Mexico weekly ledger., 1907-12-05

visited TIE OouEtJ fuor karm- 1Dr)
were met al the door by Mrk Willing
ham, the wife Of the Superintendent
and we're invited into the sittins
room. This room with It's home mzds
carpets pictures. and caea niiness pre-
sented . neat appexrznce- MIRA VII
.linghAm WIS asked to give an account
Of the inmates and the following 1
the liss. . boz fourteen years old VITA
sound mindE and hody although xher
he entered be had . broKen ieg, he Be
ing the only one Of sound mind ami
conscious OF his surroundings Mrs
wElinzhamb mother heart went on'
to him. and she invited him ~ Be on
Of her family. she spoke Of how indus
Itrious be wasand how much she zp
preclRted his help. he was at schoo
|one-hzlf mile away and the visitor
did not see him. The next one wa
blind, the merit very old. one had 81
injured back, and there we're thre'
idiot brothers, an IDIOT c0lored man
an old lady. anda feeble minded olt
nan.
We asked 20 see the inmates and
Mrs. WIIingham 1shered Us through
. VIDE hall into the dining room. botf
showing the neatnez OF the wife and
daughter, then 70 the yard where tn
inmates houses are There are fuul
houses and two ROOMS In each house
The frst room vi entered was thu
rom OF the old lady. she met Us with
q smile and hand snake The furni
ture consisted Of an iron bed and
stove, the bare floor was very clean
She was given an orange and was ask
ed II she liked pictures and the ladies
promised TO send her some. Her eye
we're very much inflamSd, she was In
iured In some wsy. Her face saddened
as she taik.d and we could not bul
thinn she was Q poor neglected old
mother, who deserved better treat
ment from her children She has
access 70 the home Of Mrs WiIlinghan
and her clothes are mended BY the
sympathetic daughter. Adjoining
Der room was the room Of an old man.
He vzs At work % we left an Orange
on his table, and our attention VA
directed TO the dishes used,a tinplate
knife, fork. spoon. tin cup which wers
filed 10 the dining room and brought
ont 70 them. Some Of the inmates
twist the handles OF the spoons.
On our way 70 the next house vi
saw two Of the Idle. ssothsrs at
wood pile, one had an axe in bis hand
ready 70 split the wood and the othel
vas erouched down near the fence,
Oranges were given them BY a lady, q
little bit Drawer than the others. he
thanked her and the other one By the
fence said good. They were asked
what kind OF wood they we're splitting
and one replied. ''msplei'. At the
next place we vent we found a feeble
minded man sitting ina chair. he
was offered an orange but paid no at,
tenti0n toit until Mrs. Willingham
gsve IL to him. not sound came from
his lips and no light from his eyes
His bed needed some new clean com
forts. Another man was asleep In BID
bed In the room.
On the way 70 the next house, we
were met by the idiots colored man.
He expected his share Of the oranges
and was given one. BE was asked by
one Of the ladies II be knew her. but
be could not recall her name.
The nsxt place was the room where
they were confined when unruly, but
Mrs. Wfllingham said they had only
been required 70 use IT once. II YVES a
rndely constructed affair Of rough
lumber. In the next room were two
idiots sitting in chairs, one never
.Ieaveing bis chair. When given an or
ange he ate the outside and ali.
In the next ro0m was another feeble
minded man, and the nnsanitary con-
dition Of this room was very notice
able although Mr.. willingham takes
precautions 70 keep It clean.
Mrs. Willingham was asked II the
inmates could do anything. She said,
they sometimes shucked corn. would
bring fodder to the barn and drive the
cows.
After the inspection OF rooms we
fingered awhile 10 the dinniDg-room,
and then started home. We won-
dered II they had anything on Thanks-
for which TO be thankful, IL
any thoughtful souls remembered
ipformationsL We resolved that
Christmas should not pass without re-
them. Perhaps they have
rational moments and think OF home
and friends. The farm is only q
miles from town and we wondered
how many Christians ever brought a
ray Of sunshine there.
Some say why are they not sent to
he various institutions IS the Hos
pital for Insane. the Feeble Minded
Home. or Orphans Home.
Well. shall we let them suffer while
We are waiting for Affairs to be adjust
'dY How many think they could be
comfortable in Ease the winter Is
Ievere on q bare floor, no shades, and
'nly a little coal stove to keep them
warm.
A vision like this crosses our mind.
L modern building with bath rooms
where there unfortunate ones can be-
made comfortable physically with at
endants whose only duty Is to care
or them, clean beds, nourshing food,
nd some occupations for the hand. al
'leasant lawn with swings, ham,.
nocks and trees where Gods poor can
njoy themselves.
'In Is much As ye did IL unto the
sast Of these, my brethren, ye did ft
INTO me-" Martha o. Frost
-
straysd.
From my home last Wednesday