Problems in American Democracy Part 41

CHAPTER XXIV

DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION

277. THE MEDIEVAL NEIGHBORHOOD.--Throughout the earlier part of the medieval period the majority of the common people of western Europe lived in small agricultural communities. There was little in the way of trade or travel, for the area comprising the village or the feudal manor was relatively self-sufficing. The interests of the people centered almost wholly about the local neighborhood into which they had been born, and in which they lived and died. Life was stable, and the daily work of the peasants entailed few hazards. When, because of illness or accident, individuals were temporarily unable to support themselves, informal aid was extended them by neighbors and friends.

In case of a more serious dependency, growing out of physical or mental defect, for example, the aid extended by neighbors might be supplemented by help from the feudal lord. The few strangers in the community found the monasteries always open to them, regardless of the character of their need.

278. BREAKDOWN OF THE MEDIEVAL NEIGHBORHOOD.--During the latter half of the medieval period, and during the earlier part of the modern period, a number of factors combined to break down this early type of neighborhood. The Crusades, the decay of feudalism, and the Renaissance disrupted the stable, isolated, and self-sufficing life of the medieval neighborhood. The discovery of America and the growth of towns and cities stimulated trade and travel. People moved about more, strangers came into the community, family contacts and friendships were broken, and community life became more impersonal. For many people a change of habitation or of occupation increased the hazards of life, while the decline of the neighborhood spirit made informal aid by neighbors and friends less available. To meet the growing needs of the dependent cla.s.ses, the Church extended and improved its system of almsgiving. To a greater extent than ever before the monasteries became havens of refuge for the helpless and friendless. The clergy not only themselves dispensed alms, but encouraged the wealthy laity to do likewise.

Unfortunately, however, the aim of almsgiving in this period was not so much to help the dependent back to self-support, as to increase the piety of the individual dispensing the alms. Pauperism was looked upon as inevitable, and the moral effect upon the giver was generally of more importance than was the use that the needy made of the alms received.

279. RISE OF THE URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD.--The breakdown of the medieval neighborhood was completed by the Industrial Revolution. The factory system drew large numbers of countrymen to the cities. Here they worked long hours in insanitary work-shops, and lived in crowded tenements devoid of many improvements which we now regard as necessary to health and comfort. Home life was disrupted, and neighborhood ties were broken in the process of adjusting agricultural laborers to the factory system. The medieval neighborhood began to be supplanted by a new type of neighborhood, one primarily urban and impersonal in character. This new type of neighborhood brought with it greater hazards for the poor, and at the same time offered fewer opportunities for mutual aid between neighbors. Under such circ.u.mstances, the problem of dependency became increasingly serious.

280. EXTENT OF DEPENDENCY IN MODERN TIMES.--One of the vital problems of American democracy is the proper care of those individuals who are unable, either to support themselves, or otherwise to protect themselves against the hazards of modern life. The extent to which individuals are dependent for help upon agencies outside their family circle is unknown. Statistics are meager, and the complex nature of dependency renders it difficult of measurement. Perhaps a reasonable estimate of dependency in the United States is that at some time during the year about five per cent of the population seeks charitable a.s.sistance. The total amount expended annually for the care of the dependent cla.s.ses in the United States is more than half a billion dollars.

281. CAUSES OF DEPENDENCY.--The causes of dependency in a modern community are difficult to a.n.a.lyze. Generally the applicant for charity is not in a state of dependency because of a single isolated cause, but because of a number of combined causes, interlocking in a most confusing way. In the effort to throw light upon this tangled situation, let us briefly survey the problem from the economic, social, personal, and political viewpoint.

From the economic viewpoint much dependency is the result of maladjustments in industry. Most laborers have little or no savings, so that when unemployment, strikes, industrial accidents, or crises interrupt their earnings, they are soon forced to fall back upon charity. Economic causes figure in from fifty to eighty per cent of charity cases, either as minor or major factors. In the majority of these cases the unemployment or other handicap of the laborer is due to industrial maladjustments beyond his power to control.

