The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-03-04
CHARITIES BOARD
REFLECTS MOST OF
PRESENT employees
Salaries of Day Ambulance Sur
egeOnS Is Increased to 500
Per Annum
Position of Relief Surgeon Held
by DIR. II. r. Bennett Is
Abolished

X.
head of the Charities department,
Investigator Alexander F. Morrissey,
Merle W. Cow1es, superin tendent at
Lakeview Home, Clerk Thomas Cox,
Drs. CurIey, Pratt and Parker and in
i fact all the former employees of the
department and LakevieW Home were
again appointed for another year, be-
ginning April 1 at the annual meeting
of the Charities board late yesterday,
with the exception of DR.. H. r. Ben
nett, relief surgeon, whose position had
been eliminated at previous meeting
of that body.
The list follows:
Superintendent of outside poor,
Fred r. johnson, salary, $4,000
Clerk and pharmacist, Thomas
F. Cox, 1,200
Investigator of department, AL
exander F. Morrissey, 1900
Outside poor DOCTORS, G. ]. Lev
erty, Arthur Scrimgeour and
d. B. wason, $50
Assistant clerk, Elizabeth Merry, 72O
Day physicians at Emergency
hospital, W. H Curley and c.
r. Pratt, 700
Night physician at Emergency
hospital, ]. w. Parker, 900
Eye and ear physician, D. C. De-
| Wolfe, $50
Ambulance driver, David lack, $50
Matron for Emergency hospital
Mrs. David Jack, 120
i E. Bur1ison, 1000
Superintendent at Lakeview,
i Merle c. Cowles, 1900
Matron at Lakeview, Mrs. Merle
i c. CowIes, 420
Physician at Lakeview, Andrew
i McQueeney, $50
Steward at Lakeview, c. E. Mil
1 Ter, 900
Nurse at I4akeview, Miss Kate
i CARNEY, 420
81
i Booden. 42o
Mechanic, Fred cowles, 42o
i Cook, $50
Il Cook, 21o
While it was believed in charities
and police circles that Dr. Bennett
/ would be retained in some other ca
pacity than that of relief surgeon no
steps we're taken in that direction yes
/ terday
The main feature Of the days detail
| was the discussion of what action
might be taken in the way of circun-
venting the failure Of the Board of
| Apportionment to provide for the care
/ of waits, under the age of four years
which it was considered not desirable
| to send to Lakeview Home. On this
/ subject a spirited Discussion which for
a moment promised live and definite
action upon matter that has lain
| dormant for some months, arose. Su-
perintendent Johnson, who in his reg
/
| that the almshouse did not furnish fit
| ting surroundings for such children
! and suggested that they either be
| cared for by a paid employee at the
| side families, the expense to be borne
| by the Outside Poor Account spoke
in defense of his plans.
| He cited a case where a mother had
to be taken to- Bridgeport hospital
with a child but two months old. This
/ ant ar al he soil r.
/ department, hut upon the recommen-
dation of Commissioner Judge who
| felt that it would be particular hard
| ship to separate mother and child the
usual custom was not followed. There
were many such instances creeping in
| regularly, and as the children were
| merely cared for by an inmate of the
| institution it was not deemed that the
| environment the attention received
! was adequate or such should be ac-
| corded by a city the size of Bridge
! port.
The Charities head added in conclu-
sion that the Apportionment board
| were a budget-making committee
he felt that the Charity Board had
| every legal right to authorize suitable
| expenditure for such a purpose from
funds at its disposal.
President William F. Behrens, Jr.,
expressed himself as not in favor of
/ the plan suggested, whereupon Com
| missioner Judge said that something
| should be done when it became more
| humane to have a child taken to the
! a1nshouse than left with it's mother
| at the hospital. and Commissioner
| J. MacLaren Richardson agreed with
him, comparing the present system
| with that of the former distressing
spectacle Of little children standing in
| the Dread Iine'' which had been abol-
| ished.
The matter was about to be again
re egated to future consideration when
Supt. Cowles remarked that babies
might better stay in Iakeview than
| have them returned one had been
recently which was taken away for
adoption.
This led to a relation of an incident
where a well dressed, well appearing
man had been given the care Of
baby upon reported returned after an
admittedly superficial investigation
made during the stress of work thrown
upon the department at the time. The
| baby had been taken from the home
and as no supervision could be given
the case, it appeared that the family
had broken up and for several days
before it's return to Lakeview the child
had been cared for by neighbors.
President Behrens submitted that this
| was good example of the defects of
the farming-out method, but Superin-
tendent Johnson taking up the cudgel,
and admitting the responsibility, made
a spirited defense of his plan stating
that there were two other children out
in families now. He deffed the COM
missioners to visit them and report
the children were not better cared for