RELIEF AS MODIFIED BY CONSTITUTION OF FAMILY On the basis of social status it will be convenient to dis tinguish among families who are to be helped : I. Orphan or deserted children, constituting a family.
II. Unmarried man or widower without children.
III. Unmarried woman or widow without children.
IV. Married couple without children.
V. Married couple with children.
VI. Widow or deserted wife with one child.
VII. Unmarried woman with illegitimate child.
VIII. Widower or deserted husband with children.Viii. Widower or deserted husband with children.
IX. Widow or deserted wife with children.
I. It happens occasionally that a family of orphan chil dren, or children who are worse than orphaned because of desertion or imprisonment or other misfortune which de prives them of their natural protectors, are so related to each other, and are of such ages, that it is advisable for them to remain a family group. It is no infrequent sight for an older sister or brother to be responsible for the care of younger brothers and sisters during the entire working day, because of the employment of both parents or of the only surviving parent. So numerous are these " little mothers " that a society has been formed especially to provide out ings and other forms of assistance for them. Less fre quently the maintenance as well as the oversight of younger brothers and sisters falls upon such children as are of working age. If before this need arises one or more have already become wage-earners or are in position to earn a fair income -at once, the situation does not neces sarily call for outside assistance. Natural affection and a praiseworthy ambition to take the place of the breadwinners 80 of the family may lead to sacrifices as great and to results as successful as those which are seen in hard-working parents. If it is an older sister upon whom this burden falls, it may indeed be one of crushing weight, and may call for endowments and physical endurance which are rarely to be found in any class.
In such families as this there are likely to come crises when, on account of sickness or the loss of work or ex periences which bring exceptional financial obligations, a helping hand is advisable. Such occasions should be anticipated by those who are in such natural and intimate relations with the family as to learn about them, without the necessity of formal application to church, relief society, or others. It will not weaken the character of children so situated to have such help. It is, indeed, wise to guard
against the danger of teaching the lesson that begging pays, but under the circumstances described this is not the great danger. This lies rather in the possibility that such heroic and splendid efforts as are being made toward self support may fail, and that the seeds of bitterness for neglect and for lack of human sympathy may take root. Not that there is really a lack of such sympathy, but it may for one accidental reason or another fail to find its legiti mate object, and there may exist, along with the very quali ties which cause so difficult a task to be undertaken, a sensitiveness which shrinks from wide acquaintance or ready response to neighborly overtures. The danger, as in so large a number of cases, is less the undermining of character than the failure to build up character. It has too often been assumed that the only problem for the charitable is to refrain from destroying the character of the independent, self-respecting normal citizen. This is indeed essential, but very often it is a widely different duty which confronts the community. The task is rather to bring up to the level of normal citizenship those who, if left to themselves, will be overwhelmed by their adverse condition, or who, if of adult years, are lacking in the quali ties which are so highly prized.
II. The problem of single men, whether unmarried or widowers, would seem to be a comparatively simple one. If disabled by illness or accident, the hospital presents it G self as the natural refuge in case there is no accessible home with relatives or friends. If able-bodied, it must be assumed that in periods of normal industrial activity em ployment of some kind is to be had which will yield at least enough remuneration for their own support. And yet the problem of the care of homeless men is found in practice not to be so free from complications and difficul ties. Among those who present themselves as single, homeless men asking for aid in finding work, or for relief in the form of meals and lodgings, there are in fact some who are not without family obligations, but who have deserted their families and have afterward found them selves unable to earn even their own living ; or if not unable, at least ready to seek help and not above the use of misrepresentation and fraud in attempting to secure it.