The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1886-04-21
HIGHLANDS INSANE
Sadly In Need of Better Ac
cOmmOdatiOns,
Which the Officers in Authority
Are Inclined to Give.

Which the Officers in Authority
Are Inclined to Give.
| For some time II has been known to those
who take an interest in the management OF
the County Inhrmary that the "crazy house
was in q bud condition and that matters In
| stead Of growing better have been getting
| worse. The insane have been steadily
increasing in number, the building IL
crowded, and the structure at first could not
have been we'll ntted for its intended pur.
pose. At present 1t Is, as the Gazette says,
not a ft place to keep cattle. This Is not
from any fault of the superintendent but
from the utter lack of sanitary provisions,
of sewerage, and Of general adaptation.
The crazy house is dilapidated, the timbera
in the floor are rotten, and the entire frame
work is giving way. In many places the
floor Is broken and patched with plank and
tin and sine, in some places the floor gives
under your feet at every step, and in Others
1t has sunk, leaving O space OF several
inches between 1t and the Dashboard. From
these statements 1t is not hard to imagine
how uncomfortable the building would be
in winter. No heating apparatus can thor.
oughly warm the building, and the Superin.
tendent has often been obliged to remain up
all night attending to fires and keeping the
insane persons from burning themselves al
the stoves.
In the women's department, upstairs in
the main building, little children are com.
PEELED to minele with women. old and
young, in every stage of imbecility and
idiocy, and with vile mouthed hags, utterly
devoid of character. The institution Is so
80 IsHpN RNnU
must sometimes be locked in the same cell.
the weak are at the mercy of the strong, an d
fights are frequent. The inmates now num-
Der eighty two, and of these fourteen are In
sane and twenty. four are ldiotic. Fifteen
are between seventy and eighty years Of age,
and fve are over eighty. The county has
thirteen more than its quota at the Athens
Insane Asylum and 1t is only through the
solicitations of Probate Judge Dittey and
other officials on account. of the miserable
condition of our 1nfirmary that these have
been retained so long. 1t Is certainly neces-
sary that tome provision be made, so luna
tics may be divided from the sane, and that
little children be separated from the deprav.
ed and idiotic.
For the purpose Of discussing some i'm.
provement of this sort, the County Commits
sioners met the Board Of Directors at the In
Urinary on Wednesday of last week. Rep.
resentatives of the Gazette and NEws.HER-
AID and few visitors were present. Sever
al plans were discussed and although none
was adopted, both Boards recognize the ne
cessity Of doing something and are resolved
| 10 do 1t. The plan which seems to ind most
favor Is to remove the old "crazy house,
and build almost upon Its site larger struct.
ure, forming an extension of the east end Of
the main building. 1t is proposed that this
| shall be long enough to contain eight or nine
cells of . medium size and wide enough
| to allow good hall between the two rows OF
cells. Much of the brick and stone of the
old building can be used, and will reduce
| the cost of the new.
| What cries for attention more than any.
thing else about the Inhrmary, Is the loath.
| some stencil which arises from every quarter
Here, again, II we seem to reflect on the
management, 1t Is not Intentional, for the
| Superintendent is not to blame. The sick
| entng odOr results from accumulati0ns oi
| many years that the Institution has heer
running without sewerage or any adequate
substitute. This is q subject we would glad
| ly leave out of type, but every citizen shoult
know the state OF affairs and we feel con
strained to publish 1t. The privy is in an in
closure of board fence right beside the crazy
house. 1t has long been the custom to Sc
the privy over large vault and after tim,
to remove It and cover the excrement. with
earth. 80 long has this practice been KEEP
up that the ground is full of Nth which
oozes from the surface, and the air IL heavJ
with nauseous odors. One man lay dead IL
his cell on the day of our visit and snothe
| very low, and has since died. We do not as
sert that these deaths resulted from the un
healthy surroun undings, but the air the in
mates breathe must induce and foster dis
ease.
No place is better adapted for perfec
system of sewerage than the ground jus
back Of the Inhrmary. A little more thar
one hundred yards away isa small ravine
with enough depth to furnish an excellen
fall for drain. As was remarked by by
stander while the party was viewing tn
ground. the ravine seems ordained BY Prov
idenee for the contemplated purpose.
Auditor LeFevre figures the cost of tn
new building at about $4,000, and others d.
not differ much from his estimate. Tn
annual levy for the Building Fund 10 81
mills. which producesSab0ut 5000. II NO nm
forseen expenses are incurred the entire COS
ment IL now on foot and the work will prob
ably be begun without delay, anc all WIN
are acquainted with the imperative need o
the Iniirmary will admit the advisability o
making the Improvement.
Carpets and Oil Cloths.
We offer to the trade this season the lar