The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-13
POOR HOUSE COSTS
 COUNTY LARGE SUM
Last Year Board of Revenue
 Spent S7612.14
INSTITUTION IS WELL KEPT
Cost to County for Each Inmate Is About $126 a Year--Dauqhters of Confederacy Visit the
 Place.

Last year the board of revenue of Jeff ferson county spent s76l2.14 in caring for the inmates of the Jefferson county Aims house. The Aims house is located in the western portion of Woodlawn. Last year there was an average of sixty inmates cared for each month. The cost to Jeff ferson county was about $126 a year for each inmate.
 On Thursday morning a committee from Pelham Chapter, Daughters of the Con- federacy, went out to the Aims house to visit Captain c. w. Thompson, an ex- Confederate soldier who was an inmate at that time The committee consisted of Mrs. Charles c. Brown, Mrs. John Lewis and Mrs William Streit. They were accompanied by two newspaper re- porters from The Age-Herald. After long talk with Captain Thompson the committee went through the entire house. They spent probably three hours there. The woman's ward, the mems ward the dining rooms and the kitchen were visit ed
 Fifty Inmates.
 At present there are about fifty in- mates at the Aims house. There are probably a dozen others who are con fined in the brick building where the in- curable insane inmates are cared for. This building has thirteen cells.
 The Jefferson county Aims house is To- cated probably three hundred yards off the Birmingham and East Lake maca- damized county road. The main building which is a wooden structure faces the west. There are probably ten other frame dwellings on the property which consists of about forty acres.
 Entering the main building one passes into the dispensary. To the left and right are the parlors. A door leads to one of the women's ward from the left. In this ward ther are probably a dozen inmates. They are all white. There are several old women who are cast upon the county for support A little infant of probably not over six months lies on one of the beds from morning until night. Its mother is
 
 employed in the kitchen.
 Pitiful Sight.
 After leaving this ward the party went up stairs to the second floor, going by way of a flight of stairs leading from the back porch, to the second ward. The sight there is equally as pitful. One woman said:
 q am totally blind. I feel sure, however, that if the proper medical treatment was given me my eyesight could be restored"
 The matron later told the ladies that every effort had been made to restore the eyesight of the woman, but that all had failed.
 Next, the dining room was visited. The white men, the white women, the negro men and the negro women all have sepa- rate dining rooms, all of which are con- nected with the kitchen. The tables are covered with dark oilcloth. The knives and forks are made of steel or iron.
 The insane patients are served food in tin plates This of course. is necessary On last Monday six fine hogs were kill ed The next day pork haslets, corn bread and vegetable soup was served to the inmates In the morning they are given grits, biscuit and butter, and some- times meat for breakfast, so 1t is said. At night sweet milk is also served. The as- sistant matron. who went through the aims house with the ladies, said that at diner biscuits were given the patients who could not eat cornbread. Sweet milk is served to the inmates at supper.
 Pleasant Apartments.
 From the kitchen a visit to the mems ward was made. In the room where Captain Thompson staid there were four inmates. The room or ward was appar- ently a pleasant apartment with bath attached The beds are of iron, and are painted black and appear to be eomforta- ble A large stove in each ward furnishes warmth.
 The illumination is furnished by can