Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-08-18
Especial Telegram to the Globe.

ST.. PETER Aug 16.-The investigation into
the affairs of the insane asylum have got SO far
along that it is possible to prognosticate with
almost certainty what the finding of the
commission will be-. The committee have been
quite free in expressing their opinion upon the
financial management although they were ret
icent when investigating the charges of.cruelty.
1t is safe to say that if no other
evidence of material Importance comes
up when the committee again took up the sub
ject of cruelty the commissioners will find
that Drs. Bartlett and Bowen are thoroughly
competent and we'll qualified for their posi-
tions that they have uniformly conducted the
hospital upon the most approved plans and
with the view of the health and comfort of the
patients, but that strict supervision of
attendants and exactlng inquiry into reported
cases of cruelty would be advisable; that Belts
is not a man who should be put in authority
over other help, is he fit man to have
charge of patients; that he has been
PROVED GUILTY OF BRUTALITY
to helpless inmates The board will no doubt
advise his summary dismissal In one respect
the management have anticipated the COM
missioners, report-they now kill their
doubtless that sufficient care has not been tax
en- in inspecting meat, and that the contract
has been allowed to furnish inferior meat
to that for which his contract called, and in
some instances meat unfit for food has been
supplied, and that the contract fol meat has
not been properly awarded With the accounts
it is probably that the finding will be that Mr..
Dryer has kept them Systematically and well;
that no imputation of peculation attaches to
him. but as purveyor for the hospital, he has
not taken advantage of the markets, but has
almost, without exception, given than
top prices for provisions. There is no doubt
the committee will be
SEVERE UPON THE TRUSTEES.
as they have throughout the inquiry spoken
mostly emphaticaly their opinions of the men
and their transactions, Kerr and Talbot espec-
tally coming in for bitter censure They will
lind that the trustees,
INCLUDING HON. H. 3. STRAIT,
have been illegally charging the State with ex-
penses never incurred by them; that they have
wantonly spent current funds intended for the
comfortable support of the insane for their
own pleasure. The investigation proves the
trustees not men who should have the man
developments may perhaps call for a severer re-
port, but from the present stage of the proceed
ings some such report as above fore
shadowed may be expected. One
gentleman openly asserted yesterday that
OF all the appointments of Gov. Pillsbury not
one was SO despicably contemplate as that of
Ialbot-an unmitigated government dead beat,
kept living out in the woods across the river,
fattenlng like leach upon the asylum.
THE ACCOUNTS
This morning the committee first commenced
by calling the attention of the steward to a
voucher for 81, 755 to G. W. Dryer for a house
and lot. This the steward explained referred
to a house and lot of his which he sold to the
institution. The way it came about was this:
Thinking the intention was to abandon the
temporary hospital, the steward took the
land and erected small frame
house on it, Afterwards the trustees
found it necessary to repair the old hospital
ana In order to give more room they bought the
house and lot of the steward and gave it to
him to live in, he having, previous to this.
apartments in the hospital. This led to cues
lions upon the stewards appointment and sal
airy, which showed that he was first employed
as stewards clerk at $500 a year 1867); in De-
cember OF the same year he was made steward
and lived with his wife in the hospital; in 1872
his salary was increased to 81, 900 with board
IN ~ 1T was raised to $1,000 and in '76 to
1880 without board for himself and family.
Referring to the purchase of his house. Sena-
tor Morton asked the steward if the trustees
put valuation on the house and land. or
whether he, the steward, sold it to them
at the exact figures that the property cost him.
The steward thought the latter was the case.
Senator Rice wanted to know how it was that
he just built and then sold to the institution
it was not the first transaction of the kind that
the board had met with.
Senator Morton thought it was altogether
wrong 1t appeared to be practice with some
connected with the institution to buy property
and then sell it to the institution. bill was
unearthed in this connection showing that
1887 had been given for lumber used upon the
stewards house. The chairman then tried to
ascertain how much labor had been put upon
the premises but could not find it
from the vouchers. From the report however.
1t was found that the stewards house had cost
the current fund Gntended for the support of
Tue lhsane) vi aoa.o3. This matter Of the
STEWARDS HOUSE
produced some DEVELOPMENTS which nro,,;so
considerable richness before the committee get
through with it, 1t appears that the man of
peculiar qualifications for the position of car
it is q question whether one of his
peculiar qualifications is not that
he is brother-in-law to c. T. Brown. trustee
A whole batch of vouchers Of his were looked
over to-day showing his charges for superin-
tending work at 81 day, and for working as a
carpenter on the same buildings at 81 per
diem, amounted in one year to 81, 853-a good
round salary for carpenter with peculiar
quaiihcatlons The committee also found
vouchers where
KERR AND BROWN
were both drawing a salary as secretary to the
building committee.
During the morning Mr.. Dryer read a letter
from Hill and Aoker in relation to the crude oil
at Is cents per gallon. in which they say that at
the time the oil was shipped it had gone up
considerably in the market, and that supplied
by the Gas Light company of Minneapolis as
an accommodation and billed at 10 cents was