Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-10-13


do service and not be unsightly.
STATE PRISON.
The management Of tho State prison an
pears to be Of n high order. The repor,
shows tue institution to have been
Debted with Observation-Disclosures. gi6 %
TO have been credited wlth'.,,........ 8,SiS51
Leaving debit balance Of. ".Sll,O A
The amount paid under the act to aid
discharged conviots was .... ....u 2,NG.OI
Balance. expense to the State for oper-
atm the prison for the biennial
term ending juno 81, lSV2...........S s, Csc IS
Our penal institutions represent certain
legal and moral oblig ations to society. We
cannot escape that obligation nor avoid the
expense. Quite likely the avenues for prof
table labor will diminish with time but for
the present the trustees are able TO furnish
employment for the prisoners that brings to
tho state reasonable income
INSANE ASYLUNs.
For the condition of the variou1 insane
asyums Of tho State | refer you to the re-
port OF the trustees and of the supervisors
Of the insane.
BRATTLEBORo.
From tho supervisors report we learn
that the average number Of patients Mt Brat
tleboro for tho biennial term has been 42S;
that 1S5 have been removed to Waterbury
and that there remained in this asylum on
the 30th day Of june 1892, 3iS; of this
number 1879 are supported by the State.
BY tho removal OF these patients to WIT
erbury there are now ut Brattleboro vacant
rooms for a large number Of inmates. This
removal gives this asylum an excellent or
Al. 81
modious buildings for the better care OF GER
tain GLASSES of patients and believe it is in
contemplation to carry these Improvement
to completion at no distant day.
WATERBURY,
The completion of portion OF the State
asylum at Waterbury and the removal to
it OF a largo number OF patients marks a
new era in the treatment OF the insane in
this State. By tho building of this asy lum,
devoted to the care of the insane poor OF the
State now responsibilities attach, that will
for some years call for considera bic
appropriations for building purposes, as tho
wants of the State demand, without any Of
the financial benefits that accrue to the old
asylum by reason of its private character.
The supervisors call attention to the or
er-crowding Of the new Asylum. The build
ings already erected were originally de
signed, l am informed, for about $50 pa
tients; but at one time, however, the mum
Der reached POI.
The number present on the 30;h OF June
was 1913. The reasons given for this over
crowding do not commend themselves to my
Judgment; questions OF this kind should not
be decided on mercenary grounds, or from
pressure from any source.
INSANE POOR.
Your attention is called to the laws re-
lating to the insane poor. Under the lcsis-
lation OF 1886, the burden OF supporting
the insane poor has been shifted from the
town to the State without adequate means
Of enforcing good faith, under the provis-
ions Of the law, SO that there are confined
in the various Asylums the poor and feeble
who are the proper wards of relatives. or
towns, and ought not to be charge upon
the State; provision should DO made that
the relatives OF tie party aud the select
men of the town should be examined under
oath, and the States attorney or other
suitable person obliged to make careful
investigation; and after the person is con
fined ia tho asylum, inquiry from time to
ttme should be made as u the ability and
duty Of others to participate in the sup
port.
The amount pail by ths State for the
support OF this class OF patients appears to
have beeu 1922, 4U3. ., for the biennial term.
to which Is TO be added the cost Of main
taIang those transferred to Waterbury.
ROADS.
The legislation of 1850 which removed
from the towns tho Responsibility for hay
ing good roads, has in many cases cau,ed