COMMITTEE APPOINTED AT A TOWN MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA, On the 23d of July, 1827, TO CONSIDER THE SUBJECT OF OF THE CITTT AND DISTRICTS* AND TO t REPORT REMEDIES FOR ITS DEFECTS. PHILADELPHIA: Printed by Clark Raser , 33 Carter's Alley. Nov. 6, 1827. REPORT, &c. The Committee appointed at a town meeting of the citi- zens of the city and county of Philadelphia, on the 23d of July, to consider the subject of the pauper system of the city and districts, and to report remedies for its defects, respect- fully report : That in the prosecution of the duty assigned to them, they have discovered abundant evidence of the existence of a state of things in relation to this important subject, injurious to the reputation of the community, and destructive of the best inte- rests of the poor. The errors and defects alluded to, cannot be accounted for by doubts in the public mind as to the pro- priety of providing for the support of this class of society; they arise out of a complicated and badly organized system, professedly designed for stieh support, but so environed by difficulties in the administration, as to render error and abuse almost necessary consequences. A knowledge of the state of public opinion on this point, has lessened the labours of your committee, while it has increased their astonishment that a total indifference has so long prevailed in relation to this in- teresting subject. The defects may be classed under eight different heads 1st. The mode of assessing the poor taxes.’ 2d. The want of power in the Managers of the Alms House to detain vicious persons, in order to compel them, as contem- plated by law, to compensate the public by their labour for the expenses incurred in their support. 3d. The collisions frequently occurring between the Board of Guardians and the Managers of the Alms House, for want of a due discrimination of their respective powers. ■ 4 4th. The inefficiency of the legal regulations on the sub- ject of the importation of paupers. 5th. The departure from the legal provisions, in regard to the administration of out-door relief. 6th. The organization of the Board of Guardians, in the immoderate number of the members, and the short period of service. 7th. The want of adequate authority in the Board of Guar- dians to bind out children, who become a public charge, with- out the consent of the parents. 8th. The utter inadequacy of the infirmary to accommo- date the sick, and the want of proper buildings to classify the paupers generally. \ Of each of these the committee will treat in order. I. The Mode of Assessing the Poor taxes. By section 5th of an act passed 29th March, 1803, the Ma- nagers, or a majority of them, having first obtained the appro- bation of four aldermen of the city, and four justices of the peace from the districts, are empowered to lay a rate or as- sessment, not exceeding one hundred cents in the hundred dol- lars at one time, upon all the real estate within the city and districts, and three dollars per head on every freeman in every one hundred cent tax, and in proportion for every lesser rate. The exercise, to its legal extent, of the power granted by this section, would have produced in the present year a sum little short of 350,000 dollars; but the power does not stop here : loans of money, on the faith and responsibility of the corporation, may be effected to any amount within the limit of their credit. * The impropriety of lodging the almost unlimited power of raising money in the hands of those who are entrusted with its expenditure, and its repugnance to the practice in all other cases, are too obvious to require enforcement ; particularly, as the approbation of the magistrates has always proved in prac- tice a mere form; the semblance of a check without the reality. II .— The leant of power in the Managers of the Alms House to detain vicious persons, in order to compel them, as contemplated by law, to compensate the public for the expenses incurred in their support . Under section 6th of an act, passed March 14th, 1824, the Managers are empowered to compel all paupers residing with- in the limits of the Alms House, to perform such work as they shall direct; and by section 13th of an act passed 29th of March, 1803, they are also empowered to bind out, with con- sent of any two aldermen of the city, or justices of the peace residing within the districts, as servants for a term of years, certain persons who, ?rom vicious conduct, become a public charge. The impracticability of this latter provision, renders it a mere nullity; and for want of legal authority to detain paupers of the character alluded to, the law and penalty for refusing to work, are both evaded ; as the vagrant and worth- less persons, who are contemplated by the clause regarding compulsory labour, may legally demand their discharge when- ever they are required to work: and there does not appear any clearly defined power on the part of the Managers to de- tain them. This defect is the prolific source of most of the evils by which the administration of this department has been burdened. Hence we find, that of 516 patients in the infirmary, 229 have been in the house more than once; “that the instances of persons returning who have been cured of diseases induced by vicious habits, are not only very frequent, but that some of them return several times in a year;” and to this class of persons the enormous consumption of spiritu- ous liquors in the House may be almost altogether attributed. Were this defect remedied, profitable manufactures might be carried on in the House, much of the expense of clothing the paupers be saved, and their numbers be greatly reduced. The Alms House has long been, and is now, a convenient resort of the victims of prostitution and intemperance. La- bouring under diseases, the consequences of their vicious ha- bits, reduced to absolute poverty, perhaps stripped of their clothing, they seek an asylum in the Alms House; their liberty is restored with their health ; clothed as well as cured 6 at the public expense, they return to their profligate courses, and in a short time are again the miserable tenants of the in- firmary, having in the interim frequently sold the clothes re- ceived in this establishment, and requiring a fresh supply. III. — The collision frequently occurring between the Board of Guardians and the Managers of the Alms House , for want of a due discrimination of their respective ^ powers . The Managers by law have entire control over the internal regulations of their department, the power to appoint their officers and servants, and to fix