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Excerpt from:
Relation Of Commission To Other Agencies
Perhaps nowhere in the country is the reluctance to become a "pauper" stronger than in New England. This, of course, has its beneficial effects in restraining persons who might otherwise endeavor to impose upon charitable agencies, but there can be no question that it works a hardship upon certain persons, some of whom are without sight, who are compelled to sell their respect in this connection in order to obtain the necessities of life. It is the half-conscious conviction of the public of the injustice of this situation which made the authors of the Mothers' Aid Law declare the recipients not to be "paupers," while at the same time prohibiting such mothers from obtaining settlement in any town while receiving this public aid. This is why we have "pensions for the blind" instead of "blind relief."...