The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-04-03
Report Today Shows Indiana
State Institutions Main
tanned Cheaper Than in
New York State.
EACH INSTITUTION
INDEPENDENT UNIT
This Is Not the Case in New
York Indiana Uses as
Good Supplies for Inmates
as N. Y.'Does.
(American News ScrN ice)

CAmerican News Scrvice)
Albany, y. Y, April 3.-Advance
proofs of Part II of the report of Hen
ry c. Wright's investigation into the
financial management of state institu-
tions, made for the state charities aid
association. We're made public here to-
day. Part | of the report was pub
lished last Monday. 1t showed that
the central control of the expenses of
New Iork's charitable institutions and
hospitals had not secured any notable
economies and that there had been
The second part of the report. made
public today, compares New Tork's
state system of fiscal control with the
systems in operation in Iowa and In
F.; diana. The state institutions in Iowa
are under complete administrative
control of a central board and have
been since 1898. In Indiana, each in
stitution is an independent unit. There
is no central body which has power to
dictate policies or to control finances
and there never has been. New York
states system is midway between and
has been in operation for about seven.
teen years.
What Results Show.
The results obtained under the
! three systems are shown in Il table
giving the per capita cost of food con-
| sumed Per year by the institutions in
the three states. The institutions in
, Indiana with no centralized control.
expended S43.03 per capita for food :;
New York, with partial centralized
control spent $45.05 per capita for
food; while Iowa, with complete cen
tralized control spent $55.4S per capi-
ia for food. In order to asure himself
that the low per capita cost of food in
Indiana did not result from the pur-
chase of an inferior quality, Mr.
Wright took with him to Indiana and
Iowa, on his inspection trips. the same
food inspectors who passed upon the
quality of food furnished New York
state institutions. He found that the
approximately the same. Mr. Wright
found that it cost New York state 81
to supervise $3.50 expended by the
institutions, while in Indiana. obtaindo
: a supervision of $3.50 for its 81. IN
Iowa 81 was paid for the supervision
OF only $3.50. The cost per inmate OF
such supervision, in the three states
vas as follows:
l. Indiana 5.
l New lork o.lS
T says:
What Report Says.
o 1T is clear. therefore. that on tn,
:, basis Of expenditures supervised. the
cost of supervision in New York STATE
:, was about 16 per cent higher than il
- Iowa and nearly twice as high as in In
diana.
). at is generally assumed in busi
r, nes undertakings, that centralized
= control reduces overhead. or admins
= trarive charges. A similar reduction
however is not noted in connection
with the centralized control in New
. York state. In this state more thai
: four times as many inmates are SUI
;, ervised by central departments as il
- Indiana or Iowa, yet the per capt.
= cost of supervision is materially lars
= er than in either of those states"
In investigating the beef furnishe
the institutions of the three states Nj
Wright discovered that. though Ne,
> York state receives all OF its bee
|. from Chicago. or points west of tha
. iplace. nevertheless. it has been pa!
ing less per pound for its beef tha
has Indiana or Iowa. although col
h tracts call for approximately the sam
grade of meat in the three states. TIL
fact that. regardless of freight charge
beef has been cheaper in New GOr
state than in Indiana or Iowa. the r
! port points out, was probably due I
the fact that the institutions in Ind
u ana and Iowa received the quality {
lie beef contracted for. while in Ne
H. York state-as Part | OF the repo
g shows. large portion of the beef d
livered was corned beef or was othe
- wise OF a lower grade than specified
IL the contract.
Jump in Beef Prices.
lie The report calls attention TO II
lie fact that. during the year 1909-191
IT the price of beef in Indiana and low
- averaged lower than the price paid
VI New York. but suddenly. in Octobe
l! 1910. the price paid by the New Yol
Oh state institutions made a jump al
at tho nri,a demanded nv rhp mac kp
ie was more than one cent higher IN;
VI the price asked by the same packe
e.
ICnntinued IN Ha.s Sixl