Closely connected with the economic causes of dependency are the social causes. The crowding of large numbers of workmen into cities leads to abnormal living conditions, which encourage ill-health, disease, and vice. Among unskilled laborers, poverty and the large number of children often prevent the young from securing a helpful amount of education. The lack of wholesome and inexpensive recreation, and the existence of costly and injurious forms of entertainment, encourage unwise expenditure of savings, and, to that extent, may influence dependency. Child labor and the employment of mothers in industry prevent a normal family life, and may be intimately a.s.sociated with illiteracy, low moral standards, and pauperism.

Often indistinguishable from social causes are the personal causes of dependency. Laziness, irresponsibility, and thriftlessness figure in from ten to fifteen per cent of charity cases. Penniless old age is often the outcome of bad personal habits in youth and middle life.

Idling, gambling, and other vicious habits are important causes of pauperism. Sickness is a factor in at least a third of charity cases, while disease figures in seventy-five per cent of such cases. Physical or mental defect is of great importance in dependency, often accompanying bad personal habits as either cause or effect. The feeble-minded, the epileptic, and the insane const.i.tute a serious burden upon the community.

Defects in government have in some cases either encouraged dependency, or have perpetuated it. In so far as we have neglected legislation designed to reduce the force of industrial maladjustments, political factors may be said markedly to influence dependency. Our tardiness in protecting the labor of women and children is certainly responsible for a share of dependency. Our failure to adopt a comprehensive program of social insurance has added to the burden upon charity.

Housing is receiving more and more attention in our cities, yet the living quarters in many districts continue to be sources of ill-health and vice. Probably we shall eliminate a share of dependency when we shall have established a comprehensive system of state and Federal employment bureaus. The wise restriction of immigration is also important, as is the matter of vocational education for the unskilled cla.s.ses.

282. THE GIVING OF ALMS.--Until the period of the Reformation in Europe, the distribution of alms by the clergy and by pious laymen was the chief method of dealing with the problem of dependency. Then the Reformation crippled the temporal power of the Church, and ecclesiastical almsgiving declined in importance. The place formerly held by the Church was filled, partly by public almshouses or workhouses, and partly by indiscriminate and unorganized almsgiving on the part of kind-hearted individuals. Individuals distributed alms chiefly to dependents with whom they were personally acquainted, and whose needs could be effectively met without their being removed to an inst.i.tution. Wandering dependents, and unfortunates whose needs were relatively serious and permanent, were cared for in the almshouse.

This latter inst.i.tution developed very early in England, and appeared in colonial America in the seventeenth century. Until about 1850 it was often the only inst.i.tution in American communities which cared for the helpless adult dependent. The almshouse, as it existed in this country a few decades ago, has been described as a charitable catch- all, into which were crowded paupers, the insane, the feeble-minded, the blind, the orphaned, and other types of dependents.

283. ALMSGIVNG PROVES INADEQUATE.--The attempt to meet the problem of modern dependency solely by the giving of alms ill.u.s.trates the difficulty of employing an ancient and simple method of treatment for a disease which has become highly complex.

Almsgiving by individuals very often pauperizes rather than helps the individual to help himself. When the dominant aim of the almsgiver is to satisfy himself as to his piety, it is only by accident that the alms really help the recipient. Very often what is needed is not money or material aid in other form, but wise direction and friendly advice.

There is still a great deal of unwise and indiscriminate almsgiving by individuals, but the spread of new ideals of social help is probably cutting down the amount.

The almshouse, as it existed in the last century, was productive of much evil. Very often superintendents were allowed to run these inst.i.tutions for personal profit, a practice which allowed the exploitation and neglect of the inmates. The practice of herding into this generalized inst.i.tution every variety of dependent had great drawbacks. Specialized care and treatment were impossible. Disease was transmitted, and vice encouraged, by the failure properly to segregate various types of dependents. Inmates were in many cases allowed to enter and leave the inst.i.tution at will, a privilege which encouraged shiftlessness and improvidence.