their salaries; to purchase ma- terials and implements, and to make all necessary contracts for the supply of the House; and yet no money can be le- gally expended but by consent of the General Board. IV. — The inefficiency of the legal regulations on the sub- ject of the importation of paupers. The public burdens from this source are daily augmenting. The present law is so manifestly defective, that it has been the constant advice of the law officer to the Board, to avoid bringing to issue in our courts any dispute with the importers of such persons. Of 837 persons in the House in August last, 385 were fo- reigners; and many of these (and the proportion is daily in- creasing,) have recently arrived in the country. The regulations on this subject, in New York, are strict and judicious, and ours so loose and ineffective, that we are burdened with a very great over proportion of foreign pau- pers. V. — The departure from the legal provisions in regard to the administration of out-door relief. The law and the practice on this subject are at variance. The only legal provision for this class of paupers, is con- tained in sec. 12th of an act passed 29th of March, 1803, and in sec. 2d of an act passed March 31st, 1812. The relief authorized by these sections is to be granted in 7 cases of sudden emergency, and continued only until the parties can be removed to the Alms House. The practice is as follows: a Guardian, on entering upon the duties of his office, receives, with a list of the pensioners in his district, the sum of 100 dollars in advance; he ordinarily continues, without particular examination, to pay those found on the list of his predecessor, at the rates attached to their names, from 25 cents to 75 cents per week. On new applications being made, he consults with a neighbouring Guardian, and, in conjunction with him, reports to the next meeting of the Board, the name and residence of any number whom they think proper to enrol as pensioners : if the amount asked for, in any case, does not exceed the sum allowed to be given by the standing resolutions of the Board, the report is gene- rally adopted, and the parties are provided for during the season. Incidental relief, the only kind of out-door relief in the opi- nion of the committee, authorized by law, is granted to a large amount, and with few r er checks upon the Guardian. In either case, any two Guardians belonging to the same stand- ing committee, may perpetrate frauds with little danger of detection or exposure. That the public money thus dis- pensed, is often totally uncalled for by the circumstances of the party receiving it, is manifest from -the reduction which frequently takes place when an examination into the circum- stances of the poor by another committee is instituted. It is further established by the fact, that of 1036 pensioners paid in August, 1826, but 41 individuals were coloured, or of the class most notoriously improvident among us;— if the same indifference were manifested towards the applicants for relief among the whites, how small would be the number of those whose actual wants require such assistance ! But the injury to the community is not confined to the useless expenditure of public money. * * From an examination of the ledger, and other documents of the General Board, it-appears that the suppprt of the out-door poor from May, 1826, to May, 1827, (including the expenses of the Children’s Asylum, but exclusive of the amount paid by the committee on Bastardy,) has cost the public the enoiy mous sum of fifty-two thousand seven hundred and one dollars, and twenty seven cents. 8 The facility of obtaining relief is a bounty on pauperism ; it presents a temptation, in moments of despondency, to the industrious poor man, too strong to be resisted ; once yielded to, his honest exertions are paralyzed— his partner has the prospect of being a beggar for life, and their children va- grants. The plea generally urged in behalf of out-door relief, which is in violation of law, calculated to extend pauperism, and destructive of industrious habits among the poor, is the want of accommodations in the Alms House. How far this plea may be available hereafter, must depend on the decision of the Legislature upon the remedies proposed. The com- mittee present the subject to the consideration of the public, as embracing a large portion of the evils of the system. VI. — The organization of the Board of Guardians , the immoderate number of the Members , and the short pe- riod of service. In a body composed of fifty members chosen by five differ- ent corporations, harmony will be frequently interrupted. Subjects, which, in a smaller body, would be temperately and judiciously discussed, often become in so large a body, from the excitement of numbers, the source of warm and irritating debate. The Guardians, moreover, are generally appointed to the office without their consent; and in the event of a refu- sal, are liable to a penalty which, in many cases, would be oppressive; to avoid the payment of which, they reluctantly consent to serve. It is obvious that the duties of offices thus forced on the parties, are likely to be very negligently ful- filled. It frequently happens that a man*s private business renders it impossible for him to do justice to the duties of this office. And even in those rare cases where members can command their time for the purpose, the short period of ser- vice, does not admit of a knowledge of a system, in which are necessarily involved many legal questions, nor an ac- quaintance with the characters and habits of those who are committed to their care. 9 Yll.— The want of adequate authority in the Board of Guardians to bind out children , who become a public charge , without the consent of the parents . The children of paupers are received into the Asylum, nursed, when necessary, — fed and comfortably clothed, at a very great expense to the public ; as soon as they arrive at an age suitable to be bound out, and proper places are pro- vided for them, they are frequently withdrawn by their pa- rents, and return to the haunts of poverty and vice from which they had been taken, ^nd thus the benevolent pur- poses of the institution are defeated, and the public funds uselessly expended. VIIL— The utter inadequacy of the Infirmary to accom- modate the sick , and the want of proper buildings to classify the paupers generally . That the virtuous poor, in a state of superannuation or sick- ness, or infirmity disabling them from earning a subsistence, have a rightful claim on society for a decent and even a com- fortable subsistence, will scarcely