Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-05-13
HORRIBLE CONDITION
OF COUNTY AIMS HOUSE
The District Nurse Makes Full and
Comprehensive Report Of Awful
State Of Affairs.
CALLS A SPADE A SPADE.
Recommendations for Betterment Q
Conditions at the County Home
Suggests 2 Women on Board
of Visitors.

II
Aims House made at the instance of the
| county officials, and which is a severe
arraignment of conditions in this institu
tion. was subjoined TO the report of the
jury II is as follows:
On March s0th, 1915, at tie request
Of President Walton, of the Board of
County Commissioners, made an inspee-
fion of the Anne Arundel County Aims
House, South river. Mrs. John w. Mar
in accompanied me on this visit.
The Aims House is situated on
beautiful bluff overlooking South river
II IS ten miles from Annapolis and three
niles to the nearest telephone The main
building is handsome, old Colonial
home, two stories aud a half Of cement
aud stone construction. The building
contains fourteen rooms and a cellar.
There we're twenty inmates at the time
Of my visit The keeper, his wife and
four children, occupy this house with the
exception Of the kitchen and one room
an the second floor, which is occupied by
a white female inmate A room on the
drst floor, used for meetings Of the
Board, IS also used by the keeper a.
sitting room. The entire house was well
kept aud well heated. In the cellar of
this house are housed six white male in-
mates. There are fonr small sleeping
rooms and a small sitting room, which
also answers as dining room. These
are furnished with the barest necessities
Windows TO this cellar are small and in
adequate for either light or ventilation.
There appears to be no recreation or di-
version for these inmates. Two or three
carried water or washed dishes. The
| ages appeared to range from sixty to
eighty-five years. They seemed well pro
vided with day clothing, but no night
clothing is provided. The beds and bed
| ding appeared TO be fairly clean and suf-
| ficient in quantity. There is no toilet,
bathing or fire-fghting facilities what
ever in this house.
Water is supplied from well and
| there is small surface privy some dis
| tance from the house. The inmates are
accustomed to using buckets in the house
| for their natural wants. These buckets
are emptied outside and returned with
| out proper cleaning. Old tomato cans
are used for sputum cups. The general
| impression to the observer is that these
inmates lack bodily cleanliness.
About seventy five or one hundred
yards from the main building is one
| story frame shack used for the housing
OF the negro inmates. At the time of
l my visit there were five males and six fe-
males The conditions surrounding these
unfortunate people was nothing less than
inltuman. Herded together, without re
/ gard for sex, they sit listless in their
filth and depreciation awaiting their final
summons from these unhappy surround
ings
The shack is divided into ten small
sleeping rooms and a sitting room. One
sleeping room is used as a morgue and
was locked Therefore, ! could not get
in. Another room was also locked. The
Matron did not know why These rooms
were dirty; they contained iron OF wood
en- beds, in some instances supported by
boxes and boards. The bedding consist.
ed of old, blue, covered straw ticks, no
sheets and no rubber sheets. The beds
were foul smelling, due to frequent wet.
ting with urine, and one bed was filthy
with night soil Three of the beds in.
| speeted had vermin. Lack of time pre-
vented a closer inspection. The covering
was seant, ragged and filthy.
Each room was provided with a bucket
which inmate used as a commode. Some OF
these had not been emptied and Others
had not been properly cleaned. The sub
sequent stencil can be better imagined
than described Old rusty tomato cans
sat around, plentifully supplied with
snuff and tobacco juice. Several rooms
had kerosene lamps without chimneys
Two inmates were in bed One, a male
l appeared quite i'll, and the other, de
mented female, apparently well physical
", was entire naked There was also q
very i'll woman sitting by the stove in
the sitting room. Any care these pa
tients receive is given by the other in
mates. There is a visiting physician who
makes weekly visits and, according to the
Matron, does not return even IL the pa
tients are i'll. unless summoned. No re
cords are kept Of the physicians visits
treatment of patients, or drugs dispensed
In the physician s absence drugs are dis
pensed by inmates.
Absolutely no occupation or recrea
tion Is provided for these inmates. ii
the center of the building is a room uscs
as sitting and dining room In thil
room, also. two women were confined {,
dirty, riekety beds. A female inmat.
was doing some laundry and two tubs oI
dirty water sat in the middle Of thl
floor. table covered with an old OF
cloth, piled with leftover food from pre-
vious meals. sat in one corner. A red
hot stove on a square of ashes, some oil
broken chairs. an infected cat and som,
reaches. completed the furnishings o.
this room. The floor was grimy with ex
restoration and fallen food. The en-
tire aspect Of the place was one of ne
gleet. filth and disorder. The Matron al
mitted that she had not Inspected tn
place for three weeks.
| Also occupying a room at the end o.
this building is a white man and BIZ
wife. The woman, who is bedridden, an,
reputed 10 have tuberculosis, Is takel
care Of BY the husband. They are fairl,
| comfortable and the room was well heat
/ ed The bedding and the floor were clean
The woman was very much in need Of
| bath.