The herald., 1897-02-22
Cut Below the Common Jail
Standard
MANAGERS MAKE PROTEST
Against NiggardIiness Which Is Not
Legitimate Economy
Southern Institutions Suffer Most Prom thu
Scheme Of Leg sIative Retrench.
ment Misappiied
Special to The Herald

Special to The Herald
SACRAMENTO, Feb. 21.-The Capi.
toll looks deserted to-day, so many law
makers and attaches have gone to San
Francisco to celebrate Washington's
birthday, but those who remain behind
are already receiving letters of protest
from managers and trustees of the vari-
Gus state institutions whose mainte-
nance funds have been cut ten per cent
by the ways and means committee of
the assembly, as explained in Saturdays
Herald. DR.. Gardner, of Napa, points
out that the maintenance for the three
older asylums at Napa, Stockton and
Agnews, is only 31.77 cents a day per
patient, which only leaves about 16 cents
a day to clothe, feed and supply medi-
cine to each patient. Meals will there
fore have to be given patients on basis
of two and a half to three cents each,
while even in jails the prisoners meals
cost from IL TO 20 cents each.
Senator MorehouSe, who was one Of
the directors of Agnew, is very indig-
nant at the cut, which he says means
simply that the public institutions must
close. He favors economizing. but not
tunates who cannot be heard in the mat
ter.
But bad as the condition would be in
the old institutions, it is even worse in
the others. In the newer ones, like
Medicine and Highland, where the
cost of maintenance is necessarily high
er, the committee has really given q
smaller per capita, that of Highland be-
ing 29 cents on an estimated population
for the next two years of 700.
1t is true the appropriation for the
next two years Is larger in amount than
that for the last two at Highland, but
the increase in insane population has
been so great that it is practically low
er, that is, less per capita The trustees
offered to run Highland for 40 cents per
| capita, but the committee has cut them
| down nearly IL cents under that figure.
| 1t appears, therefore, that cuttinf is be-
ing done in the south regardlesy Of con-
ditions and circumstances. " Is that
| fact which has led to numerQ..s letters
/ from the south protesting ~ ainst this
| injustice, being received Hre.
When the legislature /sts to work
! Tuesday. much impOrtaift legislation
will at once come up for consideration.
Perhaps nothing is more important to
the south than the new irrigation law
proposed and prepared by committee Of
both houses, Judge Bridgeford doing
most of the work. So far the new law
meets with general favor, the only crit
icism being that 1t Is not retroactive.
What is wanted is law that will not
only provide means for establishing ir-
rigation districts without the objections
to the Wright law In the future, but
| which will also permit those towns and
| districts now suffering like Modesto
| from dishonest or incompetent district
officials, to get out of their trouble. The
| bill as amended by the assembly has been
| discussed by the senate committee and
numerous amendments will undoubtedly
| be proposed
| Androus' bill to allow districts with
no Indebtedness to disincorporate came
| up Wednesday for third reading in the
senate and will undoubtedly pass.
| Friends of the single tax have secured
committee endorsements of the consti-
| tutional amendment which will allow
them, if it passes and is adopted by the
people, to urge passage by the next
! legislature Of single tax laws. They are
very jubilant in consequence.
No constitutional amendments have
been discussed by the senate, and will
not be until the last ten days of the ses-
| sion. So far the only amendment that
| has attracted much attention is the one
| favoring a state liquor license law,
against which prohibitionists are pro.
testing. FRASIER.