Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-22
FAVORABLE TO THE
SUPERINTENDENT
Testimony of Dr.. Maurice ].
Stack, First Assistant.
IN ASYLUM FOR 20 YEARS
Administration Compares Favorably
With Former Ones.
THEY ALL USE OLEOMARGARINE
More Healthful Than Butter and
Several Thousand Dollars a
Year Cheaper.
IN ASYLUM FOR 20 YEARS
Administration Compares Favorably
With Former Ones.
THEY ALL USE oLEOMARGAR1NE

DR.. Maurice ]. Stack. first assistant physi.
clan at the Government Hospital for the
Insane, was the principal witness before
the Olcott committee at its morning ses-
sion today.
Tho testimony of DR.. Stack. who has
been attached to the asylum for twenty
nine years. was highly favorable to DR.,
White. The members OF the committee
were apparently very favorably impressed
by DR.. Stacks manner and by his devotion
to duty. evidenced by the fact that he has
not taken vacation in fifteen years.
DR.. Maurice J. Stack.
DR.. Maurice J. Stack, first assistant ply
sician at the Government Hospital for the
Insane, was the first witness before the
committee. He had been employed at st.
Elizabeth for twenty-nine years, having
gone there as Junior assistant Immediately
after being admitted to practice.
DR.. Stack said he had visited various hos
pitals around the country and thought that
st. Elizabeth was good or better than
the best of them Great strides had been
made of recent years In the care and treat
ment of the insane. Various improvements
and forward steps which were adopted In
all the insane asylums OF the country orig1-
mated at the government hospital across the
river. In the classification OF the insane
advances had also been made. Under Dr.
White, DR.. Stack said, epilepttcs had been
segregated and the other classes OF ihsane
had been put to themselves
DR. Stack testified that he was In charge
Of the receiving wards Of ST Eizape.n
with about 45O patients looked aiter py
Dr. Glasseock and himself he visited lne
sixteen wards under him twice day, ana
went into the acute wards sometimes Elk
times day. DR.. Glasscock, his ASSISTANT,
also made the rounds of the receiving de-
partment-
No Specific Instances OF Cruelty.
DR.. Stack, replying to Chairman Olcott.
said he couldn't recall any specific instance
of cruelty in which complaint had been
made during the year and a half the re-
ceivlng system had been in operation He
recalled, however, that there had been two
cases of neglect of patients by attendants.
who had been discharged on DR.. Stacks
recommendation. In every matter concern
ing the reported abuse of patients. dill
gent Inquiry had been made. No complaints
had been overlooked.
The food at the hospital was liberal In
quantity and good in quality. l eat the
same food myself"
But it is specially prepared for you,
suggested Representative Smyser.
Certainly" replied DR.. Stack, but some
even complain of IL then.
II guess" said Mr.. Smyser. 'that 1t ~
largely matter of taste as the old woman
said as she kissed the cow"
How about the butter?' inquired MT.
Smyser
1.-The butter problem has been hard one
to solve" replied DR.. Stack In fact, We
do not use butter-we use oleomargarine.
"Did you say you had cultivated a taste
for oleo?' inquired Mr.. Snyser in surprised
tones.
"Oh. no." replied DR. Stack, with smile.
II said 1 had become habituated to it.
Dr. Stack said that to his knowledge the
same water had never been used over ana
over again in bathing patients. There could
have been only isolated cases of this abuse.
Duties Were Arduous.
DR.. Stack admitted that the duties Of the
nurses and attendants were most arduous.
But" he added, '-the medical officers are
In the same fix. They are actually on duty
twenty-four hours out Of the twenty-four
Very often several years elapse before one
of the physicians has any time off. and va
cations are cumulative
The witness then told the committee some
thing concerning various ex-patients at the
ASYLUM who have been witnesses before
the committee and who complained OF III
treatment while in the hospital. DR.. Stack
denied that the patients named had been
badly treated. He said further that the
feeding tube had never been used except
when absolutely necessary.
Concerning Mrs. Goodrich, who told the
committee the other day that DR.. stack
had forbidden her to come on the GROUNDS
of the institution, the witness tesuhed at
some length. He said that, with tha con-
sent of the superintendent he had forbidden
Mrs Goodrich the privilege OF entering the
wards, but had permitted her the use OF
the grounds when she visited the lhsutu-
tion The woman had been kept out OF
the wards. Dr. Stack said because with
Lewis Marshall, a patient, she held quasi
religious services OF an emotional nature
that had a distinctly bad effect on the pa
TENTS.
DR. Stack thought that, with reasonable
diligence, the present force OF nurses and
attendants in his department could perform
their duties satisfactorily right along. Adj
ditional help, however, would produce more
more carefully looked after, and In acute
cases an attendant could be specially de-
tailed to a patient.
DIR. Stack said that under him patiehes
were restrained very unfrequently by me-
chanfcal means. Then the restraining proc
ess was carried out in the most humane
manner The witness remarked that IN
certain periods of some years many pas
tients became violent. while at other times
a long interval would elapse between cases
of violence where restraints We're neees-
sary.
Dr. Stack spoke of these occurrences or
ytolences as being almost in the nature or
epidernics of disturbance or cycles Of m
sanity.
D1SGnargeQ TOT LfuSity.
About dozen attendants had been dis
charged in the past five years for acts OF
cruelty or neglect to patients.
.sThe policy of the hospital has always
been distinctly against the employment or
attendants who have served in other hos
pitals. We prefer to train our own peo-
pie"
ants came from the farming districts
around Washington, and were. generally
speaking, good class The pay of at
tendants at the hospital compared favor
ably with the salary list of other institu-
tions of like character.
Answering Representative Hay, DR.. Stack
said that he didn't see that tt would 90 any