Luther, in his letter to the German nobility, laid the foundations of a new policy. He advo cated the control of poor relief by the cities. The relief should be limited to what was abso lutely necessary, and should be given only after investigation; the worthy poor should he distin guished from tramps and impostors. In this scheme the idea of almsgiving as a means of I salvation disappeared. Augsburg (1522), Strass burg, Breslau (1523), Regensburg, Magdeburg (1524), and other cities began a reorganiza tion of poor relief. The question as to the rela tive spheres of Church and State at once arose, and was variously determined. In the main the old parishes formed the poor relief districts. Efforts were made to gather the various funds into one treasury controlled by deacons (in Ham burg there were three deacons, in Liibeek twelve), whose time of service was only one or two years. They were at first elected, but later on appointed. and they rendered yearly accounts. Alms were distributed to the poor at their homes, or occasionally given out at the churoh. Necessa ries of life were sold at low rates. Labor was se cured when possible. But the charges were too great for continued success and there were other handicaps. The short term of the deacons made systematic effort impossible; the existence of old orders and institutions caused cross-currents, and the plans gradually failed.
The German development begins again after the Thirty Years' War. Edict after edict against begging came to naught, but some progress was made toward fixing the responsibility for sup port, and in the regulation of marriage. liv the end of the seventeenth century poor-houses and houses of correction appear. The teaching of Thomasins and of Gallert and the Pietist move ment strengthened humane feeling, and in the writings of Garve, llesewitz, Rochow, and others a literature of poor relief appeared. Many pa triotic and benefit societies were founded. In Hamburg (1788) the general poor-house was created. Visitors ( ISO) were appointed to gather information. The poor were given work, various trades were started at the poor-house, and de ficient earnings were supplemented. At first re sults were favorable. In the first ten years the number of the poor in institutions sank from 9757 to 4751. In 1501, however, the institution had a deficit of $15,000. which increased from year to year. In Prussia poor associations (Ar menverbiinde) were organized, and rules regard ing the responsibility for support were adopted. Parishes had to support residents of three years' standing. those without legal residence be ing cared for out of special or general funds. Schools of industry appeared. Pestalozzi gave an impetus to special institutions for children, and institutions for the deaf and blind were founded. In Gotha and Weimar children were boarded in familiet. The schemes adopted were, however, at that time impracticable and many were even demoralizing. Wages below a certain minimum were made good, though it was obvious that em ployers would lower wages to take advantage of this fact. The period of the wars also had a de pressing effect. During the first thirty years of the nineteenth century begging increased. New laws were promulgated in Saxony in 1540, and in Prussia in 1542. The general law of 1570 affecting the German States, with the exception of Bavaria and Alsace-Lorraine, opened the way for the development of the poor relief of the different States according to local conditions. The Elberfeld system (q.v.) has found general adoption. This is in essence a combination of public and private charity. with unpaid visitors assigned to special districts, who investigate each case, and the treatment is adapted to individual needs. There has likewise been a development of private associations. The Inner Mission (q.v.) has reintroduced the Church care for the poor and the churches are beginning to organize. as is shown by the proceedings of the Eisenach Conference of 1892. The Catholic Church has also been active, this Church in general oppos ing poor relief by the State or at most merely ad mitting the right of the State to supplement pri vate efforts. Germany has taken step: to do
away with pauperism by the introduction also of compulsory insurance and old-age pensions (q.v.).
In Catholic countries the State has never assumed the leading ride in poor relief. At Ypres in 1525 reform measures were introduced which raised a storm of religious opposition and were never fully carried out. although the Sor bonne ratified them. The Council of Trent took the old attitude, but in spite of this some primes attempted the supervision of hospitals as within their executive rights. There was, however, a great development of charitable insti tutions under the Church. A Portuguese, Juan de Dio (1556), founded the Brothers of Charity and the modern hospitals, while Vincent de Paul is justly honored for his philanthropy and for the establishment of the Order of Sisters of Charity.
France has been the seat of the greatest de velopment of the charity of the Church. The administration of relief has been largely through the Church, though some of the funds have been supplied by the State. Francis I. ordered each church to care for its poor, the poor relief to be in the hands of the pastors and a:sistants, the funds to be derived from free-will offerings. In Paris (1544) a general poor office was created with power to levy a tax, and this tax was ex tended to all communes in 1566, which plan was followed until 1791. Edicts against begging were numerous and the penalties often severe. but to no purpose. Under the influence of Francis de Sales and Vincent de Paul many institutions were founded, and Louis XIV. also was noted for his efforts in this direction. To supplement the hospitals, &pots de mendicite were established in 1774, and in 1SOS these were extended to each province, but they have since largely disap peared. In these labor was compulsory. in spite of the 21S5 hospitals with an income of 3S,000. 000 francs listed by the comitcs de mendicit6, in 1790 pauperism was a live question in France. By the time of the Revolution there was a stong demand for a reform of the poor relief system. The Constitution of 1791 established the princi ple of State control, and that of 1793 proclaimed that "Society its unfortunate citizens sup port by offering work and by maintaining those incapable of providing for themselves." It was proposed to acquire the private institutions. Necker initiated new measures, opening, among other things, workshops in Paris, which but served to attract the poor from the country. and thus increased the trouble. During the following years many schemes were inaugurated. but the net result was rather to cripple the old system than to establish anything enduring in its place. The Church Caine again to control, subsidized by the State. The Sisters of Charity regained strength. In 1796 local boards (bureaux de hien faisance) were established. but were not made compulsory. They exist to-day in only about one third of the communes whose population is less than 500. and in perhaps two-thirds of those with a population of over 1000. Belief given is both at home ('secours 3 domicile') and in the institu tions. Most of the relief is in the hands of the Church and the right to State relief is not ad mitted. though in recent years there are signs of opposit1011 to management by the Church. The State has assumed charge of the work for chil dren and for the insane. The P,evolution found large numbers of foundling, asylums (q.v.1. and these increased until 1834, when restrie tions were imposed, and instead of the recep tion through the 'tours' bureaus of admission were formed and the care of the children regu lated. In 1S69 a special department of the Gov crnment was :et aside for this work, and in 1874 Ntensive regulations relative to time boarding.of egildren i» privatt families were adopted. Since Is93 the law regulating medical care of the poor has made some changes, though effective institu tions are lacking. The cost of public charity bas greatly increased, but this is largely ac counted for by the improved care given the poor rather than by great increase in the number of the dependent.