The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-01-06
HOLD INSANE ARE MISTREATED
State Board Will Immediately Take
Up the Matter of Making an In
vestigation of Charges Of DR.. S.
Sorenson.


The formal complaint for an investl-
CATION into the management of the Ra-
cine County Asylum for the Insane
has been filed with the state board Of
control. 1t is a long document and
is made by DR.. S. Sorenson who was
house physician at the hospital for
many years. 1t covers largely the
points that have been urged by the
members of the county board of Keno
sha county who laid the matter before
the governor and sought through him
TO secure an investigation by the state
board of control. A portion of the
complaint made to the board is as fol
lows
During the last twelve months, the
following matters have either come
under my personal supervision and
knowledge, or have been reported to
me by competent persons:
l. During the month of which | saw
one of the attendants in the presence
of the superintendent, strike one of
the patients in the back in a criminal
manAer.
2. / have seen patients kept in
wards insudiciently heated and phe
same patients insuficiently clothed
for long periods of time.
3. Though a ventilating system has
been provided, the same is not operat-
ed in the night time and rarely in the
day time, because of the necessity Of
kG5prng sen engineer at work il at
were operated at night, and thus there
is no proper ventilation night or day
during the season of the year when
doors and windows are kept closed.
4. The superintendent and matron
and one of the trustees have antag-
onized, obstructed and prevented the
parole of patients who were absolute
ly sane and entitled to be discharged
from the county asylum, the above
parties taking the position that no
one connected with the asylum should
be permitted or tolerated who would
report to the county judge or to the
district attorney those patients who
should be discharged because of their
sanity, and no longer imprisoned. The
same persons have compelled resi-
dents of this county to give a bond
without any legal right, before they
would parole patient, and have
placed other distractions in the way
of parole. The advice and request of
the attending physician as to parole
is not regarded.
s. Many of the patients at the asy-
lum need the services of dentist,
which has been repeatedly refused to
the patient with the pain, suffering
and general loss of health due to the
failure of proper care.
g. A number rarely, if ever, are
taken into the open air, and none are
given proper and systematic exercise
in the open air, and all of them are
given practically no recreation, in
spite of the facilities the location of
the institution affords for various
forms of recreation.
z. The spirit of the management of
the institution is seen in case a
short time ago where "a patient was
discharged after she had interested
people to get her a hearing in court
and she was sent out of the institu-
ton without her fare being paid to
the City of Racine, and was ordered
to take her baggage out at once, and
was not permitted even to let it remain
there that night. Kind friends fortu-
nately took care of her.
s. l am informed that the superin-
tendent and matron have both left the
institution at one time during this last
year for length of time, without
leaving anyone officially in charge of
the institution, and 1 am further in
formed that they have no regular fire
drill among the employees at the insti-
tuition, and if fire should break out
there would be possibilities of terri
bic loss of life.
8. | have been informed that pa
tients belonging to the asylum have
been working on other farms in the
neighborhood, digging bitches, thing
and doing general farm work by and
with the consent of the superintendent
Of the asylum and without any com
pensation to the patient.
10. l have known one woman pa
tient who has been kept almost naked
at other times entirely SO, for long