The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1914-02-26
Legislative Committee to Inves-
tigate Conditions Makes
Its Report.
SAUNDERS

Srccinl .to The InloIllgenccr.

Special to The lntclligencer.
Columbia. Feb 25-The report of
the Legislative committee 10 inyesti-
gate the State Hospital for the In
sane. read to- the general assembly
THIS morning, suggests changes in the
methods Of managing the asylum,
completely exhonerate3 Dr. Eleanor B.
Saunders and cummends DR.. ]. w.
BabCock
The recommendation OF the invests-
eating committee in regard to changes
In the methods of conducting the
asylum were embodied in concurrent
resolutions which the house adopted
without demur and sent to the senate.
Praise Rather Than Condemnation.
The section Of the report dealing
with the charges against Dr. Saun-
deTs, the woman assistant physicisn
at the hospital, follows:
Your committee went fully and
minuteiy into the complaints insiuua-
| tions. inuendoes, inquiry and charges
against DR., Eleanora b. Saunders. We
find no evidence to sustain any of
them. She Is not guilty of any inten-
| tio1 OF wrongdoing, There is no
breath OF even suspicion as to her
neral character, none against her
professional, reputation and conduct
| and career, In her ethical department
and In all of her conduct In or out the
tnstitutiop-the State Hospital for the
: Insane. The few and insignifcant
acts on which complaints were based
were the direct result OF requests
from the superintendent, her superior
officer, and were executed In the dis
charge OF duty TO suffering humanity,
and are to be commended and praised
rather than. condemned. Her work
and labors in the State Hospital foF
the Insane bears eloquent tribute 10
the remarkable Initiative, aided ~
| tireless energy and dominated by the
woman's overliowlng love for ,infortu-
nate humanity, which love. energy and
tireless devotion ia manifested by her
every movement of which she has
, been the handspring and which Is
shown in the results in every depart
ment on WORK which she has touched,
and which even her. critics in almost
every instance have admitted.
Condemns Method OF Trial.
1--WE condemn the method of tria!
OF DR.. Saunders adopted on December
II. 1913. and hope that the records of
the state will never show q repetition
OF such procedure. We refer to this
| merely to call the attention Of the
.
the necessity of providing against any
! repetition OF suefi pToceeddiiffis In the
future, as under a proper and logical
system of rules and regulations no
such proceeding could have obtained.
irresponsible power is that power
which is exercised without rule or
reason and from which there Is no
recognized method of appeal. There
should be no such power vested In
any person or persons in the state OF
South Carolina, and there should be
rules. ctrefufly prepared. enacted and
passed to prevent another such oc-
currence.
DIR. Babcock Commended.
"We commend the stand of the SUI
perintendent. Dr. j. W. Babcock, in
the acute exigency and throughout the
subsequent aftermath, In which he
championed the right not only OF his
loyal and true subordinate and stan
officer, DR.. Eleanora B. Saunders. but
of a woman whose every instinct is
! shown to be for the right. the inter-
ests OF the unfortunate patients under
her care and the best interests of the
institution"
Criticises Beard of Regents.
One OF the most pointed criticisms
~ '''S va vi re-
gents was the following:
"We find for many years the duties
CT the chaplain have been faithfully
performed at salary of $25 per
month. Applications were advertised
for at said salary, but when the board
OF regents met In July last to elect
chaplain at the salary stated, after
| eiecting the chaplain they changed
the salary to 5000 per annum, or SIS
per month. We think this wrong. IF
raise in salary had been deemed jus-
tlfiable and desirable, notice OF It
should have appeared in the adver-
/ tisement for applicants. This $500
difference per annum would have gone
far In the employment OF e licensed
pharmacist and dentist, and we rec
cmmeEd that no salary be paid great
, er than the salary advertised for In
the advertisement" FS
Cause Of DfscOrd Fundamental.
In regard to the cause sof dIScoTd
at the asylum the COMMITTEES said:
I'VE find the cause OF much OF the
discord, trouble and friction leading
up to and resulting In thia inyeatiea-
tion to be fundamental. State constt-
tuition 1895. article ~, paragraph 2,
reads: The regents for the State
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