^orth Carolina 
 
 The buildings shown on this page constitute the Brunswick County home. 
 It is not on a highway, but is reached over a trail through the sand that 
 becomes impassable for a Ford in dry weather. A forest fire in the summer 
 of 1924 burned so near that it caught in a mattress that was being aired 
 on the balusters of the front porch. 
 
Poor Relief in ^orth Carolina 
 
 45 
 
 flll^S^H 
 
 ■ 
 
 fc 
 
 ii^^^^H^^ 
 
 ■ill 
 sipl 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^^Si^^^^^S 
 
 ^g:||||| 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
 IM^^^^m 
 
 iiB 
 
 sp 
 
 M^ 
 
 wBB^F^ 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 WS^^^K^ ' '^^'^^^^'^ *^^*^S 
 
 'W^^ 
 
 ^yy.^m^^BmT vI.^A 
 
 I^O^^^^^ri 
 
 In the early summer of 1924, the negro shown above was the sole inmate 
 of the Brunswick County home. For his keep the county was paying forty- 
 three dollars per month besides furnishing the superintendent a house and a 
 one-hundred-acre farm free of rent. Incomplete reports indicate that the 
 average number of inmates for the last fifteen years has been about five. 
 When the writer visited the county in 1923 there were none. In 1924 he 
 found one. This county cannot afford to maintain a county home. 
 
46 
 
 PooK Relief in ^oeth Caeolina 
 
 
 
 This is one of several log cabins that make up the county home in Yadkin 
 County. This county is considering the building of a new home. It should 
 be possible for it to join some of the adjoining counties in maintaining a 
 district home. 
 
 The only negro inmate of the Lenoir County home was burned to death 
 early in the summer of this year (1924) when the building, the ruins of 
 which are shown here, was burned. The building was lighted by kerosene 
 lamps. The inmate, an old feeble woman, it is supposed accidentally upset 
 one of these. 
 
Poor Relief in J^orth Carolina 
 
 47 
 
 \ 
 
 "^ / 
 
 
 
 
 " \ 
 
 ti - , '^'^1' #'^< 
 
 
 
 t ^aJ 
 
 \' . 
 
 1 ^ -'''^^Hm- 
 
 — ^ 
 
 warn 
 
 ^"jd 
 
 g ifflMli'iii ii3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Bb^^^v 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^^■13 
 
 ■ 
 
 m 
 
 ^ 
 
 p^^M 
 
 
 
 
 ,*! " .s 
 
 The Scotland County home farm pays a profit over all expenses of operat- 
 ing the home. 
 
 This building, one of two just alike which constitute the living quarters 
 for the inmates of the Orange County home, has been in use just one hun- 
 dred years. 
 
4:8 
 
 Poor Relief in ^orth Carolina 
 
 This privy in daily- 
 use at the county home 
 of one of the largest 
 counties in the eastern 
 part of the State is 
 filthy beyond descrip- 
 tion. The ventilation 
 shaft would suggest a 
 sanitary pit type; but 
 if there has ever been a 
 pit, it has long since 
 filled to overflowing. A 
 number of this type are 
 to be found in the State. 
 
 Contrast this inex- 
 pensive but sanitary 
 privy built last year in 
 another eastern county 
 after a suggestion to the 
 superintendent by a 
 member of the staff of 
 the State Board of 
 Public Welfare. The 
 pictures, unfortunately, 
 cannot show the differ- 
 ence. 
 
Poor Relief in J^orth Carolina 49 
 
 OUTDOOR RELIEF 
 
 It is the purpose here to discuss outdoor relief only in relation to the 
 operation of the county home. The evils of the poor list are pretty well 
 recognized. Until very recently there has been little or no effort to super- 
 vise the outdoor poor in this State. There have been no facilities for such 
 supervision. The county commissioners at best could only listen to appeals 
 for aid and use their best judgment, usually without investigation, as to 
 whether aid should be given. Sometimes the appeal has been made on 
 political grounds — the person applying for aid votes right; or a cross-roads 
 merchant conceives the idea of getting some of a delinquent purchaser's 
 bills paid. And sometimes this same cross-roads merchant forgets to report 
 when his customer dies, and goes on drawing the pittance from the county. 
 Sometimes a person in real need is placed on the poor list; the reason for 
 aid ceases to exist, but he goes on drawing his monthly or quarterly allow- 
 ance from the county. The amount paid has usually been very small — one 
 to three dollars per month. The effect of such a system has been bad. It 
 has tended not only to lower the standard of the administration of county 
 government and to encourage petty graft, but at the same time to pauperize 
 the one to whom the grant was made. 
 
 A few boards of county commissioners, recognizing the evils of the system, 
 have abolished outdoor relief entirely and require all persons receiving aid 
 from the county to go to the county home. A much larger number now 
 require that all new cases be investigated by the county superintendent of 
 public welfare, and aid is given only on his recommendation. A number of 
 counties have had the superintendent also to check the entire list. Con- 
 siderable numbers of those who are dead, who have moved to other counties 
 or other States, or who no longer need help, have been dropped from the list. 
 In one small county the saving thus effected amounted to several hundred 
 dollars a year. In another county twenty-five were dropped within the first 
 year after the matter was placed under the supervision of the superintendent 
 of public welfare. 
 
 It is the opinion of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare that 
 it is unwise to require all persons receiving aid from the county to go to the 
 county home. It is frequently more humane as well as economical to grant 
 outside aid. There are conditions under which it is positively brutal to 
 force an old person to choose between the county home and abject want. On 
 the other hand, unsupervised outdoor relief is little better, often worse, than 
 no aid. To be effective it must be carefully supervised. The aim should be 
 to aid the pauper, in so far as is possible, to make an effort to support him- 
 self. In many cases, if we are not to continue to waste the money spent for 
 this purpose, the amount given to the individual must be materially in- 
 creased. Tables found elsewhere in this study show the cost of outdoor 
 relief and the tax rate necessary to support this form of relief in the various 
 counties of the State. 
 
50 
 
 Poor Relief in JSToeth Carolina 
 
 TxlXATION FOR POOR RELIEF 
 
 Counties ranked from high to low on the basis of rate on $100 taxable 
 property necessary to raise the amounts expended for the maintenance of 
 the county home and for outdoor relief. The products of the county home 
 farm used in the home are included. A few counties do not appear because 
 it was impossible to secure the necessary figures from them. The figures 
 are based upon reports for the year 1921. There would be a few marked 
 changes today, but complete figures are not available. 
 
 1. Avery 083 
 
 2. Carteret 076 
 
 3. Clay 074 
 
 4. Dare 070 
 
 5. Jackson 064 
 
 6. Bertie 055 
 
 6. Burke 055 
 
 8. Caswell 052 
 
 9. Brunswick 051 
 
 10. Wilkes 050 
 
 11. Pamlico 047 
 
 12. Yadkin 046 
 
 13. Anson 045 
 
 13. Cabarrus 045 
 
 13. Nash 045 
 
 16. Lincoln 044 
 
 17. Hyde 043 
 
 17. Orange 043 
 
 17. Warren 043 
 
 17. Watauga 043 
 
 21. Columbus 042 
 
 22. Person 041 
 
 22. Robeson 041 
 
 23. Franklin 040 
 
 24. Iredell 039 
 
 24. Surry 039 
 
 26. Lee 038 
 
 26. Pasquotank 038 
 
 28. Montgomery 037 
 
 29. Cherokee 036 
 
 29. Transylvania 036 
 
 29. Wake 036 
 
 32. Ashe 035 
 
 32. Madison 035 
 
 34. Gates 034 
 
 34. Haywood 034 
 
 34. Vance 034 
 
 37. Cumberland 033 
 
 37. Rockingham 033 
 
 37. Union 033 
 
 40. Hertford 032 
 
 40. Moore 032 
 
 42. Caldwell 031 
 
 43. Granville 030 
 
 44. Davie 029 
 
 45. Alexander 028 
 
 45. Beaufort 028 
 
 47. 
 47. 
 47. 
 47. 
 51. 
 51. 
 51. 
 54. 
 54. 
 54. 
 54. 
 54. 
 59. 
 59. 
 61. 
 61. 
 61. 
 61. 
 65. 
 66. 
 67. 
 
