Poor Farm Definition?

I got onto a reading this AM, and the term 'poor farm' came up.

So to define it....in the 1800s....in the south mostly....this was a invented 'property' where you had Christian folks 'help' people/folks, who could not support themselves, and their families had virtually no interest/willingness to help

So of a dumping ground?  Yeah.

You might use the term a psych ward, without fences or control.  It was usually run/owned by the county itself (County Commission project).

The term 'inmate' came to be used here.

You typically had a guy in charge and a couple of folks who were to keep folks 'minded'.

Who got sent?  Well....older folks with no money....disabled folks....blind or deaf folks....abandoned kids....folks with tuberculosis or syphilis....alcoholics....vagrants....folks judged insane....“feeble-minded” folks....and those who were unmanageable.

The set-up prior to asylums?  Yeah.

These later 'dumped' to bring in asylums....because the poor farm had such a bad reputation?  Yeah.

An all-in-one facility?  I sat and pondered over this.  Asylums were most for nutcases and mentally unstable folks.  

The one clear impression I get over the poor farm....once you entered....you rarely left (unless you escaped).

Pentagon 'Reality'

 Somewhere in the past couple of weeks....the Pentagon called in approximately 50 officers, and did a lie-detector test on them....to figure out who passed classified info out to journalists.

So far.....no one says much.

I'm going to suggest two scenarios likely to occur.

Number one: Virtually all fifty were found to have lied about something.  The detector-crew are likely trying to explain this obvious problem to the Pentagon 'bosses', and it's fairly confusing.  Some probably have affairs going on....some probably chat with journalists weekly but not on classified BS....some probably have financial woes which they'd rather not discuss.

Number two:  All of them (the fifty)....passed.  Now, you have a bigger problem....having to go to the next group of 200-odd folks supporting the fifty.

The odds that ten folks failed the detector test, but having nothing to do with the secret info?  I'd give it better than 50-percent odds.