The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1916-09-15

4 We dli KNOW LnaJ the expenditures
under Governor Mount exceeded
those under Governor Matthews, that
the expenditures under Governor
Durbin exceeded those under Cover
| nor Mount. that those under Cover
nor Hanly exceeded those under
Governor Durbin, and so il will con-
tinue until the State reaches it's full
growth and it's needs become GER
tain and fixed.
MANAGEMENT OF STATE INsTL-
TUTIONS.
| But neither your Governor nor your
State Officers fix the tax levy. or
expend your money for your insti-
tuuons- The expenditure OF the
funds Tor the State Educational In
situations is under the control of the
board or trustees OF Purdue and
Indiana Universities, and the State
Normal Schol, and on these boards
are such eminent and respectable
Republicans as the late Hon Add
son Z. Harris, Mr.. ]. w. Fesler, the
Republican chairman OF the 7th
Congressional District, Hon. Ira Bat.
man, candidate on the Republican
ticket for appellate judge, Hon. Caleb
Denny OF Indianapolis, and Mr..
Joseph ID. oliver of South Bend. The
three heads Of these institutions. l
understand, are Republicans. If
there has been any extravaganza in
the expenditure OF money by these
institutions, which / would be loath
20 believe, these men and their asso-
ciates are responsible for it.
Mr.. Goodrich asserts that our ad-
ministration OF the State Benevolent
and Correctional Institutions has
been extravagant and he attempts to
prove his assertion by TIE rule of
averages; compared institution with
institution, Notwithstanding the
higher cost of living and the better
and more humane treatment of their
inmates, our public institutions have
been better and more economically
managed under Democratic admins
tration than under Republican admin
lstration. But the inaccuracy OF the
rule of averages, upon which he de-
ponds, is with what we are now con-
cerned. Mr.. Goodrich's figures In
part were taken from the last annual
report of the State Board of Chart
ties. Mr.. Amos Butler, Secretary of
this Board, has stated to me within
the last few days that the table re-
lied upon by Mr. Goodrich is OF but
little value in ascertaining for COM
parative purposes the per capita cost
of the administration of these in
situations. One or two illustrations
will suffice my purpose. The institu-
tions covered by this report are the
Central, Northern, Easteyn, and
Southern Hospitals for the Insane,
The State Soldiers Home, the Sol
diers' and Sailors Orphans Home,
the School for the Feeble Minded, the
Village for Epileptics, the School for
the Deaf, the State Prison, the Re-
fcrmatory, the Women's Prison. the
Girls School, the School for the
Blind. the Boys School, the South
eastern Hospital for the Insane, the
tuberculosis Hospital, the Robert
w. Long Hospital. and the Penal
Farm-nineteen in all. The Village
for Epileptics and the Girls School
we're opened in the last years of
Governor Hanly's administration,
put they were neither fully equip
ped, officered nor populated until
Mr. Marshall became Governor. The
last four named OF these institutions
We're not in existence under Mr.. Han
ly's administration. They are all
included in the table upon which Mr..
Goodrich relies. For this reason
alone the statement would be Of
no value for comparative purposes.
Mr.. Goodrich makes comparison
of the per capita cost :. OF
the administration or maintenance OF
these institutions. He says that dur
ing Governor Ralston's administration
the average annual per capita cost OF
the institutions was 1858. while un-
der Governor Hanly's administration
the average annual cost per capita
was $3.50. The error that Mr.. Good
rich has fallen in is, that the number
of institutions have increased, the in
mates in the old have been transfer
red, and for such reason the condi-
tons are different. The cost of admin
istration means the fixed charges for
the salaries of the Boards Of TruS-
tees, the superintendent, and the per-
manent officers and employees such as
guards, nurses and attendants; they
are in the nature Of fixed overhead
charges and do not fiuctuate as the
average attendance at the institutions
changes. The average daily attend
ance Of the inmates may increase or
may decrease, but these fixed charges
remain practically the same. IL the
institutions are crowded as our Re-
publican friends permitted them to be-
come, under their administration, the
cost per capita for administration de-
creased because there were more in
mates TO divide it among; when the
congestion was removed the cost. al
though practically the same in dollars
and cents. increased per capita be-
cause there was less number to di- |
vide 1t among. One of the very
charges that we preferred against the |
Republican party was that il had per- |
mitted our institutions to become
crowded with inmates and that il had |
not provided new institutions as they
were needed. Surely that party cannot |
now get any benefit from its neglect !
of duty. The Central Hospital for the |
Insane, at indianapolis. has a capacity |
for about 1900. Under Governor Han |
lys administration there were as
hign as 1900 insane in this hospital. |
In 1908, before the institution was re-
lieyed by removing PAL Of its popula- |
ton TO the Southeastern Hospital at |
Madison, 1t had an average enrolled |
attendance of 20o9 and a daily attend |
ance of 1898; the cost per capita for |
adm Illustration per annum was $685.. |
In 1910 over 800 OF these patients |
were removed and as a consequence |
the cost OF administration per capita |
went up to 1888 per annum. and it |
has remained about that since An /