f many of
her relatives whose existence she had denied, and he successfully
proved that her claims as to his lapsed payments were false by
producing the entire series of post office receipts covering his
remittances to her and extending down to the very week of the
interview.[15]

There have been striking changes not only in the treatment of the
deserter but in that of his family. Writing in 1910, Miss Breed[16]
deprecates the habit of fostering the deserter's "easy-going conviction
that his family will get along somehow without him" by giving relief.
She approves offering full support in an institution, but is reluctant
to recommend any form of aid in the home, even from relatives. It is
better, she feels, to give entire support to some of the children in
foster homes, leaving the mother only those she can care for.

Much can be said for even so stringent a policy as this. An unstable
home, with a worthless father an intermittent member of the household,
is as bad an environment as children can have--its very fluctuations
making for nervous instability and a wrong point of view later on.
There is a possibility that other would-be deserters may be deterred by
temporarily breaking up the home, and that an occasional absconding
father may be brought back. But the fact remains that social workers
have, in practice, departed far from this point of view. Out of more
than twenty-five case workers of experience who were interviewed or
written to in preparation for this book, only one believed there had not
been a decided change toward a policy of more liberal relief.

One district secretary told of a woman who had more than once taken
back a disreputable husband whom she always professed to dislike.
Aid was given sparingly and intermittently during his absences; but
finally the woman in a burst of frankness told the secretary that
she had never felt confident the society would stand behind her.
Each time the man came back with money in his hand, she cheated
herself into believing that he meant "a new leaf." A budget was
worked out with her, and a promise given of an adequate income as
long as she kept her husband away. She has faithfully kept her side
of the bargain for over three years.

The extension in many states of "state aid to mothers" to cover
deserted wives is an indication of this changed view. In most states,
however, some safeguards are set up; the wif