 Graham 027 
 
 Mitchell 027 
 
 Polk 027 
 
 Richmond 027 
 
 Camden 026 
 
 Catawba 026 
 
 Pitt 026 
 
 Cleveland 025 
 
 Currituck .025 
 
 Davidson 025 
 
 Onslow 025 
 
 Stokes - 025 
 
 Alleghany 024 
 
 Wilson 024 
 
 Edgecombe 023 
 
 Henderson .023 
 
 Pender 023 
 
 Rutherford 023 
 
 Gaston 022 
 
 Swain 021 
 
 Sampson 020 
 
 Harnett 019 
 
 Macon 019 
 
 New Hanover 019 
 
 Randolph 019 
 
 Stanly 018 
 
 Yancey _ 018 
 
 Buncombe 017 
 
 Duplin 017 
 
 Johnston 017 
 
 Mecklenburg 017 
 
 Alamance 016 
 
 Bladen 016 
 
 Greene 016 
 
 Halifax 015 
 
 Wayne 014 
 
 Chowan 013 
 
 Forsyth Oil 
 
 Rowan .011 
 
 Craven 010 
 
 Lenoir 009 
 
 Jones 008 
 
 Guilford 006 
 
 Washington 006 
 
 Hoke 005 
 
 Scotland 002 
 
 Tyrrell 002 
 
Poor Relief in ^oeth Carolina 
 
 51 
 
 TABLE II 
 
 Tax Levy Per $100 Necessary to Raise Amounts Spent in Various Counties 
 For Poor Relief For the Year 1921 
 
 County 
 
 
 
 3 X nS cc 
 
 
 § 
 O 
 
 ! 
 
 o 
 
 1. 
 
 Alamance - - 
 
 .009 
 
 .013 
 
 .003 
 
 .016 
 
 
 Alexander 
 
 .018 
 
 .025 
 
 .003 
 
 .028 
 
 3. 
 
 AlleKhany 
 
 .013 
 
 .016 
 
 .007 
 
 .024 
 
 4. 
 
 Anson 
 
 .030 
 
 .043 
 
 .002 
 
 .045 
 
 5. 
 
 Ashe 
 
 .017 
 
 .023 
 
 .012 
 
 .035 
 
 6. 
 
 Avery 
 
 .072 
 
 .076 
 
 .007 
 
 .083 
 
 7. 
 
 Beaufort 
 
 .013 
 
 .021 
 
 .007 
 
 .028 
 
 8. 
 
 Bertie 
 
 .033 
 
 .050 
 
 .005 
 
 .055 
 
 9. 
 
 Bladen 
 
 
 
 .016 
 
 .016 
 
 10. 
 
 Bruns\^ick 
 
 .025 
 
 .029 
 
 .022 
 
 .051 
 
 11. 
 
 Buncombe 
 
 .009 
 
 .011 
 
 .006 
 
 .017 
 
 12. 
 
 Burke 
 
 .022 
 
 .027 
 
 .028 
 
 .055 
 
 13. 
 
 Cabarrus 
 
 .030 
 
 .039 
 
 .006 
 
 .045 
 
 14. 
 
 Caldwell 
 
 .012 
 
 .022 
 
 .009 
 
 .031 
 
 15. 
 
 Camden 
 
 .013 
 
 .013 
 
 .013 
 
 .026 
 
 16. 
 
 Carteret 
 
 .051 
 
 .062 
 
 .014 
 
 .076 
 
 17. 
 
 Caswell 
 
 .036 
 
 .042 
 
 .010 
 
 .052 
 
 18. 
 
 Catawba 
 
 .014 
 
 .024 
 
 .002 
 
 .026 
 
 19. 
 
 Chatham 
 
 
 20. 
 
 Cherokee 
 
 .013 
 
 .013 
 
 .023 
 
 .036 
 
 21. 
 
 Chowan 
 
 .009 
 
 .011 
 
 .002 
 
 .013 
 
 22. 
 
 Clay 
 
 
 
 .074 
 
 .074 
 
 23. 
 
 Cleveland 
 
 .017 
 
 .021 
 
 .004 
 
 .025 
 
 24. 
 
 Columbus 
 
 .012 
 
 .021 
 
 .021 
 
 .042 
 
 25. 
 
 Craven 
 
 .009 
 
 
 .001 
 
 .010 
 
 26. 
 
 Cumberland 
 
 .022 
 
 .024 
 
 .009 
 
 .033 
 
 27. 
 
 Currituck 
 
 .005 
 
 
 .020 
 
 .025 
 
 28. 
 
 Dare 
 
 
 
 .070 
 
 .070 
 
 29. 
 
 Davidson 
 
 .011 
 .014 
 
 .018 
 
 .018 
 
 .007 
 .011 
 
 .025 
 
 30. 
 
 Da\ie 
 
 .029 
 
 31. 
 
 Duplin 
 
 .010 
 
 .012 
 
 .005 
 
 .017 
 
 32. 
 
 Durham 
 
 .008 
 
 
 .002 
 
 
 33. 
 
 Edprecombe 
 
 .007 
 
 .016 
 
 .007 
 
 .023 
 
 34. 
 
 Forsj^th 
 
 .007 
 
 .008 
 
 .003 
 
 .011 
 
 35. 
 
 Franklin 
 
 .013 
 
 .031 
 
 .009 
 
 .040 
 
 36. 
 
 Gaston 
 
 .014 
 
 .020 
 
 .002 
 
 .022 
 
 37. 
 
 Gates 
 
 .020 
 
 .032 
 
 .002 
 
 .034 
 
 38. 
 
 Graham 
 
 
 
 .027 
 
 .027 
 
 39. 
 
 Granville 
 
 .015 
 
 .025 
 
 .005 
 
 .030 
 
 40. 
 
 Greene 
 
 .011 
 .003 
 
 .011 
 .004 
 
 .005 
 .002 
 
 .016 
 
 41. 
 
 Guilford 
 
 .006 
 
 42. 
 
 Halifax 
 
 .012 
 
 .014 
 
 .001 
 
 .015 
 
 43. 
 
 Harnett 
 
 .008 
 
 .008 
 
 .011 
 
 .019 
 
 44. 
 
 Haywood 
 
 .010 
 
 .026 
 
 .008 
 
 .034 
 
 45. 
 
 Henderson 
 
 .014 
 
 .020 
 
 .003 
 
 .023 
 
 46. 
 
 Hertford 
 
 .022 
 
 .032 
 
 
 .032 
 
 47. 
 
 Hoke 
 
 
 
 .005 
 
 .005 
 
 48. 
 
 Hyde 
 
 .016 
 
 .017 
 
 .026 
 
 .043 
 
 49. 
 
 Iredell 
 
 .021 
 
 .034 
 
 .005 
 
 .039 
 
 50. 
 
 Jackson 
 
 .023 
 
 .034 
 
 .030 
 
 .064 
 
 51. 
 
 Johnston 
 
 .005 
 
 .012 
 
 .005 
 
 .017 
 
 52. 
 
 Jones 
 
 
 
 .008 
 
 .008 
 
52 
 
 Poor Relief in J^orth Carolina 
 
 TABLE II— Continued 
 
 County 
 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 1 
 
 53. 
 
 Lee 
 
 .028 
 
 .033 
 
 .005 
 
 .038 
 
 54. 
 
 Lenoir 
 
 .009 
 
 
 .0003 
 
 .0093 
 
 55. 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 .024 
 
 .029 
 
 .015 
 
 .044 
 
 56. 
 
 McDowell 
 
 .012 
 
 
 .007 
 
 
 57. 
 
 Macon 
 
 .013 
 
 .019 
 
 
 .019 
 
 58. 
 
 Madison 
 
 .030 
 
 .032 
 
 .003 
 
 .035 
 
 59. 
 
 Martin 
 
 .007 
 
 
 .011 
 
 
 60. 
 
 Mecklenburg 
 
 .011 
 
 .014 
 
 .003 
 
 .017 
 
 61. 
 
 Mitchell 
 
 .007 
 
 .021 
 
 .006 
 
 .027 
 
 62. 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 .013 
 
 .023 
 
 .014 
 
 .037 
 
 63. 
 
 Moore 
 
 .009 
 
 .020 
 
 .012 
 
 .032 
 
 64. 
 
 Nabh 
 
 .028 
 
 .042 
 
 .003 
 
 .045 
 
 65. 
 
 Now Hanover 
 
 .009 
 
 .016 
 
 .003 
 
 .019 
 
 66. 
 
 Northampton 
 
 
 
 
 
 67. 
 
 Onslow 
 
 
 
 .025 
 
 .025 
 
 68. 
 
