Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-09-02
! MT, Pleasane Insane AsyIum.

tt MT. Pleasa@f Insane Asylum.
ho anaong our readers has not heard
full ma ms, loud md long, against the
Re bl8An parry q Iowa, because of its
20 ave nce, n constructing an Asylum
foS he in ne, q Mt, Pleasant? The people
1t Iowa have been told all sorts of probable
and improbable stories abaut this institution
by the vcracious and conscientious editors
and orators of the Democratic party. In view
Of the circulation Of such unjust and injurious
reports, Gov. Grimes has published a card,
giving truthful statement Of the facts con,
nected with the Asylum. from its incipiency
to the present time. From this statement we
Gull the following:
The act, authorizing the location and con-
struction Of the Asylum was passed january
Gath, 1855. At that time, the Senate was
Democratic, Maturin L. Fisher being Presi-
dent, and the House of Representatives having
an nti,Nebraska majority. The bill passed
the Senate by a vote of 26 to I, and the House
by vote of so to g.. The Building Commis-
|sioners selected were Judge Edward John
stone, of Lee county, Democrat, Dr. Charles
is. Clark, a Democrat, and the Governor, er-
cticio. Henry Winslow, selected to supervise
the work, was and is now an uncompromising
Democrat, and the superintendent Of the
several building departments have also been
Democrats.
The law, as originally passed in 1856, con-
tanned an appropriation of $4,000, and lin
tied the cost Of the institution to that amount
but the Commissioners became satisfied that
this would not build structure that would
answer even the present needs Of the State,
and, during special session Of the same
Legislature, an additional appropriation was
made, with only one vote in the Senate and
three votes in the House in the negative.
Henry Winslow, the builder, in a separate
letter, states that he is acquainted with all the
insane asylums north of the Potomac, that nc
one of them has been built for so little money
in proportion to its accommodations, as the
Iowa Asylum, and that no other contains SC
many improvements upon older plans. The
Asylum, when completed, will accommodate
about three hundred and sixty patients, and
and its cost will be about 1912 ,00O
Upon the Democratic party rests the odium
and disgrace of making an issue against the
construction of this humane institution, on Q
scale as economical, and at the same time al
commodious, as the wants of the State, with
its rapidly increasing population, would seen
to demand. Ohio has already constructed
three Lunatic Asylums, each nearly if MOI
quite as large as the Mt. Pleasant institution
and yet they are inadequate to accommodate
all the unfortunate class in that State wht
have been afflicted by one of the worst calam
tiles to which mankind is subject. Although
it is not true that the Republicans are alone
responsible for the building of an Insane
Asylum in this State, we rejoice that they
share largely in the honor Of putting the noble
enterprise on foot. Ifanything has been don,
wrong in the matter, let it be exposed to tn
light, and let those deserving Of censure ant
punishment receive it, whether Republicans
or Democrats; but, in the name Of humanity
let US hear no more jeremiades about "Repub
lican extravaganza" in the building of al
Asylum for the insane, at Mt Pleasant.