The Poor of Jefferson County

THE POOR OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
‘Tis not “the poor man alone,
When he hears a poor man moan,
From his morsel a morsel” should give.

If there be one virtue more lovely, admittable, and enobling than any other, and which assimilates in any degree “God-like man” to the “Giver of all good,” it must be– “Heaven-born Charity.” Nor is there any more certain criterion of a people’s advancement in the scale of civilization and refinement, than a liberal public provision for the Poor and unfortunate– the Widow and the Orphan.– Thisis a subject in which every one of a community should manifest a regard and sympathy, and indeed in which all are interested. How astonishing is the mutability of human affairs– and who knows but that he may be the next subject of overwhelming Misfortune, deserved or innocent? Of the latter class, there are, alas! many; and for such in particular, there should be a proper receptacle, a “house of refuge,” where they could meet with a welcome and succour, and embrace them with cheerfulness and contentment, rather than suffer as outcasts or sink into vagabonds.

Suppose a stranger to question us upon the condition of our Poor-– could we answer with credit and honor to ourselves? Could we point with pride to a spacious, neat, and comfortable Poor-house— or must we feel a deep reproach, and confess that their condition, as their house, is poor indeed? After a good deal of inquiry relative to this matter, I find that there is no regular Poor-house in Jefferson county; that the Overseers of the Poor are obliged every year to hawk them off for keeping, to the lowest bidder! but that the great mass of them have such a horror of what is called the “Poor-house,” that they prefer scuttling along “out of sight” of it, with the aid of a small annual bounty from the Overseers. In August last, I visited the Poor-house establishment, at the Harding farm 5 1/3 miles from Charlestown. The buildings were very indifferent, but they told me that they had been there so short a time that the superintendent had not yet fixed them as comfortably as he intended. To my great satisfaction, they informed me that they were well clothed and fed, but one of them complained of having been sick three days without seeing the Physician, owing to the remoteness of the place from Charlestown, and the paltriness of his salary not indemnifying him for visiting them very often. I find, too, that the present system is exceedingly troublesome to the Overseers, and that many of the most competent and useful declare, that nothing will induce them to serve again.

And now for a remedy to these evils. Let the Magistrates appropriate the sum which was intended to build up a fine house for themselves, to buying a lot of 10 or 12 acres of land in some central situation, convenient to the county town, and erecting thereon a suitable Poor-house. Justice has now been meted out for almost 30 years in the present Court-house, and though its size and appearance be rather derogatory to this wealthy and intelligent country, yet it might do “a little longer.” And it would indeed be just and generous, to permit the louder cries of the Poor for shelter, to prevail over the ministers of the law, who, even if their Temple was tottering, could console themselves with exclamation,

“First Justitia, rust” si etiam Curia!

But indeed, the honor of our county demands that both these works should be carried on, and its wealth would justify even a simultaneous action. How many cents would it abstract from the pockets of each citizen to complete both objects? And who is there so penurious as to withhold his mite? For this is a contribution which is to be made but once, and the fruits of which will stand even after we are gone! I have met with many who wish to give largely to the erection of a Poor-house, and I think I know more than one who would wish to make a gift of the necessary land. Attached to a Poor-house, there should be a supervisor, always present, who, while he supplied their wants, should see in turn that such as were able, should “earn their daily bread,” and contribute to their support. By a system like this at the North, the Poor have almost ceased to be a trouble or a tax, and in some places more than defray their current expenses. I might here enlarge upon the great melioration which such a plan would effect, upon the morals, the happiness, the contentment, and the respectability of the poor; but any one can fill up the picture for himself, and my object will have been answered, if I but succeed in awakening public attention to so interesting a theme.

HOWARD.