Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1859-04-06
Tha County Infrmary.

ouiloi1g, can ne KEPT Win c a class o
inmates. However sufficient i, might havr
beenneaflytwenty years ago, (il was bull
We believe, in ls4O) for the purpose fol
which it Was designed, it is certainly al
together inadequate for the aceommOda
lion of the number of paupers, and idiot:
who are now dependent upon the public
charity OF this County. Within those TWEEN.
ty years no, only has The population of the
county nearly doubled, and consequently
nearly doubled the number of paupers
hun the statistics OF the older states OF the
Union also show that with the increase o.
population and the consequent relative
decrease of the number of agriculturists
and The growth of towns aud villages
that the proportion of paupers is largely
increased. The proportion of pauner>
in Ohio is much less than in some of the
older snd more density populated states.
Massachusetts has one pauper TO every
as Of its populalion-New York one 10
every 2O-while Ohio has one TO every
100.
1t will be seen therefore, that unless
some great change shall take place in
society by which the causes of paUPer-
ism shall be diminished or removed, that
each succeeding year as Ohio shall be-
come more thickly populated and the
relative number of her citizens engaged
in agriculture shall be less, and a larger
number be engaged in manufacturing
and congregated in Giles, towns and
villages, that the number of paupers
must still more largely increase.
10 this age of the world, and in Chris
iian communities, humanity will no; per-
init this class to suffer for the want Of
suitable shelter and food, and the conse-
quence is, hat where the present poor
houses are sufficient, new buildings must
be provided or the old ones enlarged,
however burdensome TO the tax payers,
it may be.
The lnfrmary of this County, is built
of brick, the main building 40 by IS feet,
1--WE stories iu hight. This is occupied
wholly by the paupers. The wing, (buili
of woody occupied by the family of The
Superintendent. and his assistants, origi-
nally had too rooms on The lower floor,
one of which was a bed room about 10
by 10 feet, ard The other, Is by %, was
used for kitchen, parlor, and living room.
About a year since, a kitchen vas taken
off from the woodhouse, which has added
greatly 10 the comforts of the family. On
the upper floor are three bedrooms.
The average number of paupers in the
institution, the last three years, has been
81, during the winters, and some g or 10
less during the summers.
AT the time of our visit, every sleeping
room in the house was filled 10 repleli on,
four of lhe,rcoms had four beds, each, two
persons in a bed. Three of these rooms
were IL by Is feet, and the fourth a few
feel larger. Most of the single rooms
are about 6 by 10 feet, and each one
has a window directly in The middle of
The outside wall, so that it is impossible
/
10 place the bed in any position that 1he
door can be opened, and not have the
head ofihe bed directly in front Of the
window. The windows open only by
raising up the .sashes, and consequently
any attempt 10 yenlilate the room of a
sick person, throws a current of cold air
directly upon his head and the bed
There are no windows over the doors
opening into The hall, and therefore dur
ing the winter, the patient must either
fre,ze, or be wholly deprived of fresh
air. Now lei cur readers fancy what
kind OF an %effiuvia salutes the ~nostrils,
when a door of one Of these rooms is
opened, which has been closed for a few
hours, when the room is occupied by
people in all stages Of all kinds of diseases,
some afflicted with loaihsome ulcers, |
some dwelling idiots who have not sufi-
cienI sense 10 take care of their persons,
some insane who seem to .delight in the
utmost extremity Of 6lthiness, and others
iu the last Stages of old age, more helpless
10 their second childhood thai 10 their
first.
We are sladsfo learn that the County
Commissioners have decided TO build an
asylum for The incurably insane of this
County. This has now become an ur-
gent necessity. The State Insane Asy-
lums we're built for the cure of the Insane.
When those who are received into those
instil uiions have remained there a GER
lain length of time, without any visible
improvement, they are pronounced incu-
rable, and returned 10 the counties from
which they came, and they must be cared
for by the citizens of those counties.
A very large proportion of the insane
persons are paupers. NJ. M,nsfeld. the
Commissioner of Satisfies of Oai1, in
his report for the year 1888, says that
four.6!ths ef The insane in this Sale are
paupers. This being the case, for fiihs
Of them must become a public charge
If il were not upjus. 10 the same in
mates Of The In6rmary 20 confne them in
the same rooms with The insane, as we'll
as unsafe, The fact that that binding Is
already fnll 10 overt wing, is a sulicieai
reason Why the insane cannot &c kept
.hers. Precisely the same may be said
of the Jail, with The added fact that il is