The Major’s Act of Personal Charity
When two families near Lake Washington faced absolute destitution, a city official chose to bypass bureaucratic red tape to offer help from his own pocket.
At the meeting of the board of public works yesterday, Major Rinehart reported that a representation had been made to him as to the absolutely destitute condition of two families living near Lake Washington. Noting that there were no official municipal means of providing immediate relief for the impoverished, Major Rinehart chose to act outside his official authority by giving them an order on his own personal account for $10 worth of groceries.
“There being no official means of relieving them, Major Rinehart gave them an order on his personal account for $10 worth of groceries.”
In an era of limited social safety nets, this story highlights the reliance on 'personal' charity by public officials in response to desperate poverty, a precursor to the systemic social welfare debates that continue to dominate Seattle's political landscape.
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