The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1909-01-01


ngs, is to employ assistance regard.
less of politics or pulls Competency
only was counted and when he could
not find competent help in Nebraska
he went out OF the state for It. In
line with this policy was the selection
OF A. f. Bauer as chief engineer, who
was not a resident of Nebraska Mr..
Bauer has greatly improved the heat.
Ing and lighting systems, and is now
In charge of the heating and plumbing
Of the new buildings, which is being
done by the institution thereby saw
ing considerable money for the state.
The Original Hospital.
The state legislature of 1885 estab.
lished hospital for the insane at Nor
folk. The building, constructed in the
then prevailing style of having the
patients housed all under one roof
was completed in about two years and
the first patients were received on
February Is, 1888 The site chosen
for the hospital is on high ground a
mile east and mile and half north
of the city and commands a fine view
of the city and surrounding country.
When the building was ready for oc-
cupancy it was considered one of the
finest of its kind in the country. Dur.
ing the years intervening until 1901 a
number of auxiliary buildings were
erected and it was considered very
complete plant when one morning
late in September Of that year fire
was discovered i'm the main building
and this gradually ate its way through
the whole structure, nothing being
saved of the main building except the
walls of what is known as the west
wing, which was then just completed
The fire was never at any time very
fierce, but insufficient water supply
made futile the efforts of those who
fought. At that time a stand
pipe was being erected and a few
weeks later it was completed and
capable of furnishing an abundance of
water. The auxiliary buildings were
saved without injury,
Rebuilt on Cottage System
100000 to rebuild the hospital The
board of public lands and buildings
secured the opinions OF experts and
after much planning decided to adopt
the cottage system in the rebuilt hos
pital. This system has been adopted
in the construction of all modern hos
pitfalls for the insane, as it is consid-
cred much more efficient than the old
plan. Under that appropriation three
cottages and the administration build
ing were constructed. each cottage
having a capacity of fifty patients. The
hospital was opened for the reception
of patients in August of 1905, more
than two years after the appropriation
had been made to reconstruct the
hospital. or the original cottages one
was for men and two for women.
At the next session of the legisla-
ture $35 900 were appropriated to re-
construct the west wing, the walls of
which had stood intact since the fire
This was made into a cottage for men,
giving two for men and two for wo-
men, which is the plant as it stands
today, although the west wing fur
nished more than capacity for fifty.
An appropriation of $4,000 was
secured at the 1907 session providing
for the construction of two cottages
and store house. One of these build
ings, which are now under construc-
ton, is to be a hospital building for
acute cases of women with a capacity
of 100 patients, twice the size of any
other, while the other cottage is for
convalescent men with a normal capa-
city of fifty. When these buildings are
completed, which will be some time
next summer, the capacity of the hos
pital will be $50, and even this will not
supply the demand made upon the
institution. Even now the hospital is
treating a surplus of twenty-four
patients. In his biennial report DR..
Young asks the Legislature for an APP
prOpriation of $4,000 to build an ad-
dition to the west wing in the form
of an l.. This will make the build
ings on both sides of the grounds
symmetrical and will give an additional
capacity for seventy-tive male patients,
room that will be needed badly before
another biennium rolls around. A
number of other smaller appropriations
are asked for to complete unfinished
work on the grounds and buildings.
Patients Well Cared For.
1t will be of interest to the relatives
and friends of patients at the Norfolk
Hospital for the Insane to know that
they are comfortably housed cOmfor-
tably clothed; nourishing and whole
some food; that they are kindly
treated; that their physical condition
is carefully guarded; that their bodily
wants are not subordinated to
medical treatments, as was the Gus
tom two decades ago.
DR.. Young, whose superintendent
dates from October, 1906, was assistant
superintendent at the time the old hos.
pital was destroyed by fire. After
wards he was pathologist and chief of
the medical staff at the Lincoln hos.