Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-31
A STATE ALMSHOUSE.

sion, of her visit to q southern Illinois
almhouse is offered to the public al
a bit of rare descriptive literature. 1t
gives a hint of the valuable color and
material for story writing which lies
unusued in many of our poor farms.
1t illustrates also what effective Wv
idness may be impaired to official
public reports on subjects which have
been considered dry routine matter.
Miss Hinrichsen writes:
The matron spat heavily on the
floor of the women's room.
Il amt go. no time TO fix up these
people," she declared, land they don't
expect nothin' from me. I'm getting
too old to do for paupers." She spat
heavily again and another great brown
splotch was added to the large accum-
ulation of filth on the floor.
A two-rOom cabin, pTopped on rot
ting stills, it's tottering porch, support
ed by few rocks, is the home Hardin
county provides for it's poor. In this
howell live two men and two women.
The rooms are filthy. They are vile
with the odors of years of disease and
unCleanlineSs.
An old woman, half blind, her limbs
move, her tongue so numb with par
alysiS that she can only mutter unin-
teIligibly, sits on a sagging bed; the
covers piled around her are so old
that their colors have faded to a dull
dun and so ragged that they can hold
no warmth. The vermin swarm over
them. Her clothes are heavy with
grease and dirt and they hang in torn
bags on the crouching little figure.
Her companion is a feebIe-minded
woman so years old. Her bleared
eyes are so crossed that the iris of
one is almost hidden in the socket. A
few scraggy teeth project over her
gaping lips as she tries with uncer-
tain, incoherent words to speak her
joy at sight of a new face. Her dress
is a bundle of filthy rags. She is the
housekeeper for this room. She is the
only one to wait on the helpless wo-
men and to take care of the quarters.
She is the washerwOman for all the
inmates
She has been here 80 years Four
children have been born to her in this
place. Two died here, one died in the
Lincoln state school and one lives in
the country, a worthless loafer.
The walls of the room are cracked
from floor to ceiling. The patches of
plaster are red with the trails of YER
min The floor is dark with dirt and
Uttered with scraps of old rags, bits
of paper and corncobs. The stove is
brown with rust There are no shades
at the two small windows. The chairs
are broken and their seats are mere
scraps of torn cane. There are three
ancient wooden beds. Their covers
are ragged and dirty. The pillow
cases are bingham, once blue, but now
brown with age and dirt Uncovered
buckets and dented tin pans are the
only toilet equipment.
On the porch outside the room are
two battered iron kettles taken by
the feeble-minded woman from the
playhouse of the superintendent
children. These kettles are the only
means the women have of carrying
water
On the walls hang two ornaments
the helpless woman's framed marriage
license and a case of locks of hair of
every color and texture.
For the care of these persons the
county pays the superintendent SO
per month and rents him for $240 a
year a 200-acre farm. He was made
superintendent because his bid for
caring for the poor was the lowest one
offered the county commissioners.
The land is not very productive and
the county officials state that $240 a
year is all il is worth.
The superintendent house is as
old and dilapidated as the inmates
cabin. It has two stories and it leans
unsteadily forward as if ready to fall
to the ground. The walls are as
cracked and as marked as those in
the cabin. The bricks of the fireplace
are falling from their places.
The inmates eat with the family in
the kitchen. The kitchen was in dis
order, the floor unswept
The grounds around the house are
bare of grass. The barnsN and out
buildings are good Some of them are
built of logs. They are in fairly good
order Men and women use the same
toilet, disgustingly filthy one at con
siderable distance from the cabin.
NO, l can't do nothin' for them ex-
cept cook up their victuals,' said the
matron. 4 used to clean up a little
and wait on 'em, but my feets give
out They amt got no pride about
tryin' to do things for themselves and
so things amt very nice My hus-
band he don't have no time to wait on
EN-. He's a road commissioner, and
WOrkin' on the road and tendin' the
crops takes all his time. We got the
place for five years on each bid. We've
had it now Is years and we're goin'
TO bid again this fall"
And every few minutes she spat,
sometimes on the ground, sometimes
on the floor of the room.
The physician who attends the in
mates receives S33 per year for his
services. An undertaken has a con-
tract with the county to bury each in
$40 coffin.
The county commissioners do not
visit the farm. Two of them, it is
said, have not been there since their
election.
a little girl, taken several years ago
to the farm when she was two weeks
old, was adopted by the superintend-
ent and his wife. She has been well
cared for and attends school regular
". She was well dressed and had
the appearance of happy child The
inmates saw thew receive good food