 Oiange 
 
 .032 
 
 .038 
 
 .005 
 
 .043 
 
 69. 
 
 Pamlico 
 
 .032 
 
 
 .015 
 
 .047 
 
 70. 
 
 Pasquotank 
 
 .022 
 
 
 .016 
 
 .038 
 
 71. 
 
 Pender 
 
 .005 
 
 
 .018 
 
 .023 
 
 72. 
 
 Perquimans 
 
 .024 
 
 
 .019 
 
 
 73. 
 
 Person 
 
 .020 
 
 .034 
 
 .007 
 
 .041 
 
 74. 
 
 Pitt 
 
 .015 
 
 .024 
 
 .002 
 
 .026 
 
 75. 
 
 Polk 
 
 .016 
 
 
 .011 
 
 .027 
 
 76. 
 
 Randolph 
 
 .007 
 
 .012 
 
 .007 
 
 .019 
 
 77. 
 
 Richmond 
 
 .018 
 
 .021 
 
 .006 
 
 .027 
 
 78. 
 
 Robeson 
 
 .016 
 
 
 
 .025 
 
 .041 
 
 79. 
 
 Rockingham 
 
 .017 
 
 .026 
 
 .007 
 
 .033 
 
 80. 
 
 Rowan 
 
 .005 
 
 .007 
 
 .004 
 
 .011 
 
 81. 
 
 Rutherford 
 
 .014 
 
 .020 
 
 .003 
 
 .023 
 
 82. 
 
 Sampson 
 
 .008 
 
 .014 
 
 .006 
 
 .020 
 
 83. 
 
 Scotland 
 
 .0004 
 
 .0004 
 
 .002 
 
 .0024 
 
 84. 
 
 Stanly 
 
 .008 
 
 .014 
 
 .004 
 
 .018 
 
 85. 
 
 Stokes 
 
 .012 
 
 .022 
 
 .003 
 
 .025 
 
 86. 
 
 Suriy 
 
 .019 
 
 .029 
 
 .010 
 
 .039 
 
 87. 
 
 Swain 
 
 .015 
 
 .021 
 
 
 .021 
 
 88. 
 
 Tiansylvania 
 
 .023 
 
 .024 
 
 .012 
 
 .036 
 
 89. 
 
 Tyrrell 
 
 
 
 .002 
 
 .002 
 
 90. 
 
 Union 
 
 .009 
 
 .025 
 
 .008 
 
 .033 
 
 91. 
 
 Vance 
 
 .022 
 
 .028 
 
 .006 
 
 .034 
 
 92. 
 
 Wake 
 
 .019 
 
 .033 
 
 .003 
 
 .036 
 
 93. 
 
 Warren 
 
 .023 
 
 .043 
 
 
 .043 
 
 94. 
 
 Washington 
 
 .006 
 
 
 
 .006 
 
 95. 
 
 Watauga 
 
 .024 
 
 .032 
 
 .011 
 
 .043 
 
 96. 
 
 Wayne 
 
 .005 
 
 .007 
 
 .007 
 
 .014 
 
 97. 
 
 Wilkes 
 
 .024 
 
 .049 
 
 .001 
 
 .050 
 
 98. 
 
 Wilson 
 
 .015 
 
 .018 
 
 .006 
 
 .024 
 
 99. 
 
 Yadkin 
 
 .031 
 
 .041 
 
 .005 
 
 .046 
 
 100 
 
 Yancey 
 
 .006 
 
 .012 
 
 .006 
 
 .018 
 
 
 
Poor Relief in I^orth Carolina 
 
 53 
 
 TABLE III 
 
 The table below gives the average number of inmates per day in county 
 homes in the various counties in the State for the years 1921, 1922, and 
 1923, and the cost of maintaining the homes for these years, exclusive of 
 farm products produced on county home farms and used in the homes. 
 
 County 
 
 
 1921 
 
 
 1922 
 
 1923 
 
 No. 
 
 Cost 
 
 No. 
 
 Cost 
 
 No. 
 
 Cost 
 
 
 18 
 14 
 
 6 
 19 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 22 
 .... 
 
 8 
 32 
 22 
 50 
 13 
 
 1 
 15 
 
 5 
 25 
 
 8 
 5 
 
 24 
 13 
 12 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 9 
 11 
 37 
 31 
 65 
 22 
 30 
 3 
 
 27 
 
 27 
 27 
 
 5 
 28 
 
 5 
 11 
 
 4 
 55 
 
 7 
 
 $ 2,876.29 
 1,414.71 
 870.00 
 6,723.76 
 2,214.11 
 4,184.46 
 6,000.00 
 5,150.00 
 
 12 
 14 
 5 
 17 
 
 9 
 12 
 24 
 
 4 
 50 
 
 55 
 15 
 
 2 
 15 
 
 8 
 15 
 
 8 
 5 
 5 
 18 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 6 
 6 
 32 
 32 
 55 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 23 
 14 
 12 
 
 4 
 45 
 12 
 
 $ 3,046.65 
 985.00 
 1,000.00 
 2,434.80 
 2,345.00 
 1,858.10 
 4,500.00 
 257.00 
 
 22 
 12 
 5 
 20 
 
 8 
 13 
 22 
 
 1 
 40 
 23 
 47 
 15 
 
 2 
 13 
 10 
 20 
 13 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 17 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 6 
 38 
 31 
 57 
 22 
 38 
 5 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 66 
 25 
 
 3 
 25 
 
 8 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 45 
 12 
 
 $ 3,418.10 
 
 
 3,013.20 
 
 Alleghany 
 
 1,200.00 
 4,260.28 
 
 Ashe 
 
 1,791.47 
 
 
 878.01 
 
 Beaufort .... 
 
 3,939.00 
 
 Bertie* 
 
 1,495.58 
 
 
 
 
 2,562.08 
 8,171.62 
 3,210.81 
 12,200.00 
 2,058.30 
 500.00 
 6,977.13 
 3,325.64 
 3,453.14 
 
 1,978.23 
 13,045.80 
 
 1,244.73 
 
 
 11,936.66 
 
 Burke 
 
 4,059.50 
 
 Cabarrus 
 
 19,128.62 
 2,136.86 
 174.61 
 6,133.83 
 2,253.54 
 1,200.00 
 
 6,992.22 
 
 Caldwell 
 
 2,089.10 
 
 
 319.52 
 
 Carteret 
 
 3,938.61 
 
 Caswell 
 
 500.00 
 
 Catawba 
 
 1,772.65 
 
 Chatham 
 
 5,842.47 
 
 
 1,144.97 
 963.82 
 
 960.00 
 1,000.00 
 1,200.00 
 1,620.00 
 4,233.57 
 
 890.32 
 
 
 871.34 
 
 Clay 
 
 600.00 
 
 Cleveland 
 
 6,168.25 
 2,750.00 
 2,888.13 
 6,772.16 
 260.20 
 
 3,365.00 
 
 Columbus 
 
 5,408.71 
 
 
 2,384.65 
 
 
 6,275.33 
 216.00 
 
 7,422.98 
 
 
 200.00 
 
 Dare (No Home) 
 
 
 
 3,781.00 
 1,800.00 
 2,820.00 
 7,885.06 
 2,421.44 
 9,520.66 
 2,100.00 
 9,448.37 
 1,500.00 
 
 5,910.40 
 2,460.00 
 4,000.00 
 6,945.55 
 2,721.21 
 9,627.08 
 
 4,071.27 
 
 
 2,400.00 
 
 Duplin... 
 
 4,000.00 
 
 Durham 
 
 6,891.15 
 
 Edgecombe 
 
 4,941.23 
 
 Forsyth 
 
 10,424.22 
 
 
 5,953.29 
 
 
 
 6,968.57 
 
 Gates 
 
 1,124.19 
 
 1,280.46 
 
 Graham (No Home) 
 
 Granville 
 
 
 5,867.00 
 
 2,210.00 
 1,200.00 
 
 5,376.72 
 
 
 1,200.00 
 
 Guilford 
 
 4,529.97 
 4,511.00 
 1,887.82 
 2,040.00 
 2,267.40 
 2,427.28 
 
 9,854.75 
 
 Halifax 
 
 4,747.58 
 1,160.11 
 2,000.00 
 3,042.12 
 2,460.28 
 
 11,455.43 
 
 Harnett 
 
 2,316.43 
 
 Haywood 
 
 2,000.00 
 
 
 1,838.56 
 
 Hertford 
 
 2,337.41 
 
 Hoke (No Home) 
 
 
 Hyde 
 
 1,293.47 
 9,153.55 
 2,394.00 
 
 1,000.00 
 6,843.50 
 2,578.00 
 
 1,373.73 
 
 Iredell 
 
 8,744.01 
 
 Jackson 
 
 2,500.00 
 
 *Bertie County home is supported largely by the county home farm which is worked by 
 the county prisoners. 
 
