The morning call., 1893-10-08
been Informed of the dreadful state of
things as it now appears they have existed

been Informed of the dreadful state of
things as it now appears they have existed
for sOme time.
When the matter was first mentioned to
Mr.. Linforth he Indignantly denied that
there was anything connected with the
asylum on which he and the other directors
were not we'll informed. and he was quite
sure that it was impossible for such con-
dition of affairs to exist as had been de-
scribed.
I'VE did not leave the direction of the
asylum's affsirs wholly to the physician
and the matron." said he. "Dr. Stebbins
visited it every Monday, and Sunday
rarely went by without my being there.
Other members of the board did the same.
and IL anything was out of the way we
would certainly have noticed it,"
Did you ever notice any unpleasant or
offensive odor when you paid visit to the
wards where the babies were kept?" was
asked.
scrupulously clean, and there was not
room. in the house in which l would have
hesitated to eat a meal"
"Tben there was nothing about the
place that affected you unfayorably when
you paid your weekly visits?"
"Oh. of course | always went away from
them feeling badly, for there was so much
tie children there through no fault of
theirs and to think of the unnatural par
ents who would thus desert them could not
but make one sick at heart"
''When you knew there was such fright
full rate of mortality there and that con-
tagious disease was carrying off the chill
dren by the score. why did you admit otner
children and allow them to be taken into
place that as almost certain death ?"
But we did not know of the dreadful
mortality nor of the contagious disease
that we have learned of only since the iD-
vss,Sas"n n was besan Mr. LnfUTh
concerning which we were not informed.
We had matron and a physician whom
we paid to look after those things, and
even If we had known of them we were
not competent 10 say what should be
done"
Mr.. Liuforth then admitted what had
been laid down as the frat proposition,
lat the details of the management of the
asylum were delegated To certain persons,
and though the home was visited by him.
self and other members of the board every
week. yet they had remained in ignorance
of many things connected with it un til en-
lightened through the columns Of the
press.
1t has been charged that the board be-
came aware of the threatened investiga-
tiun by the Coroner and had hastily closed
the institution in order to avoid the same,
but this Mr.. Linforth stoutly denied. He
said the board had no knowledge of the
proposed Investigation at the time it was
voted 10 suspend operations.
| The C0roner's deputy paid his first visit
| to the asylum on the 28th ult., but of this
the board claims to have had no knowl-
edge, and asserts that at meeting just
prior to that date IL had bean decided to
| close, providing the remaining children
could be cared for out at st. Joseph's.
When it met on the Sd inst. it was re-
ported that such provision could be made,
and it was forthwith decided to close un-
til such time as funds could be obtained
for the opening OF better and more suit
| Bile asylum.
been informed by Mrs. Bowen. the ma
| iron, that the authorities were moving
| toward an investigation.
AT the inquest yesterday morning the
matron was called. aud told the following
story:
| August l." said Mrs. Bowen. "There were
only nine deaths In that month, and we
had twen;y-six children there at the be-
ginning Of September. During that mon tn
| there were sixteen admitted, while twenty
| two died.
II had charge of the supplies for the in
| stiiution, and ordered cows milk for the
children. No, cannot remember how
much was ordered. nor in what proper
tion. OF course we ordered 80 much for
each child we had tn ere, but l cannot re-
member what that amount was.
"The milk was diluted with water and
sterillZed with Ar2old's steriliZer. We used
| the same milk OH the table for ourselves as
was given TO the children, only it was not
sterilized nor diluted. / attended to the
steriliZing process myself, and saw that it
was properly done. / am graduate of
the Chlldren's Hospital, and have had ex-
perience in this line of work.
For babe that was one or two weeks
old we gave TABLESPOONFUL of the
diluted liquid every two hours. This was
the regular allowance. As the child grew
older iae amount was increased and the
amount of water used in diluting wai