The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-01-12
Danger That May Come Through
Use of Candies and oil
Lamps Is Feared
PC0RR0USE A DEATH TRAP.
Insane Patients al the Mercy of
'hancr-F,maIc Hospital tit
Tie Better INSANE .ASN-
lum Drills.


"a"" OF fire. :" per cent eft the I.Go"
patients vouId hnsc Ia lee rtr.tcd uu.
"i the building. rae main building
is oid-Tl-hioncd structure, built
- ,cHrT na". The staircase - In the
center nf ts. Interior. aGor,iinr
constant drauEht IiI,r 81 GrrnG Gur. =
lire "n the fISt nCor would rash right
uo to th. top before u>si-,anrc cou!d
possibly arrisr.-Nh, Superintendent
Rcmmers drenos Ihe use al cnudir~
and ront oil lamps In the Poorhous-.
II have to pawn my watch. We viii
not have candies or oil lights in this build
ing"
These were The words e Doctor L. T..
Eurgr. Superintendent uf the Insane Asy-
lum. He realizes fun well the cxccodiCe
peril i'm which III" inmates Of tn, iustitI-
tior would be placed in case such dangerous
means ~ lighting nave To- be TesurJcd To.
Through the generosity of 'iliZtnS Of -
Louis. electric iiEhts ar" nov burning al
n"th the Insane Asylum and the Poornousr.
hut the Female Hospital l. stll 1T dark
ness saw the mea.rr light afforded 10y
candies and oil lumps.
Tne uncertainty A. To how long the ,lsr-
tric lights Will remain burning. and the fear
oI having 1" resort to CanG.e lights again.
las caused all OF these institutions To- taxi
extraordinary measures for protection il
case II tirr. There are many insane patients
At each O; these places. ami Il Hrr Oi auy
consequence might mean IN" wholesale dc-
structlU1 of life and property.
At TIE Female Hospital Superintendent
y. J HaWlyy mas gwen strict orders tnIt
the patients f the institution have nothing
- do with the filling OF ;L- lamps. and thai
they t. not allowed 10 handle tn" canui">-
AIR. Ha~ley states that there arr 4 number
of deliriOus inmates of the FtTrale HoSpita'.
1t + q fact well known 10 ply SIcians that
persons of dlSarTauEed minds have a
T,ar q p. u n t.ff no
almost invariably become ranic-stricken
and very hard t. control
Two fIremer: fTGm Engine House No. 3.
ar" stationed al the Female Hospital dur
InE the n!Cht. Notwithstanding the fact
that TIL vnGine-toUs" is hut a few yards
away. All th, fire ESCAPE gates. which have
been kept closed ny Superintendent HaWiry
I" prevent dclIrious patients from jumping
from the windows. are now left open. as an
siitution i. also provided with four coils of
hose ana ten new BabCOCk-.
Fire Engine In Service.
the old chemical engine. that had been
nat of use for years ana lying idle in an old
shed at the foot Of the hill at the Poor
house. has been rubbed Up and placed III
the bakery IN e;.SS access III case ui a con-
f.asration The engine was tested yester-
day ana gave perfect satisfaction 1t Is now
On top of the hill. where IL coul.. h. easily
pulled w To the building by two men. The
institution is also provided with a dozen
Ra ahCocks. and has standpipes running all
through the building with good pressure.
PDDrhouSe states that nothing imaginah BILE
rOul1 cause greater horror than fire at
the Poorhousa. In here there are so pa
uoDiS in the insane ucpartm. mt. All these
have already been to the Insane Asylum
and are iuCurahit. There are NOR. than i.ttp
p.upi. in the restitution. and, in case Of
fiT". Superintendent RemmerS says. - per
cent Of them would have TO be carried out.
The main building j. an old-fashiOn-'i
structure. built IN cnty-eiCht years ago. The
staircase is in the center of the interior.
affrriinS constant draft like Il great hue.
flr" of consequence on tn" nrSt floor
would rush right up 10 the top before as
siStanC.. could possibly arrive. There are 60
insane women In the main building.
Tho building is dry as tinder." said
Superintendent RemmcTs, and Is
abominable structure. II was originally
built for a poOrhouSe. and l. now being
used for an asylum. While We Were burn
ing candles. the dread was SJmetEing aW
ful | was kept In a continuous nervous
strain. for the very thought Of q fire in
This Institution is horrifying. We have
buildings on hr" and W. have others with
naniaS for suicide. The candles. unless
these people are under the most constant
watch, afford these persons opportunity to
set the building on fire
The Poorhouse is now provided with one
weeks light through the charity of the
"Wednesday Club, which has donated an
amount sufficient to pay for them. No one
knows where the next weeks lights are to
come from.
At the Insane Asylum.
At the Insane Asylum. by constant
huStlng and liberal donations, the uthori-
ties have managed to keep the lights burn
ing. Superintendent RunG" paid for one
weeks lights oit of mis- own pocket Aug
ust Busch donated So. \ check for n sim
ilar amount has been contributed by = gen
erous gentleman who does not ygish his
farnc published. ana smaller amounts have
been given by number Of citizens. The
employees Of the Institution sent IN a list
OF subscriptions amounting to S1h. l. was
donated by the male and female employees.
whose salaries average about So per month
This mnncy Will not be used If there is
any other possible means of paying for the
lights.
In the hall Of the Insane Asylum near
tn" main entrance there is Il small box on
the wall. above which there used 20 be
sign which read: