The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-02-14
THE ASYLUM PROBE.
EXHAUSTIVE TESTIMONY BY ASY.
iUM REGENTS CHAIRMAN
Quizzed by DR.. Saunders DR.. Carouth-
crs Mainly COrrObOratcs Previous
Evidence at Asylum Probe.

Columbia, Feb 10.-Chairman r.
X. Carouthers, of the board Of regents
OF the State Hospital for the Insane
occupied the entire time on the stand
before the asylum probers this after
noon and corroborated largely the tes-
timony hitherto brought out, to the
effect that friction existed at the asy-
lum between the medical St { before
he went on the board, as he found
when he got there, and that the re-
gents had done their best to put
down the friction and bring about
harmony.
He paid tribute to the efficiency
and earnestness Of DR.. Saunders, the
lady physician, but insisted that he
| thought from the complaints Of the
other members of the staff that she
had superseded her duties and in
terfered with the duties Of others. He
said there was not one word of COM
plant against her moral character.
DR.. Saunders cross examined DR..
| Carouthers closely about complaints
against her by other members OF
the medical staff and especially about
the action OF the regents in passing
condemnatory resolutions against her
N executive session. when her father
was not allowed to be present at the
meeting. Under her questioning DR..
Carouthers admitted that he thought
DR.. Saunders a very competent and
efficient woman and physician and
that she did her work so efficiently at
the asylum that he praised it. Regard
ing any instances against her Of inter
terence, the witness admitted that all
he knew came from the statements Of
the other members Of the medical
staff, made before the board before
the resolutions were adopted. He in
sisted, when asked if he thought she
had been treated right when her
father was excluded from the hearing
and his petition for rehearing re-
fused, that he thought it best for Dr.
saunders and for the institution for
the matter to be closed DR.. Saun-
! ders grilled the witness as to wheth-
er he thought it right for her to close
the matter after certain complaints
| had been made and the invest CATION
asked for by her father refused.
DR.. Carouthors in his testimony in
sisted that his efforts and those Of J..
ID. Bivens and w. l.. Settlemeyer, the
| other two regents, in their meeting
with subordinates at the st. John Ho-
tel last September, when they did not
| notify Dr. Babcock, or DR.. julius II.
| Taylor, another member of the board
of regents, were with the idea and the
purpose Of finding out what was wrong
| said they did not mean to ignore DR..
Taylor, but they felt that because of
| his friendship with DR.. Saunders to
have had MIN present would have act
ed as damper in getting full state
| ments from the subordinates who
were making complaints about DR..
Saunders interference.
This was brought out when Dr. Tay.
lor asked the witness If the meeting
was for the purpose of harmony why
he hadn't been notified. He said the
charges against DR.. Saunders were
acts OF professional discourtcsy,
| lodged by other subordinatcs Of the
medical staff, namely, DR.. Thompson,
DR.. Blackburn and Or. Griffin. He
said DR.. Thompson stated in q let
ter and before the board that DR..
saunders interfered so much with his
duties that he was left with nothing
but the name OF first assistant physi-
clan.
1t was brought out from the wit
ness, through questions from Repre-
sentative Stevenson, that the places
were filed by the asylum regents last
July at the salaries named in the ad-
vcrtisements, except that of chap
lain, when they had advertised for
one at Il salary of twenty-five dollars
per month and they elected one at a
salary OF seventy-hve dollars per
month.
DR.. Carouthers was grilled both by
members Of the committee and by DR..
| saunders about the executive meeting
OF the regents, when after complaints
from certain members Of the medical
| staff resolutions condemning DR..
saunders were passed, over the protest
| or DR.. Taylor, as was stated yester-
day afternoon. DR.. Carouthers said
he had not prevented .. l.. Saunders,
| the father of Dr. Saunders from at