The forum. [volume] (Springfield, Ill.) 1904-192?, 1908-09-26
TANNER ON THE SITUATION
How He Arraigned Transactions Of
Altgeld Board of Trustees.
Told Of the Story of the Rise and Fall
OF the Peoria Asylum for In
durable Insane in Speech
in 1903.

Springfield, Sept. 22-In the founda-
uon of the Illinois Asylum for Incura-
able Insane at Bartonville now known
as the General Hospital for Insane,
the last Democratic administration
gave splendid illustration of inef-
ficiency. An investigation of the man.
agement of the board Of trustees for
the asylum aroused the anger Of Gov
ernor Tanner whenever it was referred
to, as he regarded it one of the grossest
pieces of negligence and Ignorance of
which he ever had heard.
In discussing the Peoria situation at
Golconda, Sept. Is, 1893, Governor
Tanner said:
THE transactions Of the Altgeld
board Of trustees Of the Peoria Asylum
for the Incurable Insane is one Of the
most lurid chapters in the long story
OF dishonesty, incompetency and reck-
less expenditure of public money that
characterizes that administration. The
story of the rise and fall of the Peoria
insane asylum is unique; there is
nothing like it in the history of ILL
nOis. The line of action is so crooked
that the eye wearies in following 1t.
So far as the records snow every i'm
porta1t act of the board rs illegal;
their methods were unprecedented and
contrary to law, and in their trans
actions they had the help of all the
machinery in the state.
Debts Left in Wake.
1.-THE trustees, limited by law to the
expenditure of $50, 900 for specific pur-
poses, spent $SO,623.S SO, and left debt
Of $40, S23G6. Said board Of trustees
organized by electing one of their own
number treasurer, an act clearly con-
trary to the statute, and he. was not
required to give bond.
1.-THE boards first work was the Sc
lection of site. What sites were Of
fered, and what inducements governed
the selection of the site at Peoria ls
not known. The trustees left no rec
ord of their proceeding. The site cost
$13. 500, but the bill for the land is not
receipted and today the trustees hold
no deed to the property.
Officials All Knew 1t.
"The treasury being bankrupt, the
trustees were instructed to borrow
what money they needed wherever
they could find it. Dec. II, 1895, they
made a requisition on the state treas
ury of 5000, which, upon being ap-
proved by the governor, they used ds
collateral for loan of $4,000 from
the Commercial National bank of Pc
Oria. This loan was paid by the
treasury July 10, 1896. The amount
was drawn against the appropriation
for site and charged to that appropri-
alton, although they were entitled to
draw against it only the cost of the
site, $13,5OO. But this was merely an
Incident. All forms and regulations
for drawing appropriations from the
state treasury were disregarded by
the asylum trustees, the auditor, the
governor, and the state board of chart
ties. The entire machinery of the
state appears to have been accessory
to the job in Peoria.
upon four so-called estimates the
$4,000 appropriated for the Peoria
asylum was drawn from the treasury
and all of them We're made by the
trustees and accepted by the board Of
charities in violation of the statute.
No vouchers for the payment of money
or trustees orders are ON file.
Trustees Kept No Record.
mo trustees record Is in existence.
The only record of the receipt and ex-
penditures of the asylum's funds
turned over to the new trustees, Or
found by them, is in little book writ
ten i'm President Einlev,s hand oil on