The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-24
MET BEHIND
 CLOSED DOORS Hospital Commission Hears Complaints. PATIENTS ARE EXAMINED Hospital Management is Astonish-
 cd at the Testimony. pr. searcey Says That M. s. Hartons Who Brought Original Charges, was a very Troublesome
 Patient.
BY wIL,L n. sHEEHAN,


 Tuscaloosa, Aug. 23--(Special )--Ben hind closed doors inmates of the in- sane hospital made their complaint to- day. if they had any to make. to the members of the Investigating commis- sion. No physician or attache of the hcspital was in she room. The hospital management was repre- sented by Hon. Sam Will John, a nnem- Der of the Board of Trustees. Judge T. J. Mayfeld serving as attorney for the management Four newspaper men were present. but they got no nearer l the hearing than within sight of the closed door.
 It was announced by the commission. that they deemed 1t wise to ex- | anime the patients in secret. thinking that they might speak more freely if they were away from the presence and | influence of the authorities. The Conn mission will begin holding open ses- sions Monday.
 The hospital management has been astonished at some of the testimony ad- duced already, testimony, the truth of which has been impossible The man. agement has been astonished. too. that some of the impossibilities of men and women who were lately in the hospital have been accepted by a part of the public as being true.
 The management confidently expects to show that many of the statements | made before the Commission have been so absurd that they belonged in the realm of delusions, in which the mind 1 of the witness have previously wan | dered. There Is. for instance. tha charge of former patient that he witnessed the murder of certain in mate whom he named and described. As a matter of fact, 1t is said. no such I person, either in description or in name, has ever been an inmate of the hospital
 | The management will, at the proper | time, refute the charge of another l death from i'll treatment--the case of a prominent citizen alluded to yester- day in the letter of Judge chiltoB 4 l letter from the widow of the patient I states she was notified of his alluesa | four days before hla death. and was at his bedside days before the end. A TrOubIes0me Patient.
 M. S. Harton the man who brought l the charges originally, has been de- scribed by Dr. Searcy as .one of the most troublesome patients ever in the | asylum, a contentious. cumulative man | who was constantly stirring up trcu- ble. He was so much c a maniac | when he was brought to the hospital | that he tore his clothing to shreds. He secured his release by Jury's verdict in habeas corpus proceedings, the doctors present testifying that he was still insane.
 In the hearing, the management ex- poets to show that the sensational fea- l lures of the testimony already given were delusions and not facts.
 The Commission this morning thor- oughly inspected the mems building, the members encountered the "Presi- dent of the United States. and q .multi-millionaire." He happens to be an Alabama farmer, hopelessly insane but he is perhaps the happiest and most contented man in the State. He has promised Senator Hayes a check for a half million dollars in apprecia- ton of the Senator's distinguished service upon the investigation commit tee.
 Continues Inspection.
 An entire day was needed to iook closely over the big building. The tn- spection could not have been made in less time--so large is the institution. So the Senators and Representatives kent themselves to their task and faithfully plodded through the tnterm- inable halls and the countless rooms Thursday afternoon the Womans De- @ pe-tment, from the top ward to the
 
 carefully inspected.
 The patients received the commis- sioners with great honor. They paid the greatest courtesy. and every con sideration to the investigators--tri- butes that were nothing less than pa- thetlc.
 The Lady with the Feathers was es- pecially gracious. She wore her feath- CTS in honor of the occasion. They were of a striking color, and quite as tall as the feathered ornaments worn by any Indian chlef They were set in a gayly colored turban.
 She donned her vivid head dress and walked the halls for the admiration of the commissioners. In her days or sanity the unfortunate woman once figured in a sensational shooting af- fair which was readily recalled by the older members of the party. A doc- tor whispered an allusion to this in- cident to one of the party and the ouIck ear of the unfortunate woman overheard him.
 'SrhAt isn't so." she exclaimed. That couldn't be so. You see I've been married half dozen times and I never even knew him
 "The Central Operator of the Wire less Telegraph system was quite the busiest person encountered She gra ctously left off her duties for a few
 
 minutes to talk with the visitors She explained that she was constantly re- ceivIng messages from President Roosevelt, only she called him Lord Roosevelt"
 .I had three wireless messages from him this morning." said the operator. quite positively. and I sent Lord roosevelt these messages. We are de- manding Geronimo's freedom. We are eager for Geronimo's freedom and we are going to have it.
 story of sally shaelkeIfoRa.
 What a tragedy there was in the life of Sally Shackelford. Dr. searcy outlined 1t in few words. and even in them its pathos was moving. sally shackelford was an actress at twenty "a professional dancer. At twenty away from her home and her friends she was stranded in Mobile with theatrical company.
 Tn bar auffAriDRR haF mind Faf1aN