COST OF GOVERNMENT IN MASS. 201 



State Expenditures for Charity, Health and Correction'" 



The State carries on activities of this nature which municipalities can not 

 perform to advantage. 



The Department of Mental Diseases is concerned with the mental liealth of 

 the citizens of the Commonwealth. This department spent .$8,173,000 in 1926, or 

 about one-sixth of the total State expenditures. Of this amount, $7,826,000 were 

 on account of institutions, including twelve state hospitals for the insane, and 

 three schools and one colony for the feeble-minded and mentally deficient. 



Expenditures of the Department of Public Welfare in 1926 amounted to 

 $4,832,000. The more important activities of this department include the care of 

 neglected children, the maintenance of a hospital school for crippled children, 

 and the maintenance of four schools for the training of juvenile delinquents. 

 Under the division of general aid and relief $1,732,000 were paid out as re- 

 imbursment to the cities and towns for aid to mothers with dependent children, 

 and in connection with contagious diseases, and the support and burial of 

 paupers. 



The Department of Public Health expended $1,944,000 in 1926. Of this 

 amount $1,472,000 were used by the division of tuberculosis, principally for the 

 maintenance of state tuberculosis hospitals and for subsidies to cities and towns 

 maintaining such hospitals. Minor activities are the enforcement of food and 

 drug laws, sanitary regulations and the regulation of communicable diseases. 



The Department of Correction expended .$2,5-58,000 in 1926. Of this amount 

 $2,360,000 were for the support of institutions including the state prison, the 

 state farm, the prison camp and hospital, and two reformatories.'^ 



State or military aid is given to soldiers, sailors, marines, and army or 

 navy nurses, and to such of their dependents as comply with certain regula- 

 tions. This aid is usually granted directly by the city or town and reimburse- 

 ment is made by the State Commissioner of State Aid and Pensions. In 1926 

 such reimbursement to cities and towns amounted to .$295,000 out of a total of 

 $330,000. 



Municipal Expenses for Charity, Health and Correction 



Table 33 shows the per capita payments for such activities ip towns class- 

 ified according to population in 1926. Payments for each activity show a tend- 

 ency to increase with population, but charity and soldiers' benefits show less 

 variation than the other items. This group of activities takes from two to four 

 times as much of the budget in cities as in the 83 towns witli less than 1,000 

 population. 



Per capita expenditures for health in the small towns are only half those 

 for charity, while in the large towns and cities payments for health average 

 almost twice those for charity. However, in view of differences in the cost of 

 living, it seems probable that small town expenditures for charity are approx- 

 imately equal to those of larger towns and cities. Small towns do not need as 

 elaborate sanitary systems and regulations as the larger towns and cities, but 

 it is a question whether present low expenditures per capita adequately meet 



1" A detailed statement of the activities of the State is contained in the annual 

 reports of the various departments and divisions. The summary presented here is 

 intended to give only a general idea of the scope and cost of State activities. 



" In Table 30 the cost of juvenile training schools -svas included under correc- 

 tion, since this is the practice in most states. 



