Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-02-08
THEY FEED ON DAINTIES
Superintendent of New York In
sane Asylums Live High.
TENTED BILLS READ AT ALBANY

lie M1ZED BILLS hbAU Al ALBANY
Bill Introduced to DO Away with the
State Lunacy Com mission-High Priced
Wines, Havana Cigars, Choice Game and
Poultry Among the Articles Ordered.
ALBANY, Feb S.-The important hearing
of the week was that before the senate
finance committee on Senator O'Connor's
bill to abrogate the powers OF the state lu-
macy commission 50 far as the auditing of
all accounts is concerned. Senator O'Con-
nor said that he had introduced the bill to
seek uniform measures to get rid of the
friction between the managers of asyIums
and the commission.
He had hoped to please the asylum au-
thorities, but he had found that this bill
didn't please them, and they wanted the
commission abolished He was against
such abolition entirely and would oppose it.
He said: ut does not seem to be gener-
ally understood that the superintendent
of hospitals and all employees are provided
with rooms and board free. Each superin-
tendent receives a salary varying from
"a, coo to &, 900 year and is provided with
fine living apartments. In at least three
hospitals expensive houses have been pro-
vided for the superintendent apart from
the institution.
Each superintendent is allowed horses,
carriages and coachman, from two to
three private servants, his laundry work
and all of his food supplies-in fact, there
have been practically no expenses except
that for clothing which he has been obliged
to assume personally. All these allow
ances bring up the compensation of super
intendents to between Sl2, 900 and $4,000 a
year-a salary greater than the governor
of the state or judges of the court of ap-
| peals Under the new system of state
audit the greater part of these perquisites
are still allowed to the superintendent
and their assistants, but the commission
i'll lunacy has not yet conceived it to be the
duty of the state to provide these superin-
tendcnts with all kinds of luXuries for
their tables and their houses.
superintendent Live High.
THE commission under the present sys-
tenn could not consent to allowing items
for supplies of a costly nature, such as
cigars, champagnes, clarets, sherries, cor
dials, game, etc, which some of the hos
pital superintendent have heretofore en-
joyed at the expense of the state" To
show what had been the custom up to the
present time with regard to such purchases
the commissioner exhibited a number of
vouchers obtained from the comptroller's
office which showed that all kinds of eX-
pensive and luxurious articles had been
purchased apparently for the sole use of
the superintendent and other officers of
the institutions.
Cases of wines, gallons of brandy, fine
cigars by the hundred, fancy prices for
birds and game, carriages and harness,
fancy furniture, table linen and carpets,
bonbons and Roman punch figure in the
vouchers which the state comptroller has
,J.al
of the expenditures of the superintendent
of three of the state insane asylums.
Read before the finance committee of the
senate to show the necessity for a state
board of audit, they created Il sensation.
Some of the most important items were as
follows:
St. Lawrence State Hospital-Pommer-
by sec, S64. so; Modoc, 50; sherry, SIS; 200
cigars, Manuel Garcias, s22; harness and
carriage for superintendent, S126. At this
hospital two of the trustees furnished coal
for $, 800, though it is in violation of law
They We're George Hall and William L.
Proctor.
Will Have Another Hearing.
Utica State ospital-Spring chickens,
month of September, 50 pounds at 80 cents
pound; two salad dishes, one at 81 and
one at 81; partridges at 81 so per pair. while
patients are being fed upon an inferior
grade of beef spring chickens at IS cents
pound, platters at Sc per piece, pair of
chickens at s.. so, in April spring lamb at
SO per carcass, quail at $3.50 per
dozen and cartridges at $3.50 per pair,
ice cream and Roman punch at $3.50 per
quart, mallard ducks at $l.50 per pair,
birds at 50 per dozen, salmon at 40 cents
per pound, imperial kayser beer at 81 per
| Dozen Munich beer at s., grapes at so
cents per pound 81 worth of mushrooms,
cucumbers at 331 and 35 cents apiece, 1lO
pounds of bonbons at 80 cents pound and
other expensive candies.
Dr. Blumer. the superintendent of the
Utica State hospital, desired to answer the
charges, but wanted some time to do it in.
He asked for a postpOnement because he
believed the charges were slanderouS in the
extreme. The committee decided to have a
further hearing on Thursday of next week
| In the assembly Mr.. Ainsworth's bill au-
thOriZing the attorney general or one of
his deputies to enter the grand jury room
on the request of the governor or justice
of the supreme court was passed-yeas, 90;
nays, 40. The greater New York bill was
made special order for today
In the senate the two bills restoring the
excise and school laws to the state they
were in before Sheehan's bill of last year
were passed and will reach the governor
today.