The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-01-14
BBOCKLEY.

IBstitutiou.
A certain wise man has observed that little
fire will kinde great flame, the truth whereof
cannot, we believe, be successfully denied at
this late day; and by adapting the figure to our
present use, we think its verify is nowhere more
powerfully shown than In the present hubbub
concerning the Almshouse and the fragrant
misdoings alleged to transpire within it-a hub
bub which rapidly grew from very insignif-
cant event under the fostering care of one of
the twelve Guardians who are the sole managers
of this great institution.
Up to within about six months ago peace and
good will may be said TO have reigned among
all the officers of IL; and, with the exception of
that which naturally attaches to place where
the impoverished and debilitated are cared for,
and where all the terrors of wasted and pro-
figate life are discovered, the Almshouse had
no notoriety. But in a moment when least ex-
pected, and therefore at the ttest time to create
a sensation, which by many was caught up aud
industriously fostered, speck appeared upon
the horizon of Blockley and quickly over
shadowed 1t, Friend Parker, whom the reading
public have become quite familiar with as the
dscoverer rof all the evils of the Almshouse,
discerned what he confidently believed to be
maladmlnistration of the affairs of the colored
mems medical ward, In the fact that In some
few instances where relapsing-fever patients
had succumbed TO DEATH no record of their de-
cease had been entered in the books of that
ward; and, notwithstanding the statement was
made and repeatedly verified that at the time
these poor creatures yielded to fate nearly all
the physicians and nurses were Frustrated by
the same malignant fever, and therefore unable
TO make the record, Guardian Parker stood
alone and unalterable in his profound conyic-
tion that 1t was an effort to cover up the actual
mortality of this ward; and from this source
there karose an exciting hue and cry which
easily remembered.
the great arbor horror, which, had it occurred
in his time, Dante would, among the many
other fearful things he portrayed have i'm
far rtal4 a. -
board, and was the subject of protracted In
vestigation by the Hon. John P. Verree James
Armstrong, Esq, and Frederick A. Server, Esq,
and which proved such fruitful source of ex-
element TRADE, and bitter animosity was con-
structed by Steward Henszey for his own use,
paid for by him Owe believe the astounding sum
Of $500, and whereon- and this was the pith of
the mighty disturbance-some half-dozen or
dozen paupers did some work, who otherwise
would have lain about in idleness.
But coming down to the newest-discovered
source of trouble, we have to reveal matter
that will perhaps bring upon the heads of the
These gentlemen, who draw no salaries, who
have been elected from among the mass of good
men of this community as being free from all
guile, who sacrifice their business to attend to
the onerOus and unpleasant duties attaching to
/ their guardianship, have then been indulging in
the highly reprehensible habit, on meeting days,
of getting lunch at the Almshousel Horrible
thought Loading down our already heavily
burdened citizens with more taxes to support
this extravaganza! Roast beef and mustard out
of the citys pocket! No wonder that Friend
Parker emphatically declared, after having par
taken heartily of them:-''I will not counte-
nance such q use of the moneys of this house!''
But now this source of corruption in the Aims
house, amounting in the aggregate to a net loss
OF about 800 year-since but two meetings
were held a months obliterated, and each
| Guardian, as he goes henceforth to perform his
| uncompensated work in the management of that
institution, will carry his crackers and cheese
From all that has been said about this institu-
| tion, it will appear to many that where there
| was 30 much smoke there surely must have been
some some fire, and that Blockley was, not only
| treated, which had been charged, but that the
| Guardians, who have always been and are still
regarded as exemplary men, were guilty of petty
| peculations. For the purpose of convincing
ourself as to the truth of these allegations, we
| dropped into Blockley yesterday afternoon
| without any previous arrangement, made the
tour OF all Its departments, and were astonished
to. find 1t In such tidy and clean condition. In
| the manufacturing department hundred pau
| pers were industriously at work in preparing
| goods for the use of the house, and among them
not starveling was to be seen; and in answer
to an inquiry as to whether they were we'll
enough fed, one of them answered.: -"You see!
all fat as reed-birds!" Here there were many
expert weavers, carpenters, and tailors, that
might earn good living for themselves and
'amilies were they not cursed with an appetite
for rum. Then we passed through the insane
department. where more than 700 demented
men and women were kept, and found it with
clean floors, clean walls, and perfectly venti-
lated, SO that none of those disagreeabie odors
hat usually arise from herd of people unable
care for themselves were discernible. From
his we went TO the various wards of the hospi-
tai department, about the mean condition of
which SO much is said, and found it as tidily
kept as the other, and then assembled to the
colored mems medical ward, which was charac-
aesntd sbdnt ,,cb sink of PRorror and
so much in condemnation. This, to
our SURPRISE for we expected to find the
charges made against 1t to some extent veri-
fled, presented neat appearance, and every
is as good as we could get outside;''
and two, who had for many months
been in the Pennsylvania Hospital,
which all believe to be such an exem-
plary institution, said candidly that they were
better cared for where they then were. In the
ehildren's asylum and the women's medical
ward, and the department for old, INDECENT, and
decrepit women, there was the same commend
able appearance Of the rooms, and although we
questioned a hundred on the subject not one of
these Paupers intimated that they were half fed
or il-treated. In the bakery, which is a gigan-
tic concern, we witnessed the operations in pre-
| pairing the bread, and about the whole place
could not discern that "musty smell of flour"
| which was the chief burden of our bellicose
| Guardians complaint, and when we approached
| the chief baker on the subject he said:-
"Gentemen, the bread that Mr.. Parker COM
| planned of was as sweet and white as that"
And then happening to meet the physician of
| the black mems medical ward, the mortality
| of which during the relapsng fever period
| Friend Parker alleged had been imperfectly re-
| ported, we inquired:-
'What was the cause of the trouble between
| Guardian Parker and yourselfS"
To which he replied:-"Only this. There
were about 33 deaths out of hundred, which
| Mr.. Parker claimed was a mortality of so per
and Il VUft m he