Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-12-29
THE 1WENTY-THIRD.
Abstract of Annual Report of State
 Board of Charities.

cal year ending September 3O 1904, has recently been presented to the gov ernor. The complete report will be l volume of about $50 pages, containing in addition to the annual reports for 1905 and 1904 descriptions of the instl> tutions visited by the board, statistics, etc, and will he ready for presentation to the general assembly and distrlbu~ tlon In the latter part of January,
 The state prison his highly commend' cd for its excellent condition under the present administration and the hnan- cial showing made by the earnings of the prisoners is said to De the best in the history of the prison. The opera ton of the indeterminate sentence law of 1901 is criticized on account of the extremely short intervals usually iXeo by the courts between the minimum, and maximum limits of the sentences 1 Imposed. which render 1t almost use less as q reformatory measure.
 Mention Is made of the work of the commission appointed to consider the | establishment of al state reformatory for men and the hope is expressed that such an institution and also one for | women may be organized at an early date. The first years trial of the sys- tenn of probation officers in connection with the courts is said to be very en. couragihg. and 1t Is stated that moro than 72 per cent of the 1,175 persons 1 placed in charge of the probation otfl. cers observed the terms of their pro- I bation.
 The general condition of the ma, jority Of county jails is said to be one of cleanliness, good order and decent comfort, but it is again suggested that the system of management is illogical and that all of the county jails ought l to be placed under the control of state commission whose members shah be free from political influences and shall be fitted to adopt the various fea- lures of modern prison science. The addition of a new detached hos pital Is noted at the School for Boys l in Meriden and 1t Is suggested that q | large gymnasium should also be erect l ed. The work Of the industrial train- ing departments Is commended and 1t 1 Is urged that every new feature be adopted which may stimulate the boys with an earnest purpose for lives of useful endeavor.
 | At the Girls Industrial School in l Middletown, the customary high stand. ards of the institution have been well maintained and about the usual num- Der of girls, 270, Is reported In at l tendance
 | hospital for the insane at MiddletowI at the close of the fiscal year reached the unprecedented total of 2,412, bus in spite of its great numbers, the hos. l pital is said to be excellently managed. 1 Note is made of the alterations and l Improvements in tue buildings of the 1 hospital and it is said to be practically 1 a three-fold institution, hospital. asy- ium and inhrmary for the care Of the acute, chronic and invalid insane. A l brief description is given of the new state hospital for the insane at Nor which, which was opened in the month 1 tions for 104 patients. With the steady it is expected that in time 1t will be able to care for all insane patients from < the eastern half of the state. Mention < is made of the twelve private sanitaria for the insane, which in addition to the Hartford retreat, are visited by the board There is shown to be a total of 3,110 registered insane persons in the state, distributed as follows: In the state hospitals for the insane, 2,360; in the Hartford retreat, 150; in private asylums, 300, and In almshouses and among town poor, 300. The school for imbeciles at Lakeville had n total of
 
 year, the largest numbey recorded il its history, 1t is suggested that sep aTate department for the care of epis leptics of any age might Ea established in connection with the Lakeville school.
 The work of the American school at Hartford for the deaf Is highly com mended, but it is suggested that the ancient main building might we'll be replaced by group of modern struc. lures. At the oral school for the deaf in Mystic the arrival is noted of. a new l principal and new staff of teachers. ed in the equipment of the school and the customary number of pupils about thirty, has been present during the r 'year,s-S
 1 A brief review is given Of the recent controversy between the board and the institute for the blind i'll Hartford in regard to the boards right to inspect the institution. It is stated that re- cent events make 1t advisable that the highest authority in the state should determine once for all the boards B statutory rights in the matter.
 Two new institutions have been add ed to the list of hospitals in the state during theI year, the Middlesex hospital 1 in the city of Middletown and the Gay lord Farm sanatorium for incipient i tuberculosis in the town of Walling- ford. Additions are noted to the build- ings at St Francis's hospital in Hart ford, the Memorial hospital in New London and the Meriden hospital. and the new Roman Catholic hospital in Bridgeport is gradually approaching completion. The existing hospitals are said to be doing excellent work in their respective communities, but in Water bury and Danbury improved equipment should be provided to meet their urgent needs. The Soldiers hospital at No9tS ton is we'll filled at all times and Is ex- cellently managed. .. {.1
 The number of dependent and neg lected children committed to the coun' ty temporary homes during the year was 309 as compared with 251 commit
 ted in 1903. and the belief is expressed that q cory .derable number of these
 commitments could be prevented if
 means were provided for the careful investigation of all applications before
 the formal order of commitment is
 made. The total number Of children
 cared for during the year was 1,203 | tINc