The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-10-27

buildings for the Harrisburg institu-
tion. The committee on lunacy of the
board of public charities has been for
several years insisting that a new
asylum for the INDECENT insane be
built for management under homeo
pathic auspices. that a hospital speci-
ally devoted to the treatment of
epilepsy be erected and that the chron-
les who do not require active medi-
cal treatment, nursing and special
care" should be taken from the hos
pitals and put in an asylum by them
selves. They further recommend that
legislation be enacted to induce and
encourage counties, municipalities, etc.,
to build institutions for the care of
their own insane by the offer of a
fixed sum, say 81 per week, paid out
of the state treasury, for each patient
supported therein. Wisconsin has
pursued this plan with highly salts
factory results for 16 years, the per
capita cost per patient being s1.75 per
week, or less than 1t costs in Penn
sylvania. Notwithstanding the fact
that all the insane hospitals are seri-
ously and even dangerously overcrowd-
ed, hundreds of beds having to be made
down in the morning, T the legislature
has persistently ignored all these rec
concentrations. excepting when in 1895
care for patients. which was so loaded
down with provisos and impossible re-
quirements as to be wholly imperative.
1t was owing to the extravagant ap-
propriations for party and factional
hof Mr. No ol rar n III
in his Phoenixville speech: "At the last
session of the legislature the appro-
priations committee was obliged to re-
fuse actual maintenance for many Of
the most deserving hospitals of the
state. Yet this same committee, under
orders, passed for Senator Coyle, Of
SchuylSill a Quay lieutenant, an ap-
preparation of $4,000 for the main
tenance of the American Hospital as
ISOLATION, of Mahanoy township, which
was an imaginary institution of Sena-
tor Coyle's. without capital, without a
building. or without even site upon
which to build one. This fraud was
fortunately discovered by Governor
Hastings, who vetoed the nefarious
scheme"
And yet as showing how even the
STATE D0dTu VI CUdfltlcS ltocil 10 Sohh-
PEELED to pose as apologists for the
machine. the secretary CT the board
said In his report Jan. 1. 1897 (see report,
page 81: AT the session of the legis-
lature Of 1895 we earnestly urged that
provision be made for both the insane
and criminal classes. Bills for these
purposes were presented to the legis-
lature, but unfortunately, owing to the
financial depression of the treasury,
failed to become laws" And vet 1t
is notorious that in multiplying useless
offices and expenses the legislature Of
1895 outdid all it's predecessors and
was not a whit less culpable than that
of 1897.
Following up this subject Mr.. Wan
amaker says (again the Phoenixville
speech Is quoted from):
Il am informed by an ex-member Of
the appropriations committee that du-
ring a recent session of the legislature
the appropriations committee, after
months of work and the unmerciful
slashing of meritor!ous bills had sue
ceeded u making the total amount Of
appropriations fall within the estimated
revenues. Upon the last night that
bills could be reported from the COM
mittee and be passed before adjourn
ment orders came from Senator Quay
that more than k500.000 of bills for pow
erful and rich institutions must be
passed. These bills had all been con-
sidered by the committee on their mer-
Its and negatived. Upon orders from
the old man they were reconsidered
and reported favorably within an hour.
A prominent Philadelphia business man
ArtIN 60 he Ot,ei
Mems League, because he was a d.
rector in the Philadelphia Museum
and he was notified that he must not
oppose Quay or his institution would
lose an appropriation that upon Its
merits alone 1t Is entitled to receive"
1t Is not generally understood. but
should be, that the state does not sup
port the penitentiaries and reformato-
ries. The state provides the buildings
and pays the salaries, but the counties
pay for maintenance. OF the state ap-
propriations to the penitentiaries for
1896, $4,000 of the $4,000 went for sala-
ries in the Eastern and 100000 of the
s65. 900 in the Western. These well paid
officials are, of course, another contin-
gent of the machines active election
eering forces.
More than half of the cost of main
tanning the INDECENT insane patient is
paid by the counties, and from third
tc a half of the total income of the in
sane hospitals from all sources goes
for salaries. Here, again. the machine
finds profit and support. In the fur
nishing of supplies 1t is the same thing,
and 1t is notorious that the cost of feed
ing the patients is much in excess of
what 1t should and would be under
honest management. In his Philadel-
phia speech, June q, DIR. Swallow
said: Though the average charity in
mate of our asylums gets service,
clothing and food that costs less than
so cents a day, the expense to the state
is greater than though they were board
ed at a first-class hotel" This. like
nearly all of the reverend doctors allie
cations, is a haphazard statement,
demonstrating the impractical charac-
ter of the man and the unwisdom of
depending upon his Statistics" and
get 1t Is approximately true.
The weekly per capita cost for main
tenance of patients in the five state
hospitals for insane for 1896 is set down