Who should receive the “Wealth” of the Poor?

Up to his bed of pain, lost in the middle of the crowd, in the large room of the hospital, the poor man took what constitutes his “wealth”: a few papers, a ring, a modest piece of jewelry, a souvenir of a few hours less unhappy, and also the clothes he wore on the day of his entry.

And when overcome by illness, the poor thing goes to the cemetery, everything that belonged to him returns by right to the administration that treated him. The law is thus made. This law or more precisely this decree dates back a long time, since it dates back to November 3, 1809, the time of the Spanish War.

Its vigor has time and again raised painful conflicts with the families of the disappeared who could not understand that what had been their relative's property was being taken away from them and which seemed to belong to them both from a material and financial point of view. from a moral point of view.

Dura lex, sed lex, and to compensate the administration for hospitalization costs, the miserable rags went to the central store to be sold there.

Mr. Mourier, director of Public Assistance, thought it appropriate to be more liberal, more generous in the settlement of hospital inheritances and here are the measures that he has just adopted, in agreement with the Superior Council of Assistance and the Municipal Council of Paris.

The objects and effects will be returned to the surviving spouse or direct heirs of the deceased having their emergency domicile in Paris; the jewelry will be returned to the same beneficiaries on the condition that the value of this jewelry does not exceed one hundred francs; the last and valuable papers remaining in the possession of the missing person until the day of his death will be returned under the same conditions, when the The sum will not reach 100 francs.

These modifications, of indisputable moral interest, will not be applicable, of course to families with resources and for whom the administration intends to retain its right to recover their author's living expenses. They nevertheless constitute a moderation to the decree of 1809 that has been demanded for a long time.