The copper era. (Clifton, Graham County, Ariz.) 1899-1911, 1906-05-10
Grand Jury Makes Serious CHARGES
Against MANAGEMENT of Insane
Asylum.

The grand jury for Maricopa county
which was in session last week, spent
a great deal of time in an investiga
tion of the territorial insane asylum
The grand jury in its report criticizes
the administration of affairs at that
institution, and in conclusion says:
We have discoYered many lamenta.
ble derelictions in the discharge ot
duties on the part of the authorizes
in charge of the Territorial Insane
Asylum under the administration OF
DIR. w. H. Ward and under his ad-
ministration found many abuses
which if they exist at the present
should be corrected. We find;
First That it was the custom of
the late steward, Mr.. Vincent, to
divert from said institution various
supplies belonging to the Territory,
! and intended for the use of patients
| to his own use and that of his family
said supplies being in the nature
of milk, ice, meats and provisions
properly belonging to the Territorial
institution for the use of the patients
incarcerated therein.
Second-We find that in the past it
has been the custom of the attend
ants of the various wards to admin
lister to patients incarcerated in the
asylum hypodermic injections of
morphine and other quieting drugs
without the direction and not under
the supervision or the superintendent
or any other physician, and we con-
dem said practice as an unwarrented
and careless exercise of a physicians
prerogative by said attendants and
one likely to lead to physical injuries
to the patients incarcerated in said
institution, and we recommend that
if no such rule has heretofore been
established by the board of control
of the Territory of Arizona that said
board of control make and place in
operation a rule that no attendant
shall administer any hypOdermic in
lection of morphine or other quieting
drug to patients incarcerated in the
Territorirl Insane Asylum unless by
the direction and under the supervis-
ion of the superintendent of said
asylum or some physician having
power and authority to make such
order and direction.
Third-We find upon examination
of said witnesses that many of the
patients of the insane asylum con-
fined in what is known as the violent
ward have been treated by some of
the attendants in an extremely
brutal and harsh manner: that more
force has been used with them than
was necessary for their control. We
find especially instances of harsh and
cruel treatment committed by at
tendants Robert Brickley and Will
lam Hayes ON various occasions; and |
we recommend to the board of con-
troll of the Territory of Arizona the |
Immediate investigation of the con-
duct of said attendants towards said |
patients and if it is demonstrated |
that they have been guilty of unwar-
ranted harsh treatment that they |
be discharged from employ of the
said Territorial Insane Asylum.
We further recommend that in |
view of condition of affairs that we
haYe discovered to be existing at
said Territorial Insane Asylum that |
the board of control shall make a
investigation at least twice
a year into the manner in which said |
institution is conducted the conduct
and control of supplies, and the man.
ner in which the inmates of said in
,titution are treated; and if author
zed under the law, we recommend |
the appointment of an assistant
who shall be skilled
in medicine and in whose hands alone
shall be placed the power to admin
ster quieting drugs to the patients
and whose further duty it shall be
to keep strict supervision over the
as well as the patients to
see that the patients are humanely
,reated.
we make THIS report III regard TO
he Territorial Insane Asylum in
view of the fact that many helpless
people are confined therein whose
are and treatment should be of tend
,rest manner possible with their
Efficient control of their helpless and
condition, and in the
,One that whatever abuses have |
heretofore existed may be in the
uture abrogated.
Having concluded the business for
which we were summoned as eXpedi-
.iously as possible under the CirCum-
tances, we submit this as our final
'eport. E. A. SPALDING,
Foreman.
Soiatioa Cured After Twenty Years