ABSTRACT
Motion quotes an inspector who was charged with visiting the men who applied for aid; he reported that the same men appeared for winter relief works year after year, doing little to no work in between. Motion argues that this class, the truly worthy, often do not receive the help they deserve because work relief is ‘absorbed by the loafer’. Undiscriminating city councillors rush into relief projects without focusing on the need to separate the deserving from the undeserving. Motion quotes an inspector who was charged with visiting the men who applied for aid; he reported that the same men appeared for winter relief works year after year, doing little to no work in between. Interestingly, the inspector noted that because of the desperate situation of families, the committee did not prioritize character when making decisions about relief. Motion’s language also alludes to discussions about feeblemindedness, which included symptoms such as vagrancy.