be denied; and that even the worthless and abandoned poor, whose poverty is the re- sult of their vices and crimes, and who are rendered unable to support themselves, ought not to be allowed to perish in the street, is almost equally incontrovertible. But that a broad and impassable line of demarcation ought to be drawn between both classes, not merely as regards intercourse, but as regards the kind and degree of support they receive, is too palpable to require proof. Let it be distinctly observed that the impossibility of drawing this line for want of room in the Alms House, has compelled the Managers to permit, in most of the out wards, the association of all classes and conditions of paupers by night as well as by day; the child of sorrow and the adept in vice ;— the unfortunate victim of disease, re- leased from a medical ward, and the discharged convict from our prisons. Under this promiscuous association, it is not surprising that few escape the contaminating influence of vicious example, or that our Alms House should present a B 10 mass of moral depravity, disgraceful to the age and commu- nity in which we live. Hence many of the virtuous poor, have almost as much abhorrence of entering the Alms House, even in their direst necessity, as of entering a prison. For the honour of our city, which has been seriously compromit- ted by the long endurance of such an evil, we would wil- lingly have drawn a veil over it. But the cause of justice and truth requires a development of its odious features, in order to remove the doubts of the most sceptical, and prove the imperious necessity of a radical remedy. So far as regards the want of proper accommodations in the infirmary, for the classification of the patients, and the pernicious and revolting consequences thence arising, the committee beg leave to quote a portion of a report made by the board of physicians and surgeons, attached to the Alms House : — “ The medical and surgical wards instead of being brought together, are dispersed over the building at the most remote points, and some in distant buildings. The duty of visiting and prescribing for the patients, and imparting" clinical in- struction to the students who attend the practice of the house, is, in consequence, rendered exceedingly laborious and fa- tiguing ; a proper disposition of the patients is constantly de- feated, and the conduct of the nurses and patients cannot be subjected to a vigilant superintendence by the resident stu- dents. “From the want of an adequate number of wards, patients are intermixed who ought to be kept separate. In the black women’s medical ward , surgical cases are admitted and treated; and it is scarcely separated by a partition from the black obstetrical ward and nursery . The black men’s syphilitic ward is also appropriated to surgical cases. The want of wards appropriated to convalescents, is felt as a very serious defect, and owing to which relapses frequently occur, and occasionally patients are lost who might have recovered. “ The incapaciousness of several wards for the patients that enter them, and of nearly all the wards at particular times, as the winter season, and unhealthy periods, is produc- 11 live of dangerous and serious consequences. Judicious ob- servation has established as a fact, beyond controversy, that a certain number of individuals inhabiting the same apart- ment, in order to preserve health, must have a certain number of cubic feet of air allowed to each individual 5 and if the number be increased beyond this proportion, typhus fever and hospital gangrene Immediately make their appear- ance , and the simplest diseases assume a malignant and intractable character . From this cause typhus fever pre- vails to greater or less extent in wards of the house during winter . Whenever the house becomes excessively crowded, as occurred during the late epidemic, typhus fever produces a frightful degree of mortality among the pa- tients and paupers. The Managers and officers of the esta- blishment become at those periods exposed to the great risk of their lives. “ The wards whose location or construction, or both, may be regarded as injudicious or defective, are — (A) the black men’s medical ward. — This ward is placed in the fourth story of the north west tower, and the access to it, is by a flight of steps so narrow and crooked, at the last story, as scarcely to admit two persons abreast. When it is considered, that no inconsiderable portion of the patients enter the house in ad- vanced stages of disease, when too debilitated to walk or stand without assistance, the inconvenience they suffer, and positive injury they often sustain in ascending to the ward, must be apparent. (B) The black women’s medical, surgi- cal, and obstetrical wards, may be instanced also for their im- proper location, being situated in the garret of the east wing, and where many of the beds are placed so far under the eaves , the patients cannot sit upright , nor can they be approached with facility . The windows are so constructed as not to afford sufficient ventilation in winter when they are crowded with patients. (C) The medical and surgical clini- cal wards, which are the most important, are the most objec- tionable of any in the establishment. The intention of those wards is to place at the disposal of the clinical lecturer, the most important and interesting cases of disease. But for this 12 purpose they are entirely too small. A succession of cases cannot be obtained for the lectures, as the slowness of con- valescence, and the distance of these wards from the others, prevents the removal of the convalescents, and in conse- quence, the beds in a very short time, are occupied entirely with these last. The smallness of these wards operates unfa- vourably, in the winter particularly, to the revenue of the house ; as the number of the clinical class would be greater, were the accommodations for the lectures more convenient, and the cases of more frequent interest. In the summer they offer other inconveniences arising from their exposed situa- tion, having no protection against the sun’s rays, to which they are exposed nearly the whole day. From this circum- stance, the narrowness of the wards, and fi^pm the want of a kitchen, the cooking, &c. being done in the wards, they are rendered almost intolerable. (D) The department for the insane. — The condition of this department is liable to the same animadversions. The treatment of this most deplorable of human maladies, requires, for a successful issue, a combina- tion of moral and physical means, of which the first are pro- bably the most