Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-10
/ THE INSANE ASYLUM
INVESTIGATION
Attorney MacNamara's Pres
ence Objected To.
MORE ATTENDANTS HEARD
Admit Having Struck and Ill-Treated
Patients.
THE FOOD GENERALLY BAD
Testimony of Patients and Those
Having Relatives in Institution
Given to That Effect.
Admit Having Struck and Ill-Treated
Patients.
HE FOOD GENERALLY BAD

The st. Elizabeth inquiry dragged along
| again today. the feature OF the session bs~
| ing academic discussion by members or
| tho Olcott special committee as to the mo-
tive that actuated the Attorney General
| in designating Assistant United States At
| torney MacNamara to conserve the in
| terests of the government before the conf
| mtttee. Representative Olcott and his coll
| leagues appeared to be unanimously of tho
| opinion that Mr.. MacNamara's presence be-
| fore the committee was necessary. but Rep
| resentative Hay of Virginia was the only
member Of the committee to object. Tie
| discussion arose out of the fact that Mr..
| MacNamara at one point undertook to adj
wise the committee as to how it should
| run the inquiry.
| Mr.. MacNamara, whom do you repre-
| sent?" demanded Representative Hay.
| Mr. MacNamara explained that he had
been designated at the request of the At
| torney General to appear before the conn.,
| mittee to conserve the interests of the
government"
| Mr. Hay remarked that he Thought the
committee was competent to conserve the
| interests OF the government without out.
side assistance, and that, besides. the asy-
| lum was under the Secretary of the In
terror and not under the Attorney General.
Moreover, 1t looked very much if NJ.
MacNamara was acting counsel for Dr..
White
Representative Olcott smilingly remarked
that he agreed with Mr.. Hay, but thar.
while Mr.. MaCNamara's presence was un-
| necessary. it wouldn't do any harm. and
after some more talk the committee got
down to business again.
Hrs. Roland the First Witness.
Mrs. s. F. Roland was the first wit
ness at today's session. Her son had been
in the asylum five years, and had been
abused on a number of occasions. Once he
had "a terrible black eye that lasted more
than ten days." and on another occasion
had a cut over the eye.
Mrs. Lottie p. Wright. inmate of ST.
Eiizabeths for one month in 1904, testified
that on one occasion, when she had fallen
down, owing to weakness, she had been
dragged by attendants and thrown into
bed. When she complained to the physi-
clan In charge, she had been roughly or
dered to her room. Once she had seen a
woman attendant slap girl inmate In the
face with great force.
August Holmberg, until recently an In
mate of the asylum, but now living at the
Soldiers Home, said he had been struck
several times'--once while in bed, once for
talking and once for interfering when
other patient was being brutaliy treated.
George c. Wright. salesman with Par
ker, Bridget & Co, whose wife and mother
were at one time inmates of the asylum.
| told the comraittee that his mother had
| lived only five days after reaching the In
stitution.
''They made short work of her." he re-
Wright said further that his mothers
| body was covered with bruises when the
undertaken took charge. and that he could
| substantiate this charge. The hospital
| authorities said his mother died of heart
| failure, Wright added.
! Wilson Tyler's Elaboration.
Wilson Tyler, colored, who testified the
| other day that he had never seen Foreman
| Maenche of the laundry IN an intoxicated
he Sta n session
| to elaborate his testimony. Summed up.
| TYLER said that while he had not seen
| Maenche drunk, he had noticed the latter
| in a dark room. Maenche had advised hlm
| to tell the committee little as possible
concerning Maenche's habits, had reminded
| him (fyler) of recent raise of salary hs
| had received. and both cautioned him
| (Tyler) to look out for the interests OF
Maenche and DIR. White
Otis Wilson of 700 Sth street northeast,
| an attendant at st. Elizabeths from Au-
! gust f. 1900, to January 10 1896, discharged
| for striking a patient. testified that ne had
| frequently struck patients in self-defense:
| He had been nit by patients hundreds OF
| times but had only hit back when absolute
| ly necessary. He had never seen the board
| of visitors go through his ward during his
1 entire time of service. He had received Or
| ders from Supervisor Burch to take the
| patients out walking on days when the
board of visitors was expected-the nrst
| Tuesday of each month. If 1t happened TO
| before the board arrived or after they left,
| although the n1embers of the board never
went through the wards.
The food at the institution, witness said,
was very poor during the week, but usual
| ly good on Sundays.
Jesse Owsley a colored inmate, who sa w
service in the army during the war with
Spain and who admitted that he had
spells" testified that an attendant named
Alexander had knocked him down and
kicked him because of a refusal to sweep
the floor.
Il was sent there as a crazy man not
sweeper" said Owsley. He thought the
food was pretty bad.
owen s. Allen. an attendant at the insti-
tuition for three years, part of the time
during Dr. Whites administration and who
was discharged for sleeping on duty. tes-
titled that he had struck patients IN SELF
defense 1t was either that or oeing done
up by a patient Patients who worked In
the laundry had returned his blows with
black ewes and scratched faces. He thought
the food was pretty bad
Yesterday Afternoons Session.
The session of the committee yesterday
afternoon produced testimony from nine
witnesses. including ex-employes. ex-pa-
tients and others who had relatives In
the institution as patients. All concurred
IN the opinion that the institution IS run
without sufficient attendants, and that the
food is bad. Many of them rected in
stances OF WHAT tnSy dueStu 10 De utHct~
essary cruelty in the treatment OF pa
tients by attendants t. w. Belt of Lees
burg, Va, who was an attendant from
December H. 1905. to March q last. said
he was discharged because he complained
of the way the, chief attendant. Clark NJ
Teats.. treated patients. In the case of q
patient named Percy Eckies. from Penn
syIvania, who had been fed on liquid diet
for several months, Belt said Teats knocked
Eckles down many times After one such
occurrence Eckies died within week. IN
the case OF an old soldier with q broken