Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-01

WORK CURE FoR LIQUOR HABIT
Mr.. Miner Points Out Some Of the
Shortcomings Of The Inebriate Hos
pital - Percentages of Inmates Cured
is e5s4, While Majority of Others
Are Benefited.
special to Times-Republ,can.

=. i
Special to Times epubl'can.
Des Moines, Jan. That work is
the best cure for the booze" habit is
1.-The theory advanced by Superintendent
II. S. Miner, of the Iowa state inebriate
hospital at Knoxville, in his report to
the state board of control. In this re-
port, Just filed with the governor, he
makes some strikir g complaints and
recommendations.
Il wish to enter, g. protest" he says,
| against the far too common occur
renee Of q committsl to Knoxville be-
ing made as a compromise instead of q
more natural or just sentence of the
court. In some cases men arrested for
crime are allowed to elect of their own
choosing q commitm ent to Knoxville as
their penalty"
! The superintendent recommends that
the legislature make an appropriation
for a reformatory building In which
| men could be confined SO they could
not escape, as they now do easily while
going from the ma n building to the
cottage where meals are served. He
also recommends that ten acres be
purchased and surrounded by a high
board fence with a rock pile within to
use as a matter of discipline or as he
says, where a prescription of thirty
sixty ninety days hard labor can be
effectually applied"
1t is work, he says, that cures men
of their liquor appetite and he would
require every man to work from eight
to ten hours per day. That is why he
wants additional lanl. To give employ
ment i'm the winter time is difficult so
indoor base ball, basket, ball, hand ball,
etc, can be played and witnessed, In
this reference, he says: Amusement
is but the primary object but the ulti-
mate aim is to benefit the man in ev-
cry way and especially assist him to
gain self control. You must gain the
confidence and good will OF the patient
before you can touch that responsive
chord in his nature and convince him
that you are interested in him. Then
you have laid the foundation for sue
cessful work in his case"
The result of the work at the in
ebriate asylum Mr.. Miner says is as
follows:
Cured 65A per cert.
Greatly benefited 161A per cent.
Relapsed in one years As per cent.
Not benefited ait all per cent.
han hofnra-D noy,f
Is Iowa becoming better or worse
morally? The ques ton seems to be
answered by the records of the penal
and reformatory institutions. When
the board of control took possession Of
the institutions ten years ago the num-
Der of prisoners in the two prisons was
LISP. Since then one institution has
been converted into &. reformatory. and
today the total population Of the two
is only 81S. Members of the board
Of control declare that this reduction
In population is not due in any sense
to the fact that the prisons are less
desirable as places Ct permanent res-
idence; on the contrary the board and
clothing has been greatly improved.
But the fact remains that the prison
population for ten years has been
steadily declining. The record also
shows, however. that the effect of the
force Is to lengthen the average terms
Of the persons committed, and in time
this will aid in filing up the places.
The population of the boys reforma-
tory has also decreased in the ten
years from 1876 to 3e6 or exactly 100.
There has been q very slight. gain in
the population at the girls reforma-
tory at Mitchellville, due to the fact
that ten years ago that institution was
notable chiefly for the fact that es-
capes were very common and there was
no discipline. In the same period, how
ever, the total population Of all the
Institutions including insane hospitals
and deaf and blind schools, has in
creased from 6.O61 to $3.50. or sslbstan-
TALLY $500.
superintendent Fitzgerald, Of the
girls industrial school at Mitchell-
vile, in his report to the board, sug-
gests that a separate, state agent for
the school be named At present one
agent, Miss, Clara 14unbeck, is at
tempting to do the work for both the
Mitchellville school and the school for
the soldiers orphans at Davenport. He
contends there is more work than one
person can successfully do and rec
ommends that another field agent be
provided for by the coming session Of
the legislature.
GRAIN RECEIPTS SHOW GAIN.
Minneapolis Figures Show Increase Of
100000 Bushels.
Minneapolis, Dec. :h-The calendar
year closing today al: the chamber Of