The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-03-07
A VIEW OF THE CITY FARM.
Seven Inmates at Present--Some Hope
to Be Self-Supporting

and probably if the truth were knowr
it offers wider variety of opportuni
ties for doing good than most people
are likely to realize. Existence there is
not prosaic. The welfare of such an in
lstitution is fixed in a measurable pro
portion to the nummber Of these oppor-
tunities TO the number of these oppor-
tent to which the community or the pri-
yate charity upon which it is dependent
is ready to 90 in relieving the needs
of the poor. Where the poorfarm is a
publicly owned and operated institution
for maintaining the public's poor. there
! is disposition always to dump the re-
sponsibility into the hands of the duly
delegated few and to give the nstit
tion the second thought that it des, IS
only when there arises an occasions
seems to call for criticism.
In the past few days quiet inyesti-
cation of Barre's city farm has been
going on and the conclusion reached BY
some who have taken the pains to gain
a first-hand knowledge of the situation
tends to controvert a major portion, at
least, of the reports regarding that in
stitution that have been going the
rounds Charges Of mismanagement
have lately famed to life a brand of
| jingo criticism which the investigators
claim is unjustified In this connection
a similar investigation OF the city farm
on the part of all citizens is earnestly
requested.
Nominally the abode Of Barres poor
is not an almshouse but farmhouse
changed but slightly to meet the needs
of such an institution. I'm its interior
design it is ill-suited for the purpose to
which it is now put, condition which
involves more than one perplexing prob
lem in properly caring for the inmates
To the chance visitor at the city farm
the house is a model of cleanliness Only
long-term soap-and- water campaign,
indeed, campaign that never seems to
end, has made the interior as sanitary
as any household in the city. Every
where are the battle scars of much scrub
ling Three of the rooms are assigned
to the uses of the matron and her fam
lily. The remaining space is given over
entirely to the inmates. Out of that
space seven sleeping rooms. dining
hall and a common living room are set
aside for those whose destitute circum-
stances have thrown them upon the char
ity Of the community Lacking in the
merest semblance of heating plant.
small box stoves have been installed
in several of the rooms. Inmates testify
that they have served the intended puT-
pose through the cold winter of 1913
1914.
Since the charges Of alleged extrava
gance were made few weeks ago, the
farm fare has been cut down and the
inmates have been deprived of the usual
allowances of tobacco. Whether the re-
duction is to continue is still problemati-
cal. None OF the inmates complain of
the food now provided, but the disap-
pointment expressed over the failure TO
furnish small amounts of tobacco ap-
pears to be general among those who
have acquired the habit One man who
has been a friend Of Lady Nicotine since
his boyhood regards the restriction as
calamity second TO none in career that
has had its seamy sides. All and alike
the inmates hold the matron in high
esteem. BY more than one she is af-
fectionatelv dubbed mother" Another
calls her granny but the designation
is used in no disrespect.
Inmate No. il a rheumatic who lies
helplessly in surroundings that are 10
ticeable for their cleanliness. Only as
he can lift his head an inch or two from
the pillow is he able to move Such has
been his condition for nearly year and
he has required constant care No 9 is
a German who has been city ward for
nearly a quarter-century. One leg IS
crippled and he is emerging from dan
gerous attack of pneumonia. Recently
his two sisters came on from New York /
and upon their departure they could I
hardly find words TO express their graft /
tude for the care the man had received /
at the hands of the city and the matron. |
No. carried an air of content that ,p-
Deared to be contagious among most of !
the inmates. A third unfortunate is |
nearly blind. He mourned the loss Of I
his pinch OF tobacco, but seemed other |
wise satisfied with his. lot. In his own !
way he paid tribute TO the kindliness
ever shown the inmates by both the |
1verseer and the matron
just now the farm is the only place |
hat seven people call their home. One /
las locomotor ataxia. Another came to
.he farm in early fall and hopes to be
elf-supporting in the summer. Still an
,ther, a woman. is recovering from
,rotracted illness, and hopes to get
work. Upon the matron has fallen the
burden of devoting her constant atten-
ion to this patient. One man has tuber-
ulosis in its first stages. Recently an
innate who had spent some time at the
arm, died of the white plague Hardly
me of the inmates is able to assist
bout the house and the majority are
ontinually in need of care. Many Of
he obstacles that confront the one to
whose lot falls the duty of directing
he institution are too delicate in nature
o describe plainly.
For the skeptieal nothing win suffice
mt personal investigation. The city's
mployes at the farm, the overseer and
he sldermanic charity committee. are
Wiling at all times to visit the farm
nth those who care to inspect it, To-
ether they hold to the idea that a bet +
err general knowledge of the institution
nd its management viii result inevi-
ably in a better spirit of cooperation ,
etween the people and their servants !
nd a larger spirit of sympathy on the ,
art of those who are charitablv in |
lined Gifts of literature and other do =
ations are always acceptable and serve !
0 dispel a part of the monotony that )
lust. accompany the kind of existence {
hat circumstances force these unfor- J
mates to endure. For the matron and II
er helpers it eXacts vast amount OF ]
Al