The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-05-31
OUR BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS.
A Reformed Civil Services in Connection with
Them an Absolute Necessity.


lpecfsl 90 the Tndiauapoiis yourraA.
NEW YoRK, May 30-Before the Civil-serv-
lee Reform League. in session in this city. Mr.
Louis Rowland. of Indianapolis. read the follow
ing paper. which created a profound impression,
because Of the scandslous mismanagement Of the
Insane Hospital in that State. which it recorded:
My theme is q reformed civil-serviee in con-
peetion with benevolent institutions This I'M
plies, not only that there are evils In the exist
ing system TO be corrected, but that those evils
bear with peculiar force upon benevoient iusti-
tutionR And as the evils are the same, wnetner
found IN tae postal service or IN insane hos
pitfalls. the special nervousness OF those evils
when seen in the ADMINISTRATION OF our hospitals
and asylums must be due TO some peculiar feat-
ure In these Institutions.
One of those walters upon popular provi-
dence whom We so humorously call statesmen'
suppose Mr.. Lowell 10 good authority here
ones said that no man bad . right 70 be heard
on the tariff question who had not had . person
III contact with business imagine that It 10
some such notion a. this which has prompted
she Leagues committee to assign to me the
above subject It can make not the slightest
difference how ignorant or foolish / may be, for
] assured.y have had o personal contact OF the
most violent kind, not indeed with civll-service
reform-for about that / know nothing practi-
cally, never having seen IL In operation-but
with benevolent institutions; and you have the
word Of the aforesaid statesman for It. that this
Ia quite sufficient to qualify me for the task In
hand.
I need not speak & in this company Of the evils
20 be corrected; We know them; We have met
them often, and We have hung our heads with
shame when the conclusion was forced upon rs
that they were 50 firmly intrenched in our ma
sional life. shat . President whom We sent to
Washington 10 fight and destroy them, had by
necessary implication admitted that he could
make no Roadway against them.
But | viii take up . little of your time to the
=.
the State charities Of Indiana as revealed by the
investigation OF our Civil-seryice Reform Asso-
citation
A charity has two sides to it. The man who
administers it owes q duty not only to the per-
son creating this charity but also to the persons
for whose benefit it is created. Of course, /
know that the performance Of the first neces-
ssrily involves the performance of the second
duty; but the point is here that the omission OF a
duty may entail some dreadful wrong upon suf-
fering humanity. A postmaster has nofellow-
creatures to care for; he owes no duty to the
letters dropped into tho letter-boxes; his duty is
20 the general public, and il Ii the general pub
lie alone that suffers from his faithlessness.
When, however, q man &C the head OF an insane
hospital 10 negligent or criminal, the general
public suffers, 1t il true, but that is as nothing
compared to the ills which fall 70 the lot of the
poor lunatics placed in his charge.
Now, / take II that the fundamental idea of
the spoils system Is 10 get all you can and to-
kesD-all you get, and this idea cannot be carried
into practical operation unless the subordinates
are in complete sympathy, on this and all other
points, with their chief. Not only must they
be in sympathy with him.. but they must feel .
very deep sense of obligation to him. He must
be able to trust them, though no one else does.
Knowing this rule of practical politics, and
moving that there we're many opportunities for
plundering at the Insane Hospital. we were not
surprised TO fnd that the Democratic head of
thar institution had remembered the ''boys in
she trenches and had placed none but Demo-
erats on guard.
Some years ago there was an honest Demo-
cratic board OF trustees managing the hospital
the Fishback board. A prominent produce
dealer. now clerk of Marion county, and defend
Int in an Indictment charging him with a VIOLA
zion of the federal election laws. John E. Sulli-
Ger with oleomarearine. The Fishback board
did the most natural thing in the world for hon.
est men when they resolved that. as they were
getting oIeomargarine they would pay for oleo-
margarine; that 10 they locked Mr.. Sullivan's
claim about 800. That gentleman could not
understand why a Democrat should be sub
jected to such discourteous treatment at the
hands of Democrats, so he carried his griev-
ance to the next Legislature, and by threats
and promises be succeeded in getting Mr.. Fish
back legislsted out OF Office. This was in 1883;
and the measure by which this result was ac-
eomplished il known as the Brown bill-as in
famous q piece OF Legislation as can be found
upon any of our statute books. So the whole
6A4AoaAtt = . OoS Vi % 4aakAOA cateCI-
But did not a dispute about an apple precipitate
abe Trojan warf
This law provided that the board of trustees
should be elected by the General Assembly
shat is, that 1t should be a strictly partisan
board. The members Of the board were respon-
sibls to no authority, for they could neither be
Removed nor impeached; the only remedy
against them WASH the courts, by a suit for the
present president of tbs board. lobbisd actively
for the bill. a. be had been promised the place
he received. This at once estAb-
lished the most friendly relations between the
Doctor and Mr.. Sullivan. So with other gen.
slemen-notably Mr.. Jerry Hall, the steward.
The members of the General Assembly, too,
were promised favors in the way of positions
for friends and relatives. Such faithful work
Wac crowned with success. Mr.. Sullivan was
avenged Its interesting to note here that
the new board reversed the action of the old
one, and paid DIR. Sullivan the full creamery
price for bis oleomargarine It was not long
now before the whole institution was in the
hands, not merely of Democrats. but of Demo
Gratis who were friends to DIR. Harrison. Then
the trouble began, or rather. it didn't begin till
July. 1856, when the Indiana Civilservice Re-
form Association suddenly grew inquisitive.
One warm day in J~uly-how we'll I remember it
the committee met mt the Denison Hotel
and resolved that an investigation would be
worth while. We hadn't had q real investiga-
aion in Indiana, unless you count the p~ostofhce
investigation in July of the year before. 1t 10
true that the results IN that case were not en-
couraging, but We were undismsyed. SO Messrs.
Foulke and Morton visited the hospital, and it
happened that that very morning . large batch
of maggot-infested butter had been hidden ia
the sewer, because. as one OF the parties to this
eoncealment naivsly said. I'VE didn't want them
civil services fellows 10 get on to it" This was
o most proEising start The committee pub
lished its report. The trustees answered. The
COMMITTEES replied. And the fight went on
through the newspapers all summer. The Re-
publican orators took up the cry, and every
stump rssounded with shrieks Of maggoty but-
ter and cholera hogs. The campaign was fought
on that issue, and before IL was over we had the
Republican party, much TO the surprise of some
Republican,. / suspect, hopelessly committed to
the cause Of civil-service reform. 1t served
them well. however. for they carried the State.
and came very,nearly carrying the Legislature.
Ia spite Of the outrageous gerrymander OF the
Democrats.
The Investigation went on before two leeis-
lative committees, and the testimony taken fills
about 1000 printed pages. Every charge made
was proved, but, as in tbs Jones case, we got no
remedy because the Senate was Democratic and
the House Republican.
In brief. the charges were ''pernicioue polit-
zeal activity. or offensive pastisanship. which
ever you prefer. This was carried to such an
extent that the wards were. on occasions Of pe-
iiticai interest. practically deserted By the at
PENDANTS or course. the harmless system Of
voluntary contributors was In vogue. Maggoty
butter was furnished the hospital at four diff
ssrenr times. and ii twice foucd its way to the
49, a A.. us&fanta Thae. .-- -~--