Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-05
NEW HOSPITAL COMES HANDY
Increasing Years Makes More Occupants at
the Iowa Soldiers Home
BOYS At INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL HEALTHY
Out of over Five Hundred Inmates
There is Not One on the Sick
List-Larrabee Goes to
Charity Conference.
CFrom a STAFF Correspondent

DES MONIES, Ia, April 4.-(Special.) y
The members of the State Board of Con-
troll returned this morning from visiting
various state institutions They found that
at the State Soldiers Home at Marshall
town the wisdom OF the last legislature in
making an appropriation for enlargement
of the hospital has already been abundantly
demonstrated, but also that some provision
will have to be made for a convalescent
ward to care for the large number who do
not need hospital beds but are still under
medical treatment. The board found that
at Marshalltown there is now in the hos
pital larger number Of patients than at
any previous visit, total Of 1872. Eighteen
OF the rooms in the addition to the hos
pital are now occupied and a dozen or more
OF the rooms vacated by the nurses when
they went into their new cottage The
proportion Of the i'll ones at the home is
steadily increasing as the age Of the men,
bers advances Practically none of those
at the home are under so years of age. One
inmate the board met is over so and two
are SO each. There are few OF the Cuban
war veterans younger. A goodly number OF
those who are at the home are suffering
from mental as well as bodily ailments, and
number might more properly be in the
state hospitals for insane but there is re-
luctance to allow them to be sent .Ae-c
because experience has shown that thew
do not live long when taken from their as
sociates at the home. Members of the
board say that the hospital accommodations
at Marshalltown are now all that will be
required for many years, but that il will
soon be necessary to make provisions for
those who are convalescing and who may
be taken care Of outside the hospital, but
are yet under medical treatment When
this is done the Iowa soldiers home will
be able to care for all who are needy or
Ill. Commandant Horton has appointed
George Walker to be adjutant of the home.
He is veteran Of the Cuban war and has
been clerk under the late Adjutant warfel,
and there was a general desire among the
veterans that he should be given the place.
Good Health at Reform School.
At the State Industrial school for boys at
Eldora, which was visited, 1t was found
that good health prevailed to a much
greater degree than is general throughout
the state. OF the 515 boys in the school
not one is now Ill. This is a remarkable
record for the school and there is probably
not another state institution able to make
such report. The board located the new
school house and the new industrial shop
and work on both these necessary build
ings will be under way in a very short
time. The management of the Eldora school
has Just made third shipment of hogs
raised on the farm owned by the state in
connection with the school, and this ship
ment brought about $4,000. In short time
another shipment will be made and from
$500 to $1,000 more will be realized. The
Eldora institution has been very successful
In raising hogs and sells more than any
I ether of the state institutions. The school
farm just now has $50 pigs in good con-
dition, less than a month old.