284. THE EVOLUTION OF NEW IDEALS.--After the middle of the last century our att.i.tude toward the dependent cla.s.ses began to change rapidly. There was a gradual abandonment of almsgiving as the sole method of attacking dependency. Rising standards of conduct contributed to the development of new ideals, some of them now fairly well established, and some of them still in the formative process. The general content of these new ideals may be briefly described as follows:

The primary aim of those who come in contact with the dependent cla.s.ses should be to help those cla.s.ses, rather than to satisfy pious aspirations or to indulge sentimental promptings. Rather than believing that alms are helpful because they are gratefully received, we should first discover what will help the dependent, and then train ourselves and him to take satisfaction in that which is helpful.

Poverty is not to be taken for granted. It is neither inevitable nor irremedial. It is a social disease which we must attack with the aim of destroying.

When individuals are found in an emergency they should be given relief, regardless of personal merit. The extension of relief in case of fire, flood or other accident is only an act of humanity.

A different and more productive form of help is remedial work. This type of work often accompanies and follows relief work. It is corrective, for example, the finding of employment for a friendless man, or the medical treatment of a sick man, is remedial work.

A still higher form of social work is preventive. Hand in hand with the giving of work to friendless men, and the curing of sick men, for example, we must undertake measures which will prevent a recurrence of unemployment on the one hand, and illness on the other. Preventive work is often indirect, but ultimately it is the most important type of social work.

Recently there has been a reaction against almsgiving or pure charity, and a distinct tendency to develop what may be called the concept of social service. Charity is too often concerned with the pauper cla.s.s; social service is a wider term and includes not only what was formerly known as charity, but also child welfare, settlement work, folk dancing, and other socializing activities which are helpful in a modern community, but which have nothing to do with alms. Charity too often pauperizes and degrades; social service encourages self-help and self-expression in the vital social relations. Formerly charity was almost exclusively the function of the pious and the sympathetic; the present tendency is for social service to become a distinct profession, administered by highly trained specialists.

285. THE STAGE OF SPECIALIZATION.--One of the signs that we are recognizing the growing need of an individualized treatment of dependents, is the degree to which our social service agencies are becoming specialized. The treatment of the dependent may take either an inst.i.tutional or a non-inst.i.tutional form. Let us briefly notice the specialization in each of these forms.

The almshouse, almost universal a century ago, is being rapidly displaced by a series of specialized inst.i.tutions. In most states there are now separate inst.i.tutions for the treatment of the pauperized, the diseased, the blind, the deaf, the insane, the feeble- minded, and the otherwise dependent. Inmates of these inst.i.tutions are given special treatment by experts. When the defect has been remedied, the patient is released; in case remedy is impossible, the individual is segregated and accorded humane and sympathetic treatment during the rest of his life. This prevents the untold harm of releasing defective and irresponsible people into the community. Inst.i.tutions of this character are largely under state control, and are intended primarily for individuals who cannot be properly treated in their homes.

Dependents who are only slightly or temporarily handicapped, or who are not in need of special treatment, may be best cared for in their homes and by private individuals or a.s.sociations. In this non- inst.i.tutional form of social service there is also a high degree of specialization. The casual almsgiver has been succeeded by a whole series of social service agencies. Prisoners' aid societies, employment bureaus, immigrant aid societies, flower missions, Americanization clubs, recreation centers, housing clubs, community nursing clubs, and scores of other organizations have sprung up. Every large city in the United States has several hundred of these organizations, each attacking social problems of a special type.

286. NECESSITY OF COoRDINATION.--Specialization in social service has been followed by the development of means of coordinating the various specialized agencies.

That there is urgent need of such coordination has been repeatedly called to our attention. It is still true that often the inst.i.tutions for the dependent cla.s.ses within a single state pursue different methods, and so limit their separate fields that many types of dependents are inadequately cared for.

