During the year 1912, the Domestic Relations Court of Brooklyn,
established in 1910, disbursed through the Department of Charities,
which maintains a branch office in the court building, $101,660.45. That
amount was made up of small payments ranging from $1 to $10, which the
delinquent husband and father was ordered by the court to pay toward the
support of his wife and children.
The method of disbursing the money is crude and archaic. The women are
paid in cash at the cashier’s office in the court, thus necessitating
the expenditure of time and carfare. The office of the cashier in the
Brooklyn court is open from 9 A. M. until 3 P. M., except Saturday and
Monday. Saturday the office closes at noon. On Monday only is there an
evening session from 7 P. M. to 10 P. M. In Manhattan conditions are
worse, for there banking hours are closely observed, and there is no
evening session, though many of the women work during the day.
Collection of the week’s money thus involved the loss of a half day’s
work.
Mrs. A made nine trips to collect a total of $8, and from that must be
deducted at least ninety cents for carfare, loss of time not being
considered. Mrs. B is very old. Mrs. C is an invalid, Mrs. D has a very
young child and four older children to look after. Mrs. E lives a long
distance from the court. Her carfare is always twenty cents and
frequently it is necessary for her to take the two youngest children
with her. Mrs. F works during the day and goes to school at night. These
are only a few of the many reasons why the present plan of payment
should be abandoned.
Philadelphia disburses about $200,000 a year on cases of this kind. The
money is paid by checks sent by mail. We are informed that no case of
fraud has occurred. Chicago has a similar system that works equally
well.
It was not to be expected that the originators of the Domestic Relations
Court idea would construct a perfect machine, and efforts are being made
to correct this defect by an order to the effect that any woman who can
prove to the satisfaction of the Department of Charities that it is a
great hardship for her to go to the court, can have her money sent by
mail. Unfortunately, there is a lot of red tape in some of our city
departments and often it is very hard to prove things to their
satisfaction; so it is to be hoped that this order, which is a step in
the right direction, will soon be stretched into a big, manly stride,
long enough to cover all cases.