Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1913-03-26
Polls. Md, WEDNESDAY. MARCH 2e, 1918
TAXPAYERS LEAGUE
PRESENTS ITS REPORT
VOluminous Document on Several
Aspects of the Aims House.
BOARD MENU VS.. DAILY RATIONS
Form Striking Contrast Unsanitary
Conditions TAXPAYERS League
Protests.

Taxpayers League to the County
Commissioners yesterday, MIR. Hart
touched upon several aspects of the
/ Aims House question. He explained
how the keeper humiliates the in
mates by constantly telling them that
they are in poor-house. He said
that history repeats itself, and that
evidently old Squeers, as depicted by
Charles Dickens, was the same type
of man as Keeper Lewis.
Mr.. Hart also said that if the
| County Commissioners had visited
the Home at the same time that he
did, that they would have ielt big
lump rising in their throats; they
would have felt indignation rising in
their hearts and tears forming in
their eyes, and their heavy breathing
would have seemed to say: '0h,
God, when l have grown old, be merci-
full unto me, and keep me out of a
place like this"
Mr. Claude also addressed the Com
missioners, and stated that the ex-
listing conditions, as mentioned in the
report, were absolutely true in every
detail, and that the Commissioners
ought to recognise the physical fact
and apply a remedy Immediately.
The following is copy of the report
in detail
Annapolis, Nd, March %. 1918.
TIC the Board of County Commits
sioners Of Anne Arundel County,
Md.
Gentlemen -
As result of numerous complaints,
and acting upon resolution passed
by the Taxpayers League of Anne
Arundel county, a body corporate,
we, the undersigned President and
Counsel of the said League, hereby
tender our report OF a recent visit
aud careful examination of the con-
ditions of the County Aims House,
and known as the County Home.
The conditions that we found ex-
listing therein are so awful, appall-
ing and loathsome that words fail to
adequately describe them.
In the Colored Ward, which l. a
one-story frame shanty, located
about 200 feet from the main build
ing, we found four women and five
men huddled around a wood fire. The
room was excessively hot, dirty and
foul smelling, and was without any
form of ventilation. This living
room 70 the building was being used
for the purpose of eating their food
and sitting in during the day, and
some of the inmates had foul cots to
sleep therein at night.
1.-The floor was covered with expec-
torations and filth. The cots in this
room, and in the adjoining rooms,
were in a very dirty condition, and
each had a cotton she ct that was
several degrees darker than an ordi-
nary burlap bag. At the end of this
ward is a hospital room," contain
ing very old white man, in a very
sick condition, attend by a middle
aged negress inmate.
I'VE talked with each of these poor
and unfortunate creatures, and we
found that they were very much ne
elected, and that the keeper had
only been to see them once since last
Christmas. They said that their tea
and coffee were cold slops, that had
been retrieved from the keepers
leavings that they only tasted fresh
meat made into soup about one day
in each week, and that their bread
was principally cold fiat cake or bis
cult.
'In the white ward we found con-
ditions only slightly better. The
ward is composed of the cellar or
basement of the main building, SUBJ
divided into five rooms. The inmates
were eight elderly men, somewhat
refined and we'll informed. Six of
these men sleep down in this base
ment.ward, whilst two of the favored
ones are allowed to sleep on the
third floor. In the centre of this ward
is living room, containing table,
chairs and stove, and opening there
from are the bedr Joms or sleeping
rooms of these inmates.
eve talked at length with each of
these inmates, and again we found
discomfort, unsanitary surroundings
and the poorest of poor management.
Again we found very dirty bed clothes,
and Que man said that he had not had
Clean EHGek iDT tWO uOutue. again
we found dirty floors and dirty bed
rooms. And we were told that in
one of these rooms a man had died a
short time ago from consumption !;
all around the bed the walls were
covered with marks caused by the
c0nsumptive expectorating thereon,
and no attempt has been made to
cleanse this room. An aged man.
who is now unwell, at present sleeps
in this death-bed and disease-laden n
chamber. All of these basement
rooms are damp and totally unfit for
human habitation as sleeping and
living rooms.
Having familiarized ourselves as
to the enormous size cf the grocery
and meat bills that are monthly in
Cured by this Aims House, we there
fore asked the inmates to carefully
describe what food is served to them
for their daily ratioas, and which ap-
pears to be about as follows: Break
fast, cold fat cake, fried bacon and
coffee; dinne., biscuit potatoes,
boiled bacon and tea; supper. cold