Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-21

tiary has one and the United States PEN
itentiary two.
The question Of state control instead
of the present contract system has often
been agitated. I have given much
thought ITO the question, being so closely
and for SO long a time connected with
this asylum and it's management. Ger
tainly in the interest Of economy a
change would not be advisable. Ii the
Elgin state hospital for the insane paid
the same rtae Of wages to the attend
ants ($5O per month"; as we DO, their
cost per day and per capita would be
% cents as against ours of IS cents. This
is Tor maintenance alone, all improve
ments or old buildings n new con-
struction, if any were cared for In an
other appropriation. Certainly the con-
dftions are more favorable in Illinois for
maintaining an institution of this char
acter economically than in Montana.
The states officers, now and then, COM
plain of the great expense the state is
put to for this institution. I sometimes
doubt if they consider that shelter, food.
clothing, medicine and medical care and
the cost of these are to be provided. The
TWO items of wages to employees and coal.
Tor the last year, represents more money
than one-third of the entire amount ex-
pended by the state for the maintenance
OF this institution. Four hundred and
seventy-nine beds. Think Of it. ~ hos
pltal lbedstead and mattress costs, at the
least possible figure, $10.45. Each bed
in an insane asylum will, on the average,
require six pairs of sheets and pillow
cases per week, say at a cost of So. so; two
pairs of blankets, costing IS and a spread
at % cents. Now multiply this sum by
4'9. The result is a pretty sum. Nearly
$l0,O00. The state allows each patient
on their discharge, $16.5O worth of cloth
ing, and it is non too liberal when YOU
think of providing a man or woman with
each article of dress, but 479 times S16.5o
is equal to about So, 900. These items of
expense occur every year With the ex-
ceptlon of b~edsteads, and I feel sure nv
estimates are conservative. + have. as
you Will see, only enumerated wages.
coal, beds, and clothing with the result
that just one-half Of the states entire
expenditure for last year has been con-
sumed. In the above I have not taken
into account of the fact in speaking of
clothing and bedding, that very nearly
one-thlrd of our patients are either sick
or helpless and require two and three
times the amount of bed furnishings, and
1 have only given an estimate of one
complete suit, taking no account OF a
change. Then, a large item of expense
yearly is the bedding and clothing de-
stroyed by vicious and destructive pa
TENTS. Our patients are not the Well
behaved gentlemen and ladies you find in
the drawing room, and do not take the
same care of their rooms and clothing as
does the careful pinster or the we'll
dressed dude.
I hope these conservative estimates
will be considered worthy of a thought
by the states officers.
From a small beginning, with much
self denial and sacrifice, by patient toll,
and painstaking care, private parties
have accomplished that which the state
never in its history was able to do.
The asylum is ample for its present
needs; it is complete in all of its require-
ments with but few exceptions, and the
cost Of maintenance is about the same