54 
 
 PooK Relief in ^orth Carolina 
 
 TABLE III— Continued 
 
 Johnston 
 
 Jones (No Home).... 
 
 Lee 
 
 Lenoir 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 McDowell 
 
 Macon 
 
 Madison 
 
 Martin 
 
 Mecklenburg 
 
 Mitchell 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 Moore 
 
 Nash 
 
 New Hanover 
 
 Northampton 
 
 Onslow (No Home).. 
 
 Orange 
 
 Pamlico 
 
 Pasquotank 
 
 Pender 
 
 Perquimans 
 
 Person 
 
 Pitt 
 
 Polk 
 
 Randolph 
 
 Richmond 
 
 Robeson 
 
 Rockingham 
 
 Rowan 
 
 Rutherford 
 
 Sampson 
 
 Scotlandt 
 
 Stanly 
 
 Stokes 
 
 Surry 
 
 Swain 
 
 Transylvania 
 
 Tyrrell (No Home)... 
 
 Union 
 
 Vance 
 
 Wake 
 
 Warren 
 
 Washington 
 
 Watauga 
 
 Wayne 
 
 Wilkes 
 
 Wilson 
 
 Yadkin 
 
 Yancey 
 
 Totals... 
 
 2,450.00 
 
 3,035.00 
 
 2,881.22 
 
 3,831.82 
 
 2,237.86 
 
 864.00 
 
 3,086.25 
 
 1,200.00 
 
 13,317.47 
 
 760.00 
 
 2,173.95 
 
 2,400.00 
 
 12,673.80 
 
 10,615.69 
 
 4,908.78 
 1,763.02 
 3,900.23 
 550.96 
 1,654.81 
 3,393.17 
 8,863 22 
 1,100.00 
 1,500.00 
 5,590.00 
 7,030.30 
 7,485.00 
 2,450.00 
 3,975.05 
 3,142.00 
 
 2,500.00 
 1,640.44 
 
 1,860.00 
 1,850.00 
 
 2,270.00 
 5,247.36 
 16,570.00 
 3,681.53 
 600.00 
 2,289.50 
 2,753.24 
 3,739.40 
 7,001.36 
 2,952.82 
 690.00 
 
 $366,400.47 ] 1,376 
 
 3,358.63 
 
 3,132.41 
 2,400.00 
 1,881.38 
 1,900.00 
 
 1,728.00 
 2,000.00 
 11,000.00 
 961.43 
 4,888.00 
 6,297.21 
 11,844.09 
 10,603.46 
 2,400.00 
 
 1,700.00 
 1,953.03 
 3,598.61 
 
 1,798.51 
 4,250.00 
 
 1,506.04 
 3,715.88 
 5,363.68 
 3,600.00 
 
 3,900 00 
 4,441.86 
 2,970.78 
 
 6,361.78 
 1,665.07 
 2,724.69 
 
 350.00 
 
 27,376.17 
 4,200.00 
 
 31,021.44 
 
 2,701.45 
 
 964.20 
 
 4,404.76 
 4,500 00 
 9,926.00 
 1,800.00 
 630.28 
 
 tin 1923, the Scotland County home farm turned into the county treasury a surplus of 
 $180. This does not mean that either the heme or the farm is a model in management. 
 Scotland is contemplating the building of a new home. The present one is very poor. 
 
Poor Relief in I^oeth Carolina 
 TABLE III— Continued 
 
 
 1921 
 
 1922 
 
 1923 
 
 County 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No. 
 
 Cost 
 
 No. 
 
 Cost 
 
 No. 
 
 Cost 
 
 Estimated corrections on 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 account of counties 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 failing to report 
 
 30 
 
 5,500.00 
 
 280 
 
 44,800.00 
 
 170 
 
 1,000.00 
 
 Totals, corrected in ac- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cord with these esti- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 mates 
 
 1,633 
 
 $371,900.47 
 
 1,656 
 
 $384,187.40 
 
 1,775 
 
 $402,797.10 
 
 Adding value of farm 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 products reported used 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 in homes in 1921 and 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 estimating on basis of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1921 survey for 1922 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 and 1923, we have 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Grand Total 
 
 
 $584,000.00 
 
 
 $597,000.00 
 
 
 $616,000.00 
 
 
 
56 
 
 PooE Relief in J^oeth Caeolina 
 
 TABLE IV 
 The following table gives the amounts spent for outdoor relief in the 
 various counties for the last three fiscal years. 
 
 County 
 
 1921 
 
 1922 
 
 1923 
 
 Alamance 
 
 $ 1,080.30 
 180.00 
 
 $ 1,355.64 
 500.00 
 
 $ 1,335.44 
 1,130.00 
 
 Alexander 
 
 Alleghany 
 
 500.00 
 
 600.00 
 
 900.00 
 
 Anson 
 
 365.15 
 
 1,492.75 
 
 1,315.45 
 
 Ashe 
 
 1,591.32 
 
 1,533.06 
 
 1,525.64 
 
 Avery 
 
 417.48 
 2,100.00 
 
 
 50.80 
 
 Beaufort 
 
 2,500.00 
 
 2,500.00 
 
 Bertie 
 
 762.00 
 
 863.00 
 
 1,066.00 
 
 Bladen 
 
 2,606.00 
 
 2,573.21 
 
 2,622.35 
 
 Brunswick 
 
 2,205.00 
 
 2,482.50 
 
 3,170.00 
 
 Buncombe 
 
 5,270.13 
 
 
 4,168.73 
 
 Burke 
 
 1,167.11 
 
 3,301.17 
 
 2,105.25 
 
 Cabal rus 
 
 2,500.00 
 
 3,558.00 
 
 3,332.00 
 
 Caldwell 
 
 1,624.00 
 
 2,000.00 
 
 2,053.50 
 
 Camden 
 
 500.00 
 
 660.00 
 
 530.00 
 
 Carteret 
 
 2,210.00 
 
 3,290.52 
 
 2,728.23 
 
 Caswell 
 
 960.00 
 
 978.22 
 
 682.00 
 
 Catawba 
 
 802.00 
 
 783.00 
 
 753.00 
 
 Chatham 
 
 
 
 2,135.84 
 2,123.85 
 
 Cherokee 
 
 1,933.28 
 
 2,878.66 
 
 Chowan 
 
 167.00 
 
 200.00 
 
 284.00 
 
 Clay . 
 
 1,890.00 
 
 
 
 Cleveland . 
 
 1,466.43 
 
 1,689.00 
 
 1,613.00 
 
 Columbus .. 
 
