The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-09-09
C0ATEsTREP0RT0 POORFARn
Members of the Council Enraged at Re-
port of State Board of Control
bers Make Appeal to the Governor
for An investigation of Facts.

The city OF Kenusha got the hardest
slam in its history on Tuesday
when a report made by William H..
Grabner of Milwaukee, a member of
the state board Of control, was fled
with the city clerk The report APP
plies to the condition Of the Kenosha
city poor farm. Members of the coun-
Gil were enraged over the statement
of the member of the board. They
charged politics and nosiness and de-
clared that there could have been no
excuse for such a report being made.
They directed that an appeal at once
be taken to the governor of the state
in order that Kenosha's fair name
might be relieved of the ignominy
which must follow the fling Of such a
report in the records of the state.
The appeal may demand an investi-
cation of the methods used by the
members Of the state board Of control
in making Investigations of poor
houses in the state. The Kenosha poor
farm, the keeper and the pauper com
mittee was ably defended by members
of the council and the majority Of the
members at first urged that the report
given no official recognition. AS it
was it was not placed on records of
the council and a majority of the mem
bers of the council believed that the
alleged libel on the officials should be
refuted. One or @avo of the aldermen
suggested that it was just possible that
Grabner had the "goodso on the poor
farm and general exodus out that
way was reported among the members
Of the council this morning.
For years the state board of control
has been directing its broadsides
against the Kenosha poor farm. Many
inspections Of it have been made.
Some of them have gone SO far as to-
suggest the condemnation of the place.
Others have lauded the keeper, but
criticised the city for not giving him
equipment to work with. Grabner
went one farther than any other in
vestigator had gone. He found not
single ray of hope in connection with
the condition Of the poor farm. He
declared that the place was filthy, that
beds and bedding were unsanitary and
unfit for the use Of human beings, that
the entire interior with the exception
of two rooms should be calcimined,
that the men were using the kitchen
for lavatory, that the bath room was
on the second floor of the house and
so arranged that the inmates were
forced to carry up water for baths on
account of which he held that bath
would not be taken in the place in
twenty-five years. He found that the
plumbing was defective, that there
were no fire escapes and that the use
Of stoves in the building made it a fire
trap. This is only a part of what the
inspector said in his report but
the other things were suppressed as the
report went to the committee to be
taken up with the governor. Two in
spections of the poor house have been
made this year and in both cases the
report has been very much against the
institution.
Pauper Commissioner Jacob Saftig
spoke on the report and declared that
it was a libel on the city and on his
department. He declared that he had
visited the place with inspectors of the
state board of health and that while
they had shown plenty of room for i'm
provement the place had always been
kept clean. In fact, the commissioner
asserted that it was as clean as ma
jority of the homes in Kenosha. It is
expected that the governor will get
the complaint of the city within a few
days and it is possible that he will
come to Kenosha and make an inves-
tigation himself. It might be said in
passing that some Of the aldermen
were sore all the way through over
the report made by the state officials.