The Washington times., 1906-05-05
Witnesses Swear to IN
human Treatment of
Inmates.
INEBRIETY OF EMPLOYE
Allege DR., White Visited
Portion of Institution
Very Rarely.

In the inquiry into the admfnistras
uon OF affairs and treatment Of patients
at the Government Hospital for the In
sane, before a special House committee
to-day, sensational statements were unade
oy James W Burroughs. Spencer Her
bert and T / McNIurray. former en-
pioyes of the laundry connected with
that institution. and by Misses Grace
Iippet. Nellie Dement, and Ode Ball.
employed at the hospital laundry. re-
garding the punishment Of patients by
the "toweling.' 'wringing out hand
cutting and straitjacket" processes.
II was charged that E l. Maenche.
foreman OF the laundry. had been seen
al least ten times in a drunken condi-
ton during the working hours OF the
laundry, and that his condition was such
as would make him incompetent TO prop
eriy superintend the work.
James W Burroughs testified that he
had seen Maenche in a dark room in tha
cellar on several occasions sleeping of
a drunk His testimony was corrobor-
ated by T. L McNurray. who was en-
ployed in the laundry for four and one
half years.
Details Of Suffering.
Mr.. Burroughs claimed that he saw
H r. SatterheId. an employe Of the
laundry. strike patients with his nst.
beat them with towels and pillow cases
over the head and then put them
through The '-wringing OUT process.
Herbert Spencer, when he went on the
stand. testified under oath that he saw
patients strapped IN beds in Howard
Han. the sleeping apartments Of the
hospital; saw them placed in strait
Jackets. and hsndcUned he said that
the patients expression when strapped
20 the bed Indicated pain
The patients We're strapped head and
foot and were in such a position that
they could not move. He asserted that
he saw De Sales Lyons. a coIored en-
ploye OF the laundry. wiring out" pa
tients and otherwise punish them in 2
disgracefuI way.
The Pushing Car"
The pushing car" method Of punish
ing employees was administered BY Mil
lard Sidney. an employe Of the laundry.
On cross-exam nation he said that he
only saw one patient strapped in bed
and only one placed in a strait jacket.
though he noticed that there were sew
eral straitjackets in the laundry.
they having been sent there 70 be laun-
dered.
The most pointed statements were
made BY T L. McMurray, who said
that he vas employed in the laundry
for four and e half years. The wit
ness under oath stated that he saw
NJ. SatterfcId towel and otherwise
punish AIphonso Rollins a number OF
times. on one occasion he saw Satter-
field knock Rollins down and choke him
He said he saw several other patients
maltreated by the ''wringing-Out-' and
"pushing-ca-r' system be said that he
saw Foreman Maenche drunk on sew
eral occasions and in a condition unfit
for the performance Of his duties.
Purchase Of Machinery.
Chairman OIcott asked the witness II
he knew anything about the purchase
OF machinery at the hospital. He re-
piled hat in his judgment there was
surplus Of machinery purchased, from
the last appropriation. He said Dr.
White. the superintendent, had not Wis
tied that portion Of the asylum Over
three times during the period he, the
witness. had been employed at the in
stltution-
Grace Tippet. Nellie Dement, and
OQ4e BAN AtSA4AAtA N4AsAA NA4E4 AAtA- 1IN--
patients rnaltreated by Satterfeld on
many occasions. They claimed that
they did not report such conditions to
those in authority. as il was generally
understood that the existing conditions
were known TO everybody connected
with the institution
Ernst Klutsche. a fireman at the
Department of Agriculture. and a
former ernplove at the hospital teSti-
fed that he had several times taken
care of Foreman Maenche when he
was drunk
''Naenche was crooked" the witness
said He used TO go away some days
for several hours and nobody knew
where he was He made a liar out OF
me on several occasions. He used TO
swear at the women employees and was
in a general way crooked.
He corroborated all that the other
witnesses had said and gave names Of
other witnesses who could corrOborate
mis- testimony