Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-11-15

I lat1entS have been transferred 10 tHs
j state hospitals, and when the Cherokee
| hospital is opened an additional room
| provided transfers from other counties
! IL which provision for the care OF th'
| insane is inadequate should be made. IL
| is said that the operation of the law re-
/ curing supervision of county and prl-
| waite institutions in which insane per
! sons are kept has been most salutaryi
| that while before it was enacted the m
| sane in some counties We're furnishee
| with kind and slliliful attendants, gooe
| food and clothing. ard good care, IN oth-
| .rs they We're treated with less consider
| alton and care thar the careful farmer
/ gives TO his live stock. Troublesome IN
! mates We're locked up and treated as
! criminals: the food furnished was ire
| uuently insufficient in variety and badly
| prepared. and poorly served: wearing
| apparel and bed clothes were of poor
quality, neglected and filthy, and little
] or no attention was paid TO the cleanil-
ress and personal habits OF the inmates
| in some institutions they were seldom II
| ever bathed: in some SIX or more IN
! mates were bathed in the same water
| ii. many cases the rooms IN which IN
! mates We're kept were lndescrlpapiS
/ filthy; in one case young man was
given charge of six insane women and
/ other cases We're found where men mao
unobstructed access to the rooms of fe-
| male inmates. The bad conditions
| which prevailed We're not due in most
cases to intentional wrongdoing. but tc
the policy which prevails in some coun-
ties of awarding contracts Tor keeping
the poor and the insane TO the lowest
bidder or to persons on account OF theli
ability to manage the general business
of the farms without regard TO theli
qualifications for caring for the insane
The general result of the Investigations
OF county and private institutions and
the making and enforcement of the rules
so far has been to close institutions
which were not taking reasonably good
care of the insane and greatly improve
the management and condition OF others.
LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED.
| On June 30, 1901, the three state hos
pitfalls contained 37s insane persons who
were state patients, that is patients
whose legal place of residence is I'M
known, and who are kept at the eX-
pense of the state. The law requires
of the state found to be insane to the
place of their legal settlements. and
authority is also given If such persons
are in the state hospitals to remove
them to such place. 1t also provides
that no patients shall be received in a
state hospital to be maintained at
state expense without the formal order
of this board. These provisions so far
as they apply to nonresident insane
VINO have not been received into state
hospitals often work an injustice to
counties in which such persons are
found We recommend the following
legislation:
!. That 1t be made penal offense
to bring into this state and there aban-
don any insane person who is not a
resident of this state.
2. That all proper expenses of keep
ing non residents and others whose
residence can not be ascertained who
are found by commissioners of insan-
ity to be insane, from the time they are
so found, and of transferring them to
state hospitals or to the states of their
legal residence, be audited and paid
from the state treasury.
We renew our recommendation that
the hospitals for the insane be here
after designated as state Hospitals.'
Reference is made to the last biennial
report In which we urge the establish
ment of an epileptic colony. Our opin-
ion as to the Importance of such an
institution has been confirmed by fur
Their investigation. There are about
225 epileptics in the institution for
feeble minded children at Glenwood.
II they are to be retained there. adj
ditional and special provision should be
made for them at once as the capacity
of the institution is already overtaxed,
and they should be segregated and
treated as a separate class.
The reports show that on the 31st
June there were SO epileptics in county
institutions, and Superintendent Pow
ell, after careful investigation. esti-
mates the total number in the state at
from $500 to 1000. The board there
fore recommends that help of the state
in separate institution which shall
be exclusively devoted to their welfare
and to the study of the various forms
of their disease.
INDUSTRIAL REFORMATORY FOR
FEMALES
Chapter 102, acts of the 2Sth general
assembly. established at Anamosa an
Industrial Reformatory for Females
and authorized this board to open 1t.
Females who can be received under the
statute are girls under sixteen and not
under nine years of age who might be
committed to the Industrial School at
AIitchellville, and inmates of that school
over the age of fourteen who are I'M
ruly and incorribgible and whose pres
ence is dangerous and detrimental to
the welfare of the school. Reports from
Judges of the police and districts courts
of the state, made at our request, indi-
cate that had the reformatory been in
operation during the year ending Au-
gust 81, 1901, not more than thirty fe-
males would have been committed to 1t
during the entire year. superintendent
Fitzserald. of the Industrial School at
Mitchellvlle, reported that none of the
inmates of that school were of char
acter to be transferred to the proposed
reformatory 1t thus appeared that 1t
was uncertain whether there would be
any inmates of the reformatory during
the first month if it should be opened,
and it was probable that there would
not be more than thirty inmates at the
end of the first year and an average ot
not more than fifteen during the year.
Hence the monthly per capita allowance
ar ~.l f1