Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-03-31
Letter from Champlain Byers.
COLUMBUS. O.. March % 1sse

" AAAA - AODOAI lGAALlllE "
! the condition of TrumbulI County
Infirmary. made by the Commission
ers of the County, to which report tn,
names of two resident physicians, Ju
nan Harmon, NJ. D., and G. +. Met
: calf, NJ. D., are subscribed.
= The report is in good temper, quit,
) deeOrOus and otherwise highly com
mendable; but as matters of great i'm
pOTtance and of very general inter
est are involved, l trust l may be par
dOned for calling the attention of you
readers to the subject involved in the
report.
The Commissioners assign a. a reas.
on for having made an unusual inspec,
ton of the County Infirmary, that
the Secretary of the Board of State
Charities had reflected Severely on
its condition. They then state, some
what in detail, rs TO the several classes
of inmates that they found there,
generally in condition of health, com
fort and happiness-adding specifical-
ly, that ''the same is substantially
true of the idiotic and insane" All
of which, / should infer from the
character of the gentleman making
the inspection, must be true, and /
certainly desire to express my person.
al qualification of the very marked
change in the condition of the Trim-
bull County Iniirmary, which must
have taken place between the time of
my visit and the time specified in the
report of the County Commissioners.
Such visitatiOns too, aret to becommen-
ded, such as are made in addition 10
those required by law-made- at an
unusual time. This visit of the Coun-
ty Commissioners OF your County
must have proved more satisfactory To
them than their regular official visit
made last September. The visit of
the Secretary of the Board of State
Charities was made on the 18th day
L believe) of August, so that but little
time could have INTERVIEWED before the
l official visit of the Commissioners,
which took place in September, and
when the condition of affairs could
not have been so greatly altered. AT
that time save from the presence of
the Superintendent, which il seems is
essential to the good order of the in
stitution) there must have been very
much the condition described in tie
report of the Board OF State Charities
only adding some things which they
must have seen. but which could not
within the range of ordinary decen-
cy} be put into print.
There is not only propriety but an
actual necessity for such ViSitationS
by those locally interested in the coll
dItion and character of such county
institutions; and if the inspection
authorized blythe Board of State Chart
ties will do no more than to prompt
all our County officials, interested in
such affairs, to go and do likewise, it
will have accomplished one very i'm
portant step toward the much needed
reforms in our State. There r. a fea-
ture of the report however, which
may do harm, and believing that the
Commissioners of your County would
not Intentionally mislead. / desire to
call attention to it.
The report does not say in so many
words that t~heseeretary ofthe board of
State Charities has misrepresented the
condition of the Infirmary, hut such
terms as severely" unjust" ''fasti-
diOus eye from the city" unfair"
''althOugh doubtless intended to be
truthful etc, etc, are calculated 10
do harm, or at least, prevent the good
that might otherwise result from the
knowledge of facts.
The good people of your county,
not stopping TO consider that the Sc
cretary of the Board of State Chair
ties could have no motive to draw pic
lures or to eXaggerate or make unwar-
ranted statements, might be led TO the
conclusion from seeing such language
used in characterizing his report, that
he had actually come into Trumbull
County and for some cause II cannot
imagine what set about a general viii
LITIGATION of their good name-and
thus conclude that the Infirmary was
not in the condition a. described by
him, and therefore needing no especi-
nj attention.
Now in the case of the young man
referred to in the report of the Com
missiOners. They say 1.-THE statement
of the Secretary as To his cruel treat
men and exposure, iseXaggerated aud
unwarranted.r The Commissioners
will not say this as to the statement
of his condition a. een 10y the Secre-
As for the rest the Secretary says:
'Ofthe history of this man we could
nothing, save that he had been
a long time subject to violent parnX-
.sms of mania; that of late years he
had become filthy, and, of course, |
Troublesome that, for want of other
facilities. il had been the custom TO
take him occasionally to the creek near
and require him 10 bathe and wash
On such an occasion 1.-THE
last one, the weather being cold, he
had refused TO go into the water, and
resisted efforts made TO compel him.
He had then been soUndly ''trounced"
and taken to the room where we found
him. The Superintendent was alb
at the time OfAur visit"
For this history we were dependent
upon the Young man who conducted
US through the Infirmary at the time
Of our visit. He was polite, intelli-
gent and seemingly we'll versedin the
history of the case. If this young
man was not, las we Judged him to be
a member of the Superintendent
he must have been an en-
of the institution, at all events
not a pauper. and what his motive
could be in making exaggerated Drum
warranted statements j cannot con-
eeive- However, it is gratifying to
know that the treatment had not been
50 bsd, and that his present condition
is more comfortable, but nevertheless,
had he had the history complete as ii
now stands, it could not have abated
one jot or title of the Secretary's re-
port as to the actual condition of the
man at the time men
1t is, therefore, not best that the
DeOpleof your county should conclude
that they had been treated unfairly
Your Commissioners 1 am sure do not
desire any such conclusion. 1t is due,
however, that some apology be made,
and that which could not have been
introduced in the Secretary's report,
by way of apology for these wrongs,
may now THAT the attention of the
people is being called. to the subject
be appropriately introduced.
There is embodied in the last para.
graph of the report of Commissioners,
full and sufficient apology, perhaps,
for all cOncerned-and il is made in
this instance, as in too many Others,
10 ''cOver a multitude of sins.n The
Commissioners say:
''Such systematic economy in the
household and judicious labor on the
arm, under the supervision of Mr..
and Mrs. LoDwICK, have prevailed,
the finances of the 1nfirmary
have been greatly improved during
The past few years, a debt of several
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