You said it all. Interns actually need their employers and not the other way round, but it's of good condition if the employers consider (without force) paying some stipends to interns.
I remembered during my internship program, I was the person even begging that I should be accepted even without anything because that was the only facility left for me to practice my course of study at my jurisdiction. At that time, the issue of them paying did not come in because I am fully aware, I am the person that need their help and not the other way round. How possible would it have been to beg them to accept me with a payment agreement? There was no payment, I learned and benefited from their wealth of experience..