National Republican., 1883-07-21
THE TEwKsBURY TROUBLE.
The Majority and Minority Reports SUBJ
mitted--Tho First Condemns the Cow
crnor and the Latter the Institution.

The Majority and Minority Reports SUBJ
mitted--Tho First Condemns the Cow
ornor and the Latter the InstitutIon.
BosroN, July 20.-The Tewksbury COM
mitteo reports were submitted to the house
to-day. All the republican members sign the
majority report, and all the democrats the
minority report. The majority report pro.
nounces the main charges of the governor
groundless and cruel The question of infant
mortality, the majority say, was an
old one, well settled, as everybody
knew. The delivery of dead bodies
under the law was under the control of the
trustees and the superintendent and any
irregularity should have been remedied by
them without publicity, if proof thereof
had been furnished them, and the
people of this proud commonwealth
would have been saved from the shame and
humiliation so recklessly and needlcssly
brought upon them. Surely the truth should
have been ascertained before making such
awful charges. Our order was to investigate
the other institutions, but we heard no cause
of complaint, and had no time to devote to
them. We made an ordinary tour of inspec-
tion, and found them in good condition.
We commend to the legislature and people
all our public charitable institutions rs
still worthy of this ancient COM
monweGlth, although in the language
of ono of his excellency's distinguished
predecessors, "rhey arc constantly requiring
changes to meet recurring exigencies and tho
demands of progressive philanthrophy."
Your committee desire to place upon record
their strong disapprobation of some things
said and done by the governor during this
hearing. We pass by the insults to the COM
mittee and their chairman, who presided at
this hearing by invitation of the regular
chairman, with the consent of the committee.
Also the reference in his argument to
the Clearing out of this state
house" by his veteran comrades and consider
graver things His excellency announced
on the first evening of the hearing that he
had not come into the case with backing
brush, but in contravention of this assertion
the committee quote all the indelicacies
which were given utturance to during the
investigation, and say in retrospection Your
committee bushed for the commonwealth
and turned away in amazement. But worse
than those was the governors portentious re-
ference to the French revolution Can it be
possible that the people of this commonwealth tn
are slumbering upon such volcano as burst
upon the people of France in 1779? Whose
fears are to be kindled because a few reckless
medical students have caused to be tanned
SIX a?
Is this what his excellency means when he
says we must see that the wheel does not go
round once again?
We have examined the 5000 pages of testi-
mony in this case with solicitude to be Just
to the management of the Tewksbury aims
house, Just to his excellency, who made the
charges and conducted the prosecution, and,
above ALL just to the commonwealth, whose
servants we are. The report of the minority
claims that by the technical rules of law
adopted by the committee of investigation
much important testimony was excluded
but that the evidence submitted leads them
to believe that three of the trustees,
Messrs. Nourse, Elliot, and Spaulding,
that the retention of Marsh all these years has
been q crime for which these trustees are
mainly responsible. The minority also think
the board of health, lunacy, and charity can
not evade responsibility in the matter. The
system of bookkeeping is strongly condemned
as unbusinesslike and dangerous. The
grossest abuses, the report says, have
been practiced under the management,
and the superintendency of the almshouse
is deserving of public censure. The officers
have been guilty of most willful neg ect,
peculations without parallel, abandoned de-
bauohery, and wanton cruelty the evidence
of which cannot fail to convince unbiased
minds. These outrages merit punishment no
less than for felony. The testimony is Gu
mulative that infauts-foundlings and
those of patients--were purposcly poisoned
and willfully neglected to linger in a starving
condition until death ensued. The death
rate of infants at Tewksbury compared with
that of any other like institution, is in itself
conclusive evidence of blackest guilt With
such frightful mortality without pestilence
or plague those in charge are indictable for
infanticde.
The report makes numerous recommends
for future management.