Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-05

THE INSANE ASYLUM
Further Testimony Before the
Special Committee.
THE INSTITUTION EMPLOYEES
In Various Branches Told of Their
Work.
nYYECTYnYHHn IN
HE INSTITUTION EMPLOYEES
QUESTIONED BY CHAIRMAN
Foreman Of the Force of Carpen-
ters Told Of His Service of Over
Forty Years.

The Olcott special committee heard a.
number of asylum employees at the morn-
ing secession and considerable progress waa
made. Representative Smyser OF Ohio cre-'
ated considerable excitement In the COM
mittee room by suggesting that the COM
mittee begin its sessions at o'clock IN the
morning.
Il do so love to hear the little birds sing
Ing before sun-up." he remarked. 1T re-
minds me OF that dear Ohio" After Chair
man Olcott had recovered 1t was announced
that the session would begin at 10 am, aa
heretofore.
Food Used in the Hospital.
James L. Green, in charge OF the farm at
the Government Hospital for the Insane,
was the first witness He testified that,
twenty men were employed on the farm.
not including patients. Twenty-Five of the
latter work on the farm. Trucking products
were the principal things raised there. TheI
farm did not produce enough garden truckl
or ensilage products to keep the institutlon
supplied. The remainder needed was pur-,
chased outside. Mr. Green went into az
number OF details of farm management
Eyander French, steward of the asylums
followed Mr.. Green. He said he had been
in the hospital twenty-sx years, fourteen
years as steward. He inspected all meats.
both salt and fresh. No canned meats.i
save corned dried beef, were used in The
hospital. The corned beef Mr. French fre-l
quently had to send it back. Sometimes iei
was tainted. at other times too thin for
use.
Inspected All the Meat
He tested every piece by cutting In
half and smelling it. Ten thousand
pounds of corned beef were used eachi
month at the institution. Fresh meat
about 1880 pounds week-was kept In
cold storage at the asylum until used.
He sometimes had to send back the
fresh meat, but not so frequently as
he did the corned beef Sometimes it
was tainted, sometimes too fat and some-
times too thin. 1t was rarely that he re-
ceived shipment of corned beef that
he didn't have to send some of IL tack.
The fresh beef was Chicago killed, and
was clean So far as he knew. II was
preserved by refrigeration alone He
didn't know that he could have told
when beef was chemically preserved.
Vegetables and Fruits Eaten.
Eight hundred bushels of potatoes were
used at the Institution each month-alI pur-
chased in the open market. Quantities OF
cabbage and kale and other vegetables were
used. The farm did not raise sufficient OF
these things fer the institution. 1t took
twenty barrels Of cabbage for one meal at
the asylum. Five to six thousand quarts OF
Strawberries and the same amount of black
barrels of apples were used each month
when they were cheep. Last year apples
were high and none were used. Several
hundred bushels of peaches were raised and
used on the place each year. There was no
discrimination In the distribution of fruit
to the various wards. There was, more
over. standing order issued by DR.. White
that no supplies should be purchased spe-
cially for any table in the hospital In which
the patients did not share. Radishes beets.
watermelons, pumpkins, squash. cucumbers,
peas. tomatoes. etc, were raised on tha
farm and used In the institution.
W. c. Folsom.
w. c. Folsom, since January 27. 1904, thu
chief engineer in charge Of the mechanical
plant of the asylum. followed Mr.. French.
He said the hospital has its own ice ma
chine. Two to three tons of Ice were man.
ufactured each day In the winter and sin
to seven tons In the summer. At reques6
of Chairman Olcott Mr.. Folsom described
the lighting and heating plants OF the asy-
lum and went into various other phases Of
his work.
C. A ]. Williamson. foreman of the asys
lum carpenters, was called. He had been
at the hospital for more than forty years.
looked after general repairs and made the
collins for the asylum dead. Questioned at
some length by Chairman Olcott, the witt
ness went into the details of his work at
the asylum.
Referring to the new buildings erected
three years ago Mr.. Williamson said that
the floors had not stood wear as they
should have done. He had nothing to do
the Secretary of the Interior had appointed
an inspector of his own to look after
things. Not only the floors, but other
portions of the various new bulidinga
showed evidence of poor work He thought
the contract system was a rather poor ona
for the government to fool with. anyhow.