important and essential. In the present ar- rangement of this part of the establishment, the moral treat- ment can he enforced only to a very limited extent , and is seldom resorted to ; hence many of the unhappy victims of this disease are early abandoned as incurable To obviate the defects, and to remove the abuses of the pre- sent system, the committee respectfully propose: 1st. That in place of the existing Boards, a Board of twelve guardians, to have the entire superintendence and control of the poor, be chosen from such of our respectable citizens as will serve without compensation, in the manner following, viz. — Six by the select and common councils for the city ; two by the commissioners of the Northern Liberties; two by the commissioners of Southwark; one by the commission- ers of Spring Garden choosing for Penn township, and one by the commissioners of Kensington, choosing for Kensing- ton, and for the unincorporated parts of the Northern Liber* 13 ties;— to continue in office three years, or during the plea- sure of the bodies appointing them. The Board thus constituted to be inyested with such pow- ers as may be necessary to carry into effect the objects herein contemplated. 2d. That the rate or assessment for the poor tax, be laid by a Board of twelve members to be chosen in the month of December of each year, by the select and common councils of the city, and the commissioners of the several districts, out of their own bodies, as follows, viz. — Six by the select and common councils of the city ; two by the-commissioners of the Northern Liberties ; two by the commissioners of South- wark ; one by the commissioners of Spring Garden, choosing for Penn township ; and one by the commissioners of Ken- sington, choosing for Kensington, and for the unincorporated parts of the Northern Liberties. The persons thus chosen to be styled, Directors of the Poor Tax, a majority of whom shall be empowered to lay such rate or assessment for the re- lief, support, and employment of the poor as may appear to them necessary. 3d. That the Board of Guardians shall appoint five suitable persons (citizens of, and residing in, the city or districts for which they may be appointed,) as visiters of the poor, viz. — one for the city, one for the Northern Liberties, one for Southwark, one for Kensington, and the unincorporated parts of the Northern Liberties, and one for Penn township, who shall each receive such compensation as the Board may from time to time think proper. That it shall be the duty of the visiters to act as agents un- der the direction of the Board of Guardians ; and, when called upon by an applicant for relief, or by a citizen in behalf of such applicant, to visit the party without delay ; and, after careful examination, to report in writing, the particulars of the case to the next meeting of the Board of Guardians; stating the name, residence, age, sex, colour, birth-place, cause of impoverishment, and number of children, if any, of the person applying; on receipt of which report, the Board shall, if satisfied of the necessity of the case, direct the mode 14 and determine the amount of relief: — Provided , That in any case of sudden emergency, when the party cannot be re- moved to the Hospital or House of Employment, the visiter may, with the consent and approbation of one of the Guar- dians, administer such moderate relief and assistance as the exigency of the case may require : the particulars of the case and amount of relief to be reported at the next meeting of the Guardians; and provided also , that after the necessary accommodations are prepared in the Hospital or House of Employment, &c. all relief granted to the out-door poor, shall be only temporary, and consist principally of fuel, pro- visions, clothing, and medical assistance. The visiters to be continued in office at the discretion of the Board of Guardians, and to give security for the faithful performance of their duties. 4th. That the buildings now occupied as an Alms House and Children’s Asylum, together with the ground on which they stand, and the half square east of the Alms House, be sold, and the proceeds applied to the purchase of such site or sites as may be deemed most eligible and convenient for the erection of an Hospital, and of buildings suitable for an Alms House, House of Employment, and Children’s Asylum. That in the Hospital full and comfortable provision be made for all such poor persons, as require medical or surgi- cal attendance; and in the Alms House like comfortable provision for such as may be unable through age or infirmity to procure a livelihood. That in this latter establishment, with a view to the com- fort of the respectable and virtuous poor, care be taken that there be sufficient room for the necessary classification of the inmates. That the Children’s Asylum be so constructed as to guard against the diseases to which the inmates of the present esta- blishment are subject, and with the design of affording useful instruction to the children. That the House of Employment be sufficiently capacious to admit of all the paupers within its limits being occupied in such branches of labour as may be deemed expedient, and of 15 a classification according to previous habits of life. It will be absolutely necessary, that in this department no false notions of charity be allowed to interpose between the vicious pau- per, and the restrictions imposed upon him, as the just conse- quences of his depraved conduct, and pernicious example. He should be taught to feel that he is indebted for this refuge from absolute want, to the policy of the community rather than to any just claim on public charity. 