The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-05-04
THE SCANDAL AND
INVESTIGATION AT
STATE HOSP. NO. a.
designations OF Superintendent and
Assistants Demanded-onlyS Sup
erintendent Keaney's Ac-
cepted.
DIR. r. 8. MAGEE OF FULTON
PLACED IN CHARGE
Another Attendant Arrested Charged
with Implication in Taylor's
Death.

Public agitation of recent expos
ures of conditions and happenings
at State Hospital No. forced the
Governor to order "a hurried meet
ing of the Board of Managers of
that institution last Friday, In ad-
vance OF the regular monthly meet
ing OF the board, to resume the in
vestigation of charges of inhuman
treatment of patients on the part of
attendants and of incOmpetency,
neglect and loose methods on the
part of the hospital officers, which
came up before the board at its last
regular meeting.
The death of J. +. Taylor, II pa
tient, on April I'd, the result OF a
cruel assault made by two attend
ants more than two weeks prior, or
from neglect of other attendants ia
whose charge he was during the
time intervening the assault and
his death in not reporting his cOndi-
tion to the proper authorities, or
carelessness on the part of the ply
sician in charge of the ward in
which he was confined In not dis.
covering his condition earlier, was
| published the same week in The
Times. Also the fact that two at
/ tendants, who had been accused Of
the assault on Taylor, had been AT
rested two days prior to his death,
were permitted to enter plea OF
common assault, pay normal fine
and leave town. They were subse-
quently arrested at Hastings, Neb.
and brought back on charge of
murder and are now in jail here.
Following this incident came the
exposure of the fact that an infant
had been born to patient, Mrs
Ann Wells, who had been an inmate
of "the hospital for two or three
years, and the summary discharge
OF the woman with her baby and
turning them over to the County
Court, she being a county patient
with certificate that she was
cured. Judge Marshall and the
other judges of the County Court
were indignant at the woman being
thus summarilly thrust upon them
as it was evident she was not cured
of her insanity, and they had nC
other recourse than to place her anC
the baby in the County Infirmary
where she is at present being lookec
after.
1t happened that J, +. Taylor was
an odd Fellow, Il member of Pom
der Lodge No. 40 of Ripley county
and this fact was made known e
st. Francois Lodse No. 4S |. o. o
F., by members OF the lodge whC
were employed at the hospital, anC
who were informed that II was tn,
intention of the hospital authori
ties to have him buried as a pau
per, as word had beeu received from
the County Clerk of Ripley county
who was advised of Taylor's death
that the family were very poor ant
not able to have the body takel
home for burial. To prevent thi
our local Lodge took the matter In
to its own hands, asked permission
to take charge of the body, had |
decently prepared for interment
and laid at rest In the Odd Fellow
cemetery here with the rites of til
order.
Nearly all the papers of South
east Missouri published the fact
and commented freely upon the In
cident. The metropolitan papers
however, propably regarding 1t as Q