Work Relief at the County Farm
Faced with a surge of unemployment and the limitations of traditional charity, King County Commissioners implement a work-for-pay program to sustain struggling families.
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For the past six months, the board of county commissioners has acted as a 'bureau of charity.' Finding that grocery orders were often abused, the commissioners shifted to a work-relief model. Since the start of the year, men with families dependent upon them have been employed on the King County farm clearing land and working on the new hospital. They are paid $1.15 per day, with the bulk of the payment provided as vouchers for groceries and coal to prevent the funds from being diverted to improper uses. This system ensures that the county property is improved while the wolf is kept from the door of the city's struggling families.
“In this way support has been assured to their families, as the bulk of the amount earned could not be diverted to improper uses.”
This early experiment in work relief during a period of economic stringency reflects the long history of Seattle's attempts to balance social welfare with 'labor-test' requirements to discourage perceived dependency.
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