 4,500.00 
 
 4,667.73 
 
 4,659.50 
 
 Craven 
 
 68.85 
 
 
 236.00 
 
 Cumberland 
 
 2,628.23 
 
 3,998.77 
 
 6,053.76 
 
 Currituck 
 
 1,162.00 
 
 1,000.00 
 
 1,200.00 
 
 Dare 
 
 1,788.00 
 
 2,160.00 
 
 2,127.18 
 
 Davidson 
 
 2,280.00 
 
 2,305.00 
 
 2,211.00 
 
 Davie 
 
 1,278.00 
 
 1,080.00 
 
 1,080.00 
 
 Duplin 
 
 1,776.00 
 
 3,000.00 
 
 3,000.00 
 
 Durham 
 
 2,000.00 
 
 5,186.47 
 
 6,200.00 
 
 Edgecombe 
 
 2,408.78 
 
 2,229.02 
 
 1,836.00 
 
 Forsyth 
 
 1,332.00 
 
 396.00 
 
 2,302.87 
 
 Franklin 
 
 1,400.00 
 
 
 2,605.88 
 1,948.01 
 
 Gaston 
 
 1,800.00 
 
 
 Gates 
 
 225.00 
 
 240.00 
 
 477.22 
 
 Graham 
 
 1,464.00 
 
 1,380.00 
 
 1,560.00 
 
 Granville 
 
 813.50 
 
 1,675.00 
 
 802.50 
 
 Greene 
 
 678.00 
 
 816.01 
 
 1,307.00 
 
 Guilford 
 
 2,350.04 
 
 
 2,246.53 
 
 Halifax 
 
 300.00 
 
 1,250.00 
 
 250.00 
 
 Harnett 
 
 2,733.00 
 
 2,316.43 
 
 2,623.50 
 
 Haywood 
 
 1,380.00 
 
 
 1,440.00 
 1,573.35 
 
 Henderson 
 
 366.00 
 
 450.00 
 
 Hertford 
 
 
 36.00 
 
 98.00 
 
 Hoke 
 
 555.00 
 
 628.00 
 
 710.00 
 
 Hyde 
 
 2,010.00 
 
 2,400.00 
 
 2,158.83 
 
 Iredell 
 
 2,348.48 
 
 1,425.42 
 
 1,900.00 
 
 Jackson 
 
 2,807.25 
 
 2,400.00 
 
 2,500.00 
 
 Johnston 
 
 2,450.00 
 
 1,883.33 
 
 1,703.00 
 
 Jones 
 
 675.50 
 
 750.00 
 
 850.00 
 
 Lee 
 
 550.00 
 
 1,450.00 
 
 1,605.02 
 
 Lenoir 
 
 109.00 
 
 150.00 
 
 300.00 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 2,348.45 
 
 1,662.10 
 
 2,004.00 
 
Poor Relief in ^North Carolina 
 TABLE IV— Continued 
 
 57 
 
 County 
 
 1921 
 
 1922 
 
 1923 
 
 McDowell 
 
 1,556.50 
 
 1,549.32 
 
 1,982.94 
 
 Macon 
 
 
 
 1,400.72 
 
 Madison 
 
 324.00 
 
 680.00 
 
 564.90 
 
 Martin 
 
 2,000.00 
 
 2,000.00 
 
 2,016.00 
 
 Mecklenburg 
 
 3,904.00 
 
 3,023.85 
 
 3,208.25 
 
 Mitchell 
 
 600.00 
 
 437.05 
 
 504.20 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 2,336.75 
 
 711.00 
 
 852.00 
 
 Moore 
 
 2,499.87 
 
 2,748.36 
 
 3,050.00 
 
 Nash .. 
 
 852.63 
 
 940.50 
 
 1,644.27 
 
 New Hanover 
 
 3,900.00 
 
 6,396.89 
 
 8,196.89 
 
 Northampton 
 
 
 704.00 
 
 781.34 
 
 Onslow 
 
 3,000.00 
 
 2,311.70 
 
 2,791.00 
 
 Orange 
 
 765.13 
 
 225.00 
 
 750.00 
 
 Pamlico 
 
 870.00 
 
 1,163.00 
 
 884.54 
 
 Pasquotank 
 
 2,068.60 
 
 2,372.95 
 
 2,292.88 
 
 Pender 
 
 1,891.38 
 
 2,234.18 
 
 2,538.26 
 
 Perquimans 
 
 909.00 
 
 1,018.00 
 
 1,086.00 
 
 Person 
 
 1,285.00 
 
 983.50 
 
 1,000.00 
 
 Pitt ... 
 
 1,441.10 
 
 
 3,131.22 
 75.00 
 
 Polk ... 
 
 800.00 
 
 60.00 
 
 Randolph 
 
 1,440.00 
 
 
 2,884.81 
 1,421.52 
 
 Richmond 
 
 2,000.00 
 
 1,490.00 
 
 Robeson 
 
 11,250.00 
 
 12,500.00 
 
 12,000.00 
 
 Rockinghami 
 
 3,200.00 
 
 
 1,679.93 
 2,185.08 
 
 Rowan 
 
 1,805.00 
 
 2,359.00 
 
 Rutherford 
 
 800.00 
 
 1,213.07 
 
 3,608.21 
 
 Sampson 
 
 1,554.13 
 
 1,204.76 
 
 1,319.25 
 
 Scotland 
 
 484.00 
 
 639.00 
 
 716.00 
 
 Stanly 
 
 1,400.00 
 
 1,382.83 
 
 2,513.72 
 
 Stokes 
 
 413.00 
 
 482.50 
 
 649.00 
 
 Surry . 
 
 2,435.01 
 
 2,770.29 
 
 1,710.20 
 
 Swain . 
 
 
 
 2,147.00 
 1,000.00 
 
 Transylvania 
 
 1,000.00 
 
 800.00 
 
 Tyrrell 
 
 138.00 
 
 
 906.00 
 
 Union 
 
 2,258.50 
 
 4,596.50 
 
 5,895.02 
 
 Vance 
 
 1,244.72 
 
 1,377.25 
 
 1,620.00 
 
 Wake . 
 
 2,107.00 
 
 2,167.00 
 
 2,190.00 
 
 Warren 
 
 
 120.00 
 750.00 
 
 160.00 
 
 Washington 
 
 
 
 Watauga 
 
 1,000.00 
 
 1,477.50 
 
 Wayne 
 
 3,532.23 
 
 4,656.55 
 
 4,780.42 
 
 Wilkes 
 
 200.00 
 
 1,000.00 
 
 332.00 
 
 Wilson 
 
 2,870.72 
 
 3,512.32 
 
 3,573.48 
 
 Yadkin 
 
 432.00 
 
 600.00 
 
 400.00 
 
 Yancey 
 
 603.05 
 
 728.30 
 
 619.90 
 
 Totals 
 
 $154,053.60 
 
 $153,594.18 
 
 $193,837.68 
 
 Estimated corrections, on account of coun- 
 
 
 
 
 ties failing to report 
 
 $ 2,700.00 
 
 $ 21,500.00 
 
 $ 1,750.00 
 
 Totals corrected in accord with these esti- 
 
 
 
 
 mates 
 
 $156,753.60 
 
 $175,094.18 
 
 $195,587.68 
 
 
 
58 Poor Relief in J^orth Carolina 
 
 PER CAPITA COSTS 
 
 The per capita costs given in the following table are based on the survey 
 made in 1922 and, therefore, on figures for the year 1921. Reports on amounts 
 paid from the county treasuries for the years 1922 and 1923 indicate that the 
 per capita cost has increased for the last two years as compared with the 
 year preceding in sixteen counties, and that it has decreased in eighteen 
 counties. In the other counties there has been no appreciable change. In 
 the counties that have built new homes and have occupied them long enough 
 to indicate the effect of such improvements as reflected in per capita costs 
 of operating, two show appreciable increases; two, corresponding decreases; 
 and two no effect. Only one shows a marked increase in the number of 
 inmates. 
 
 In estimating the per capita cost no account has been taken of depreciation 
 of buildings or of excess of interest in investment over products of the farm. 
 If these are added, the per capita cost in many instances will be appreciably 
 increased. Excluding these, the costs in many counties are too high. 
 Twenty-five dollars per month is a big price to pay for the sort of care the 
 inmates of even the better county homes are getting. Yet the per capita 
 cost per month in forty-eight county homes is more than twenty-five dollars 
 per month. Nine homes have a per capita cost of between thirty and forty 
 dollars; eleven, between forty and fifty dollars; and five, over fifty dollars. 
 The highest cost is eighty-seven dollars and fifty-one cents ($87.51) per capita 
 per month. For such a sum the inmates should have hospital care. 
 
