The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-21

The Steward has been paying a pre- mtum for exchange purchased to pay bills at different points where purchases were made. think that this should be avoided if possible as the hospitals gen. orally have large amount of money on deposit in the bank at Tuscaloosa and 1t seems a hardship to pay a premium on exchange under these circumstances | The Tuscaloosa Belt Line R. R. oper- | ates transfer line across the city for a | distance of about three miles carrying freight and passengers. This road trans | fers large amount of freight annually for the hospitals. Its charges for this service appear to be very exorbitant as | the following examples will show. | On June 18th. 1901. five car loads of coal | were shipped from Blocton to Tuscaloosa. a distance of forty miles. the railroad | freight for this service being $79.29 an average per car of Sl5.S6. The dummy , line charged for transferring this coal 3 miles s47.56, average per car of $s51 On | shipments of flour in car lots several changes were noted of s627 per car for three miles distance. At the same rate the railroad charge would have been s735.50 freight per car from the point where this flour was purchased to Tus- l caloosa. distance of $50 miles. It would appear from the above that these charges | are much too high and that a rate of $2.50 to 500 per car for freight transfer would be ample compensation instead of $6.00 to S950 which is now being paid. The Railroad Commission If this railroad | is within the scope of its regulation can use it's pruning knife on the freight tar ln of this local transfer me with good effect and to the substantial benefit of this State institution and the public gen. erally. The freight bills of the hospitals | amount to about s5.060 per annum. a large portion of this amount being paid to this local transfer line and 1t will be readily seen that this is an important item in the expense bill of the hospitals.
 There seems to be q lax administration of law in reference to committing pa tients to this institution from certain quarters of the State. The reports of the superintendent shows that on Sept 30. 1902. i64 patients were present from the county of Mobile. This is one patient for every 36a of the population of this coun- ty. which is Ce.700 by the last Federal census.
 1 The combined population of the coun- ties of Montgomery. Barbour. Lowndes. f.ale. Clark and Henry is 337, 600 and there is in the Insane Hospitals from those counties 1s0 patients an average of 1 patient to each 1.4S5 of the population as against l to each 3S2 from Mobile county.
 Again, the county of Tuscaloosa with a population of 36.100 has 75 patients in the Insane Hospital. while the county of Montgomery with 72.000 population has only "A patients. I do not claim to be an expert on the theory of insanity but this is a condition and not a theory pre- sented by the above statistics. They in dicate a very lax and easy construction of the law in regard to sending patients from these counties, ant if may be an industrious effort has been made to un- load unworthy patients into these hos pitals.
 Another matter requires attention. to- wit. the so-called inebriate insane or patients afflicted with the liquor and morphine habit. These patients are get ting to be too numerous at the hospitals. They are altogether a disorganizing force and in the present condition of things their treatment amounts to very little permanent benefit. They remain in the hospital for a brief period and after the soaking out process has restored them to measurable degree of sanity, they protest against being retained a suffi- cient length of time to affect a permanent cure and begin to concoct plans to escape or secure their release by legal means. They often return home and perhaps are sent back to the hospital three or four times. The result of all of this is a con siderable expense to the State in treat ing these patients and no permanent good achieved. It virtually makes a "Keely Cure retreat for class of undesirable patients to the prejudice of more worthy ones. They should be committed for a fixed period of six to twelve months so that a permanent cure can be affected or they should be kept out of these hos pitals entirely.
 Respectfully submitted,
 T. J. Rutledge.
 Asst E.x anninar Rilh Accts