Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-04-14
MOVING DAY"
At HOSPITAL

Tuesday, as far as it relates to the
new dormitory for male employees, was
/ "moving day." at the hospital for the
| insane. Thus begins an experiment i'll
connection with the institution to dis
cover whether the average farm labor
er will appreciate fine rooms and fur
niture and to what extent he will yield
to elevating and aesthetic influences.
The new dormitory, built at the rear
of the main building, is wholly com
pleted. 1t will be used exclusively by
the farm hands, who up to the present
have had pretty hard time of it and
have been obliged to sleep in all sorts
of out of the way places wherever
quarters could be found. The ones
that experienced the most privations
probably were those who lodged in the
engine house.
The new dormitory is palace COM
pared to what the farm hands were
formerly accustomed to. The build
ing, which comprises two stories, con-
tains thirty-four rooms, opening on
each story into long corridor. Each
room contains wide window of single
glass neatly curtained; a large clothes
closet, picture moulding, radiator
and two electric light bulbs.
The furniture consists of an iron
enamel bed with brass mountings,
equipped with hair mattress, intended
for one person; also a graceful bureau
of quartered oak containing four full
drawers and two samll ones, and sur
mounted by mirror; finely polish
ed table with drawer; an arm rocker
with double cane seat and another stiff
back oak chair. On the floor beside
the bed lies a rug that corresponds
with the furniture.
In each story on the north side of
the corridor are two bath rooms eleg
antly equipped and finished; opposite
on the south side are wash rooms and
lavatory fitted up to correspond with
the rest of the building.
At the west end of the dormitory on
one side of the corridor is a large pool
and game room, the pool table and all
the other furniture being installed;
opposite is a reading room containing
large center table, card and check
er table, eight double cane arm rock
ing chairs, besides half dozen stiff
back oak chairs. On the floor is fine
administer rug. All the apartments are
light, airy and cheerful.
The employees of the farm will most
ly enter the dormitory through the
basement, which is covered with a
cement floor In the basement they are
expected to divest themselves of their
shoes and outer clothing when these
are soiled They will put on carpet
slippers and in sinks installed will
wash before they go upstairs where
the rooms are located.
James Cashner, one of the farm en-
ployes, is IA married man, and with his
wife will reside in the dormitory. Mrs.
Cashner having charge of all the
rooms.
To what extent the employees will
appreciate the elegant quarters re-
mains to be seen. Surely the dormit
ory with its fine furniture and excel.
lent appointments is foreign to the ex-
perience of the average farm hand.
At noon Monday the employees were
assigned to their rooms by Steward
Howard b. Schultz, who took occasion
to explain matters. He reminded the
hands that, while the dormitory as
equipped and furnished is departure
yet it is one that is warranted by the
progress and the growing culture and
refinement of the age 1t remains for
the employees to show an appreciation
of what is being done for them; to
keep pace with the times and to cul-
tivate habits in keeping with their i'm
proved surroundings Otherwise, the
steward made it pretty plain, they will
not be wanted Mr.. Schultz speaks
very highly of the farm hands and he
feels sure that what has been done for
their welfare will prove to.beTmoney
we'll spent.