 TABLE V 
 
 Per Capita Cost Per Month of Maintenance of County Home 
 
 Alamance $ 20.45 Dare 
 
 Alexander 11.99 Davidson , 23.77 
 
 Alleghany 14.86 Davie 20.65 
 
 Anson 29.22 Duplin 25.50 
 
 Ashe 26.74 Durham 
 
 Avery 49.57 Edgecombe 14.40 
 
 Beaufort 60.18 Forsyth 16.40 
 
 Bertie 29.87 Franklin 19.19 
 
 Bladen Gaston 36.97 
 
 Brunswick 30.02 Gates 49.37 
 
 Buncombe 27.86 Graham 
 
 Burke 14.64 Granville 17.49 
 
 Cabarrus 27.42 Greene 26.67 
 
 Caldwell 25.25 Guilford 10.84 
 
 Camden 41.67 Halifax 16.78 
 
 Carteret 45.54 Harnett 39.33 
 
 Caswell 63.88 Haywood 16.04 
 
 Catawba 26.36 Henderson 56.04 
 
 Chatham Hertford 27.06 
 
 Cherokee 11.93 Hoke 
 
 Chowan 19.81 Hyde 29.03 
 
 Clay Iredell 22.27 
 
 Cleveland 25.99 Jackson 44.83 
 
 Columbus 28.30 Johnston 29.64 
 
 Craven 20.40 Jones 
 
 Cumberland 33.85 Lee 14.22 
 
 Currituck 24.14 Lenoir 26.67 
 
Poor Relief in ^N'oeth Carolina 
 
 TABLE V— Continued 
 
 Lincoln 27.45 
 
 Macon 11.75 
 
 Madison 16.11 
 
 Martin 
 
 McDowell 26.64 
 
 Mecklenburg 20.75 
 
 Mitchell 31.22 
 
 Montgomery - 30.62 
 
 Moore 23.78 
 
 Nash 37.73 
 
 New Hanover 27.44 
 
 Northampton 
 
 Onslow 
 
 Orange 54.71 
 
 Pamlico 24.40 
 
 Pasquotank 14.18 
 
 Pender 
 
 Perquimans 
 
 Person 43.21 
 
 Pitt 87.51 
 
 Polk 22.92 
 
 Randolph _ 52.08 
 
 Richmond 26.25 
 
 Robeson 48.82 
 
 Rockingham 26.37 
 
 Rowan 20.30 
 
 Rutherford 13.12 
 
 Sampson 11.38 
 
 Scotland 2.43 
 
 Stanly __ 18.58 
 
 Stokes 14.75 
 
 Surry 25.18 
 
 Swain 27.97 
 
 Transylvania 28.47 
 
 Tyrrell 
 
 Union 12.49 
 
 Vance 40.21 
 
 Wake 20.30 
 
 Warren 31.07 
 
 Washington 16.67 
 
 Watauga 19.58 
 
 Wayne 19.41 
 
 Wilkes 19.87 
 
 Wilson 48.26 
 
 Yadkin 25.34 
 
 Yancey 34.72 
 
60 
 
 Poor Relief in ^orth Carolina 
 
 TABLE VI 
 
 PAUPERS IN COUNTY HOMES IN NORTH CAROLINA PER 100,000 
 POPULATION 
 
 Rank, No. 
 
 1. Wake 160 
 
 2. Lee .- 157 
 
 3. Cabarrus 151 
 
 4. Haywood 119 
 
 5. Watauga 118 
 
 6. Alexander 114 
 
 7. Granville 112 
 
 8. Montgomery 109 
 
 9. Rutherford 105 
 
 9. Union 105 
 
 11. Wilkes 98 
 
 12. Carteret 97 
 
 13. Iredell 95 
 
 14. Stanly 94 
 
 15. Perquimans 89 
 
 16. Pamlico 88 
 
 17. Durham 87 
 
 17. Vance 87 
 
 19. Richmond 86 
 
 20. Yadkin 85 
 
 21. Lincoln 84 
 
 21. Madison 84 
 
 21. Mecklenburg 84 
 
 21. Moore 84 
 
 21. Pasquotank 84 
 
 26. Bertie 83 
 
 27. Edgecombe 82 
 
 28. Surry 80 
 
 29. New Hanover 78 
 
 30. Burke 77 
 
 31. Gaston 76 
 
 32. Forsyth 75 
 
 33. Rockingham 72 
 
 34. Macon 70 
 
 35. Northampton 69 
 
 35. Warren 69 
 
 37. Alleghany 67 
 
 37. Anson 67 
 
 39. Caldwell 65 
 
 39. Catawba 65 
 
 41. Sampson 64 
 
 41. Transylvania 64 
 
 43. Chatham 63 
 
 44. Randolph 62 
 
 45. Nash 61 
 
 46. Swain 60 
 
 47. Franklin 59 
 
 47. Guilford 59 
 
 47. Halifax 59 
 
 50. Davie 58 
 
 Rank 
 
 50. Person 
 52. Ashe ... 
 52. Avery . 
 
 No. 
 
 , 58 
 , 57 
 , 57 
 
 52. Cleveland 57 
 
 55. Chowan 56 
 
 55. Davidson 56 
 
 57. Hertford 55 
 
 58. Stokes 53 
 
 59. Buncombe 51 
 
 59. Cumberland 51 
 
 61. Orange 50 
 
 62. Alamance 49 
 
 63. Polk 45 
 
 64. Mitchell 44 
 
 65. McDowell 42 
 
 66. Duplin 40 
 
 67. Gates 38 
 
 68. Jackson 37 
 
 68. Wayne 37 
 
 70. Hyde 36 
 
 70. Johnston 36 
 
 72. Wilson 35 
 
 73. Cherokee 33 
 
 74. Beaufort 32 
 
 74. Caswell 32 
 
 76. Greene 31 
 
 77. Lenoir 30 
 
 78. Craven 28 
 
 79. Brunswick 27 
 
 79. Henderson 27 
 
 79. Rowan 27 
 
 82. Columbus 26 
 
 83. Martin 24 
 
 84. Pitt 22 
 
 84. Robeson 22 
 
 86. Scotland 19 
 
 86. Yancey 19 
 
 88. Camden 18 
 
 89. Washington 16 
 
 90. Currituck 14 
 
 91. Harnett 7 
 
 92. Bladen 
 
 92. Clay 
 
 92. Dare 
 
 92. Graham 
 
 92. Hoke 
 
 92. Jones 
 
 92. Onslow 
 
 92. Pender 
 
 92. Tyrrell 
 
Poor Belief in JSTorth Carolina 61 
 
 POOR LAWS 
 
 C. S. 13 35. Support of poor; superintendent of county home; paupers 
 removing to county. The board of commissioners of each county is au- 
 thorized to provide by taxation for the maintenance of the poor, and to do 
 everything expedient for their comfort and well ordering. They may employ 
 biennially some competent person as superintendent of the county home for 
 the aged and infirm, and may remove him for cause. They may institute 
 proceedings against any person coming into the county who is likely to 
 become chargeable thereto, and cause his removal to the county where he 
 was last legally settled; and they may recover from such county by action all 
 charges and expenses incurred for the maintenance or removal of such poor 
 person. 
 
 C. S. 133 6. County home for aged and infirm. All persons who become 
 chargeable to any county shall be maintained at the county home for the 
 aged and infirm, or at such place or places as the board of commissioners 
 select or agree upon. 
 
 C. S. 133 7. Records for county, how to be Icept. The keeper or super- 
 intendent in charge of each county home in North Carolina, or the board of 
 county commissioners in each county where there is no county home, shall 
 keep a record book showing the following: Name, age, sex, and race of each 
 inmate; date of entrance or discharge; mental and physical condition; cause 
 of admission; family relation and condition; date of death if in the home; 
 cost of supplies and per capita expense of home per month; amount of crops 
 and value, and such other information as may be required by the board of 
 county commissioners or the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare; 
 and give a full and accurate report to the county commissioners and to the 
 State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. Such report to be filed an- 
 nually on or before the first Monday in December of each year. 
 
 C. S. 133 8. Support of county home. The board of commissioners may 
 provide for the support of the persons admitted by them to the home for the 
 aged and infirm by employing a superintendent at a certain sum, or by pay- 
 ing a specified sum for the support of such persons to any one who will take 
 charge of the county home for the aged and infirm, as said board may deem 
 for the best interest of the county and the cause of humanity. 
 
 C. S. 13 3 9. Property of indigent to be sold or rented. When any indi- 
 gent person who becomes chargeable to a county for maintenance and sup- 
 port in accordance with the provisions of this article, owns any estate, it is 
 the duty of the board of commissioners of any county liable to pay the 
 expenses of such indigent person, to cause the same to be sold for its indem- 
 nity or reimbursement in the manner provided under article three of the 
 chapter entitled Insane Persons and Incompetents, or they may take posses- 
 sion thereof and rent the same out and apply the rent toward the support of 
 such indigent person. 
 
 C. S. 13 40. Families of indigent militiamen to be supportecl. When any 
 citizen of the State is absent on service as a militiamen or member of the 
 State guard, and his family are unable to support themselves during his 
 absence, the board of commissioners of his county, on application, shall 
 make towards their maintenance such allowance as may be deemed reason- 
 able. 
 
62 Poor Eelief in North Carolina 
 
 C. S. 13 41. Paupers not to be hired out at auction. No pauper shall be 
 let out at public auction, but the board of commissioners may make such 
 arrangements for the support of paupers with their friends or other persons, 
 when not maintained at the county home for the aged and infirm, as may 
 be deemed best. 
 
