The Jersey City news., 1901-09-05
EVERY 4 Thing BAD.
sosbaA
State Hospital Investigators
! Examine Those Who
Furnished Food.
EGGS WERE FIRST CLASS
So Trenton and Philadelphia
Dealers All Testify.
WARDEN BOUGHT THE BEST
Lady Attendants Say They
Found the Food Suit
able for Eating.
Especial to ..rhe Jersey city News."l

OF 1000 proQuctS at the ctdte lAospAt>NN
held the centre of the stage at yesterdays
session of the investigating committee.
The word had gone forth that those
from whom Warden Hayes purchased
his supplies were to be examined, ana II
was a singular coincidence which caused
Manager Joseph Rice, Manager Cornelius
Hoffman and Manager John Taylor 10
put in an appearance with the rest.
The managers are not members Of the
investigating committee. and with the
exception of a single visit by Mr.. Taylor
none of them has heretofore sraced any
of the sessions of the investigating COM
mittee.
Barring the damaging testimony OF
half dozen or more attendants, who 1uiiy
corroborated the stories of bad 1ooa'
Warden Hayes came through the day
with flying colors. Not a single grocer
admitted that he sold to the institution
wormy prunes or maggoty ham.
Even the egg man would not admit
having disposed of eggs of ancient vim
cent; nor did the butcher sell tainted
meat; nor the green grocer decayed or
rotten vegetables; nor the dairyman
rancid butter; nor the fish man poor hsn
and all this to show that the patients
are well and properly fed.
Every dealer testified that so far as his
articles were concerned, the warden
bought, If not the very best the market
contained at least good grade of arti-
cles and these they all declared were ac-
tualiy furnished.
The other class of witnesses. the ones
who had to eat the food as it was served
day after day, week in and week out,
were not so tenderly disposed toward the
warden. They were not the attendants
who signed the petition, but generally
were those from the annex where condi-
tions have been represented as not being
so bad as in the main building. But 1t
was the old, old story they all told, the
story Of poor food poor service, and sick
ened patients.
| The similar character of the testimony
made the session perhaps the least In
teresting of any thus far, but neverthe-
less it was not without enlivening incl
dents nor entirely without developments
One of the interesting situations was
the status of Mr.. and Mrs. Claypool, who
appear somewhat in the light of a couple
of outlaws, who hold full sway at the an
mex, The testimony throughout has been
that the word of the Claypools was law
at the annex, and yesterday a persistent
| If unsuccessful effort was made to de-
termine just what position they do hold.
| Both Mr.. and Mrs. Claypool testified
! that they were no longer under the juris-
diction of the medical department, DR..
| Ward having informed them that they
| were no longer in his department.
| Neither were they connected with the
| a rfx n1 NO
der the control of the warden. They did
not recognize the authority of DR.. Allen,
| the resident physician at the annex, and
they were seemingly more disposed to
give than to receive orders from him.
1 1t was brought out that DR.. Allen and
the Claypools were not on good terms.
Mrs. Claypool declared that this was be-
cause DIR. Allen. who is regarded by his
associates generally as the most amiable
of men, was disagreeable.
| Asked by Mr.. Backes If she was disa-
greeable. Mrs. Claypool declared that she
on the stand left unmistakable doubt as
| to her success in the role.
| The Claypools have been at the hospital
for long time. They have in a measure
| grown up with it, and have become as
much part of it as the envious ivy en-
| circling the old pillars at the front en-
| trance.
They are accustomed to give orders and
| to have them obeyed, and anything they
don't see in the annex, they have only to
| ask for
| Having the run of the kitchen and pam
| tries, and getting the best which the lar
! ders produce. the Claypools could not un-
derstand how anyone could complain of
the food.
/ They had always found 1t good. They
said so, and they expressed surprise that
| anyone should even have limited that it
! was otherwise.
1t is true that even Mrs. Claypool de-
clared she would not say she had ever
seen any eggs at the hospital that were
really fresh, but on the other hand she
had not come across any that she could
say were really stale. and this fact SEEM
ed to convince her there were no ground
for complaint, so far as the eggs were
concerned.
Mrs. Claypool's husband, Mr.. Claypool,
| was quite at a loss to account for his
failure to get along with DR.. Allen, al
though admitting that the physician had
several times made complaints about the
Claypoois. The burden of these COM
| plants as far as Mrs. Claypool's husband
| knew was that the Claypooi family made
itself too audible in the annex.
But 1t seemed to have been no fault OF
| Mr.. Claypool, who told the committee
| that for six months when he got up in the
| morning he went about in his stocking
feet for fear of disturbing DR.. Allen. un-
tn finally ne caught such cold that he
| had to take to his bed. Then he aban-
doned the practice.
It was found impossible for some of the
members to meet today, the Governor
could not be present tomorrow, while
neither the Governor nor Judge Thomp-
son could be present next week SO that
at the close OF yesterdays session it was
decided to adjourn for two weeks.
The first witness called yesterday was
Newton. Limerick, one Of the attendants
in the anrex. Mr.. limerick said the food
generally furnished there was not good
me totatoes had been often rotten. the
eggs stalls ana nousetimoa bad and ths