County Commissioners Fund Transatlantic Return
Local officials approve $150 to send an ailing resident back to family in Trinidad, marking a humanitarian and fiscal decision.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
S. Nott, of Hover, who because of ill health, has been a county charge for the greater part of the last two years, is to be sent to his relatives on the island of Trinidad at the expense of the county. Having learned that Mr. Nott had relatives on that island who were willing to take care of him, but who are not financially able to send him transportation, the county commissioners at their last meeting decided that to send him to his kin would not only be a humanitarian act but that it would save the taxpayers money. By vote of the board, Commissioner Alex McNeill was authorized to arrange for transportation, board en route and clothing for Mr. Nott, the total expense not to exceed $150.
“The county commissioners at their last meeting decided that to send him to his kin would not only be a humanitarian act but that it would save the taxpayers money.”
Before the existence of robust social safety nets, county charity boards often made ad-hoc decisions about who was 'local' enough to support. This instance of repatriation highlights the era's reliance on private family networks to resolve the state's responsibilities toward the indigent and sick.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.