Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-12-30

IN charge. Compare my administration
as il has been, with what 1t necessarily
would have been mad | not taken hold Of
these things, and nave | not done better
10 devOting portion OF my time 10 CIV
ing our people abundant water for Clean
illness IS well as enough 10 prevent suc1
a fearful calamity as recently occurred il
Minnesota, Have not done better IN
giving them q pure and wholesome 81
mos phere 10 breathe, Instead of one load
ed with oiors from tout wster closets ana
floors saturated with filth; in Improving
the light, warmth ana comfort of their
rooms; in providing conveniences for
properly cleansing their clothing, IN fur
nishing them with sweet, Wholesome
dairy products, and fruit end V gstables
ID their season, and supplying them with
good comfortable furniture? Have | not,
| say, done more for them directly, In st.
tending to these Improvements Tor part
of my time, than | would have doEe by
spending it entirely N the wards and
dosing them with medicine, while these
bad sanitary Surroundings were allowed
to exist as they had Tor sixteen years? l
claim that
NO ONE OF MY PREDECESSORS
has really done as much for the comfort,
health and best good OF the patients as |
have done, and not an improvement has
been entered upon that did not look d.
rect!v towards improving their condition.
The Superintendent asserts that the
hygienic condition of the Hospital ia now
on footing equalled by but few Hospi-
tails in the country. The results, he says,
are permanent and invaluable, and will
continue to tell tol the good OF all patients
who may hereafter come TO the Hospital"
The Superintendent details the hospital
duties of himself and his Assistants. and
shows that they full y live up to all the re-
qirements, In their various rounds OF viai-
ta,ion and medical supervision. He thinks
all competent witnesses agree to this.
The testimony Is then reviewed,
seyiatum To his medical staff, he is in
the highest degree complimentary.
THE STEWARD
he excuses, because ne was allowed to pay
for such an officer but 5000 salary, for
which sum no thoroughly experienced
business manager could be engaged. That
the accounts were not always posted, and
| mistakes arose from inexperience, was IN
some degree attributable, he thinks, to the
csreiessness of the trustees auditing COM
mittee; the books we're always at their
| command, and if improper forms or
books were used, it was their business to
supply the defect and poin. out errors:
| do not mean to insinuate any lack
of care on the part of the com
mittee; on the contrary, l am sure that
any oversight OF theirs arose from an i'm
perfect understanding OF the method OF
keeping our accounts - which method,
though very imperfect, had always been
at use at the Hospital, and was adopted
long before the connection of any of the
present Board or resident officers with
Hospital affairs. This poor and defective
system of accounts has proved an unfor.
tuuate legacy to all who have had any
| thing to 90 with 1t.
The Doctor says that only once, and
that was last year, did the Board express
one disappearing word OF the Steward; he
expressed his readiness to then and there
displace him, but the Board took no &C.
ton. In recognition Of the Steward 3
has been an unusually discreet and eco.
nomical purchaser Of supplies, and has
committed no errors that have not char
acterized the work Of all previous Stew.
ards. The same labors at the Northern
Hospital have cost over So 600, while here
1t has been done for from 5000 to $500
the Steward having to give bonds FOR
handling about S75, 900 yearly.
GENERAL AND SPECIAL EXPENDITURES
In the matter of unauthorized expend
itures," the Superintendent says that the
Board and himself have often had to
make Improvements on their own respon
sibility. This was done in 1876, with the
water work, and the following Legisla.
ture approved it; and the next Legislature
granted an additional sum to complete
them. The Library, which has been seri
ously commented on during the investigs
ton, has frequently been WARMLY encour
aged by legislative joint committees and
the State Board of Charities and Reform
under their approval and encouragement
the Superintendent felt warranted in intro
ducing necessary Improvements therein
In the matter of underestimate, DR.
BoUGHToN believes 1t has very often been
the experience of corporations and govern
ments that expenses for improvement
exceed careful estimates
He Gays that in very many instances
the very things censured by the Commit.
tee have been but logical sequences Of
legislative and other official advice; the
atmosphere Of legislative encouragement
to do these very things, has for years sur.
rounded the Board and the Superintend-
| emf.
| AS to any imperfect reports he may
have made, he presented such reports as
the Board approved. If they desired DIFF.
| ferent or more detailed ones, 1t was il
their power to order them prepared