Among the large number of private agencies there has been a great waste of time and energy. The fact that each society is independent of its fellows has meant that in some fields of social service efforts were duplicated, while other fields were neglected. Cases demanding treatment by several agencies could not be given adequate care because of the lack of correlation among such agencies. Beggars often imposed upon a number of different societies by a.s.suming different names. Each society had its own periods of campaigning for funds, a practice which meant an excess of tag-days and campaigns and a waste of time and energy on the part of social workers.

287. COoRDINATION OF PUBLIC INSt.i.tUTIONS.--The coordination of public inst.i.tutions for the dependent and defective cla.s.ses proceeded rapidly after 1880. At present the situation in the various states is somewhat as follows:

The actual administration of local inst.i.tutions is generally in the hands of the town or county authorities. Large cities, however, often have a system of inst.i.tutional relief separate from that of the county in which they are located. In many states the local authorities are subject to some measure of central supervision by a state board, which is called by various names. In most cases this is merely an advisory board with power to inspect state inst.i.tutions, and to make recommendations to the governor or state legislature. More recently, there is a tendency to go still further, and to reorganize and consolidate the various state inst.i.tutions so as to bring them directly under the control of a state board or commission. In several states the board is already one of control, that is to say, it has the power not only to inspect the various inst.i.tutions of the state, but also the power to appoint their superintendents, and, in general, to administer the inst.i.tutional relief of the state.

288. COoRDINATION OF PRIVATE AGENCIES.--The movement to coordinate social service agencies of a private nature has been relatively slow and unsatisfactory. This has been due, partly to the large number of societies involved, and partly to the lack of any centralized authority to supervise such organizations. In some large cities there has been a considerable degree of consolidation among societies which are purely charitable, but among the large number of social service organizations which are not purely charitable, the coordinating process has not gone beyond the functional stage. In this stage the various social service agencies of a city remain separate and distinct, but may become members of a council or federation which serves to coordinate their various functions. [Footnote: In this functional coordination the "consolidated" or "united" charities of the city generally appear as a single organization.]

The aim of this functional coordination is to secure the greatest degree of cooperation possible without the actual amalgamation of the cooperating agencies. Imposition by beggars is unlikely, because a clearing house of information keeps the various agencies informed as to the work of one another. By periodic reference to a centralized system of card indices, different societies may keep informed to what types of social work are being duplicated, and as to which lines of effort are being neglected. Where the social service agencies of a city are thus coordinated, an applicant applies to the central agency and is then directed to the organization best suited to meet his needs. Such coordinating agencies stress the necessity of scientific work which will aid in the adjustment of personal relations and help secure the maximum of result with the minimum of expenditure.

289. THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE FUTURE.--The small, stable, and relatively unprogressive neighborhood of the early European period has disappeared before the important economic, social, and political changes of the last five centuries. The typical neighborhood of modern times is larger, more inclined to be made up of transient and dissimilar types of people, and more impersonal. It is more progressive, but more likely to hold hazards for the average individual. The whole period since the Industrial Revolution has been one of neighborhood readjustment, of which many aspects of the problems of crime, the family, and dependency are phases. The new type of neighborhood has probably come to stay, but there are indications that life in the community of the future will prove less and less hazardous. The development of professional social service, growing out of the charity movement, but now embracing community work of every kind, will probably lessen the evils of the modern neighborhood, and retain its desirable features.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. Describe the character of the medieval neighborhood.

2. What factors contributed to the breakdown of the medieval neighborhood?

3. What effect did the Industrial Revolution have upon the neighborhood?

4. What is the extent of dependency in modern times?

5. What are the economic causes of dependency?

6. What are the social causes of dependency?

7. What are the personal causes of dependency?

8. How may defects in government contribute to dependency?

9. Discuss the giving of alms in early Europe.

10. Why is almsgiving inadequate as a method of treating dependency?