5th. That authority be given to the Board of Guardians to remove, after cure in the Hospital, to the House of Em- ployment, and there to detain, at their discretion, all such persons as have been treated for diseases induced by vicious habits, until they have compensated by their labour for the expense incurred on their account ; and also to detain in the House of Employment, all such idle, disorderly, vagrant and vicious persons as may be sent to that establishment, by any member of the Board of Guardians, or by any magistrate of the city, or of that part of the county within the bounds of the present corporation of the poor. 6th. In remedy of the fifth defect, the expense consequent upon the importation of paupers, we recommend the adop- tion of sections twenty-nine, thirty, and thirty-three,* of a bill reported to the Legislature 9th February, 1826, (which received the sanction of two different Boards of Guardians) * Section 29 — Provides that every master or commander of any vessel arriving at the port of Philadelphia, shall within twenty-four hours after the arrival, report in writing, on oath or affirmation, the name, place of birth, and last legal settlement (if known) age and occupation of every person who shall have been brought as a passenger in such vessel on her last voyage, and of all passengers who shall have been landed at any place during such voyage, or permitted to go on board of any other vessel with the intention of pro- ceeding to said port, under a penalty of seventy-five dollars for every person neglected to be reported, and for every person falsely reported. Section 30 — Empowers the Mayor or Recorder, or an Alderman, to require by endorsement on the aforesaid report, every such master or commander to be bound with two sufficient sureties (to be approved by the Guardians of the poor,) to the said Guardians, in a sum not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars for each passenger not being a citizen of the United States, to indem- nify the city and districts from all expense which may be incurred by them for the maintenance of such person, and the child or children of such person born after the importation, in case such person, or such child or children, be- come chargeable to the said Guardians within two years from the date of such bond. . The penalty for refusal to give such bond within five days after the arrival of the vessel, five hundred dollars for each and every person for whom the Mayor or Recorder shall have determined that bonds should be given. Section 33 — Makes the vessel liable for the penalties. 16 and that the Board have power to commute the eases, by re- ceiving two and a half dollars per head of the owners or consignees of such vessels, on all the passengers, not citizens, that may arrive at our port. 7th. Power to the Board of Guardians to bind out at their discretion, all poor children who have become a public charge, unless the expenses incurred for their support, shall be de- frayed, and security given that they shall not again become chargeable for two years. The committee, in conclusion, remark that no diminution of the expenses, at all commensurate with the just expecta- tions of the public, can be looked for, without a thorough change of the system; that the principal source of expendi- ture, the out-door system, must remain until suitable provi- sion be made within doors, in different departments , for the several classes of the poor, who are dependants on public bounty; that this classification, so confessedly im- portant in prisons and penitentiaries, but entirely over- looked, in provisions for the maintenance of the poor, is es- sential to the economical administration of the system, and loudly called for by considerations of policy and humanity; that no modification of the present buildings, comprising un- der the same roof an infirmary, an alms house, and a work house, however large the sum expended in the alterations, will admit, or but imperfectly, of this essential feature; and that the proposed changes, as may be seen by a reference to reports herewith, will be attended with no present addi- tional expense, and must eventually lessen the public bur- dens. Under these circumstances, uniting in our scheme of re- form the important considerations of justice to the public and mercy to the poor, we may confidently appeal to the in- telligence and philanthropy of our fellow citizens, for their cordial acquiescence and hearty co-operation. The committee beg leave to offer the following views of the subject of providing for the poor, the result of the inves- tigations of a committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts, 17 lately appointed to consider and report on the pauper system generally, in which views they unanimously concur. “ l. # That of all modes of providing for the poor, the most wasteful, the most expensive, and most injurious to their mo- rals and destructive of their industrious habits, is that of sup- ply in their own families. That the. most economical mode is that of Alms Houses; having the character of Work Houses, or Houses of Industry, in which work is provided for every degree of ability in the pauper; and thus the able poor made to pro- vide, partially at least, for their own support ; and also to the support, or at least the comfort of the impotent poor. u 3. That the success of these establishments depends upon their being placed lender the superintendance of a board of overseers, constituted of the most substantial and intelligent inhabitants of the vicinity. u 4. That of all causes of pauperism, intemperance, in the use of spirituous liquors, is the most powerful and uni- versal.” (Signed) William Boyd, John Gilder, John S. Henry, James West, Robert Earp, Peter Hay, Mathew Carey, Joseph S. Walter, Edward S. Burd, Edward Hallowell, Nathan Bunker, James A. Mahany, Thomas Rogers, John V. Hart, William V. Anderson, John C. Browne, S. V. Davis, George Wilson, Elijah Griffith, M. D. Thomas Earf, John Thompson. N. B. The committee wish it distinctly understood, that in their remarks on the evils existing in the Alms House, no im- putation is intended to be conveyed against the Managers — as the confined situation of the buildings renders it impossible to make suitable arrangements for the classification or comfort of the poor, c APPENDIX. No. I. Questions proposed by a Sub- Commit ee of the Committee appoint- ed by the Town Meeting, to the Committee appointed by the Managers of the Alms House, with their Answers Question 1 . In laying the annual rate, or assessment, do the Aldermen and Justices uniformly grant their approbation? Answer . We do not know of any instance wherein the Aider- men and Justices have refused to allow the sum proposed to be assessed by the Managers. Q. 2. Do the Managers feel authorized under the present law, to detain persons who refuse to work, and demand their dis- charge ? A . The present laws do not, in our opinion, authorize the Ma- nagers to detain any pauper in the Alms House, who may demand a discharge. Q. 3. Are the duties and powers of the Managers so clearly defined in the existing law as to prevent clashing with the Ge- neral Board? A . That the duties and powers of the Managers are not de- fined with sufficient perspicuity by the existing law, is evident from the fact that collisions between the ’two Boards frequently occur. (£.4. What is the number of patients at present in the In- firmary? their age, sex, colour, birth-place, and the principal causes of disease? A. The Tablest accompanying these answers, exhibit