The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-04-07
BEN BUTLER'sIPROBING,
Children Starved to Death and their BOdie
So to tie Doctors.

Children Starved tn Death and their Bodies
So to- the Doctors.
The principal source of income for the
managers of the State AlmshOuse at
TeWksbnry, Massachusetts,, would ap-
pear to be the sale of bodies to medical
students for dissection. So profitable
has been this thriving industry as to ex
cite suspicion that less care has been
taken to keep souls and bodies together
than might have been exercised had
there been no market for the deserted
tenements. A Legislative Investigation
was ordered and Is now at work. Gov.
Butler attends and occasionally eX-
Rmines witnesses, thus defeating an evil
dent purpose of the committee to white
wash for the "credit. of the State" The
evidence has shown an almost incredi-
BILE state of affairs in the institution,
fully justifying Gov. Butler in calling
the attention of the Legislature. Massa-
chusetts sets herself up as as the moral
and humane teacher Of the Union, but
this investigation exposes an extreme
Of inhumanity and brutality that we do
not believe can be paralleled. One of
the witnesses called was DIR. John Dix
well, graduate of Harvard Medical
School, who testified that the students
had received a large number of infant
bodies, which they had bought from the
RlmshOuse authorities at from three to
five dollars each. From the testimony
of this witnessAit becomes a question
able point whether the infant subjects
were not starved to death. This extract
Is from the testimony:
Q. State whether you found any bodies
which seemed to have no apparent cause
Of death.
A. It was a very frequent remark that
thoro uuaa M oUidanao nf dfaaaoa No
undigested food was found in the bodies
from the mouth to the anus. A large
proportion of the bodies would be said
to be bodies of Viable children. They
would have lived if fed.
Q. You say that in many bodies you
could find no evidence of any food?
A. No, sir; no trace of food could be
discovered, even with a microscope of
500 diametres.
Q. Suppose food had been taken with
in forty eight hours before death, would
it show in the bOdyP
A. Yes, sir; certainly, unless in cases
of violent diseases of the intestines
where no solid food could be taken.
Q. By "Viable" you mean to say that
the child ought to have lived if well
cared for.
A. Yes.
There was process Of"piekling" dead
DOuA0o Huou buo VI bLlUb 6A-
ceeded the demand, which Is described
by one of the attendants at the aims
house in this way:
Q. About how many inmates died
during the yearP
A. / think there was between three
and four hundred.
Q. Were any bodies picked?
A. There were; yes sir.
Q. State the cireu instances under
which they were pickl d.
A. They were taken from the boxes
and coffins and placed in barrels.
Q. Where were the eOffinsP
A. In the dead hOnse.
q. Describe the process of picking.
A. After the body had been properly
shaved and dressed and placed in the
coffin 1t is carried in the dead house.
Then 1t ts taken to the chapel for ser
vices After the time has passed and
there have no friends called for it, it is
carried back to the dead house and then
placed in barrels.
Q. After there had been said over it.
ashes to ashes and dust to dust" it |
was carried back to the dead house and |
put In pickle2
A. Exactly. There were two minis |
ters In the place who held services, one
Orthodox and one Baptist. They were |
paid for their services.
Y. Hnere dlo the casks IN which the \
bodies were placed come fromp
A. / took them from the cellar where |
the pork barrels we're stored.
In one case woman called to reclaim |
the body of her child and have it buried, |
but the body had been sold to the Medi- |
cal College and the authorities put bill |
lets Of wood In a coffin and passed it off |
as containing the child.
Q. And you had no body to fit the /
coffin, and suppose the mother would /
have recognized the ehildP
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The billets Of wood were taken
put and prayers said over them2
A. They were; yes, sir.
@. And then they were buried in
light Of the m0ther2
A. No, sir; think not.
Q. Her child was cut mp so that she
'ttended the services over the blocks Of
FOo& in the coffin. She had no idea that