Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-07-07
The Board of Control Answers
the Criticisms of Scott
County Commissioners
WHAT THE BILL OF FARE
Claim Made That tho Charges Are Not
Sustained by the Evidence = In
vestisation Of the Scott County
Board Too Measre to Form a Just
Conclusion.
Special to Times-Republican.

! Special to Times Republican.
| Des Moines, July 1.-THE state
board of control today made public its
answer to the charges of the commits
sioners of insanity of Scott county that
the variety of food for the inmates at
the Mt Pleasant hospital is meager
and open to criticism. The letter Is
dated July 5 and contains fourteen
typewriter pages. The answer OF the
board goes into the minutest details.
because of the fact that the
complaints of the Scott coun-
Ity commissioners was given wide
publicity. The board in con-
cmding the letter states that the COM
missioners did not have sufficient
knowledge on which to base their
complaint and that the evidence they
produced, that there was a meager
variety of food furnished was not such
as would be given weight in a court
room on even trivial matters. The
charge that the variety of food fur
inished was meager was the only one
that the commissioners made and they
state that in every other way the con-
duct of the institution was above re-
proach.
The conclusion of the letter of the
board of control is as follows:
1--WE have personal knowledge that
the food supplies furnished the Mt.
Pleasant state hospital are always
! good and as a rule Of the best quality
which can be bought; that they are
sufficiently varied and nutritious to
meet all reasonable requirements for
all classes of patients, and we have no
reason to doubt but much to believe
that these supplies are as a rule prop
erly prepared and served. We are sat-
| is'fied that you have no occasion to
fear that the patients from your coun-
| ty or elsewhere will suffer for lack OF
suitable food. Your complaints, when
your lack of knowledge is considered,
cannot be given much weight) The
evidence on which the complaint is
based, except so far as it relates to
the one meal in the one dining room
which you saw, would not be received
by any court to establish any fact now
lever trivial, and no prudent person
would act in an important matter or
lhis own upon information so meager
as that you possessed and upon which
you acted in condemning the dietary
of the hospital. Your statements and
conclusions are contradicted in import
ant particulars by officers who accom-
panied you through the institution. ana
as their statements when there is a
conflict are corrobated by official rec
ords and our own personal knowledge
1 to that extent your statements must
be deemed erroneous. In our opinion
your charge is not sustained by the
evidence, is contrary to it and is with
out substantial foundation in fact.
1--WE beg to say in conclusion that
since you believed the charges, we are
under obligations to you for making 1t
and giving us an opportunity to IN
vestigate, although we regret that Its
| qualification has caused unnecessary
anxiety to tens of thousands of peo-
pie who have relatives and friends In
the hospital and to all people who are
interested in having proper care given
| to the unfortunate wards of the state"
The letter of the board goes into the
details of what food is furnished and
the methods by which the board keeps
| track Of whether or not the food really
reaches the inmates and confesses
faith in the sworn statements of the
cooks and stewards which were made
| three days after the meal was served
| from lists kept on record rather in the
affidavit of the commissioners of Scott
| county made weeks after their visit.
| The visit of the commissioners was
made on April Is, and the board in it's
| letter states the commissioners We're
present when the inmates of one ward
We're finishing their dinner. They did
not visit the other wards and We're not
present at other meals The menu TO"
| the meals of April 15 the board says,
was as follows:
For breakfast-Beef steak. gravy.
potatoes stewed, bread, butter, syrup,
coffee. sugar.
| For dinner Bean soup, beans,
! beef dumplings, turnips boiled, par
ships steamed, bread, syrup.
| For supper-Pork baked, beans, peas
creamed, potatoes fried, bread, butter,
syrup, sugar. tea, milk, ham, aspar-
agus.
| Two of the Scott county commits
sioners made affidavit to the following
effect: That the dinner served at the
/, hospital on April 18th last Consisted
/ of a stew consisting of potatoes and a
small piece of beef, boiled turnips,
steamed or boiled parsnir,c bread.
picked beets and a glass of later for
each patient; that neither SCI fp, dump
lings, syrup or butter was sArvea and
i that ..the attendants" stated that the
articles enumerated We're served to all
of the patients for that meal except a
| few special cases who were served
with few extra dishes: that the at
tendants'. said the dinner thus served