Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-07-11
VERMONT s.,'ss.rB .sSrLU.u.
REPORT OF LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE.

Governor Of Vermont
The Joint Committee, TO whom was re-
ferred joint resolution of the Senate and
House of Representatives, in relation TO the
conduct an management of the Vermont
Asylum for the Insane, located at Brattle-
boro, in the county of Windham, auf- w1o
were authorized by Joint resolutcso of
the Senate aud House of Representatives
10 report TO your Exc cheney, on or before
the first day of July next, oiter the adj
journment of said two Houses ofthe Logs-
lature, beg leave TO mako the following re-
port:
The testimony introduced before your
committee on behalf of the people and on
the part of the asylum was very volumi-
nous, so much so, that its publication
would necessitae the printing Of a very
considerable volume, and very much of ii
would hardly prove profitable reading. 1t
has been carefully examined and candidly
considered by us, and we deem il best TO
| embrace only our conclusions dcduced
| from that evidence. II was Il matter of
surprise to some members OF your commit
tee, TO learn at the inspection Of their inves-
tigation that the Asylum was not the
property of the State, but private corpo-
ration; we deem it best, therefore, in order
to place the matter Understandings before
the people, to give brief history of its orr
gin and statement of the aid it has from
time to time received from the State. In
h1S3i, Mrs. Anna Marsh, of Hnsdale, n, II.
by will bequeatbed the sum of ten thou
| sand dollars in Il ust for the purpose of
founding a Hospital for the insane, as will
be seen from the following extract from
her will:
81 give TO Samuel CLARK, John Holbrook :,
Epaphrodtus Seymour, John C. lIolbrook,
all of Brattleboro, in the county of Wind
ham, and their successors, ten thousand
dollars, in trust, for the purpose of erect
ing and supporting in the county of Wind
ham, near Connecticut River, a Hospital
for the relief of Insane persons, and in case
of the decease of one or mere of said trus-
tees, the survivors shall, from time TO time,
fill all vacancies, and the said trustees, be-
ing four in number, shall forever hereafter
have the sole superintendent and direc-
ton of said Insane Hospital. And it is my
will that said trustees procure an Act OF in
corporation as soon as may be after my de-
cease"
In Nov. 1884, the Legislature passed an
act incorporating 1.-THE Vermont Asylum
for the insane" which act, in words, fol-
lowed very nearly the language of Mrs.
Marsh's will. This act is referred to and
made part of this report. In 1885, the
State, by the act of their Legislature, gave
ten thousand dollars TO be paid in annual
installments of two thousand dollars each.
In 1886 the State granted an additional two
thousand dollars. In 1887 four thousand
dollars. In 1910 two annual installments of
two thousand dollars. In 1913 three thou
sand dollars, making in all twenty-three
thousand dollars. We do not find since
the gift in 1913 by the State of three thou
sand dollars, that any considerable dona-
ton has been made 10 the institution by
the State, or by any corporatio or by pri-
vate indi viduals, hence the present proper
ty of the institution has grown from the
fund of thirty-three thousand dollars, re-.
ceived previous to 1874. In 1862 the centre
building and wings of the Institution were
burned. They were Immediately rebuilt,
and again occupied in 1864. The expense
dollars. The whole cost of the institution,
| as reported by tie Commissioner for the
Insane, in his Biennial Report of 1872, was
1924, so 90, including twelve hundred acres
of land. The present value of the property
as es timated by Gov. Holbrook, one Of the
trustees, is $500, 900 90. Your committee
estimate it at a very considerable excess of
that amount The interest of the State in
this vast property is simply that by the
acts of 1910 and lsi3, if it ceases to be an
Insane Asylum the State have lien upon
it for the security of the twenty three thou
sand dollars heretofore invested. The prop
erty is owned by private corporation, the
trustees of which are A. Keyes, n. b. vii.
lston, Frederick IIolbrook and Daniel
Kellogg.
The trustees, while refusing TO recognize
any authority in your committee, vet af
forded them free access 10 all parts of the
buildings and grounds, and inspection of
the records and Their papers of the institu-
ton, ana treated us with uniform courtesy.
In the progress of our investigation. be-
sides visiting the asylums at Northampton,
Mass, and Concord, n. II. las directed by
Joint resolution of the Legslatuie), we
visited the asylum at Brattleboro on three
different occasions, viz.:-Oct. l7th. 1872:
Nov. 10th, 1872; and June Oath, 1873. At
the time of our first visit, we found the
| number of patients at the asylum TO he four
hundred and eighty five-a number, as the
| committee believe, and AS the officers of
the institution admit in their testimony.
far too large for the capacity of the build
ings comfortably to provide; in this view,
your committee is sustained by the testi-
mony of Commissioner Billiard, who fixes
three hundred patients as the maximum
number which Uhe) asylum could accom-
modate. About seventy-five of the patients
were, at the time of our visit, confined in
underground apartments which were
damp, unwholesome, and entirely unfit for
occupation by human beings. The sleep
ing apartments of this underground por-
| ton were small, lily ventilated, warmed
and lighted. The sleeping apartments of
the males being altogether TOO small, while
some of those in the female ward were only
nine feet In depth by four in width, and
eight in height, opening into narrow hall,
| and ventilated only by eight two inch augur
holes bored through the door. About mid
way of the length of one of these lower
wards, and at the end of another ward and
at the side are sinks which receive the
urine and slops from the wards above, and
at all seasons of the year must impart I'M
wholesome odors, On the occasion of our
first visit, although dsinfectants had been
freely used, your committee found the
odors extremely unpleasant. The officers
OF the institution offer as an excuse for con-
timing patients in this unwholesome man