Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-28
A THOROUGH INSPECTION.
Asylum for the Insane. and LunatIc Hos.
pital in Excellent Condition.

The state committee on lunacy and
public charitable institutions left the
Bay State House at o'clock Thursday
morning and proceeded to the city hall
to visit Mayor Dodge. The mayoa. had
left the city, however, to attend an Inn
portant hearing at the state house, buG
he had written a very courteous note,
regrettng his absence, and this was
read to the committee by Mr.. @. M
Benchley
The party was a large one and con-
sisted OF Senators Gauss and Fairbank
and Representatives Whipple Steven
son, Waterman, Sisson, Coolidge, Crouch
and Russell; also Mrs. Whipple and Mrs
chandler. Miss Lincoln and Mrs. Whit
ing Of the board of trustees of the hos
pttal, Senator A. S. Roe and Hon. Moses
d, Gilman and Hon VIM E. Ford
From the city hall the party proceed
ed to the Sumner street asylum, where
they We're welcomed by DR.. e. V. Scrib-
ner, and under his escort gave the asy-
lum a most thorough inspection The
institution, though one of the oldest in
the state, has been kept In excellent re-
pair, and many valuable additions and
improvements have been made, suggest
ed by the experienced Judgment Of Dr.
Scribner. One of the most recent i'm
provements is the addition of a large
sun parlor, which has contributed great
ly to the cheerfulness and comfort of
the building. Although the cost of board
is only $325 per week, the institution is
so ably managed that it Is self-support-
ing.
The presence of so many distinguished
visitors had a tendency to excite some
of the inmates, but a word from the doc
tor or one Of the attendants was suf
flcient to quiet them.
To inspect the great lunatic hospital
isno small task, but it was Conscientious
ly done with the ~e7cient aid of Director
Fl. NJ Quinby and his courteous corps Of
assistants. Among the younger phySi-
clans are many expert linguists and
this is quite necessary, since there are
patients of all nationalities including
one Chinaman. The hospital has just
been equipped with elaborate shower
baths, all of which have an exceedingly
clever device for preventing the hot wa
ter from being turned on alone. This
removes the danger of such an accident
as recently occurred in an asylum in
the state where a patient was fatally
scalded.
The immense kitchens were visited,
and the huge piles of gingerbread which
were there were too much of a tempta-
ton for the members of the great and
general court" made hungry by much
and many of them fell with
the result that there may be a ginger
bread riot in the institution this eve
ming.
This incident did not initiate, howev-
er, against the excellent lunch which
was served at 1 o'clock in the rooms Of
the director. After lunch the plans and
requests Of the director were listened to,
and about p, m. the party left for the
city. The petitions of the management
for next year are very modest, and in
clude merely request for new boilers
and enlarged quarters for the employ
ees, both of which Improvements are
very much needed.
The state and city are to be congratu-
lated on the character of these two in
and 1t safe to say that no.
where in the world are the unfortunate
better cared for than in this common
wealth