Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1890-02-28


ment of truth in this allegation is in
} the latter part OF. it. This minority
report was fully investigated by a
, Legislative committee. The remain
der of his letter has no further claim
on my attention.
81 come now to the letter of Will
liam Murray, who makes charges suf-
} ficiently grave to warrant explanation.
Murray was attendant in the Asylum
when had charge of it. i discharg-
ed him for misconduct and violation
of rules. He came to this city, re-
naming for a while, then went to Cal
} ifornia. Since then | know nothing
Of him personally. At the time of
his dismissal he gave me an intima-
ton that / should hear from him. Of
the character of the abuse had no
idea, land gave it no thought.
taking the charges in Murray's
letter to DIR. Cook in the order made:
'Dr. Rodman kept me running two
wards of between sixty and seventy
patients for ten months for one mans
pay This is not true. He had an
oversight of two wards only from the
time the attendant in the communica
ting ward left until a successor could
be appointed short time-possi-
bly, for few weeks. He was paid for
his extra time $40.
"I have found men lying on the
floor dead in the morning, having
fallen out of bed during the night in
the agonies of death This, l be-
lieve, is not true. DR.. Stone, in his
statement, says: Il never heard of
patients falling out of bed in tine ag
onies of death; but patients have been
found dead in the morning from ap
poplexy or epileptic fits, and such
events occur in all asylums. For the
number of patients and for the length
of time, believe that as few patients
have died alone in this as any insti-
tuition of like character in the country.
"'The only mutilation by rat-bites
that ever happened as far as | know
or ever heard of was in Murray's
ward. / was absent at the time, but
upon my return the circumstance was
reported to me and looked into.
Murray told me that the remains
were uninjured when he went to
breakfast, but upon his return soon
after he found that rat had bitten a
small place ON one eyebrow and an
other on the nose. John Connolly
makes this statement with reference
to this case: 81 hereby certify that |
carefully watched and attended to
the man alluded to, l suppose, in the
letter from Mr.. Murray to DR.. Cook,
all night before his death. He died
in the morning, and his death was re-
ported to said Murray, who was his
attendant in the ward, Immediately
after its occurrence. l further certify
that - was in comfortable room,
was lying on a clean, well-furnished
bed, and had about him all that was
necessary for a sick or dying man.
There was no rat bite or other mutila-
lion on him when | left him. DIR. I
Stone, who had him in charge as
physician, says in his statement, which ,
S inclosed: Il never heard of more
han one case of this sort occurring
lere, and do not believe that there /;
sver was another. This one occurred ,
n Mr.. Murray's ward, as he ac-
in broad, open daylight,
Turing his temporary absence from
he room in which the corpse lay.
The area of the skin eaten away was
-ery small, certainly not larger than
/ silver half-dollar, and probably not
lalf SO large. The remains of patients
ire carefully guarded here, and but
his one accident Of this sort has oc-
,urred during the twenty years of my l
tay here; this too, Notwithstanding /
he fact that it is impossible to effect !;
tally keep out rats from any large
in which there is the attrac- '
ion of two kitchens and seventeen q
lining with pipes-water and
oil-running in wooden castings
throughout, along which they can v
rain access To the same effect, Mrs. q
'eck says: Il am matron of the Y
Western Kentucky Lunatic Asylum, b
nd have been in the employ of said n
sylum for twenty-six years. | saw Y
he remains of -, and my attention I
1as called to the rat-bite on his face.
regarded the bite as insignificant,
nd / never knew of another patient
INJURED by rats or otherwise mutilated.'
ITO quote Murray again: Many
f these violent patients will not wear
lothing and when the wind is from
he north they are almost frozen to-
cath, as there is no draft in the hues j
then the wind is from that quarter. L
n answer to this l inclose you the :
tatement of the engineer, in which d q
g says: All the wards have been I
omfortably warmed, and that part of 81
be building occupied by the patients h
nder William Murray's care was ex- ;,
eptionably well heated. / must say r
1r DR.. Rodman that he always said 81
nat he wanted the building warm, if h
othing else was done -
"To protect the Asylum from spite .
IL and unfounded attacks by en-
loyes who had been dismissed from
s service for cause, and to arrive
uickly at a knowledge of any mis-
onduct which might be to the detri-
lent of the patients, | had for many
ears presented weekly to every per-
on engaged in its services a paper
eading thus: Il hereby declare on
onor that l know of no patient in
MS Asylum having been mistreated
r in any way neglected by any officer
r employe. know of no misconduct
any character whatever upon the
art Of any officer or employee This
aper was signed by Murray on the
ext Monday after entering upon his
uties, again ON the Monday follow
lg the case of the rat-bite, and yet
gain on the Monday preceding his p
Ischarge from the Asylum, and on 6,
,ery Monday from September 1884, =;
ntil January z, 1889, inclusive. 1t :, :,
ems to me that this should be an 3
toppel as to William Murray. II
"These papers file with this, for te
rification of my statements; also the &C
Union of the Attorney General, the &C
of DIR. Stone, Mrs. Peck, Oh