 C. S. 13 42. Legal settlements; how acquired. Legal settlements may 
 be acquired in any county, so as to entitle the party to be supported by such 
 county, in the manner following, and not otherwise: 
 
 1. By one year's residence. Every person who has resided continuously in 
 any county for one year shall be deemed legally settled in that county. 
 
 2. Ma7Tiecl women to have settlement of their husbands. A married woman 
 shall always follow and have the settlement of her husband, if he have any 
 in the State; otherwise, her own at the time of her marriage, if she then had 
 any, shall not be lost or suspended by the marriage, but shall be that of her 
 husband, till another is acquired by him, which shall then be the settlement 
 of both. 
 
 3. Legitimate children to have settlement of father. Legitimate children 
 shall follow and have the settlement of their father, if he has any in the 
 State, until they gain a settlement of their own; but if he has none, they 
 shall, in like manner, follow and have the settlement of their mother, if she 
 has any. 
 
 4. Illegitimate children to have settlement of mother. Illegitimate children 
 shall follow and have the settlement of their mother, at the time of their 
 birth, if she then have any in the State. But neither legitimate nor illegiti- 
 mate children shall gain a settlement by birth in the county in which they 
 may be born, if neither of their parents had any settlement therein. 
 
 5. Settlement to continue until neio one acquired. Every legal settlement 
 shall continue till it is lost or defeated by acquiring a new one, within or 
 without the State; and upon acquiring such new settlement, all former settle- 
 ments shall be defeated and lost. 
 
 C. S. 1343. Removal of indigent to county of settlement; maintenance; 
 penalties. Upon complaint made by the chairman of the board of county 
 commissioners, before a justice of the peace, that any person has come into 
 the county who is likely to become chargeable thereto, the justice, by his 
 warrant, shall cause such poor person to be removed to the county where he 
 was last legally settled; but if such poor person is sick or disabled, and can- 
 not be removed without danger of life, the board of commissioners shall pro- 
 vide for his maintenance and cure at the charge of the county; and after his 
 recovery shall cause him to be removed, and pay the charges of his removal. 
 The county wherein he was last legally settled shall repay all charges occa- 
 sioned by his sickness, maintenance, cure and removal, and all charges 
 whatever, if such person die before removal. If the board of commissioners 
 of the county to which such poor person belongs refuses to receive and pro- 
 vide for him when removed as aforesaid, every commissioner so refusing 
 shall forfeit and pay forty dollars, for the use of the county whence the 
 removal was made; moreover, if the board of commissioners of the county 
 where such person was legally settled refuses to pay the charges and ex- 
 penses aforesaid, they shall be liable for the same. If any housekeeper enter- 
 tains such poor person without giving notice thereof to the board of commis- 
 sioners of his county, or one of them, within one month, the person so 
 offending shall forfeit and pay ten dollars. 
 
PooK Relief in I^oeth Carolina 63 
 
 County Superintendent of Public Welfare to Have Supervision of Poor 
 
 C. S. 5017. Powers and duties of county superintendent. The county 
 superintendent of public welfare shall be chief school attendance officer of 
 the county, and shall have other duties and powers as follows: 
 
 1. To have, under control of the county commissioners, the care and super- 
 vision of the poor, and to administer the poor funds. 
 
 2. To act as agent of the State Board in relation to any work to be done by 
 the State Board within the county. 
 
 3. Under the direction of the State Board, to look after and keep up with 
 the condition of persons discharged from hospitals for the insane and from 
 other State institutions. 
 
 4. To have oversight of prisoners in the county on parole from peniten- 
 tiaries, reformatories, and all parole prisoners in the county. 
 
 5. To have oversight of dependent and delinquent children, and especially 
 those on parole or probation. 
 
 6. To have oversight of all prisoners in the county on probation. 
 
 7. To promote wholesome recreation in the county and to enforce such laws 
 as regulate commercial amusement. 
 
 8. Under the direction of the State Board, to have oversight over dependent 
 children placed in the county by the State Board. 
 
 9. To assist the State Board in finding employment for the unemployed. 
 
 10. To investigate into the cause of distress, under the direction of the 
 State Board, and to make such other investigations in the interest of social 
 welfare as the State Board may direct. 
 
 District Hospital-Homes 
 
 [Laws 1923.] 
 
 AN ACT TO ENABLE ANY TWO OR MORE COUNTIES TO ESTABLISH A 
 DISTRICT HOSPITAL-HOME IN LIEU OF SEPARATE COUNTY 
 HOMES. 
 
 The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact: 
 
 Section 1. Any two or more adjacent counties may by action of the county 
 commissioners in said counties, as hereafter provided, establish a District 
 Hospital-Home for the Aged and Infirm, to be located at some suitable place 
 within the counties composing the district, location and purchase to be con- 
 trolled by a board of trustees appointed by the county commissioners of the 
 respective counties owning and controlling said hospital-home, each county 
 having the same relative vote in all meetings of the board of trustees as such 
 county has in the lower house of the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 2. That the county commissioners of the aforesaid counties are hereby 
 authorized and empowered to sell and convey by deed all properties held by 
 the aforesaid counties for the care and maintenance of their county's poor, 
 and from the proceeds of such sale appropriate so much as may be required 
 to meet said county's proportionate part of the funds necessary to perfect 
 the completion of said community home for the aged and infirm as provided 
 herein. 
 
 Sec. 3. That should it be deemed wisest not to sell said properties, or 
 should any county not have said properties in its possession, or should any 
 counties have said properties which would not be for sale, the necessary 
 funds shall then be raised by direct taxation within the county or counties 
 preferring this method of raising their pro rata part. 
 
64 Poor Relief in ^N'orth Carolina 
 
 Sec. 4. That the several boards of county commissioners shall, as soon as 
 they shall have agreed among themselves to establish a District Hospital- 
 Home for the Aged and Infirm for their counties, appoint the members of 
 the board of trustees, which board shall be known as the Board of Trustees 
 
 of the District Hospital-Home for the District Comprising , , 
 
 counties; the members of said board of trustees shall be appointed 
 
 every two years by the boards of county commissioners, the term of office 
 for said trustees shall be two years, and until their successors are chosen 
 and qualified; that all vacancies shall be filled by the several boards of 
 county commissioners and said commissioners shall provide for the expense 
 and compensation of said board of trustees. 
 
 Sec. 5. That this board of trustees shall, as soon as possible after appoint- 
 ment, assemble and organize by the election of a chairman, a secretary and 
 a treasurer, which last officer shall be bonded. They shall proceed promptly 
 with the purchase of a site for such hospital-home, including, if they deem 
 it desirable, a farm of suitable size, location and fertility, giving due con- 
 sideration to sanitary surroundings and transportation facilities; provide 
 for the necessary stock, tools and farm equipment, and shall then cause to be 
 erected suitable plain, substantial, comfortable and permanent buildings for 
 the accommodation of those for whom this act is intended, giving due regard 
 to the separation of the sexes and races, and such other plans for segregation 
 as their judgment and existing conditions may suggest. Said buildings are 
 to be furnished with plain, substantial furniture, and such other equipment 
 as conditions demand. 
 
 Sec. 6. That the several counties constructing, equipping, and operating 
 a district hospital-home shall pay for the site and for the construction and 
 equipment of the plant in proportion to the taxable property of the several 
 counties and shall own in the same proportion, but the operating expenses 
 shall be borne by the several counties in proportion to the population of 
 the county. 
 
 Sec. 7. That the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare shall have 
 prepared plans for such district hospital-home and shall furnish such plans 
 on request to any board of trustees of any district hospital-home at cost; 
 and that all such hospital-homes shall be built in accordance with plans fur- 
 nished or approved by the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. 
 
 Sec. 8. That as soon as the district hospital-home is ready for occupancy 
 the several county homes or poorhouses, heretofore owned by the several 
 counties, shall be closed and occupants shall be transferred and located in 
 the district hospital-home for the aged and infirm herein provided for. 
 
 Sec. 9. That the board of trustees of the said district hospital-home shall 
 elect a capable superintendent and such other employees as it may deem 
 necessary to the efficient management of said district hospital-home, and 
 shall fix their salaries with due regard to. number and condition of inmates 
 occupying said district hospital-home. 
 
 Sec. 10. That the board of trustees shall meet at least twice a year for 
 the transaction of such business as their positions may require. They shall 
 have the general conduct and management of the district hospital-home's 
 affairs. They shall meet at the call of the chairman whenever he shall deem 
 it necessary, or upon call issued by a majority of the board. 
 
