The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-10
MORE MONEY is ASKED
AGENT GATES REQUESTS 1T FOR
DEPORTATION OF PAUPERS
AND INSANE
ASKS FOR $4,000 PER YEAR
1t Has Not aHaYet Been Attempted to
Deport the Paupers Because OF
the Lack OF Funds, Even to Clear
Out All the Alien Insane Who
Should Go--Deportation of Alien
Detectives an Economy.

w. A. Gates, state agent of the state
board OF corrections and charities, has
presented his first report to the legis-
iature, covering the period from his
appointment in 1897 to Nov. so last. He
says
There have been referred to the board and
investigated by me applications for adnis-
SION to state institutions as follows:
fuses reported insane.... -. 81
Appiicat1ons to state school ................. 2
Applications to school for feeble minded -. 2
Applications to school for blind. ........
Total -. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES 90
:, OF this number there have been sent to
tnelr homes or to the state from where they
Insane cases.. ..........5 81
State public school ........ :. ............. 2
Total. 800. 80. ..............,....... 81
or the remainder, ten were found to be res
loents of the state, and eighteen are now in
state hospitals. These We're sent to state hos
pitais because their residence could not be as
certained Some Migrants with no place
" residence, and some can give no account of
themselves, not even their names, and have
leit no clue to their identity. Some of these
VIII yet be located and deported. l have also
sent TO their homes twenty insane patients
VINO were in the state hospitals when / was
appointed. There are many more who should
De deDorted, but have not been for want of
FUNDS. | have thought it best to deport the
current cases reported from the various coun-
ties OF the state first, and thus save the coun-
Ties the expense of taking them to the hos
pitals This expense Is frequently as great as
t the cost to the state of deporting them to
their homes.
1t was, seen at once that the sum approprl-
ated would be insufficient to deport the insane,
and the board therefore decided that no paul
pers should be deported except at the expense
OF the county or town reporting such pauper.
Under this arrangement four paupers have
been deported
The total sum appropriated for this work is
30 600 per year. and the total amount expend-
Is $500; and of this sum about S4S00 has
been spent upon the investigation and depor-
tation OF alien and nonresident insane. This
makes an average total per capita cost for
Qeport1ng insane of $50. 66.
New York and Massachusetts estimate the
amount saved by the deportation of every in
sane person at 81 500. From statistics of our
own hospitals Izhave calculated the final cost
OF every insane person at $1,000, which some
OF the trustees CT our hospitals say Is too low.
Upon this basis, the deportation of seventy
two cases would save TO the state $72. coo. The
amount saved other work would be s., 600
more. or a total of $75 coo. To this is to be
added the amount saved the counties In saw
ing costs of commitment and transportation to
the state hospitals. This will make a net saw
Ing, at low estimate, Of $4,000.
HUMANITARIAN ASPECT.
The economical is not the only side to this
question. 1t has its humanitarian side as
we'll. The insane mind viii the more easily
be restored among friends, or in the old home
Many come to this country with false ideas
and find themselves. strangers in strange
lard and become first hoInesick, then insane.
1t is humane to return these. There are
others, whose names We do not know nor
where they belong. They probably
incurred as dead 1t is humanitarian work
to identify these persons and restore them
to their friends.
At the present time we have exceeded our
appropriation and there yet many aliens
in our Institutions who should be depolted
We have patients who have funds in the
hards Of guardians in the old country. These
! guardians helped their insane wards to get
to this country while. they retain their money
and neglect to help them return. These can
all be returned to their homes in Europe for
less. than the COST ct their maintenance for a
single year. When we consider that most of
these will be charges during life, the i'm
poItance OF dcg0-tfng them is evident
1t will require at least 5000 per year to de-
port the insane eases.
The number of paupers SO far deported Is
no criterion Of the number that could or
ought to have been deported. The number of
paupers In the state, as shown by the pauper
enumeration in this Office taken for June,
1898, was 1900 and the number of insane at
the same time was 240 think we will find
proportiOnately as large a number of non
resident paupers as insane. This will make
more than twice as many paupers as insane
to deport. The per capita cost of deporting
paupers will be much less than the per capita
cost OF deportfng insane, as no attendant will
be required. l think therefore that 1t will
require as much to deport the paupers as
who received public relief last year In the
state was about $50. 1t would thus cost about
half as much TO deport paupers as to furnish
them relief for one year / would recon-
$40. 600 per annum be asked from the Iegis-
lature to carry out the purposes of this act