the num- ber, age, sex, colour, birth-places, and some of the causes of the diseases of the patients now in the Infirmary. Q. 5. Is there space sufficient within the present buildings for the comfortable accommodation of the sick and infirm, at all seasons of the year ? * Messrs. Thomas Earp, John S. Henry, Edward Hallowell, John V. Hart, and Joseph S. Walter, were the Sub-committee, and Messrs. William Flana- gan, Benjamin Kline, and Elisha Cooke, the Committee of the Managers. t These Tables are at the end of the pamphlet. w j 3. It has tor some years been regretted that there is not suf- ficient room in the Alms House for the needed accommodation of the sick and infirm, particularly in the fall, winter, and spring months, as then we are obliged to crowd so many together in the different wards, as to injure their health, if not actually to induce disease, and these inconveniences must proportionally increase with the population of the city and districts. Q. 6. Are the accommodations such as t6 admit of the neces- sary classification of the patients? Jl. The want of sufficient room for the necessary classifica- tion of the patients, has been frequently complained of by the phy- sicians and surgeons of the Institution, and they are daily obliged to treat patients in the same ward, whose diseases are as entirely different as their modes of living have been. The most aban- doned sot, and unprincipled vagrant , is necessarily placed upon an equality , in point of accommodations , with the deserving poor 9 who have been reduced to poverty chiefly by misfortunes . Q. 7. Are the instances frequent, of persons discharged (cured of diseases induced by vicious habits), returning within the year with the same complaint? A. The instances are very frequent, of persons discharged (cured of diseases induced by vicious habits), returning ; some of them several times within the year, with the same complaint, which is to be accounted for by the fact, that the Managers have not the power to detain them when cured, and compel them to work. 8. Are the insane uniformly kept separate ; and, if so, are the accommodations for this class of patients, in other respects sufficient? 1 We endeavour, as much as possible, to keep the insane pa- tients separate from the others; but oftentimes we find the apartments appropriated for their use, too limited in number to admit of this. In other respects, also, the accommodations for this class are altogether inadequate. Q. 9. Are the nurses taken from the paupers? if so, are they paid for their services, and what is their general character for so- briety and attention to their duties? Jl. Some of the nurses are taken from among the paupers. They all receive wages; and, with but few exceptions at pre- sent, they are sober and attentive to their duties. 20 Q. 10. Can you state what proportion of the spirituous and fermented liquors, consumed in the House in 4 the year ending in May last, was administered to patients by order of the physi- cians, and how much was used by the apothecary in the prepara* tion of tinctures, &c.P A. Of the liquors purchased last year, 163 gallons of brandy and 49 gallons of wine were ordered by the apothecary; of which quantity 9§ gallons of brandy, and 35 gallons of wine were for the use of the out-door pooi . Nearly all the remainder was pre- scribed by the physicians for their patients. As the quantity of liquor used in the House, has been a sub- ject of surprise to many, it may not be out of place here to ob* serve, that, owing to a great proportion of the patients having been accustomed to the excessive use of ardent spirits whilst out of theHouse, the physicians are obliged to allow them some after their admission, to prevent a fatal prostration of strength. Q. 11. Is the present the ordinary proportion between the sick and healthy paupers? A . The number of sick at present in the House, is what we usually have in proportion to the population. When there is an epidemical sickness prevailing, the number, of course, is in* creased. Q. 12. What is the number of paupers now in the House (ex- clusive of those in the Infirmary), their age, sex, colour, birth- place, principal cause of impoverishment, and their occupation? A. See the accompanying table. Q. 13. Could not the different articles manufactured in the House, be purchased for less than they cost to manufacture them, if the expense of boarding and clothing those who work be included ? A. We believe that such articles as are manufactured in the House, coulxl be purchased equally cheap. But as employment is a great desideratum, it is that alone which induces the Mana- gers to have them made in the House. Q. 14. Do healthy paupers frequently return a second time in the year after obtaining their discharge ? If so, is the Institution subjected to much additional expense for clothing on this account? An It is a frequent practice with the drunkards (both male and femalej, after being well clothed, to obtain a discharge. Unlit* 21 ted by their vices and habits of idleness to engage in honest ein ployment, they generally resort to the lowest scenes of dissipa tion, and there drag out a few months in wretched debauchery. Naked and sick, they are compelled to re-enter the Institution, and become the objects of medical assistance. Recovering, they are again clothed, and procuring a discharge, they too frequently repeat the same miserable and degraded misconduct. Q. 15. Are the children during their stay in the House, sepa- rated from adults by day and night? A . The greater number of the children in the House are sepa- rated from the adults at night; but the present buildings are too limited to allow of an arrangement so desirable and necessary during the day. Q. 16. How are the supplies for the House, provisions for the Steward’s and Matron’s tables, and the medicines purchased? A. The supplies for the House are purchased by a committee of the Board of Managers ; provisions for the Steward’s and Ma- tron’s tables by the Steward, with the exception of beef, mutton, and pork, which are taken from the supplies for the general use of the House. The medicines are purchased by the Apothecary in the fol lowing manner. At each stated meeting of the Managers, he presents them with three lists of articles wanted in his department. They then direct him to send these lists to different Apothecaries in the city to price, after which he is at liberty to purchase of the one who will furnish the best articles at the lowest rates. Q. 17. How, by whom, and how often, is the census of the House taken ? A. The census is taken by visiting each and every ward in the House, by one of* the Officers of the Institution, monthly. Q. 18. How many persons can be accommodated in the House without endangering the health of the inmates ? A. We have had about 1500 in the House at one time ; but we are warranted in saying that the utmost number that can be safely accommodated is 1400. Q. 19.' How many paupers were admitted into the House during the years 1824-5, 1825-6, 1826-7, on orders of City Guardians; how many on orders'of Guardians from Southwark, 22 Northern Liberties, Penn Township, and Kensington, respec- tively; and what the amount of taxes received from city and several districts for the same periods? A. The number admitted during the years mentioned were as follows: * 1824- 5. City, N. Lib. & Penn Tp. Southwark, 1825- 6. City, N. Lib. & Penn Tp. Southwark, 1826- 7. City, N. Lib. & Penn Tp. Southwark, Men. Women. Children. Totals. 