 Sec. 11. That the matter to be considered at any special meeting shall be 
 set out in the call for the special meeting, but any business may be trans- 
 acted at special meetings which received a two-thirds vote of the entire board 
 of trustees, although not mentioned in the call. 
 
Poor Relief in N^orth Carolina 65 
 
 Sec. 12. That the boaT-d is vested with all powers not already mentioned 
 which are possessed by boards supervising State institutions. 
 
 Sec. 13. That any two or more counties constructing, operating and main- 
 taining a district hospital-home for the aged and infirm shall, as required by 
 law now in force for the care and maintenance of those not able to care for 
 themselves, send such person or persons to the district hospital-home for the 
 aged and infirm in lieu of the county home, and shall pay the expense of 
 maintenance in proportion to the population of the county. 
 
 Sec. 14. That as soon after the first day of January of each year as may 
 be practicable the board of trustees shall cause a report to be made of the 
 hospital-home, which report shall show the number of inmates, the county 
 admitting them, date of admission, age, condition of health, sex, color, educa- 
 tional acquirements, diagnosis of disease if diseased, total number of inmates 
 received during the year, average number cared for per month, names and 
 disposition of those dismissed, pro rata cost of maintenance, the total amount 
 of money expended, the total amount of money received from each county, 
 and such information as the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare 
 and the board of trustees of the district hospital-home may demand. It shal? 
 also show an inventory and appraisement of property, real and personal, and 
 give a strict account of receipts from farm and expenditure thereon, and 
 such other information as may be required to check up the institution from 
 all viewpoints. 
 
 Sec. 15. That a copy of the said report of the said board of trustees shall 
 be furnished the county commissioners of the respective counties interested 
 in and providing said district hospital-home. 
 
 Sec. 16. That all acts or parts of acts not consistent with this act are 
 hereby repealed. 
 
 Sec. 17. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification. 
 
 Ratified this the 6th day of March, A. D. 1923. 
 
 SUMMARY AND CONCLLSIONS 
 
 It may be worth while to summarize the logical conclusions from our dis- 
 cussion of the county home problem, in the form of concrete statements 
 forming a standard or a series of standards that we believe to be attainable 
 in any county home in which there are a sufficient number of inmates to 
 make it practical to maintain an institution for their care. No county that 
 does not have such a number of inmates should attempt to maintain a county 
 home until every other possible method of caring for its poor in an efficient 
 and humane way has been investigated. In those counties, or groups of 
 counties, that should undertake the maintenance of a county home, the fol- 
 lowing standards are attainable: 
 
 The County Home Farm 
 
 The county home farm should consist of a small acreage of fertile land. 
 The farm should be on a good road easily accessible to the county-seat. 
 The objects of operating the farm should be: 
 
 1. The production of an abundant supply of fresh vegetables and fruits 
 for as great a part of the year as possible, and a surplus for canning and 
 storage. 
 
 2. The production of a supply of milk and butter at all seasons. 
 
 3. The production of a supply of chickens and eggs. 
 
 4. The production of meats other than chickens. A few hogs may be kept, 
 but in no case should the main effort of the superintendent be directed to- 
 ward the production of pork. 
 
66 PooE Relief in I^orth CxIkolina 
 
 Buildings 
 
 The county home should be a plain, substantial structure of brick. A 
 single building, or a group of connected buildings is best suited to our needs. 
 Segregation of races and of sexes should be possible. That such a building 
 may be attractive is shown by the frontispiece. 
 
 Bedrooms large enough for a single inmate, with a few suites of two 
 rooms for old couples, are to be preferred. 
 
 The furnishings of the bedrooms should be inexpensive, but substantial 
 and attractive. The minimum should be a single bed furnished with good 
 springs and a comfortable mattress, a pillow, two sheets, blankets, and 
 coverlet; a comfortable chair; a mirror, comb, and brush; and a small closet 
 for clothes. 
 
 There should be an attractive and comfortable living room for each race. 
 These should be furnished with comfortable chairs. 
 
 There should be a dining-room for each race. These, next to the living 
 rooms, should be the most attractive in the institution. They are usually, 
 next to the kitchen, the least attractive. 
 
 The kitchen and pantries should be of ample size and well equipped. 
 
 Baths and toilets should be conveniently located. There must be pro- 
 vision for hot and cold water, and a modern sewerage system. 
 
 Safety for inmates and property demands some form of steam heat and 
 electric lights. 
 
 Plans for new homes should be drawn by a competent architect and sub- 
 mitted to the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare for approval. 
 
 Supervision 
 
 The county commissioners should retain only general supervision of the 
 county home. 
 
 The superintendent of public welfare should have, under the direction of 
 the commissioners, active supervision of the county home. He should in- 
 vestigate every application for admission; advise with the superintendent of 
 the home, and keep the commissioners advised as to conditions in the home. 
 He should have authority, possibly with the approval of the chairman of 
 the board of commissioners, to act in emergency cases. 
 
 The superintendent of the county home should be chosen for his fitness 
 for the position. He should be the equal, in intelligence and culture, of the 
 courthouse officials. 
 
 The matron, whether the wife of the superintendent or another, should 
 be of the same superior type. Both should be persons of tact and skill in 
 handling the difficult types of which the county home population is made up. 
 
 Both the superintendent and the matron should be paid a salary. The 
 payment of a certain sum per inmate per month is unsatisfactory. The 
 method of selling the keeping of the county home to the lowest bidder is 
 indefensible and is in violation of the spirit and intent of the law. 
 
 Heat, Light, and Water 
 
 The open fireplace and the stove in the bedrooms of inmates should be 
 replaced by steam heat, even where there is no question of economy of fuel, 
 because of the danger to the property as well as to inmates. There should 
 be an open fireplace in each living room, but nowhere else. 
 
 Electric lights should be installed in all cases. If the home is not within 
 reach of electric current, a small plant may be installed for a few hundred 
 dollars. The kerosene lamp is too dangerous to be tolerated. 
 
Poor Relief in Koeth Carolina 67 
 
 The water supply should be more carefully safeguarded than is usual in 
 county homes. In some sections of the state a spring properly located and 
 protected provides a good source for the water supply. In the mountain 
 counties a pipe-line from a spring on the hills above the home may provide 
 an adequate supply of water under pressure at a very small cost. In other 
 sections a well, deep enough to insure pure water and carefully enclosed, 
 should be provided. Running water under pressure may be provided at a 
 trifling cost by installing a pump operated by a small electric motor; or in 
 case the county generates its own electricity, the pump may be operated 
 in connection with this plant. An elevated tank is not necessary. A metal 
 tank in the basement will be found perfectly satisfactory. Such a plant to 
 furnish lights and water will cost but a few hundred dollars. Occasionally 
 it may be possible to get water from a city system. 
 
 Sanitation 
 
 A county home can be kept clean. 
 
 Disinfectants may be used under the direction of the county health offi- 
 cers; but not as a substitute for soap and water. 
 
 Inmates should have at least one full bath a week. 
 
 Clothing should be changed once a week, or oftener when necessary. 
 
 Every inmate should be furnished with night clothes and required to use 
 them. 
 
 Every bed should have two sheets, which should be changed once a week, 
 or oftener when necessary. 
 
 Individual drinking cups should be provided. 
 
 The building should be completely screened and no flies should be toler- 
 ated, especially in the kitchen, the pantry, and the dining-room. 
 
 Bed-bugs and cockroaches are not necessary inhabitants of a county home. 
 
 Sewerage 
 
 In the case of a private family a simple type of pit privy may prove fairly 
 satisfactory; but such a privy, aside from its inconvenience, is very hard to 
 manage in connection with a county home. The open privy, of course, must 
 go. Usually county homes will be too far out to be connected with city 
 sewerage, A private sewerage system with a septic tank may be installed 
 at a very small cost, and when properly installed gives satisfaction. 
 
 Food 
 
 Plain, wholesome, appetizing food should be provided. The home demon- 
 stration agent, in the many counties where there is such an officer, should 
 be the representative of the county commissioners in seeing that the in- 
 mates of the county home receive such food. 
 
 Records 
 
 Two well-bound books should be furnished to the superintendent of the 
 county home. One of these should be for a record of inmates, A second 
 should furnish a record of all products of the farm, whether sold or used 
 in the home. In addition, the superintendent should have a requisition book 
 in which he keeps a copy of every item of supplies, etc., purchased by him.