The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-06
THE HEALTH BOARD REPORT.
Distressing Picture of the Condition of the
Inmates of Poor Houses and Jails.

The third annual report of the State Board Of
Health was submitted to the Governor by DR..
q. S. Elder, the secretary, yesterday. 1t is
quite voluminous, embracing a roster of the
sanitary authorities throughout the world, a
tatement of the boards financial transactions,
an outline of the work during the current year,
full reports from the local sanitary officers
throughout the State, together with statistics
relating to public health in Indiana, in addition
to which are given a series OF papers, contribu-
ted by professional men of recognized ability,
upon sanitary, hygienic and kindred subjects.
The financial statement shows that all bills
have been paid in full to the close of the fiscal
year, and that there is a balance of $63l left
from the annual appropriation of S., 1000.
The work of the board during the last year, '
the secretary states, was much more compre-
hensive than ever before, and was attended by
more appreciative results. The people of the
State are beginning to appreciate the value of
hygienic and sanitary measures" and so general
has been the demand for health literature that
the secretary thinks it advisable to increase the
edition of the report of the board from $500
copies to 4, 500.
The secretary states that the special informa-
ton gathered during the year disclosed unhy-
gienic conditions in almost all tho county asy-
lums for the poor. and says that, though the
statement is made with reluctance, it is a fact
that in many counties these poor-houses are a
disgrace to Christian civilization. The reports
from many of the counties present a
sickening picture, The statistics show
that II per cent. are wet and need
drainage; 80 per cent. of the buildings are in
bad repair; 20 per cent. are poorly ventilated; in
30 per cent. an offensive odor is detected upon
entering the rooms; IA per cent. of the beds are
filthy, and Z per cent. of them are covered with
vermin; 8 per cent. of the buildings have never
been disinfected. There are 3, $50 persons in the
county asylums, OF whom 1.S5o are males aud
1854 are females. 1t is a sad fact that 6l0 of the
inmates of the asylums are insane, of whom $50
are males and 3l4 are females. THE condition
of this class of paupers," the secretary remarks,
sis melancholy indeed. In many instances they
are under the control of persons ignorant of the
proper care to be exercised, and, in consequence,
they are frequently subjected to inhu man treat
ment, and to what is equally as bad, shameful
neglect. In So per cent. of
the county asylums restraints are in use
upon the insane inmates, many of them being
cribbed or tied, others chained, some in dark
cells, while many are fastened to the walls and
are allowed to wallow in their own filth. Many
are confined in straight,jackets, and in one asy-
lum for the poor, in IL county near the capital OF
the State, one poor insane woman is kept IL sol
itary confinement in a cell or coop of iron. There
are 10 male and 161 female idiots in the poor
asylums, and no adequate means for their care
have been provided. In some of the institutions
they are whipped and beaten like brutes. In
many the sexes are allowed to associate to
gether, and children are b~egotten, and these
miserable beings thus add to the number of i'm
beetle paupers whom the tax payers have to sup
port. The oldest pauper found in any
of the asylums is eighty-eight years of
age, and there are 633 inmates under
cation of the children. They are not separated
from the adults, and they soon acquire the
vicious habits that unfit them for society. There
were nearly 800 deaths in the institutions dur
ing the year.
The condition of the county prisons is equally
as bad as the county asylums. OF the 368 pris-
oners, 345 are males and twenty-three are fe-
males. -Four are over eighty years of age, and
thirty-one are under fifteen, while the youngest
is nine years old. In Is per cent. of the jans
there are no separate apartments for the sexes,
and they are permitted to associate indiscrim-
inately. In 81 per cent. the old and Young are
not separated. There are twenty-five insane
persons confined in the jails.
In speaking of the dangers of an epidemic of
Asiatic cholera. the secretary says that within
the last month the disease has reappeared in
France and is evidently spreading rapidly.
There is a probability that it will extend to
this country, as it has before, when the epidemic
prevailed in Europe. 1t is possible to guard
against its introduction by quarantine, but
when we consider the extensive line of seacoast
to be watched and the large commerce with
foreign nations. the probabilities do not favor
the escape Of America from the disease. Careful
attention should be given to public and private
sanitation.