$3.00 per week, in 95 cases from $3.00 to $4.00 per week, and in 40 cases over $4.00 per week. In a few instances of old or feeble persons the rate varied from $4.00 to $11.00, according to the amount of care required. Of these paupers, 225 were reported as defective either in mind or body, 120 as infirm from age or illness, and only 69 as in good mental and physical condition. All were reported as receiving good There were 140 who were able to do light work, either in the house or at the barn. In 55 cases the Overseers of the Poor apparently failed to comply with the requirement of the law that they shall visit the paupers at least once in every six months.

care.

Dependent Minor Children provided for in Families and Asylums.

It appears that 146 cities and towns provided for 1,078 children of this class, the city of Boston having 472 of them under its care. The cities and towns are as follows: Adams, Amesbury, Andover, Athol, Attleborough, Avon, Ayer, Barre, Becket, Bernardston, Beverly, Billerica, Boston, Bourne, Boxford, Brockton, Brookfield, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Cheshire, Chester, Chesterfield, Chicopee, Clinton, Cottage City, Dalton, Danvers, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dighton, Dudley, Easthampton, Edgartown, Everett, Fall River, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Foxborough, Framingham, Franklin, Freetown, Georgetown, Gloucester, Greenwich, Hamilton, Hanover, Hanson, Hatfield, Haverhill, Hawley, Hingham, Hinsdale, Holyoke, Hyde Park, Kingston, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lanesborough, Lawrence, Lee, Leominster, Leverett, Lexington, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Mansfield, Marblehead, Marlborough, Mashpee, Medfield, Medford, Melrose, Merrimac, Methuen, Milton, Montague, Nantucket, Natick, New Ashford, New Bedford, Newburyport, New Marlborough, Newton, Norfolk, North Adams, Northampton, North Andover, North Attleborough, Northborough, Northbridge, Northfield, Norwood, Orleans, Oxford, Peabody, Pembroke, Pepperell, Petersham, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Reading, Revere, Royalston, Russell, Rutland, Salem, Salisbury, Sandisfield, Sandwich,

Saugus, Scituate, Sheffield, Sherborn, Shutesbury, Somerville, Springfield, Stockbridge, Stoneham, Stoughton, Swansea, Taunton, Tyringham, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Ware, Wareham, Warwick, West Newbury, West Springfield, West Stockbridge, Whately, Whitman, Williamstown, Wilmington, Winchendon, Worcester, Worthington.

Of the children, 626 were boys, and 452 were girls. All but 118 were reported as being in good mental and physical condition. There were 610 who attended school, and 30 did more or less work. All but 6 were reported as in good homes and receiving good care. The price of board paid for them varied from less than $1.00 per week to $3.25; the last-named amount being the rate fixed by law for support in the Hospital Cottages for Children, and the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded. In two special instances the amount was higher.

Dependent Minor Children in Almshouses.

Of these children there were 253,-128 boys and 125 girls, cared for in the following 66 towns: Adams, Amesbury, Andover, Ashburnham, Ashland, Beverly, Boston, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Cambridge, Charlton, Chicopee, Clinton, Cohasset, Dartmouth, Dennis, East Bridgewater, Fall River, Falmouth, Foxborough, Franklin, Gloucester, Groton, Hanover, Haverhill, Hingham, Holyoke, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lee, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Marlborough, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Millbury, Milford, Nantucket, Natick, New Bedford, North Adams, North Andover, Peabody, Pittsfield, Randolph, Reading, Rochester, Salem, Shrewsbury, Shutesbury, Spencer, Springfield, Swansea, Tewksbury, Upton, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Westport, Weymouth, Worcester.

Of these children, 123 were under four years of age; 54 were between four and eight years of age, with their mothers in the almshouse, and able to assist in taking care of them; and the rest were over eight years of age, and so defective in body or mind as to render their retention in an almshouse desirable. There were 23 who attended school, and 30 who did more or less work. With two exceptions they were

reported as receiving good care. In 159 cases one or both parents were living at public expense, either at the almshouse or outside, the larger number of them being mothers in the almshouse.

THE CITY AND TOWN ALMSHOUSES.

In his inaugural address to the Legislature of 1900, the Governor said: "In the present state of the law no central authority is vested with the duty of inspecting the city and town almshouses of the Commonwealth. These institutions are supervised by the Board of Insanity only so far as they are receptacles for insane or feeble-minded patients; but there is no provision for their general oversight as pauper institutions, and so a considerable number of them are exempt from outside inspection. I recommend that the State Board of Charity be required to visit and inspect all city and town almshouses, and report annually their condition to the General Court."

In accordance with this recommendation, and that of the Board to the same effect, the Legislature passed the following Act:

[ACTS OF 1900, CHAPTER 215.]

