Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1913-05-14
GAIN PUBLIC AFFAIRS TALK
More Information Given on Aims
House Matters

EDITOR CENSOR: The cost of keep
ing patients per week in the county
house has been officially reported to the
state board of control from this county
as follows: In 1905 81 80 plus; 1909,
81. 81 plus; 1910. 81 20 plus; 1911, S9c
plus; 1872, 81 so plus The difference
IN these figures being due in some in
stances to buy ing d large quantity of
flour and fuel in one year, which was
not figured into the expense of keep
ny patients the next Year. This would
cause the expense to be relatively high
er inc yc2r the flour was bought, and
relatively lower the year following.
DIVIDE these five years of reports by
five and we have 81. 80 plus, per year.
The figures reported TO the state bOfrd
of contrOl are correct
Mr.. Bentson arrives at an erroneous
result because he includes in the ex-
pense as current expenses, the fol-
lowing: Extension of light system,
machinery, toclS, gas tanks, plumbing,
bath tubs, Laundry tubs, cook range,
extension of water system, stock, fur
ni,ure, bedding, paint. | gather these
items from the summary from which
Mr.. Bentson quoted in Mr.. FowelPs re-
port of 1912. The items were, strictly
speaking, not current expense" but
permanent improvements. They amount
To 81 283 So. They were only charged
as current expenses because the amount
for permanent improvements was limit
ed to 81, 100. Necessity justified the
action the same as necessity formerly
justified the legislature in paying var
.IOus fake bills of the state superinten-
dent OF public instruction so as to in.
crease his salary to SIS, 600, when his
pay. constitutionally, was limited to
81, 500. This was done to allow him as
much as other state officials. FoWel.
reports permanent Improvements o f
81, 1870 in 1912, when it should have been
So, 473. So
Again, in arriving at the result of
Mr.. Bentson gives US, he includes the
expense of Mr.. POWELL for looking af-
ter patients outside the institution and
throughout the tlirty-three precincts
of the county. This is unfair. Before
Mr.. POWELL became superintendent, the
county paid $500 for the outside work
The superintendent then employed did
nothing on the farm, as the county also
employed farmer and matron there.
Would it have been fair then to have
included the $500 paid for ''outside
work" in the items of expense of keep
ing the patients INSIDE" the county
house? Not at all. The cost of keep
ing the patients inside the county house,
per week, cannot be determined by any
system of figures that include any ex.
pense or salary for that official, for
outside work. Expense of caring for
the poor all over the county cannot be
used in arriving at the cost of boarding
people in the county house.
Mr.. Bentson refers to Richland coun-
ty. Let me refer to La Crosse county,
where our former system prevails. In
La Crosse county, the county pays for
the outside work, the same as we did
formerly, to it's superintendent 81, 400.
1t pays out to run the eighty acre farm
in wages and salaries practically 81, 0G0.
Our farm embraces 100 acres. 1t cost
total of wages. salary and commits
sioner work in 1912, in Vernon county
81, 900. In 1912, It cost La Crosse coun-
ty, with a smaller farm, nearly So, 400
MIR. Bentson failed to give credit for
the amount of value of the outside
work, for which the county paid $500
under the former system. He failed to
credit the superintendent with h e
81. 2S3. 80, permanent improvements. He
failed to credit the $l40 for flour and
feed on hand that was mentioned in the
report at page %. There was also
some 1851 due for the board of patitn .
that was not collected at the time of
the report, that should be included with
the 1912 business, and a net difference
in the value of live stock on the farm
of Sll0 Not only that, but the figures
Mr. Bentson gives as from his incor-
rect premise are not correct. My fig
ures were given on an average of five
years, and not on any one year. Fur
Their examination of the entire matter
has shown that my figures were cor
rect, substantially. | can see, however,
that the reports of the two institutions
to the county board could be better
understood if they were both made on
the same basis and on a blank similar
to that used by the state board of con-
troll. And because of the facts | have
stated, can see how MIR. Bentson
might very easily have been mistaken
as to his conclusions. Anyone interest
ed should visit and inspect the poor
farm. j. HENRY BENNETT.