In the realm of government, as in the department of horticulture, it would appear that figs are not gathered from thistles.
CHAPTER IX
THE HUMANITARIAN SIDE
But the delinquencies of the county are not wholly related in terms of finance. Some good friend of the system is sure to come forward with the remark that “county policies, like every other branch of the business, may be expensive, but it has a good deal of wholesome humanity about it.”
A view that is worth examining!
To the lot of the county, acting through the machinery and under the influences which have been described, has fallen in large part, the extensive and important governmental burden of looking after the poor who are always with us, the sick in mind and those in prison. The magnitude of this task in a populous center may be gathered from this summary of the humanitarian functions of Cook County, by Dr. Graham Taylor.
“It housed, fed and cared for about eleven thousand prisoners in the county jail, nearly ten thousand of whom required medical treatment for infectious diseases.
“It gathered in, temporarily cared for and committed to state asylums or discharged, 2334 insane patients.
“It assumed and maintained care for 10,597 delinquent and dependent children.
“It isolated and stamped out contagion.