Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-05-01
CRAZY MEN G|VE PLAY
State Board Of Control Witnesses
Amateur Theatrical at In.
sane Asylum.
All the Actors We're Inmates in
Fact...lt Was a Good
Performance.
Des Moines to Have Another
River Front Quarrel..Growth
of Phone Business.

state board of control to be spectators
nj a good amateur theatrical where ali
the actors were in fact lunatics. Such
was the experience Of the board on the
last visit to Mount Pleasant. and it
was a good performance, too" declares
John Cownie, chairman of the board,
"and rye paid my SO cents many time
to see no better performance" The
play was given absolutely by patients
in the insane hospital Of the state and
these unfortunates manifest the great
est interest in just such work. They
have their teacher in physical culture
who puts them thru exercises every
day and trains them in the use of their.
bodies The stupid and vacant counte-
nanced ones soon brighten UP and take
an interest in all this work. 1t is bet
ter than medicine and cheaper in the
long run, so the superintendent be-
lieves. and at any rate 1T is doing good.
The board of control yesterday let the
contract for the stage settings at the
Cherokee hospital. They will be fur
nished by Chicago firm for about $500.
In additio to this physical culture and
manual exercise at the state instttu-
tions for the unfortunates and defect
ives. the board is introducing great
deal Of industrial work. For instance,
the board yesterday received some FAM
cy work done by inmates of the institu-
ton for the feeble minded at Glenwood.
An embroidered doyley is very hand
somely done by two persons, one boy,
and piece of lace edging Is perfect In
it's work Boys and girls whose minds
are unable to comprehend that and 2
make 4 can be taught to do this work.
and 1t inevitably leads up to self
supporting institutions Of this charac-
ter.
There Is one place In the state, at
least. where the fact is appreciated that
the telephone business is growing
nightly, and that is in the Office Of the
auditor of state. The clerks have been
sending out blanks for the reports for
this year from telephone companies
They are sent to the county auditors
and by them turned over to the officers
Of the companies. All the companies
get them--the Sunnyside Telephone
Company and the Shadyside Telephone
Company. The other day county au-
ditor wrote in and declared he was in a
peck Of trouble. that there was some
thing less than hundred of the big and
little companies doing business In his
county, and he wanted to know II every
one had to report. They all report and
the executive council decides whether
or not they shall be assessed and how
much. Six hundred blanks have been
sent out and 900 more have been or
dered. In one county last year a group
Of practically indepencet lines. some
twenty five in umber. merely farmers
lines connected with a central office,
were reported together as one system.
They got into trouble over the few
cents of taxes they had to pay and this
wear all of the different persons report
separately. Some Of the lines are only
a few rods long. They have one instru-
ment each. If they are assessed sepa-
rately their taxes will be enormously
increased, but the council may not as
sess any of them. The farmers who
have these Independent lines object se-
riously to being taxed. As Tim Dono-
hue said about his little line in O'Brien
county:
"I'm taxed on my farm, and on my
cattle, and assessed on everything; but
object to paying taxes Just because l
want to let my neighbors know when
am ready for threshing."
The new law of the state of Iowa just
passed by the legislature giving addi-
tional and extraordinary powers to the
state board of health In the matter OF
enforcing quarantine in case of conta-
sious diseases has been found quite
useful already. The law authorizes the
state board to take full charge of local
health regulations where the local
boards fail or refuse to act. The legis-
lature adopted the law because it was
trouble over smallpox in Iowa the past
two years had come from the paralysis
of local boards either thru the unrea'
soning demands of business interests or
by reason Of politics When the legls-
lature was in session smallpox broke
out in the state capitol and 1t was
demonstrated that there was In the city
of Des Moines nearly 500 cases, largely
due to the fact that the local board
had refused to do anything. The legis-
lature became aroused and passed a
most radical law, giving the state board
power and authority to take hold where
CONTAGIOUS diseases are neglected To-
cally. In Monroe and Marion counties
communities have been found where
smallpox prevails and no attention has
been paid to the matter and no quar-
antine even suggested. The state board
has acter under the new law and Is in
charge in both places and has .ap-
pointed physicians to look after the
cases and eforce quarantine. Under the
new law the cost will be charged up to
the counties and by them to the per-
CONS afflicted. and In case OF any Dis
agreement on any matter the state
board is the arbiter. 1t is believed there
will be less of unguardcd smallpox in
the state hereafter as the result of this
lleW law.
The city Of Des Molnes Is threatened
with another war of the opposite sides
OF the river. or rather another river
front spasm, this time over the loca-