Daily national Democrat., 1859-02-10
Review of the Annual Report of the
Trustees of the Insane AsvInm.


over 5000 has been expended on the State
Lunatic Asylum the past year, while the Annual
Report of the Trustees shows an expenditure of
only S46,SSS SO. did suppose the reason for
having report from the Trustees was to inform
the public Of the actual cost of the establishment
Iher report being, from some cause indefinite
ana seemingly intended to mystlfy and misead, I
am justified in assuming the Estate Treasurer's
Report" to be correct. Starting, then with a
basis of 100000, wide Treasurer's Report,) and
adding thereto bill of sundries, $l7,144 s5,
wide schedule G, Trustees Report and further
deficiency of 81 ,289 90 wide schedule d. Trus-
tees Report) we find the snug little sum Of
434 IA to be the actual cost of the Stockton
Asylum the past year. A portion of this money
has been, no doubt, proftably expended on build.
lngs-b buildings necessary to the comfort and
convenience of the physician, who, In the Trus-
tees Rep ort, has the reputation of being "faith-
full, careful and vigilant." man that receives
$4,000 per year-notto speak of free quarters and
other accessories-from the State may elicit the
admiration of those who partake of his hospitali-
ty but that he deserves praise for simply per-
forming legitimate duties may well be doubted
The mutual admiration system has been exploded
long since. The meat bill for February is set
down at 1921 IS; for March, 1921 GA small
difference of only 1899 &c as between the two
months. According to the official datd, twenty
nine admissions were made during the month of
March; the average number ofdischarges, during
eleven months, were fourteen per month thus an
average increase of fifteen occurred IN March, as
compared with other months. Such an insignifi-
cant sum as 1899 rs, expended in one month for
animal food, to be consumed by fifteen persons is
not OF the slightest consequence-only suggestive
of the very appropriate remark made by DR..
Aylett, Hope the Dug IS past When a public Of
fcer aOaS considered public rO55er. have heard
of morbid imagnations, but never such ravenous
appetites, until enlightened by the data consd-
erately furnished the scientific world by the off
GERS of the State Lunatc Asylum.
The Superintendent seems to be impressed with
the idea that to ask to receive hence he solicts
an annual appropriation of SIS, 4S0 for ordizaa,y
expenses $4,000 year for repairs; and, con-
GLIDING not to make two bites of cherry, thinks
that twenty ought to be purchased and fed on
| tie Stops from tie Kitchen! No one but a gentle
man overiowing with the milk of human kind
ness, could originate scheme better adapted for
stocking ranch. The economy of buying cows
and hiring servants to attend to the butter and
milk business must be obvious to the most STUPID
intellect particularly as the State is to be the
capitalist The gentleman must have had ring
ing in his ears the memorable saying of Sniktaw.
"Theres 100000 in the Treasury, let's aake her.
"Amusements," says Dr. A., "anything that
will divert the mind, and withdraw the patient
from the habit of brooding the subject of his
dosyncrasy, is valuable in remedial point of
view" hence he recommends billiard tables and
bowling alleys as useful institutions, calculated
80 minister to their misfortune" -meaning the
misfortune of the patients "Avarice spiritual
ism, dissipation, religion, epilepsy, mormonism,
free-masonry, early immortality charge of mall
practice, catalepsy, and love-" are the supposed
cause" of lunacy; wide the exhibit of patients)
and does the Doctor mean to say that ten strikes
will minister to" these unfOrtunates? If So
why not open a faro bank, and thus minister to
their misfortune and "beguile many a tedious
and melancholy hour"
In the Appendix, table second) find ''elope-
ments," fifteen-a striking comment on the
faithful, careful, and vgant superintendent of
DR.. Aylett." As the runaways were all males,
the officers of the institution may be excusable
for tax-payers will appreciate the humane motives
that provided against the escape of the women !
In schedule b. find Sill % credited to saddle
ry. This saddlery item may be dealt with len
iently; though some captious individual might |
for what purpose it was used. The hardware |
item-$736 "a in five mOnths-over $l47 per |
month-will have to be explained. The careful
ness exhibited in the expenditure of this article |
reflects great credit upon the efficiency of the Su
perntendent. There other items of a similar /
character, subject to scrutiny; but the presump-
ton is, the Legislature to oblige the Trustees,
will pass an act for their payment without de
muir. liable second" Processes to give "the |
number of admissions, discharges, deaths, and .
Opponents from January LIST, 1858, to Novem-
Der 3lst, 1858 :; and, though it is supposed to be
a condensation of "table one" il varies remarka- |
bly, from that lucid document. The number of /
persons on hand January LIST, 1858, are officially |
stated to be lS9. This is an error The number /
OF admissions since Jan. j. 1858, is not pa, as
stated in table second. The discharges cannot be |
ascertaned; nor can the date of the discharges
be established by any data furnished in the An
nual Report. The Opponents are not correctly |
set forth In fact, the tables are "a mass of alb
surditles, proving the author guilty of deporabe
ignorance, or OF barefaced attempt at deception.
Why withhold the date Of the discharges from the
Asylum? There must have been some motive
impeng to this dsgracefnl course and that mo-
tive must have been Of discrett~be character.
The "exhibit of patients" calls for four hundred
and ninety persons and it convicts the author
of gross negligence or gross crmnaIity. Citi-
zens who pay literally for the support otthe Asy-
lum, finding an error or someth.uJ worse in the
exhibit, involving the existence of siXty-one per-
sons, have right to demand the lives of those
unfortunate beings at the hands of men to whom
they were lntrusted. The patients are number
ed but if relative should inquire for Nos. l31,
1874 1875, 1877, 1873, 14l, 142, l43, 144 $50, or any
of the intermediate numbers between l66 and l75
what answer could "the faithful careful and
vigilant" Superintendent give? Would he at
tempt to put off the claimant, by repeating: IL
hope the day is past when a public officer was
considered public robber9" Such reply would
justly call for severe personal castgation and
criminal action; and such reply would render
forever infamous the name of a man that sports
with human life The exhibit" is an outrage
on common sense; and it bears upon its face the
stamp of falsehoOd aud evasion. There are sixty
two Nos. not entered on the report-and Nos
800 and 1868, though entered, are not accounted
for. For the sake of humanity and for the credit
of the State this matter should be thoroughly in
vestgated and, if there has been fraud collu-
sion and public robbery practced in relation to
the affairs of the State Lunatic Asylum, let the
perpetrators be punished. EXAMINER.
Railroads and other Internal Improve
ments.
We find very sensible article in the San
Francisco Call on the above subject from
which we make the following extract, and
commend il to the esDecial attention of our