The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-22
BACK ON THE COUNTY
ST. PETER ASYLUM AUTHORITIES
RETURN TWO INMATES TO
ST. PAUL.
A GENERAL WEDDING OUT.
SIXTY-FIyE PATIENTS KNOWN AS
DEMENT'S CAST ON THE
COUNTIES
FROM WHICH THEY HAD COME.
RaTnsey's Officials Do Not Take
Kindly to the MOvement-Agent
Gates Called In.

[ Attaches of the state insane asylum
at ST. Peter, male and female at.
tendant, arrived in the city, yesterday
morning, having in custody Ole John.
son and Annie Hanson, who had been
inmates of the institution for a decade
and longer, as Ramsey county charges.
They delivered the patients to Sheriff
Wagner on an order from the board of
trustees of the asylum, returning the
unfortunates to the place where their
commitment was made. In the absence
from the city of the sheriff, his chief
deputy, Frank Robert, locked the aged
couple up in the county Jail pending
+ the action of the board of county COM
nlissioners on their cases.
No intimation had been received from
the asylum authorities at the sheriffs
office that the patients were to be re-
turned to st. Paul, and when they ar
rived everybody was surprised. Deputy
Robert was completely in the dark as
to the cause of the return, and at first
he said he. could not receive the I'M
Terminates. Then he began an inquiry,
which developed the fact that their
return was legal, and he received the
aged couple. He eXerted every effort
to have some disposition made of the
cases during. the day, but this was
futile, and the only thing he could do
was to make the patients as comfort
able as possible for their temporary
confinement in the Jail.
Ole Johnson is about fifty-eight years
Of age. He was committed to the aSy-
lum on Dec. q, 1869. The woman is
about sixty years old and was commit
ted on March Is, 1878, at the time when
fifteen other patients were returned to
the institution after it had been recon-
structed on account of destruction by
fire. The other inmates had been
brought to ST Paul after the fire and
| cared for at the county Jail, while the
asylum was rebuilding. Both Johnson
and the Hanson woman had been per-
nanently confined at st. Peter from
the dates of their commitment until
the trustees sent them back yesterday.
They were sent to the asylum from
the probate court, but as the records
in their cases are meager investigation
has thus far failed to throw any light
on their family connections or whether
either of them have friends. The re-
suit is that they are county charges.
During the session of the last legiS-
lature law was passed providing for
the denomination Of all patients con-
fined in the state insane aSylums with
view to Kidding them of inmates who
did not properly belong there. This
law provided that any person who had
been committed Or would be committed
in the future, should be examined by
three physicians of the hospital to
which they had been ordered for the
purpose of ascertaining ii they were
entitled to the benefits of the retreat.
l.. = hot h.
were not entitled TO these benefits, they
were to be discharged and returned
to the county from which they had
been committed. Then it became the
sheriff's duty to receive such patients
and to deliver them to their relatives or
friends, if such could be found, or to
the board of county commissioners
whose duty it would be then to provide
for them These denominations are
now in progress at st. Peter Roches-
ter and Fergus Falls, and the return
of Johnson and the Hanson woman, is
the result of their re-eXamination at
st. Peter. They are both incurable de-
ments, and the order for their return
says that they have been discharged
because they are not fit subjects for
treatment at an asylum for the insane"
They are both bent with age and per-
fectly harmless, and eventually. UNI
doubtediy, the county comm ssi n rs
viii provide for them at the poor
house.
Deputy Sheriff Robert notified Secre-
tary H. H. Hart, of the state board of
corrections and charities, of the return
of these patients, and that official
turned the case over to Agent w. All
mont Gates for investigation. In the
afternoon he called at the sheriff's
office, where he held conference with
Mr.. Robert. He said that he had just re-
turned from Minneapolis, where he in
vestigated the cases of two patients
returned under similar circumstances
to Hennepin county from ST. Peter,