Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-14

1nent feature. The boys and girls are
more carefully separated than in other
schools. found to my surprise that the
superintendent of the Illinois school for
the blind prefers decidedly that his
teacher shall live outside the building.
l was most pleased with what I saw
in the Ohio schools, perhaps, because /
spent more time there and saw more of
the workings of the school than at Jack
sonville and Lansing.
visited the schools for feeble minded
children at Lexington, Kentucky, and Co
lumbus, Ohio, but my visits were so hurri-
ed that will not attempt to give any i'm
pressions. I found the conversation of
DR.. Doran, of the Ohio institution, as sug-
gestive and instructive as that Of any Off
Ger met. greatly regretted being una
bic to spend more time with him.
The most instructive and satisfactory
visits of the trip, taking them altogether,
were those to the five insane hospitals at
Lexington, Kentucky; Jacksonville and
hankakee, Illinois; Pontiac, Michigan;
and Columbus, Ohio. The superintendent
and officers afforded every facility in their
power. [ placed myself under their tut
ton, and it is safe to say that never
learned more in the same length of time.
The Lexington hospital is the Oldest
save two in the country. It has advanced
through every stage from the chains and
| underground dungeons of the early mad
houses to the out door labor and freedom
from restraint of the present day. Some
of the early strong rooms and dungeons
are still shown to visitors. The
colored patients are kept in separate
building, with more meagre furniture
than that of the whites. A peculiar
feature, which L saw nowhere else, was the
deep verandas, one for each ward, perhaps
18x40 feet, protected by an iron network
and connected with the day sitting rooms.
Here the patients spend much of their
time in summer and get great deal of
fresh air in winter.
The insane hospital at Jacksonville is an
admirable example of the best institutions
of the conservative type. The admins
| tration of DR.. Carried is remarkably
efficient. There did not seem to be any
loose ends, such as are seen in many insti-
tutions. The heating and ventiIating
system is very complete. All water closets
| are ventilated to the main smoke stack No
| traps are used and a powerful downward
draft is constant. A detached building is
| now being built to accommodate four
| hundred additional patients. On the
| whole, this Institution seemed to me to re-
sembls very closely our St. Peter hospital
| in its plan, in its methods of administra-
ton and in the ideas of its officers.
The Kankakee hospital is the pioneer of
a new system. The aim has been: (1)
to secare economy in construction; (2) to
provide healthfal employment for as many
| patients as possible; 81 to re-
move, as far as possible the rigor of con-
finement and restraint, and introduce ga
natural and somewhat domestic mode of
life." The plan adopted is that of cen
trail building which accommodates about
| three hundred patients, and six detached
wards" or cottages, accommodating about
| two hundred more.
The hospital was opened four years ago
and the results are so satisfactory that the
last legislature decided to build additional
detached wards sufficient to increase the
capacity of the hospital to fifteen hundred
The cost of the buildings, as they now
stand, has been $3.50 per patient. The
cost of the detached wards, however, has
been only $318 per patient. Should the
hospital be enlarged to a capacity of 900
| patients, at the same rate the entire cosi
4
| may remark, by way of comparison
ing only about $500 per patient; while the
new detached wards at st. Peter will cost
only about $3.50 per patiently
| In the matter of labor the Kankakee rec
ord is excellent. On the average nearly
every day. In the summer the proportion
is larger.
In this respect, however, the record is
no better than that at Pontiac, Michigan
and other we'll managed institutions.
In the matter of confinement and re,
straint Kankakee shows good results
There are no gratings or shutters on any
of the detached wards, except on perhaps
half dozen windows. While was there
the first escape through window in four
years took place. The patient was brought
back in an hour or two. Seventy -four
male patients out of ono hundred and
eighty-on are in unlocked wards and 90
freely about the premises. No physical
restraints of any kind are allowed except
on the order of a hospital physician after
seeing the case, and all apparatus for such
restraint is kept at the central Office. In
these particulars, Kankakee is equalled By
| oIucT los pltalB. we nave GC hOCneSt6r
some seventy patients in unlocked wards
At Lexington, Kentucky, Pontiac, Mich
gan, and Columbus, Ohio, the record of
restraints shows less, if any thing, than
Kankakee.
The cottage plan gives home feeling
and often operates favorably upon very
troublesome patients.
Ohio is about to build hospital at To
ledo entirely on the cottage plan which
will carry out the same ideas to still
| greater extent.
The institution at Pontiac is character
lied by the pleasant appearance of its
wards-even those occupied by the worst
class of patients; and by the very large
number OF patients who are occupied in
some Gay or other out of the wards.
The Columbus institution is about to
lose its admirable superintendent, who
goes to open private hospital at Cleve-
| land.
In Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan public
institutions suffer greatly from changes
| for political reasons. No tenure is secure.
and the best officers, if left unmolested,
are picked off by other states. It was a
| matter of surprise there to learn that in
| Minnesota we had not changed the super
intendent of any public Institution since
Warden Reed was appointed, eight years
ago.