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE INSPECTION OF CITY AND TOWN ALMSHOUSES BY THE STATE BOARD OF CHARITY.

Be it enacted, etc., as follows:

The state board of charity shall visit and inspect all almshouses maintained by the several cities and towns of the Commonwealth, and shall report annually upon their condition and management, with such suggestions and recommendations as the board may deem expedient. Approved April 11, 1900.

Under the provisions of this law the Board appointed William Hopewell its inspector of almshouses, to act under the direction of a standing committee, created for the purpose. The time which has elapsed since the appointment has not been sufficient for a visitation of all the almshouses, but out of the 224 cities and towns maintaining almshouses, either by themselves or in common with other towns, all but 77 have been visited and inspected, and abstracts of the reports

of this visitation are here given. The almshouses not reported on are as follows: Acton, Ashburnham, Ashby, Ashfield, Barre, Bedford, Berkley, Billerica, Bolton, Boxford, Boylston, Brimfield, Brookfield, Buckland, Burlington, Canton, Carlisle, Cohasset, Conway, Dana, Dedham, Deerfield, Dudley, Georgetown, Grafton, Greenwich, Groton, Groveland, Hanover, Hanson, Hardwick, Harvard, Hawley, Hingham, Hudson, Leicester, Lexington, Littleton, Manchester, Marlborough, Maynard, Medway, Methuen, Milford, Monson, Needham, Newton, North Brookfield, Norwell, Oxford, Palmer, Pembroke, Pepperell, Petersham, Rochester, Rockland, Southbridge, Sterling, Stow, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Topsfield, Townsend, Upton, Ware, Warren, Warwick, Wayland, Webster, Wellesley, West Boylston, West Brookfield, West Newbury, Westborough, Westford, Wilmington, Winchendon.

From the year's inspection, although incomplete, the following deductions may safely be drawn :

First, that, with a very few exceptions, the almshouses of the Commonwealth appear to be in a fairly satisfactory condition as regards construction, care of inmates, sanitary arrangements, water supply, and general management.

Second, that the local authorities not only show a general willingness to comply with suggestions from the Board with regard to improvements in almshouse conditions, but in this matter are often in advance of the average sentiment of the communities which they represent.

Third, that the varying methods of treating the tramp problem by the municipalities that receive them for the night, or for a meal, are strong evidence of the need of adopting throughout the State some common and consistent method of dealing with this class of paupers.

Fourth, that it is of great importance that accurate and complete records of names, ages, condition, dates of admission and discharge, etc., of all inmates of the almshouses shall be kept by the wardens, in books prepared for the purpose. The Board has already issued circulars to the several Boards of Overseers of the Poor, asking them for suggestions towards a uniform plan for keeping such records.

ADAMS.

(Inspected September 18, 1900.)

Salary of warden and matron, $750. Three paid help. Wooden building of two and one-half stories and two wings, in good condition, without fire-escapes. Drainage by sewer. Spring water, good and plentiful. Two sitting rooms; sixteen sleeping rooms, with fifteen beds, all in good condition. Two bath rooms, well equipped, and supplied with hot and cold water. Three waterclosets, two inside and one detached, in good condition. Ventilation by windows and transoms. Steam heat. Inmates well fed and clothed. Complete separation of sexes except at meals. Eleven inmates; five men, and six women, all sane. No criminals; no tramps.

Amount of land not given.

AGAWAM.

(Inspected September 26, 1900.)

Salary of warden and matron, $275. No paid help. Wooden building of two and one-half stories and one wing, in fair condition, without fire-escapes. Open drainage. Well water, good and plentiful. No sitting room; five sleeping rooms, with six beds, in fair condition. No bath room. Three detached water-closets, in good condition. Ventilation by doors and windows. Stove heat. Inmates well fed and clothed. Separation of sexes at night only. Four inmates; three men, and one woman, all sane. No criminals; no tramps.

Twelve acres of land; three acres tilled.

AMESBURY.

(Inspected July 30, 1900.)

Salary of warden and matron, $500. One paid help. Wooden building of two and one-half stories and one wing, in fair condition, without fire-escapes. Drainage by covered cess-pool, in good condition. Well water, good and plentiful. Two sitting rooms; twenty-two sleeping rooms, with twenty-eight beds, all in good condition. Three bath rooms, well equipped, and supplied with hot and cold water. Three inside water-closets, in good condition. Ventilation by windows and vents. Heating by hot water. Cellar dirty. Inmates well fed and clothed. Complete separation of sexes except at meals.

Twenty-three inmates; seventeen men, and six women; eighteen sane, and five insane. No criminals; no tramps. Sixty acres of land; thirty acres tilled.