The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1908-11-19
COUNTY BOARD NOTES.

The report of the trustees of the coun-
ty hospital for the insane to the boafd
discloses the fact that the number of
local patients in the institution is in
creasing year by year, threatening to tax
the capacity of the hospital and by thus
excluding state and patients from other
counties, with the consequent loss of the
cash income from without the county,
bids fair to seriously impair the self
supporting standing of the institution.
In the past ten years the number of local
inmates has increased from 81 to l01, an
increase out of all proportion to the in
crease of population. There are 81 state
patients and ~ from other counties now
ut the hospital.
The property of the asylum inventored
at 1851, 1856. A number of needed perna
nent improvements were made during
the year. The institution on the whole
maintains its character as the model
county hospital of the state.
The cost to the county for the care of
its insane, feeble minded and incorrigl
bles at the state institutions during the
past year was 1860, most of which Il
due to the Northern hospital near Osh'
kosh and the Chippewa Falls home for
the feeble minded
Some recommendation will be reported
from the board committee on salaries
g 4, &c
the abolition of fees for county officers
and the substitution of fixed salaries for
them. The district attorney has advised
the board, upon request of his opinion.
that the law now permits this action.
At this writing it is impossible to pre-
dict what the board will DO in the mat,
ter,
The board will in day or two act up
on resolution which recomends to the
legislature the passage of Al act repeal
ing the law which took from the regis
ter of deeds the recording of vital sta
tistics and imposed the duty upon town
clerks and health officers, many interest
ed persons declaring that birth, death
and marriage records should he kept at
the county seat where they are more
accessible than at the town clerks and
secretary of states offices. The fact
that the register of deeds have been
shorn of a goodly sum in fees by the
change ie, however, responsible for a
large part of the clamor for the change.
Another important matter which is
now before the board is the proposal TO
ests bllsh city county home for public
dependents, each town and city to con
tribute TO the expense OF maintenance
in proportion to the number of inmates
it furnishes The city favors the plan
and the whole board is to-day on jun
ket to Green Bay to investigate at first
hand the workings of the plan.
The county soldiers relief committee
ask for an appropriation of $3.50 per
month as heretofore, they alleging that
the increased cost of maintaining each
INDECENT caused by increasing age and
heIplessness offsets the diminishing num-
Der of soldier dependents.
The town OF Franklin, which has been
contributing for years to the support of
one Pat McNiles, an itinerant peddler,
asks the board to assume the burden, as
serting that it is under no legal or moral
obligation to continue giving him aid.
A communication to the board from
the editor of The Daily Tribune alleging
that the prices heretofore paid to the
weekly papers for publicity of board
proceedings have been excessive, and
setting forth figures intended to show
that the desired results could be ac.
complished at a much less expense, was
referred TO a special committee for con-
sideration and recommendation. The busi
ness manager of the Daily Herald later
presented counter argument purpor-
ting to show the fallacy of the Tribune'S
conclusions and that the former system
of publication serves the intended pur-
pose at a reasonable cost.
At sensational session yesterday in
which the report of the committee par
TALLY agreeing with the Tribune's com
munication precipitated the explosion
of considerable forensic fire works, and
at which supervisor Pohl resented with
a display of some heat the written re-
quest of four papers that the board ex-
cuse him from service on the special
committee because of alleged bias in ia
vor of the cooks who started the stew to
brewing, the board ordered the bids for
the printing of board proceedings to be
opened and read before the board as a
whole, this being formerly done before
the purchasing committee. That was
the only material change made.