St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-10
linson and his assistants-that the
death rate at st. Peter is not appalling.
VILE KITCHENS

VILE KITCHENS.
The asylum kitchen, where is pre-
pared all the food consumed by the in
mates, is 200 years behind the period
1t is cramped, inadequate and not cas-
lily kept clean. Economical working of
material is not possible, and waste full
less cannot be avoided, especially in
the matter of time. There is not even
revolving oven-in fact, it would
make better pig pen than anything
else.
Supplying the kitchen with large
part of its material-costly material at
that's the slaughter house. / went
half a mile to get a peep at it, and at
the barn yard. Many an ordinary
farm has better facilities for killing
and keeping meat The Rochester in
stitution has a magnificent outfit for
this purpose; but the ST Peter facil-
tiles are calculated only to balk econ
omy and make the asylum officers re-
gret to have to visit them. Necessarily
great many beeves and sheep and
hogs arc killed during month, but
lack of storage room, lack of every
modern appliance and convenience,
must prevent economical handling of
the carcasses. The barn yard and
slaughter house should be moved to
high and dry ground and an entirely
new and modern establishment con-
structed. There is plenty of land avail
able for such a purpose, and not the
least desirable feature would be q
chance to secure drainage that is not
now possible.
The pump house, too, is very poorly
equipped, and the building is no good
for such plant, being too cramped
and small and entirely antique in it's
general features.
DECAY AND DANGER
go hand in hand in many of the older
parts of the buildings. One wing is
especially bad in this respect From
unmistakable signs, it is plain that the
roof must be sadly defective, and some
of the arches look as If they might
tumble down at any moment. In
some cases, where flooring has recently
been torn up to admit of repairs, rot
ting wood was uncovered. There is no
questioning the statement that not only
new additions are needed at st. Peter,
but the most extensive kind of repairs
and renewals of old work
An excuse for a greenhouse is
perched on the hillside behind the main
building, when by a very reasonable
outlay this desirable adjunct of such
an institution could be made a very
beautiful, if not a profitable, feature of
the place.
A general examination even. served to
demonstrate the fact that the growth
and the needs of this insane hospital
have not had anything like the con-
sideration they deserve from the legis-
lature. 1 believe that Senator Steb-
bins and Representative A. b. Kelly,
chairman of the senate and house
committees on insane hospitals, realize
this fact. Conversation with other
members of the committees, and with
Speaker Van SAINT, developed their
opinions to the same effect At any
rate, yesterdays trip furnished some
very significant object lessons of what
the state has not done for the insane
people of the thirty-six counties tribu-
tary to this hospital. And much i'm
pressive work went on before the eyes
of the committee that should awaken
their hearts as to the absolute and i'm
perative necessity for radically better
ing the present aggravating and un-
Christian condition Of things
OFFICIALS BLAMELESS.
1 refrained from much converse with
Supt. Tomlinson or his assistants. By
personal observation / desired to learn,
and from personal knowledge [ desired
to speak. Testimony must be borne to
the fact that the system and super
vision exercised are most admira ble-
also that they are surprisingly effect
i've, all things considered Restraint
of physical or repugnant form there
is none, so far as observable. Doctors
and nurses alike appear to have dis
carded the old notion of governing by
fear and denial. Swarming everywhere
were the patients of all the wards. i'm
-portuning, passive or entirely unnotic-
ing. Quietly the nurses admonished.
or gently persuaded; study and treat
ment go hand and hand with care and
attention. But the. accommodations are
inadequate; and all the asylum author
tiles can do is to make the best of them
Disgrace attaches to the failure to
have the best possible conditions at
the st. Peter hospital. And the, dis
grace is on the state. Common human
1ty demands improvement to a high
standard, let the cost be what it will.
Credit is due to those who are doing
grand work at st. Peter under tre-
mendouS handicaps. And the credit
belongs to the superintendent and his
AIDS. The state at large can afford to
give the credit, but cannot longer af-
lord to shoulder the disgrace j. r.