825 + 535 + 397 = 1,757 334 + 158 + 95 = 587 543 + 511 + 75 = 1,129 918 + 693 + 504 = 2,115 275 + 160 + 109 = 544 354 + 333 + 78 = 765 1,044 + 896 + 537 = 2,477 312 + 154 + 109 = 575 325 + 351 + 105 = 781 Amounts received from each during the same years. 1824-5. City, N. Lib. & Penn Tp. Southwark, 1825-6. City, N. Lib. & Penn Tp. L thwark, 1826-7. City, N. Lib. & Penn Tp. Southwark, 891,418 45 32,245 82 8,652 75 $132,317 02 89,180 83 31,774 97 8,427 27 $129,383 07 61,295 06 22,637 03 6,029 18 $89,961 27 q. 20. Are the provisions in the present law sufficient respecO ing removals ? A. That part of the existing law which has reference to the removal of paupers, is certainly very defective. q. 21. What was the average number of paupers in the House in the years 1817-18, 1818-19, 1819-20, 1820-21, 1821-22, 23 1822-23, 1823-24, 1824-25, 182^-26, 1826-27, and the expense per head for supporting them? A. The average number each year, and expense per head of supporting them per week was as follows: Years. Average Number. Expense each week. 1817-18 934 SI 15 * 1818-19 - 952 i 06| 1819-20 1,095 - 77 1820-21 1,109 - 1821-22 1,078 - 76i 1822-23 1,204 - 76 1823-24 1,157 - 74f 1 824-25 995 - 71* 1825-26 994 - 72-i 1826-27 1,056 - 793 q. 22. What salary officers are there in the House at the f sent time, their several situations, and the compensation they receive P A. The following are the salary officers attached to the Insti- tution at present, viz. Jeremiah Peirsol, Steward, 8900 per annum Martha Sibbett, Matron, 300 do. George Heyl, Secr’y to the Board of Managers, 80 do. William L. Schaffer, Book Keeper, 450 do. Charles Schaffer, Clerk, 450 do. Evan Clement, Agent, 500 do. William S. Stockton, Assistant do. 350 do. Gerard S. Marks, Apothecary, 500 do. Samuel P. Marks, Assistant do. 100 do. Benjamin Hutchinson, Super’t. of Factory, 350 do. William Long, Gate Keeper, 180 do. John Boyd, Cells Keeper, 192 do. 84352 q. 23. How many hours in the day are the labouring paupers employed? Are they tasked, and what means are used to com- pel such as refuse to work? A. The working hours at present, are from 7 A. M. till 12, and from 1 till 6 P. M. Those who work on the tread wheel, work and rest ten mi= notes alternately. ‘ The shoemakers, and those women who spin, sew, or knit, are tasked. The punishment generally used is solitary confinement on bread and water. 24. With the present accommodations of the House, is it practicable to separate the common vagrant from the respectable ;poor, and ihe male population from the female? Jl. There is not sufficient room within the present buildings to admit of the separation of the common vagrant from the respec- table poor, nor the entire separation of the male from the female part of the population . Q. 25. What amount annually has been received for the last three years, from students, for tickets of admission to the lec- tures in the House, and the use of the Library? JL. For tickets alone, there have been received from 1824-5, 82,200; from 1825-6, 82,000; and from 1826-7, §2,120. Q. 26. What would be the probable expense of a separate building for an Infirmary or Hospital, sufficient to accommodate patients from the city and districts? Jl. With a view of ascertaining this, the Board of Managers, some time since, procured a plan from Mr. Strickland for an Hospital, which was thought sufficient to accommodate the pa- tients from the city and districts, the expense to erect which was estimated at §47,000. Q. 27. What is the size of the square of ground on which the Alms House stands? and of that part of a square running from Pine to Spruce and between Ninth and Tenth streets, belonging to the corporation? •#. The lot on which the Alms House is erected is 396 feet on Spruce street, and 468 feet from Spruce to Pine streets. The other lot is 196j feet on. Spruce street, and 468 feet from Spruce to Pine streets on^Tenth* st+Qti* Q. 28. Are the physicians or surgeons restricted in the diet or medicine to be used by the sick? .ft. The physicians and surgeons of the Institution are at liberty to prescribe whatever articles of diet or medicine they may think necessary for their patients, and they are always fur nished. 25 No. II. Extract from a Report of a Sub- Committee on the Expenses of the Out-door Poor . There are no means of arriving at a correct estimate of the number of paupers supported each year, for the last ten years, distinguishing between incidental and regular. A partial exhi- bit might be made, but it would require much labour, and at the same time, would be too imperfect to further the objects which your committee have in view. The reports of the Guar- dians do not generally furnish the country, colour, and cause of impoverishment, of the paupers relieved, and in many cases the age is omitted. The amount expended by the Guardians, as obtained from the ledger and other documents, kept by the se- cretary to the General Board, from May 1826 to May 1827, is as follows: Regular paupers - - 826772 44 Incidental - 6804 34 Wood - - - 3625 40 Medicine - - - 2317 37 Cupping and Bleeding - 217 75 Coffins - 273 00 Removing non-residents 100 73 Expense of the Children’s Asylum for the same time - - - - Coloured Children’s Asylum Salaries. Secretary to the General Board g400 00 Solicitor - 400 00 Agent - - - - 500 00 Assistant Agent - - - 400 00 Thirteen physicians, glOO each for same time - - 1300 00 Book-keeper to committees on collections and bastardy, who also receives five per cent commission on amount of his collections - - - 150 00 -840111 03 9343 53 96 71 - 3150 JOO 852701 27 D 26 From the above it will appear that the whole amount of ex- penditure for out-door poor, including Children’s Asylum, and exclusive of monies paid by the committee on bastardy, from May 1826 to May 1827, was fifty-two thousand seven hundred and one dollars, twenty-seven cents. Your committee regret exceedingly their inability to procure all the information required of them; particularly that part showing the amount of expenditure each year for the last ten years. It would also have been very desirable to have shown the number of foreigners we $re supporting. Your committee feel no hesitation in ascribing intemperance as the main cause of impoverishment. All of which is respectfully submitted. Robert Earp* N. Bunker. Philadelphia , Sept . 