Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1857-02-19
Committee RepOrt..
Grand Total Setalings Detect.
ed-.ItemS..NeWburgh Asylum
..COncluSiOnS of Committee.

ed..Items..NeWburgh Asylum
-.COnclusiOns of Committee.
The Report of the Joint Committe of
the General Assembly upon public Institu-
tions and Buildings has been printed. 1t
is pamphlet of 236 pages, and literally
reeks with overcharges and frauds from
one end to the other, making grand to-
tai of detected overcharges and stealings
from the State of s279,3s3. The items
are-Ohio Penitentiary, s12,251; New
State House, sl49, ,229; Newburg Lunatic
Asylum, s57,l42; Dayton Lunatic Asy-
lum s6O,76O.
The Committee, Messrs. o. P. Brown,
of the Senate, Silas Irion and Isaac Bray
ton of the House, have discharged the ar
duous and responsible duties with which
they were charged, with industry, fidelity
and ability. Their report is too volumin-
Gus for newspaper publication in full, as all
their investigations and conclusions are ver-
flied by copies of contracts and bills, and
by afidavits. AS the Newburg Asylum
is home institution, we propose from time
to time to present some of the items of the
s57, JAP. for the consideration of the peo-
pie. Of the Asylum the Report says:
''The buildings at Newburg are misera-
bly, constructed, and generally out of the
poorest material. Portions are now only
sustained from falling by props and braces.
The walls of the Asylum are in danger
ous condition. One of the wings is cracked
from the ground to the caves, also the main
building. Over'fifty stone lintels, caps and
sills are broken, some into two, and some
into three pieces. At one opening, a lin
tel over six feet in length is broken at each
place where it rests upon the wall, and the
part over the opening is only sustained by
the frail casing of door. Competent
men say that in any event, the wings, the
connection hall, the wash-house, and the
gas-house will have to be taken down and
rebuilt in short time. The entire build
ings at Newburg are not worth twenty
per cent. on the sum paid by the State, as
we shall show in the details of this report"
This statement of the bad construction
and condition of the buildings is based on
the afidayits of Messrs. s. G. Porter, H.
White and Samuel Eason, of Cleveland;
Alex. Topping of Newburg, and H. N.
Bostwick of Ravenna, competent and ex-
perienced architects and builders, who with
contract plans and specifications Of the
building in their hands, carefully examined,
surveyed, measured and estimated every
part from the foundation stones to the top
of the dome. They spent six days in ma
king the examinations, and all the gentle
men concur in their affdayits as TO the facts
and estimates.
The contract for building the Asylum at
Newburg was made Sept. 8, 1852, by John
the Asylum, Mr.. Taylor makes his first
and last appearance in the contract. When,
how, or in what manner, says the report,
he was discharged from its obligations, no
where appears. Contract price of the
Asylum buildings, S79,5OO.
The affidavits of Messrs. Porter, Eason,
White, Topping and Bostwick, fill some
ten pages Of the Report, which says:
"The foregoing gentlemen, whose testi-
mony we have given, are men standing de-
servedly high as citizens, and, in their res
pective localities, among the first in their
calling. They have proceeded with great
caution in all matters, and under the solemn
tiles of the oaths they have taken, the
above results have been reached. 1t will
be seen that, in all essential matters, their
testimony harmonizes, and that they come
substantially to the same results. Mr..
Gill has charged, for extra and additional
work the sum of $2l l,454,43 1t will be
observed that these five men have gone over
said charges, and allowed Mr.. Gill, on said
bill, $5,999,79, being less his charge $751;
454.64. The reasons for this heavy de-
duction are set forth distinctly in the afi-
davits of the foregoing committee. Here,
upon the plain and incontestible showing
of these witnesses, the State has, in the bill
of extras allowed Mr.. Gill, been wronged
out of SIS, 5,454.64, to which Mr. Gill has
not, and never had the shadow of claim
Again, he was to build certain buildings in
a certain manner, for the stipulated sum of
$79,50O. Parts of these building he has
left out, whereby he has saved to himself
on the cost of construction, $15, 5,745,85,
with which he is justly chargeable.-
Again, it will be seen that in arriving at
the foregoing results, the committee did
not take into consideration the inferior
materials used. They say by these Mr..
Gill has saved to himself the sum of S5,-
1854, which added to the sum charged
him for omissions, amounts TO the sum of
$21,121.26; which, added to the aforesaid
sum of S15,454,65 deducted from Mr..
GilPs bill for extra work) makes the sum of
S36,575,99 allowed Mr.. Gill on his con-
tract, and claim for extras alone, to which
he has no shadow of claim, and every dol
lar of which he should refund to the State.
Nowhere did the aforesaid committee un-
dertake TO estimate the damage the State
has sustained by reason of the changes,
omissions, alterations, and the inferiority of
the materials and workmanship. This
may be gathered, however, from the state
ments Of these gentlemen, viz: That the
structure is not worth now, to the State, as
much as the materials of which it is COM
poses would be, in a .aw state, on the
ground. The materials they estimate to be
forty-fve per cent. of the whole COST
Now, if the building has cost the said sum
of S79,500, the contract price, forty-five
per cent. on this sum would be S35,775.-l
This would make the damage to the State,
by reason of said causes, 3,735.
Thus have we demonstrated that the
building is comparatively worthless. 1t
may be kept up for few years, but this,
even is doubtful, as to parts of it. The |