Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-02-05
THE ASYLUM FIRB.
OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION OF THE
LEGISLATITE COMMITTEE.
Fire Traced to the Incendiarism of a Pa
tient, as Announced at the Time by the
"GlObe''-The Witnesses Generally I'm
Favor of the Asylum Management-The
Woman Who Was Frozen to Death.

committee to-day suspended its inquiry in
to insane hospital affairs, and returnnd to
st. Paul by the delayed tram of this even
ing. The inquiry appears to have been
exhaustive, even to the tracing of gossip
rejecting upon the conduct of hospital
officials and servants. To give in detail
all the evidence taken, would be to print
great mass of repetitions and irrelevant
verbiage; but the whole may well be
summarized, to satisfy the public interest
in the management of the hospital
THE WITNESSES EXAMINED
were DR.. c. X. Bartlett, superintendent
of the Minnesota Hospital for the Insane;
B. Boerneman of ST. Peter, who furnished
| information as to the witnesses to be
called and the statements they had made
| to him and others; G. W. Dryer, steward
of the hospital; Francis Dunn, super
visor of the male department.; A. L..
Sackett, hospital trustee; Charles Kohl,
formerly employed at the hospital; j.
M. Tuelhy, newspaper correspondents;
Joseph Latour and John Dietz; Robert
McAdam, head farmer for the hospital;
| Otto Beucke, hospital cook; w.. ii.
Pearce, engineer at the hospital; A. j..
Lamberton; Thomas Downes, sheriff Of
the county and member of the village fire
department; James X. Henderson,: VIM.
| F. Kramer and VIM. ]. Barkhurst, hos
| pital attendants; G. S. Ives, an attorney,
member of the village fire department;
John l.. Siez, John Mcmahon. John Lar
son, d. W. Vanetta and Richard l..
Echert, hospital attendants; Eben Ames,
hospital gardener; John Downs, general
repairer at the hospital; William McFad-
den, who has charge of the asylum barn;
| Adolph Boerneman, George Stelzer, Oh
liver Anderson, John Whips, John Har-
CAST, William F. Lange, F. A. Blomgren
and William kimmerts, who were present
at the fire, November 18th last; Mr.. Pal
meter, 0. H. Peters, George P, Everett,
engineer at the hospital pump house; W.
L. Couplin, S. w. Davis, Mrs. Caroline
| Z. Thordson, formerly a patient and
| afterwards an attendent; Mrs. M. Meyer,
hospital attendant, and Charles B. ROg-
ers, assistant engineer at the hospital.
The whole number being forty-three.
In Justice to Attorney General Start,
who generally made the examination in
| chief of witnesses, and to all'members OF
the committee, it is but proper to state
| that all the witnesses and also other per-
sons who were at the examination were
| requested to give information as to evil
dence to be had or as to matters which
should be inquired into and were prom
| ised that such information would be re-
ceiyed privately if desired: All the in
| formation received related to matters
which appear to have been fairly investi-
| gated by the committee The most i'm
portant of these was the great fire in the
male department or north wing of the
| hospital, which occurred November 18th
| last.
THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
The evidence taken shows that the fire
begun in two places, in the basement cor
ridors, or, rather on the floor timbers or
on the pine caps or boxes over the
steam coils near he floor tim
bers One fire was started
under the extreme north wing and the
other under the second return. There
seems to be no dissent from the opinion
that the fire was incendiary-it not being
considered possible that it could have
originated from the heat of the steam
coils. The incendiary is believed to be a
patient called Ben Hasselton. This man,
formerly patient in a Pennsylvania in
sane asylum, where he was subsequently
employed as an attendant, was committed
to the Minnesota hospital from Wright
county, and having again, after time,
partly recovered from his malady and
needing occupation, was allowed to assist
| the fireman and to do odd jobs for attend
ants of the hospital The day of the fire
he was saving wood for one OF the attend
ants, at the residence of the latter in the
village. On his return to the hospital, he
says, he could not get into his ward to get
his supper, his rapping at the door
not being responded to- and,
not being very hungry, he went
| to the engine and boiler room, where he
was seen about O'Clock. His where
abOuts for an hour or two, until after the
| fire broke out. have not been ascertained;
| but it would not be strange, seeing
how accustomed they were to him
| and his ways, that ne was not noticed by
the men in the basement departments,
and the excitement of the fire would ac-
count for his not being noticed after
| wards He had access, day times but not
in the evening, to the naptha room of the
gas house, from which he and attendants
had before filled walls with naptha, to
use in DISCRIMINATING yermln. On being
searched next day after the fire few
safety matches. used about the hospital,
but forbidden to patients, were found on
his person with piece of the box re-
quired for lighting them. 1t is the
theory of those who believe that he set
the fire, that he collected shayings or
other kindfing, placed them on top Of
| the pine covers of the, steam coils, with
walls of naptba and then fired the
kindling which exploded the vial and
spread the fire to the flooring above and
into the adjacent fues. This theory is
based upon Hasselton's talk to Sheriff
Downs and others, since the fire, about
the method in which such
| a fire could be started. But
it is not easily reconciled with any other
than prior intention to commit the
deed, and that lacks motive or any ap-
parent form of insanity tending to such
an act He might have been angry at
not being admitted to his hall for sup
per, but after that hour he could not
have obtained matches, naptha and
kindling, There was no kindling or
| loose intiammablc stuff about the base
| ments, which arc built of stone.
Hasselton is retained in jail, without
any other purpose than to quiet the fears