The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-07-11
Gross Cruelty in the Punish
ment of the Inmates
is Charge.
NO GOOD GROUND ct is SAID BY
THE FRIENDS OF THE INSANE
HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT, CAN
BE FOUND FOR CHARGES NOW
BEING MADE.
BY Associated Press.

day before the house against the
management of the Insane Hospital
for the Insane at Tuscaloosa. These
| charges are of such a serious char
acter that even those who are respon-
sible for bringing the matter to the
attention of the house do not believe
| that they are true.
The charges come in the fern of
afidavits made by former nurses Of
the hospital, and, as such, Represen-
tative King of Jefferson county be-
lieves it IS the duty of the legisla-
| tive body to investigate them. He
asks that committee of FIVE, three
| from the house and two from the
senate, be appointed for this purpose.
These affidav1ts declare that there
has been gross cruelty in the admin
| istration of punishment to patients
and even go so far as to assert that
murder has been committed in the
| institution.
The Starting Point.
The starting point of the charges
comes from Judge S. e. Green. of the
probate court of Jefferson county. 1t
appears that the judge had before
him q patient, H NJ Horton, who de-
sired that his sanity be established
and in the proceedings this patient
| told of the cruelty to which he had
been subjected while in the hospital.
| The judge referred the matter to Rep
resentative King, who started TO make
an investigation on his own account.
| He found several persons who had
acted in the capacity Of nurses at the
| institution and they told him tales
| that astonished him.
He insisted that they reduce their
charges to writing and that they make
affidavit that such writing was the
| truth.
On the other side of the story comes
| the statement of Representative Fos-
| ter of Tuscaloosa, who says that he
visited this hospital both in an Off
cial capacity and also at moments
when he was least expected. He de-
| clares that as far as he has been able
| to observe the management of the
| institution has been all that could be
| desired.
Line of Defense.
Asked to account for the charges
| Mr. Foster said that a year ago there
was a strike of nurses at the hospital
and that there was much trouble be-
| tween the nurses and management.
| He is inclined to the belief that these
charges come from some of these, as
he expressed it, "disgruntled nurses"
4
| ton is asked for, and he believes the
| management of the hospital will well
come it. IN
There is this much about it, he
added. either the people making the
| afhdavits are guilty of perjury or there
are things going on at this inStitu-
| ton that should be cleared up, and
| for this reason I shall favor the in
vestigation. although / am of the opin-
ion that there is no real necessity for
| it."
Inside Evidence.
| H. S. Ward. Of Birmingham, who
was a nurse at the hospital from
June to November in 1905, makes one
Of the affidavits in which he says:
81 have seen nurses kick patients
| in the stomach in the halls of the in
stitution. I know patients are very
poorly fed. and 1 don't see how they
| live on the food given them"
A. J. Newton. of Fayette. who was
a nurse nine days during May, 1905,
| in his affidavit says in part:
Il saw five or six patients punished
while there. l saw enc patient kicked
in the stomach by nurse. named
Hill and the man was knocked on the
| floor. l 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.
have seen patients so hungry they
would fish bread from slop barrel
to get something to eat"
| j. D. Neighbors, of Hulls, who says
to November. 1905. includes this in his
affidavit:
| Regular Diet.
THE diet is never changed for
| breakfast and supper. This diet con-
siSts of one piece of light bread with
| a spoonful of corn gritS, and a spoon
| full of stewed beef. At supper the
| bread and grits were the same. and
/ to this was added poor quality of
syrup. At dinner was added one kind
! of vegetable When the board of
trustees were coming they would
| make grand preparation for extra
| fare. and the patients were always
glad for the trustees to visit the in
stitution for the reason that they could
get something extra to eat. There
would be at least three times as much
when the trustees would come to the
| institution as there would be on regu-
| lar days l regard the management
there as fearful"
]. j. Beard. of Avondale, who saws
that he was patient at different in
tervals ince September Is, 1904, and
May 2, 1907. has this to say:
Il saw Tillman Todd, a patient
! from Jefferson county, beaten and
| choked into insensibility and then his
| head put into a watering trough
where cattle were watered. This was
! in the butcher pen lot. 1 saw this
man Todd beaten and choked down
| frequently at the reservoir by attend
| ing nurses until he. was insensible.
| A Brutal Beating.
4 heard the nurses beating John
Kinds. of Lauderdale county, and saw
him vonlit blood after the beating.
This was between = and 4 o'clock in
| the afternoon. and l helped dress him