The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-10
INSANE MEN
 ARE BEATEN Charges of Frightful ] Cruelty. CLAIM PATENTS WERE KILLED Affidayits by Former Nurses and
 Patients. Representative King of Jefferson, After ! Preifminary investigation, Asks
 for Joint Committee to
 rrebe Into conditfons.
 

Chan Ses of grave nature were made yesterday before the House against the management of the State Hospital for the Insane at Tuscaloosa. These charges are of such a serious charac- ter that even those who are responsi- ble for bringing the mater to the at- tention Of the House do not believe that they ala true.
 The Charges come in the form of af- fidavit& made by former nurses of the hospita}, and, as such, Representative King pf Jefferson County believes 1t is the duty of the legislative body to investigate them. He asks that a com
 nittee of Ave, three from the House and two from the Senate. be appoint ed for this purpose.
 These afildavits declare that there has been gross cruelty in the admin istration of punishment to patients and even go so fer as to assert that mur. der has beer committed in the institu- tion.
 The starting point of ,the charges comes from Juslge S. B. Green of the Probate Court of Jefferson County. It appears that the Judge had before him a patient. H M. Horton. who desired that his sanity be established and in the proceedings this patient told of the cruelty to which he had been sub Jected while in the hospital, The Judge referred the matter to Repre- sentative King. who started in to make an investigation on his own account. He found several persons who had act : cd fin the capacity of nurses at the in- stitution and they told him tales that astonimhMd hira, M s.s4 sif {. nc inaisted that they rseues tsxsr EsSnnsges to writing ana that they make andAxit that such writing was the truth f9g f l On the other side Of the story comes the statement of Representative Eos ter of Tuscaloosa, who says that he has visited this hospital both in an official capacity and also at moments when he was least expected. He declares that as far as he has been able to observe the management of the institution has been all that could be desired Asked to account for the charges Mir Foster said that year ago there was a strike of nurses at the hospitai and tha. there was much trouble between the nurses and the management He is inclined. to the belief that these charges come from some of these. as he expressed 1t. ''disgruntied nurses I" He Is glad. he says. that an investiga- ton is asked for. and he believes the management of the hospital will well come It.
 "There Is this much about it." he added, either the people making the afndavits are guilty of perjury or there are things going on at this institution that should be cleared up, and for this reason shali favor the investigation. although I am of the opinion that there is no real necessity for it"
 Poor Food, Many Punished.
 Fl. s. Ward, of Birmingham, who was nurse at the hospital from June k- A.. ah1davits in which he says: T have seen nurses kick patients in the stomach in the halls of the insti- tuition. know patients are very poor ly fed. and don't see how they live on the food given then"
 A. J. Newton. of Fayette. who was a nurse nine days during May. 1906 in his afidavit says in part:
 T saw five or six patients punished while there. I saw one patient kicked in the stomach by aN nurse named Hill and the man was knocked on the floor. I have seen patients stripped naked and put in the cross hall which has no furniture in it. and the room Is dark.
 with nothing to sleep on.. I have seen patients so hungry that they would
 fish bread from a slop barrel to get something to eat"
 J. D. Neighbors. of HuIls. who says he was a nurse from November, 1902, to November. 1905 includes this in his ahidavit:
 "The diet is never changed for break fast and supper. This diet consists of one piece of light bread with a spoon full of corn Rrits.' and. a spoonful Of stewed beef At supper the bread | and grits were the same. and to this
 was added a poor quality of syrup. At dinner was added one kind of vege- table. When the board of trustees
 were coming they would make grand preparations for extra fare, and the patients were always glad for the trus- tees to visit the institution for the req son that they could get something ex- tra to eat. There would be at least
 would come to the institution as there would be on regular days. l regard the mana cement there as fearful" J. J. Beaird. of AvondaiA. who says that he was a patient at different inter vals since September 16. 1904, and May
 2, 1907, has this to say:
 T saw William Todd. patient from Jefferson County. beaten and choked in- to insensibility and then his head put Into a watering trough where cattle were watered. This was in the butcher
 pen lot. I saw this man Todd beaten and choked down frequently at the reservoir by attending nurses until he was insensible.
 Tells of Two Patients Killed. T heard the nurses beating John Hinds of Lsauderdale county and saw
 him vomit Mood after the beating
 This was between 2 and o'clock in
 the afternoon and I helped dress him that night after he died. This patient
 was stamped to death. I waited on
 him after he was stamped and beaten
 by trying to cerry him some water the water. This nurse GOT supervisor was named McDuff.
 "A patient named Sam Rodgers of Faunsdale. was so badly beaten by a man named Daniels that he had to be carried to the sick ward. This was in