Little Falls herald., 1914-07-31

Fseenain the organization of big Ham
nlond clubs IN Ottertail, Grant, Lac
qui Parle and other Republican county
strongholds. Mr.. Lee is now trying
to offset this Hammond wave by the
organization Of Lee clubs, but so far
his efforts have not been attended
with success.
THE CAPITOL CLERK.
THE CASE OF MRS. BoLN
To the Editor:
For the past ten days the Fergus
Falls State Hospital for the Insane
and its management have been SUBJ
jected to most unfair and unjust criti-
cism by certain newspapers, and in the
hope Of laying the matter fairly be-
fore the people Of this State who are
interested in it I am taking the trou.
BILE to make this statement. I do not
claim that the statements ade by
some Of the press have been made with
malice. There was a mishap or un-
fortunate occurrence on which to
base some Of the assertions made. But
the segregated statements and fea-
lures which were given undue promi-
nence have left in the minds Of the
public an erroneous and wrong i'm
preston. The great harm done through
this course is not to the officers, ply
sicians and nurses of the Hospital for
the Insane, but it is to the people of
the State who have, or may have,
friends whom it is necessary to send
to the hospital for treatment. The
very nature Of hospital: for the in
sane is such that it is easy to prejudice
the public mind against it, and one OF
the great problems which the State has
had to overcome is to convince the
people Of the State that a hospital for
the insane is place to go for treat
ment rather than one to be avoided.
While the hospitals for the insane are
not seeking business, nevertheless they
do want to have the people Of the
: state who may have to send friends
and relatives for treatment, believe
that they get as good care as it is
possible for the state to give them.
On account Of a woman patient be-
ing burned in overheated water while
in bath the impression has been
created that an insane patient was
tied into bath tub, covered up SO
that she could not escape, neglected by
nurse and scalded so that the flesh
and skin fell from her body and that
after calling in vain she died from
this treatment. I have taken the pains
to investigate this case fully ana
heard the testimony given at the hear
ing by the coroner, the physicians ana
, the nurses, and these are the facts in
, the case.
Mrs. Hilda Bolin, a married woman
of 28 years Of age, the wife Of far
! mer and the mother Of five children,
was brought to the Fergus Falls hos
pital for the insane about six weeks
! ago from Douglas county. Her motheI
had been insane, and, I think, had been
at one time a patient in hospital.
, The medical evidence shows that Mrs.
Bolin, all the time she was in the hos
pital, was suffering from Brights
Disease Of the kidneys, and had she
not been suffering from this disease
the injuries which she, received from
the overheated waited would not, in
the opinion Of the physicians, have
caused her death.
One of the recognized forms Of
treatment of the insane when they are
wild and excited is to give them long
baths. These are Of two kinds, one
where the water is allowed to flow in
! to the tub continuously, maintaining a
! uniform temperature, and the other
way is to fill the. tub and maintain the
heat by letting in warmer water from
, time to time. In the bath rooms where
this treatment is given are generally
four or more ordinary bath tubs, sup
piled by water which is regulated by