The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1907-11-22
The seventh annual meeting Of

tnAIIy meWpeTS OF the fraternity ar.
rived, and were taken charge of &C.
cording to the program arranged fol
the day. Byrd Trego and wife,of The
Idaho Republican, and Mrs. Blanch
Eldredge had charge Of affairs, and
they were taken Immediately to- The
Idaho Asylum for a semi-social visit.
After short visit together, the party
was shown thru the institution, and
the gentlemen went out and saw the
stock and all the buildings about the
place. The crops of course have all
been harvested, and there was a lit
tie to be seen in farm and garden,
but the following statement concern
ing the institution gives the reader
a correct idea of some of the main
features of the work and condition
Of affairs at the present time.
The Idaho Asylum
The institution is half mile east
Of town, facing west, and a shady
avenue leading up to the building
from the entrance to the big farm in
the edge Of town. The cinder drive
way is bordered on each side by q
belt Of grass, and two rows of state
ly poplars, while plum and cherry
trees form the background on one
side and pear and apple trees are
arranged in rows upon the other
Immediately in front of the main
building the pretty lawn is fringed
with a flower garden, and stretches
away in well-kept groves with foun-.
tains and rustic seats, the whole con-
forming in contour to the two wings
of the building, and presenting a
homelike, restful view from the
many points of observation both on
the grounds and from the ward cor
riders.
At the rear of the building are the
energizing parts of the institution,
the great we'll and windmill, the
heating and pumping plants, the
storerooms, fire mains, coal bins,
barns, machine sheds, the twenty
acre garden and the several hundred
acres Of crops, watered from ca
nails that tap Snake River and The
Blackfoot many miles up the valley.
The old heating plant was put in
by peace meal as the institution
grew, and was getting leaky from
rust, besides being expensive in
maintenance, owing to the fact that
it was fired in four different boilers
distributed about the building, and
this also made the rate of insurance
high, and the risk great.
The new heating plant consists of
one large boiler situated in a stone
building separate from the rest of
the institution, and set of steam
pipes laid under ground and cover
ed with asbestos, to convey the
steam to all parts of the building,
where it Is used in radiators and
governed by valves that can only be
opened or closed with key. A set
Of water pipes accompanys the steam
pipes, all conducted on the gravity
system, to carry the water back to
the engine room as the steam con-
denses in the steam pipes. A sys-
tenn Of automatic valves and motors
connects the two sets of pipes, and
when the water collects in pipe,
the valve opens automatically to let {
the water pass, and Immediately
closes when the steam touches, 1t a.
gain. Hot and cold water are sup
piled to all parts Of the building, !
line spray baths and tub baths are {
ready at all times, and large steel {
storage tank is kept filed with wa ,
Ter under heavy pressure, for emer-
gencies. II
The sewerage is carried a short (
distance from the building and dis
charged into septic tank where it !;
Is entirely consumed by something
yeast in its action, yet
differing from it in that 1t emits no
odor, never increases nor diminishes {
In strength, and does not get stale {
from year to year. The striking &
feature about 1t is that 1t feces and t
all waste matter from the sewer, {
pass into the vault or tank and ap- &
pear absolutely destroyed. Water '
Is the only residue that passes out of I
the vault, and it is considered pure, |
for analysis does not discover any 1
thing in it. The yeast or germ t
costs only a trife, lasts for an in 7
definite period, and furnishes a de- a
of process that the '
immortal Bellamy described the op- t
Grafton of in his novel, Looking r
Backward" but could not give the b
formula for. ?
DR.. Hoover, the superintendent b
showed the party the institution,