The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-11-11
FINANCIAL PROBLEM IS FIRST
Cost Of New Institution Would Prob
ably Be in Neighborhod Of a Hundred
Thousand Dollars--Co County May Be
Able to Save by Having Asylum.

Kenosha county may have an insane
asylum of it's own. A great pig
proposition is staring the county in the
face and John p. Spartz and number
of the older members Of the county
board met informally at the office OF
the county clerk on Wednesday after
noon and discussed just as informally
the proposition Of building an asylum
in Kenosha county for the care Of the
chronic insane. The proposition is
pretty certain to come before the
county board at the next session. The
meeting on Wednesday afternoon was
not pre.arranged and there was no in
tention of sighting any of the mem
bers Of the board in The initial consld-
Grafton of the big proposition.
Kenosha county this year must pay
o bill Of more than eleven thousand
dollars for the care Of its insane.
These patients are scattered in institu-
tions in many Of the counties Of the
state and this scattering of them has
made county supervision over their
care practically impossible. The mem
bers of the board at the informal gath
ering on Wednesday were agreed that
Kenosha county should at once take
steps to secure the proper plans and
specifications for a hospital for the
insane. The cost of such an institu-
tion would probably be in the neigh
borhood of hundred thousand dollars,
but even at this high first cost it is
thought that the county with generous
support from the care Of patients from
other counties would be able to show
a better balance when the cost Of the
insane is summed up at the end Of the
year. A the present time Kenosha has
nearly hundred and twenty chronic
insane patients on its rolls. Efforts
were made to have all of the patients
from this county cared for at he Ra-
cine county asylum, but the demands of
that county became SO great that this
plan was forced into the discard. Only
little over half of the county patients
are now cared for in Racine county
and others are being sent to other
county asylums weekly.
The plan that has been suggested is
to erect an asylum near the new Will
lowbrook Sanatorium on additional
land to be purchased for this purpose.
This plan is not considered a practical
one by rlany of the members of the
board as an institution of this kind is
so large that there is demand that it
be located somewhere on a railway
line. There are many beautiful sites
for such an institution on the western
division of the North Western some
distance from the city and if the
board decides that the time is ripe to
60 ahead with the building of the
asylum it is probable that one of these
sites could be secured at a low cost.
eve appreciate that we are facing
the big problem of erecting an asylum
to care for the insane of the county, -
said one of the county officials today
and it is pretty certain that the mat
ter will come up at the next meeting
of the board. There are no plans now
and it is improbable that there will
be anything definite done at the No
vember meeting. The cost Of such an
institution and the cost of its main
tenance is going to be considerable so
that the members Of the board will
want to be pretty we'll advised in the
matter before action is taken. 1t is
beginning to look as if the county
would find the plan of maintaining
its own hospital for the insane an
economical one."
The financial problem would be one
of the big problems in connection with
the proposed asylum. To raise hund,
red thousand dollars in single tax
levy would be pretty heavy drain or
the county. The county has never is
sued bonds for these purposes and il
is possible that there would be some
opposition to bond issue. The cree.
tion of the asylum would probably be
spread over at least two years and il
this was found to be the case provi
sion could be made for spreading tax
for this purpose over two years and not
make an issue Of bonds necessary.
For the past ten years this matter
has been considered in some way, but
now it appears that the matter is tc
be brought to a head.