Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-15
lNcuRABLEs CROWD INSTITUTION
Board of Control Would Admit Only
Those Who Can Be Cured and Sent
Home to Live Honorable and Use
full Lives-Many lncurables Are Now
Admitted-Lesislative News.
IBy Ora Williams.l

0i SOlllol- very OSSduSS
the senate in passing the bill to limit
the adnittance of patients to the In
ebriate asylum at Knoxville did not
leave in the clause giving district
court judges discretion in SEN
fencing only those of whom
there is hope of a permanent
cure. The fact is the institution is al
ready crowded to overlooking and Mr..
Cownie says large number of the pa
tients are tsamps of whom there can
be no hope of a permanent cure and
that THE presence of these men there
prevents the sending there of inebri-
ates who are mechanics and laborfng
people of whom there is every reason
that a cure would be permanent.
There is now a bill before the Leg
islature approprating money for the
erection of another building" said Mr..
Cownie. today, "and the question be-
fore the legislature is a grave one. In
my opinion the proper course for the
legislature is to limit the admittance
of patients to those who give some
promise of reform. There is no ques-
ton but that cures can be affected
when there are promising patients to
work with. The institution gives no
dope of any kind that is intended and
does simply make person sick when
he tastes liquor. AS soon as the dope
is out of the system he has as much
craving as ever for the stuff. The in
ebriate asylum goes on the theory that
there is some organic ailment that
causes the craving for liquor When
this is cured the patient will not care
for liquor. Now 1t can readily be seen
that with laboring men and good citi-
zens who have become drunkards be-
cause of some trouble and weakness of
health, there is every probability ami
possibility of a cure. But the district
judges over the state frequently get
the idea that the sentence to the inc
briate asylum is. for punishment.
Consequently there are sent to the
asylum vast number of tramps and
Migrants who will never be anything
but tramps and Migrants as long as
they live and they drink not because
they are sick. but because they are;
shiftless.
Under the new law it is fnisde-
.meanor tosrun away from the inehriate
asylum. We have the law posted
in places about the asylum.
These tramps laugh at it. The
law provides that they can be
punished by sixty days in Jail. One
tramp told the superintendent that he
had spent half his life nearly in jail
and would be perfectly at home there.
They expect to stay at Knoxville in
the wintertime and run away in the
spring. They openly say that they
expect to leave in the spring The
better class of citizens who are vic
TINS of the drink habit will not try 70
get away. But if a tramp does run
away we can't do anything but run
after him. AT the penitentiary there
are stationed guards with repeating
rifles and il a prisoner runs or at
tacks guard the guards are ordered
to Shoot and have authority of law to
shoot. But we can't do anything Of
that kind at the inebriate asylum. do
believe, however. that the tramps and
Migrants who are sentenced to the in
ebriate asylum when they run away
once will leave the state. They will
not stop within the borders Of the
state.
II had hoped that the section Of the
bill giving the district judges author
ity to judge between the hopeful and
on-hopeful cases would be left in I
know that we have effected many
cures of citizens who have fixed hab-
itations and work regularly at some
trade or employment. But that shift
less class of citizens we can do little
with. Personally, / don't know of a
case where tramp has been cured by
being sent to the inebriate asylum"
The hackers Of the bill changing the
organization Of the national guard of
Iowa and giving 1t an appropriation of
100000 instead of $4,000, are not very
hopeful of getting the entire increase
in the appropriation. 1t is believed
that the change in the organiza ton OF
the guard will go thru as the old SOL
diers and national guard men in the
legislature seem to favor the changes
in the organization. But the increase
in the appropriation will not likely be
granted. However, there will be some
increase it is believed. 1t is reported
that one man high on the appropria-
lions committee has agreed to support
an increase to $4,000, and while the
guard is not exactly satisfied with that
amount of increase 1t is recognized as
being better than nothing and espec-
tally good at this time, as there is such
a crying need for new state buildings
in various places.
The board of regents bill was UP on
special order In the senate today The
bill before the senate is the substitute
bill offered by the committee and there
are to be some amendments offered on
the floor of the senate. The bill
brought forth number Of speeches.
There are number of senators who
have loaded up with information on
the three educational schools in prep
aration of the debate that opened today.
go
The bill abolishing county certifi-
Gates to teachers and providing for
state certificates was brought up in
the house today on special or der. The
house has been in the habit of not de-
batting measures much..s-The sponsor
for bin talks IN its favor and the;
house then votes so there is little time
to tell how a bill is going by the trend
of the debate. The friends of this
school bill are taking this into consid-
Grafton. Previous estimates by the
friends of the measure were that it