The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1902-04-08
WHILE THE WORLD
ENJOYS LUXUR|ES
A News mocrat Reporter
Wis is the Institution and
Tells of Some Exist
ing Conditions.


build a new county inirmary building
led the News-Democrat to send re-
porter to the institution so that ii
could intelligently inform the voters
of Stark county just what the true
conditions were. 1t was not desired to
take any hearsay.
The papers representative went to
the inhrmary Saturday morning and
went over the place. The investiga-
tions were for the most part prose-
cuted alone. Superintendent Bixler not
being notified of his presence until
the buildings had nearly all been Wis
tied.
Much has been written and it was
expected to find conditions that would
excite sympathy. Life in an infirmary
under tho best of conditions always
has a pathetic side to it. But when
the reporter reached the Stark county
infrnary and began to look around
ply appalled, at what he saw.
The main building is old dilapidated
damp and musty. The basement is
DARK AND GLOOMY
1t the cooking, laundry work and other
classes OF work is done. The walls
are crumbling and dangerous. 1t is
built on three sides of a paved court,
with no drainage. The whole thing is
loathsome and disease-breeding. In
the upper rooms inmates are crowded
together like sheep. In one room
there arc 80 beds in which as many
of the poor unfortunates sleep. The
floor of the room is so old and worn
that there was danger of breaking
through. There were gaping holes
still existing. although many had been
covered over with boards or sheet iron.
Tho sleeping apartment for the wo-
men is on the second floor, just over
the boiler room. The floor is also
worn and broken, great seams exist
Ing through which the fumes of the
engine room roach the sleeping apart
ments, eniangering even life itself. !
AT times the conditions get SO bad that
the inmates cannot stay in the rooms.
This room is packed with beds as thick
as tho floor space will allow them to
stand
had as the main building is, the con-
ditions in the little outbuildings are
vastly worse. There are six little
wooden buildings, which with one ex-
wagon sned. They are old, lily venti-
lated and cold in winter and suffocat-
Ing in summer.
One was built for shoe shop. In |
the shoe shop proper there are four
beds in which the inmates sleep.
IN THE ATTIC
above the shoe shop, which is not high |
enough to stand erect in, there ar
eight beds, in which decrepit old men |
Bleep winter and summer. The room
Is not plastered. Cracks can be seen
In tho shingles, and all around the |
edge of the caves the poor suffering
men have stuffed rags and paper to |
keep ort the cold.
In another building hut little larger,
anywhere from 40 to so men are quar-
fAred. II is a ramshackle place not fit |
for chicken coop. yet here half
hundred men sit through the day. and !
at night retire to the attic above and
sleep. This attic is counterpart OF
the one above the shoe shop, right up
against the roof and with nothing ex-
cept the shingle roof for protection.
The other outside buildings were
found In the same crowded condition
Up in the orchard In a little shack
were found three insane men for whom
no other quarters could be found. One
was Mount Union student whom
much learning had made mud. An
other was a legless patient whose in
hrmities had robbed him of his rea-
son. Bare board walls confronted
them. In the day time they are
chained to trees In the orchard In Or
der that they may breath little of
Gods pure air.
There In not man living who could |
10 therc and see the conditions and
vote against the proposition to levy
tax for new building. unless he
were
FIEND INCARNATE.
One old gentleman who was anx-
ious to know what The visit meant,
Gas told that probably they would get
3 Hew building. He was in the attic.
~Fpe Gods sake get 1t for u.s." said
~. This place is horrible. This at !
Go'is not only cold. but Il is as full OF