6th , 1827. No. III. Report of the Committee appointed to value the Alms House and other property belonging to the Institution . The committee appointed for the purpose of estimating the va- lue of the Aims House in Philadelphia, and the lot of ground whereon the same is erected, being an entire square; also of the half square of ground extending from Spruce to Pine street, bounded on the west by Tenth street; likewise of the Asylum and burial ground belonging to the Institution; respectfully re- port : — That having viewed the premises, they are of opinion, that with proper care and management, and by letting on ground rent to actual improvers , and in detail , the various building lots of which the property will be found to be composed, after a judi- cious arrangement and distribution of the ground; and further by applying with due economy and care the materials in the present buildings, after their demolition, towards the erection of the new edifice in contemplation, the whole may fairly be es* timated at the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. A 27 Your committee, however, desire it to be distinctly under- ' stood, that in making this valuation, they do not act upon the principle of large and immediate sales of the several estates above specified, to individuals who might be disposed to pur- chase, merely with a view to a profitable investment of money; but upon the supposition that the necessary time and trouble would be bestowed in retailing the various lots of ground; and thereby saving the profit which would otherwise be thrown into the pockets of a successful purchaser. By this operation, and a conversion of the ground rents to be created into money, as they shall from time to time be secured, the receipts would be gradual, but not the less certain on that account. All which is respectfully submitted. Nathan Bunker. E. S. Burd. John Thompson. Philad. 28 th Sept,, 182 7, No. IV. Report of the Committee to ascertain the cost of Sites, and the erec- tion thereon of buildings for Hospital, Mms House, Sfc. The coifimittee appointed to make an estimate of the probable cost of procuring suitable lots, and erecting thereon buildings for an Alms House, House of Employment, Children’s Asylum, and Hospital (in the event of the present establishments being removed), report, that they find it impracticable to make accu- rate calculations, without being furnished with plans of the buildings intended to be put up; but having carefully consi- dered the subject, and made such inquiries as appeared to them necessary, they present the following estimate, which, in their opinion, is an approximation sufficiently near for the present purpose, viz. 28 Aims House, House of Employment, and Children’s Asylum - - - - - - ' - - 8100,000 Hospital - - - - 50,000 Land near the city, say about twenty acres - 20,000 City lot, for an Hospital, west of Broad street* - 20,000 Walls to enclose the grounds - 20,000 Incidental - -- -- -- - 10,000, 8220,000 Respectfully submitted. Thomas Rogers, Robt. Earp. Jos. S. Walter. John Gilder. 9th Mo. 28, 1827. By the above statement it appears, that the proposed plan would cost 830,000 less than the value of the present property. In addition to this, it is to be observed, that to render the pre- sent Alms House suitable for the accommodation of the persons it is intended for, and remove the solid objections to which it is liable, would require such alterations and additions, as would produce an expenditure of 70,000 dollars — making a difference in favour of the new plan of 100,000 dollars. * This item is predicated on the idea of separating the Alms House from the Hospital, and will not, of course, be necessary, if that arrangement be not adopted. .. ■: No. I, CHILDREN’S ASYLUM. Admitted, Bound out, - Died, - Discharged, - Eloped, - Delivered to parents and relatives, Out on trial, May 22, 1826, In the House, Average age when admitted, age when bound out, time in the House, time in the House of children returned to parents, - time in the House of children who eloped, Boys. Girls . Total . - 661 328 989 - 110 72 182 34 17 51 - 29 16 45 - 25 4 29 - 334 188 522 11 4 15 - 118 27 145 Years . Months. Bays - 1 4 7 23 7 2 24 2 4 J IS 22 Average number of children in the House, from April 1820, to 22d May, 1826, - - 154 Average cost of children per week, - - - - 91 £ cts, Expenses of Institution from its commencement to May 1826, exclusive of cost of House, lot, and new ad- ditional building, - $ 44,508 41 No. II. Numbers and Description of Paupers in the Out-ivards of the Philadelphia Alms-House, Sept. 1, 1827. ! & o P &- P u o o M o £ » o JO, Cl ^ >0 CO b, CO £ . rH CO h# VO h* CM VO CO CO rH CO sJ 9 UUrdg rH CO «0 VO VO VO rH 00 CM •i[ao/w 9 snoH 2 10 13 29 37 25 25 3 149 j * 9 snoq | uin^o 1 | rH f-H ^ »0 *0 vo rH •SJ 9 AT 19 A\ CM rH rH *SJ9* CM CM CM VO •SU95JBIU ' ' 90 qs •h CM rH - vo vO as H P5 131UEA j •[ASUU9J j rH VO CM VO 00 rH rH vo CM 3 •s}ot.i*sta * P^UMd CO 00 rH 00 rH CM CM CM VO rH CO L29 j COLOR. m v*m rH CM o rH 00 ■ o o O r* o ■*-< o •*-> o 'rt o <5 **> JH V o rH o CM o CO o O VO o vo 8 o 00 H •ZJ c p No. Ill The following Table exhibits the slate of the Infirmary of the Philadelphia Alms-House, i. e. of the Incurable, Medical, Surgical, Syphilitic, and Obstetrical Wards, 14 th August, 1827. AGE. SEX. COLOR. BIRTH FLA£E. DISEASES. Number of those who have been in more than once. Male. Female. White. Colored. Philad. & Districts. Pennsyl- vania. Other States. s &/3 ‘5 o Ph Intempe- rance. Syphilis. Other diseases Under 5 years 8 6 2 7 1 8 5 to 10 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 5 10 to 20 13 16 25 4 12 4 3 10 1 8 20 Y 20 to 30 45 62 87 20 39 10 25 33 21 18 68 48 30 to 40 44 52 78 18 30 9 15 42 24 13 59 46 40 to 50 43 28 66 5 10 5 14 42 22 ey O 46 41 50 to 60 46 26 58 14 16 1 19 36 12 1 59 42 60 to 70 26 26 49 3 9 4 9 30 4 48 22 70 to 80 22 25 45 2 8 3 3 33 47 13 80 to 90 9 19 27 1 4 24 28 10 90 to 100 1 1 1 1 | Totals, 250 266 446 70 133 40 89 254 84 43 389 229