Elberfeld system

And the centrally managed system of urban poor relief that the two cities had inherited proved to be too expensive and inefficient to cope with the new scale of the problem.

The almoners met every two weeks under direction of an unpaid overseer to discuss the cases and to vote on needed relief.

Those proceedings were reported to the directors, being the mayor as ex officio chairman, four councilmen, and four citizens (also unpaid), who met the day following to review and supervise the work throughout the city.

Relief was granted in money according to a fixed schedule for two weeks at a time, any earning the family may have garnered being deducted.

[2][1] The system gave great satisfaction; the expenses in proportion to the population gradually decreased, and the condition of the poor is said to have improved.

The essential principles of the Elberfeld system found application in the public-relief administration of the cities of the Rhineland,[1] notably in Cologne, Crefeld, Düsseldorf, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Remscheid.

In the last third of the 19th century, however, immigration fuelled by industrialization once again increased the numbers of the needy, and the poor relief volunteers reached the limits of their capabilities.

[5][4] But in 2003, the granite pedestal of the monument was rediscovered during excavations at the Elberfeld Old Reformed Church, and placed on display in Blankstrasse, Wuppertal.