Amador ledger., 1906-10-26
CALIFORNIA; FEEBLE MINDED
And Its Home for Their Care and
Training.

making proper provision Tor the care
and training for. feeble minded child
rem By Mrs L. Il. Bentley, wife of
Rev. Robert Bentley of Berkeley, and
Mrs Julia M. Judah, wife of Heury
K. Judah of San Francisco. These
ladies called a meeting and that
meeting appointed a committee. That
is the way most good things start In
this country and, although many
meetings are called and many com
mittees are appointed which do moth
ing creditable, it was not so in this
case. These women were in earnest
and wore able to impart their enthus-
iasm to the meeting, and so some
thing important came of it. Without
enthusiasm nothing can come of any
human enterprise. 1t is eminentIy
proper, therefore, that CALIFORNIA;
home for the care and training of
feeble minded children should have
its Bentley" and "Judah' halls.
Speed the day when there shall be
separate cottages, instead of mere
wards, named after these two worthy
womenl
An Association Started.
The public meeting called as above
stated, and held believe at the
Palace Hotel in San Francisco, re-
suited in the formation of bene-
VIOLENT association. The best cure for
pessimism l can prescribe, is con-
temptation of the latest directory of
associations formed for the purpose
of making things better than they
are. Every American town big
enough to sustain saloon sustains
moro benevolent associations than
saloons. This association took practi-
cal form July 81, 1888, and it opened
home for the feeble minded at
White Sulphur Springs, near Vallejo,
April y, 1884. 1t was afterward re-
moved to Fasking Park, Alameda
county, where it remained until De-
cember ~, 1885, when the state Bought
81 acres of land for it at Santa Clara.
This home also proved inadequate,
and in 1889 the state legislature ap-
propIiated $500, QUO for new site,
buildings and furnishings.
The New Location.
The Board of Trustees, with the CO.
operation of two special commission
ers appointed for the purpose, select
ed what was known as the William
Mcpherson Hill ranch near Glen
Ellen, in Sonoma county. for the per-
manent home of the institution. The
selection was unfortunate, it nothing
worse. 1t was a "Hiil" ranch in
more senses than one, tor, although
it embraced 100 acres. there is
scarcely one hundred acres of arabic
land in the tract, and it can not be
counted on to furnish enough pro-
vender to feed enough COWS to supply
500 children with all the milk they
should have. The state made the
mistake, repeated again and again,
of buying acres instead OF land. One
hun lred acres of good Sacramento or
San joaquin valley land would supply
more produce, and consequently sus-
tain mora feeble minded children,
than the entire 100 acres at Eldridge.
When 1t comes to buying land, the
state of California is a perpetual
tenderfoot and frequently sucker.
Plenty of View.
There is, however, utility to be
found in the beauty of the situation.
Let US therefore be eomforted. Back
ed up against one range of mountains
and facing range of lofty, swelling,
farm covered hills, the landscape is
so inviting as to pleasantly impress
even mind that is feeble while it
is a constant comfort for the corps
of care takers, who need all the solace
that fine prospect can afford. The
location should be regarded as per-
manent and the state should make
the most of it and not be looking tor
another. Besides. every such in
stitution needs limitless amount of
rough work for its male charges to
perform and the. conversion of these
100 acres into land will supply this
need until the end of time. BY
te1racing hills and burying stones
many pretty garden can be made,
and this is the sort of work that the
feeble minded can do best and
that Is best for them to do. AT a
similar institution in New jersey,
the girls take almost sole care of
productive orchard and berry field.
Limltless opportunities for such
work are afforded by the TOO acres
at EIdridge. Perhaps after all, the
feeble minded commissioners bought
better than they knew.
The Plant As 1t Is.
The corner stone o; the present
institution was laid Nov. -, 1890.
and the institution was transferred
to its permanent home the day before
Thanksgiving, 1901. Since then,
many buildings have been built, as
the following schedule of constructive
expenditures will make plain
Boys wing sllS, 57s. 81
Girls wing 20, 9.25
1.-The Manse," kitchen and
laundry l2o, 20L5 Oh
Water supply (totaIly lnsuff3-
| niant 90 tarN IL 426. le