Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-22
LESS MONEY FOR THE HOMES
Iowa Senator Declares State Institutions
Are Costing tooIAuch
APPROPRIATIONS LARGER THAN NEEDED
Proposes II Systematic Reduction, sny-
Ing II Costs Less TO Feed ana
CIothc Inmates Than II Did
Twenty Years Ago.

DDS MONIES Jan. 21.-7(suecial)-A sen
sation is likely to be sprung in the legisla-
ture in a few days, and iflit is there will be
more Lobbyists on hand than the halls have
seen in years. 1t is nothing less than a
proposition to systematically reduce the sup
port funds of state institutions and 1t comes
from a member of the senate appropriations
committee. He is making an Investigation
and when he has some statistics ready will
present the proposal.
1--WE are paying too much for the support
Of the inmates in Institutions" declared this
senator today. Last year was
on the visiting committee for one
institution l looked into the amounts
received by it and found $14 month was
paid for each inmate. l then looked up the
code and found that for about twenty years
that institution has been getting S14 a month
for the support of every inmate. Now, the
question | asked was. If Sli would support
an inmate twenty years ago, would not $40
do it now? Prices Of all the staples that go
to the support of inmates are far lower
than then; in many cases l find 100 per
cent lower | have not investigated in de-
TAIL but | am preparing to do so; already l
am satisfied that | can show that prices
have fallen so much that the average expense
as twenty years ago.
COSTS LESS THAN IT DID.
"The state not only pays this Sl4 a month
but provides buildings and lands, work
shops and facilities of all sorts to enable
the inmates to earn part or all of their
support. In all the institutions the inmates
produce very largely each year. farming
gardening, in shops or in other ways. The
state has been extending their facilities for
helping themselves And yet, despite this
and the fact of falling prices, we are pay
ing as much money as ever for their sup
port. At the institution l visited last year
| was told by the managers that they re-
ceiyed more from the support fund than
they need. 1t is spent in painting buildings
and fences, making improvements that are
rather luXuries than necessities, and is al
ways used; the state never or seldom gets
any of it back. What | want il rigid in
vestigation to learn how much it ought to
be costing us now to maintain our blind,
insane, feebleminded, orphans and other
classeA of inmates oi state institutions.
Here is an illustrations AT the Glcnwood
Home for Feeble Minded Children they re-
celve $S5 per quarter for each inmate, and
the counties from which inmates are sent
are required to buy all their clothing. On
the other hand, at the EldOra Reform school
the allowance for years was only So each
month, or $24 per quarter; and there the
state had to buy clothes The allowance was
not large enough, and at the last session was
increased to $40 per month "a But the fact
that the institution got along so many years
on IS, and clothed the inmates, shows what
can be done. 1t seems as II Glenwood, with
cut the expense of clothing, ought to do
well on $3 per inmate; but it still draws
war prices. The same applies to insane hos
pitals, which receive S14 a month, or about
Si5 per quarter per inmate
Il am convinced there gis n large field for
good retrenchment work in these matters,
wi
tons want this to be looked into"
TO INVESTIGATE THE DEFICIT.
An investigation of state finances is likely
to bo set on foot in day or two designed
to locate the responsibility for the half mil
lion deficit The state auditor has taken the
ground that the Legislature appropriated too
freely at the last session, and that this ac-
counts for about half Of the deficiency The
legislators do not admit this and blame the
auditor.
In his capacity as keeper of the states
books, Auditor Mccarthy prepared estimates
for the last session, setting forth the sources
of revenue and the amounts they could be
expected to produce during the biennial
period. The members of the appropriations
committees of both houses say they made
tho appropriations on the basis of the estl-
mates, and that the total of appropriations
did not exceed by over $4,000 the amount
estimated by the auditor. They say tina,
Mr.. Mccarthy made some egregious blundero
III MS tStllIdttS, he TtChOneu as aNalIaDle
revenues that will not bo available; overee-
timated receipts from various sources and
generally they say, overdid things.
The members have already had some
pointed discussions with the auditor, and
have told him plainly that they think he
has been placing on them responsibility that
they are not entitled to bear. They now
propose to prove that they have been right,
and that the state executive council ana
auditor are jointly responsible for all the
nspal