The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-07-29
Intended to Pay Small Sum
Until Overdrawn State
ment Appeared
WOMAN CLAIMED
SHE WAS ABUSED
investigation Satisfied Officials That
There Was No Merit in Claim-Pa-
tient Undertook to Throw Nurse
Out of Her Room.

tient Undertook to Throw Nurse
Out of Her Room.
statement was made in North Adams
Mass, yesterday and published in after
| noon papers and in morning papers TODAY
relative to proposal by a woman to
| lbrlng suit for $4,000 against the Brat
ltleboro Retreat for the insane, in which
she formerly was patient, alleging abu-
Islve treatment. The story, on its face,
was fabrication and invention so far as
the principal details were concerned. and
the facts as obtained by The Reformer
From Judge James NJ Tyler, chairman of
the board of trustees, and Rev. T. Q. S.
ISlsgood, another member of the board.
Il the veraclty of whom needs no bolsterfng
mp, confirm that view The story as It
Lanpeared in the North Adams correspond.
Ience in the Springfield Republican was as
follows:
Mrs Hattie Gmlford of Main street.
wife of Earl f. Guilford, stated Yesterday
that she Is contemplating bringing an ac-
Etlnn OF tort for $4,000 against the Brat
Esleboro Retreat at Brattleboro, Vt, of
winch she was an inmate for 215 years
She SAID she IS being represented bv Attor-
noE Joseph Jones of Rutland Vt, and
that she had a Pnkerton detective at the
Ianstltutlon for three weeks to secure evi-
Edence of the manner in which inmates
!, there are treated
Mrs. Guilford left the retreat about
/, two years ago. She said yesterday that
her attorney recently talked with herself
land her husband and said that the Brat
Etieboro institution wished to make a set
ltiement without having any suit brought
and that her attorney has advised her to
! 4yrNr 70 >
erlng the proposition and said that she
, would probably accept the offer, although
she would like to have the matter aired in
tcourt. Among other things, Mrs. Guilford
! talleges that her body is a mass of scars
: from the treatment she received that her
Jaw was broken and that a number of her
! teeth We're knocked in She showed scar
q on the side of her head where she claimed
she was hit with an iron pipe and scars
!, on her arms which she said were caused
. by carbohc acid being poured on her.
After reading the published story
: The Reformer called it to the attention
I of Judge Tyler and Rev Mr. Osgood
: and they said that so far as the detec
= tive, the broken teeth, the iron pip,
: and the carbolic acid were concerned
they had never heard of those thing,
: before in connection with the case anl
n tHNS SAelttt W nit tIG lHtltlcHJ WIS., up
f on which the story was based.
They said that Mrs Guiltord wa
. over six feet tall, about six feet ant
N two inches, and that the nurse at tn
y Retreat whom Mrs. Guilford claim
A. abused her was girl under the aver
J. age height, who scarcely would reacl
to Mrs. Guilford s shoulders Mrs
Guilford ordinarily was very agreea
BILE and was extended every courtes
and was thought well of by the al
tendants and nurses.
One morning Mrs. Guilford appeare
4 very nervous and excitable in he
room and when the nurse went in t
do her mornings work Mrs. Guilfor
ne ordered her out. Naturally the nurs
did not so, whereupon Mrs. Guilfor
seized her with the evident purpose c
throwing her out, but the nurse, arme
with nothing but her bare hands, SUI
!" ceeded in getting her on to the be
= and quieted down.
hS Mrs. GuilfOrd remained at the inst
~ tuition several weeks after that an
re nothing particular was thought of Il
le occurrence The woman later went
= her home, which was then in Powna
III and a nurse went with her and remain
ed with her a few weeks.
~ Nearly year after that a lawy
Id made a claim against the Retreat f
al damages in behalf of Mrs. Guilfor
saying that in the scufile with the nur
her jaw was injured. That was t
first that the trustees had heard
any such claim. Dr. S. E. Lawton, S
ou perintendent of the Retreat, had an
no vestigation made, and the trustees ;
so thoroughly investigated the matt
and had all the evidence of witness
y typewritten.
Their unanimous conclusion was tn
IN no injury was inflicted and that t
nn. nurse did no more on the occasion
ono the scuffie than ordinary prudence {
,so manded for the defense of her p'
the son and no more than anybody wor
-o+. have done.
ugh The trustees decided, however, II
full rather than be subjected to a lawsu
the with its consequent bother, public
and and expense, they would pay NJ
-eat Guilford sum of money, and w
and her counsel they arranged terms
settlement which were satisfactory
qua. both sides, the amount, according
80 the trustees, being a small 81
wn, But, = said Judge Tyler today, IN
the that this statement has come out
by don t know as we shall pay it. =
8 of
lers
IL ~ L teA