Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-06-20
.H[RR|OIT' ABLE PAPER.
Superintendent Hear Frank
Herriott's History Of Iowa
Institutions.
Warns Against Unqualified Ac-
ceptance Of Board OF Control
Recommendations.
The May Report on Finances Of
State Observation-Disclosures
Prison Figures.
to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines. June 20.-The quarterly
conference of the superintendent and
beads of state institutions with the
hoard of control which ended yesterday
/ noon was declared by many of those
present to be the best ever held. 1t is
noticeable that the persons attending
4 tack greater interest in tnse conferences
! the more OF them are held and that they
! appear to secure more good out of them.
They are becoming recognized as one OF
i the most important of the novelties in
i troduced by the state board of control
4 These conferences, declared a state
A official Who has been only an observer,
have done more to make effective the
4 work of the board of control than any
4 other thing. The heads of the institu-
tons get together here and consider
matters of mutual interest, they learn
of the methods employed by each other,
they learn to make Improvements and
: they are broadened out wonderfully by
: contact one with another" There was
i in attendance at the conference just
Closed about fifteen persons and their
as valuable as the papers themselves.
The paper by Frank 1. Herriott yester-
I day was warmly approved by the super
lItendents. 1t was an exhaustive his
tory of the institutions and the financ-
ing of the same. He commenced with
the first little appropriations, as for in
stance, the gift of $1,000 by congress for
q library in territorial days and the APP
preparation to establish a militia system
by the territorial legislature. In 1888 a
!. start was made for state institutions by
: Il movement for a penitentiary at Fort
Madison. Governor Lucas urged thu
: Legislature to memorialize congress for
an appropriation. Afterwards provision
vas made for penitentiary and 100000
secured. With the reckless abandon of
those days the territorial Legislature
started out to spend 100000 and accepted
> plans for the use of $4,000. The next
Step was TO provide for three norma
schools at Andrew, Oskaloosa and
Mount Pleasant. The saline lands were
fist appropriated for building luna
tic asylum. In one way or another the
, state has gone on expending money for
Institutions until no state in the union
Z, has made record to equal it. In fact
the development of Iowa's educational
ieformatory and penal institutions has
bsen centemporansous with the growth
of modern Ideas of the care of the un-
fortunntes and criminals AID the edu-
cation of the masses.
What Iowa has done is shown by the
: fact that whereas in the budget of the
decade of the sos the expenditure for
institutions was but IL per cent of the
: entire budget. while in the last decade
9 i; has been over IS per cent of the en-
tire budget This is aside from the
large sums received from collateral
sources for the state institutions. Here
sfter. under rule of the board of con-
troll. there must be an accounting of the
rooney value of all the produce raised at
the different institutions and consumed
there and of the manufactured products
used by the state. Then II will be posi-
bic to know the exact expenditure of the
state For instance. the state account
ant shows that for one year at Mount
from the farm $3.50 worth Of stuff. ard
Of manufactured products those to the
value of sl1,so2.
A warning note was struck by Mr..
H4rriott. in his talk before the superin-
tendsnts, in the matter of recommenda-
tons from the board. He said he had
observed that already when the last leg
lislature met there was disposition to
accept without question the recon-
lamentations of the board of control. This
was highly complimentary to the board.
hut II was in measure dangerous TO
TIE state. The legislators might easily
CORE 70 rely too much upon the board.
II was Well enough to consider CAREFUL
!, iv all matters emanating from the board
and the legislators should not abrosate
: their rights nor neglect their duties.
The May report on finances Of state
: institutions is out. The balance in the
! support funds on June ! was So. 625 46.
i snd in the special funds S6ol 1926. The
total payments at G'herolSee on account
f Of building the new hospital were s2l.-
/, $3.50 in May. There was an increase of
I, three prisoners at Ananlosa and six at
Fort Madison in May aud the total is
ei6, OF the insane there was an increase
al Clarnia of eleven at Mount Plsas-
ant of three and a decrease of eight al
i Independence. leaving total of $50.
AT Eldora there was an increase Of sew
On ard a Mitchellville two, leaving SCI
: at the two reformatories At MARSHALL
; town there was decrease in May Of
thirty in the number of old soldiers liv-
= sing there. leaving COZ at the Home, of
: whom 10 are on the pay roll.
Superintendent Rothert. of the School
for the Deaf at Council Bluffs. viii go
with his wife to Buffalo the first Of next
: month to attend the convention of SUI
: psrintendents and teachers Of deaf
/ schools. This association meets but once
d every three years. and this time where
4 the roar Of Niagara will not disturb
: their deliberations.
: At the next meeting of the superin-
: tendents Judge Robinson will discuss
/ the serious question of what to do with
: those insane persons found in Iowa who
e properly belong in some other state. but
: Rave been sent here to get rid of them.
This is question which has bothered
eevry county of the state.