The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1878-01-29
Lunatic Asylum Matters.
TO THE PUBLIC.

few DAYS ago, during my Temporary
absence, Geo. 7. Hackley published sour
rilous card concerning the management
and treatment of patients In the Mississippi /
State Lunatic Asylum.
If that card has created any distrust in
any quarter, deem it proper to state that
have at the earliest opportunity called the
attention of the Board of Trustees TO the
publication. and have expressed readiness
and willingness to enter into most thor
ough and searching investigation Of every
transaction connected with the Asylum
from the day of my entrance upon dury
down to the present moment.
VIM. NJ. COMPTON, Sup't.
Jackson, Jan. 26, 1873.
The foregoing was published in our
paper and it has given rise to numerous
inquiries for the statement of Mr.. Hack
lev to which it refers, and which is here
with printed
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE LUNATIC
ASYLUM
To the Members of the Mississippi Senate
| Learning that DR.. VIM. NJ. Compton is an
| applicant for re-appointment as Superin-
| tendent OF the Iunatic Asylum, | Ceem it
! my duty to present some facts i'll my posses
sion, SO that you may judge Of his fitness
! for the position. l will mention several in
stances to show you that he is not the proper
| person to have charge of the institution.
| A patient by the name of Smith, was so
| brutally beaten by an attendant that he spit
| blood. The attendant was not discharged.
or even rebuked as far as | know. Another
patient in crazy fit struck his attcndant.and
| for this he was severely beaten bytwo attend
| ants, one of whom called me into MS ward
to show me the patient, whom he struck an
other blow in the face. | saw the same at
tendant, for trivial offrnse, knock an old
man over two or three times. The head at
tendant told me that he ha often reported
this fellow to the Superintendent for his
cruel treatment of patients, but no notice
was taken OF it, The next that will men
ton is an old man about eighty years of age
his name is George Work, he resisted al at
tendant-a young man weighing over two
hundred pounds. He beat the old man Sc
AS to require porous plasters on his bruises
The patients were always complaining t
the Superintendent of the way this after
ant was treating them, but it did no good
Tue next is man who stayed in the attic
n s
. BY instituting rigid investigation among
the attendants, and protecting them agans
removal for testitying to what they know
these and many other acts of similar pur
port can be proved.
You know his political course better thar
/ | can tell you. | myselfwas deprived of my
employment for being a Democrat and fur
nishing for publication in The CLARION TIT
0 letter which | herewith append. 1t show
that the Superintendent was connivin!
with others to keep Gov. Ames from bein!
impCached. He was the adviser of Ames
and used his time writing articles calcula
ted to stir up war of races. | have bee,
told, and believe that | can prove that h
] said 9 if he was in Ames' place he woul'
, take the Caldwells, Wilburn, Lee, Jim Hill
n and a few other resoute men and go t
!, Vicksburg and hang Warren Cowan, DI
O'Leary, Dr.. Shannon and Col. Furlong ,an
r tell Crosby to attend to his business a
0 Sheriff."
month ago [ published over my ow
signature that Dr. Compton harbored a
the Asylum, one of the bloodthirsty negr
: rioters who was guilty Of the murder G
i the young men at Clinton, in S75, and tina
; he sent the said murderer in the Asylum
- hack, to railroad depot north of jackson
: so that he might get out of the reach G
e justice. This charge has not been deniet
To show the estimate that he places o
Democratic Legislatures, | will mentio
: that he said he could buy half of the mem
bers of the last Legislature with pair c
pigs. 1t is for you to show what estimat
. you place on his fitness for the place he
seeking. GEORGE L. HACKLRY,
y jackson, Mississippi.